As corporations recognize the link between CSR and sustainability, the demand to change the world to better arise and the urge to have an impact in society and make a difference occur. The most efficient way to build this trustworthy connection between companies and customers is by tying social media and CSR, leveraging the good work they’re already doing, and building a network of supporters over time that aligns with company’s values and actions.

1. 58 July - August 2015 | Responsible Business 59Responsible Business | July - August 2015
Customers and workers have always
had the power to share their experi-
ences with friends and peers. But
surely with this direct interaction
with customers, it increased brand
awareness more than ever before.
Enhancing
Brand Equity
One of the best initiatives I encoun-
teredamoungstsocialmediaCSRpro-
jects that draw a straight line between
a company’s strategy and corporate
social responsibility is the Purple Lens
initiative by Byblos Bank. It is a pro-
gramthatprovidesemergingLebanese
photographers with the right tools and
suitable environment that allow them
todeveloptheirtalentintherightplace.
Theprogramaimstoreachouttothose
talented photographers and help them
stand out. With this sort of engage-
ment, it encouraged talented people
in Lebanon by supporting their crafts.
This way, Byblos Bank proved to set
the best example for CSR initiative
using social media engagement that
created more awareness, better inter-
action with the community of purpose
and therefore more brand equity. Byb-
los Bank used Facebook as a primary
channel to share with the commu-
nity of purpose photographers’ talents
along with the bank’s different CSR
initiatives.
Gaining a Competitive
Advantage
At a fundamental level, customers
have always been able to vote with
their wallets. But they weren’t con-
nected to a global network with the
potential to amplify their opinions
andexperiencetohurricanestrength.
Customers are connecting and shar-
ing information at a far faster rate
than the companies that serve them.
There’s no question that when it
comes to social media, companies in
Lebanon are lagging behind. And to
think that this customer revolution
won’t affect your business is a naïve
thought. Indeed, it will affect every
business.
Businesses in Lebanon are now in-
creasingly adopting customer-fo-
cused processes through social media
to gain competitive advantage. But
for building a business around cus-
tomers,companiesneedtostartlisten-
ing to them, to better understand their
needs and expectations. They need to
engage in regular dialogue and con-
versations–onsocialnetworks.They
need to start embedding social media
into their business and processes be-
ing in marketing, communication,
HR, customer service and CSR.
Research has shown strong evidence
that Social Media engagement cor-
relates with financial performance.
To pull this off, organizations need
to establish a more transparent busi-
ness environment both externally and
internally. They need to become a so-
cial and responsible business, which
if all adopted, the expected ROI are:
- higher productivity
- better communication and collabo-
ration
- improved innovation
- competitive positioning
- increased resilience to disruption
- higher revenue and profit
- increased brand equity
Lebanese businesses that will suc-
cessfully transform into a Social
Business will potentially take ad-
vantage of great benefits, among
them the ability to deepen customer
relationships, increase workforce
effectiveness and drive product/ser-
vice innovation. This sort of trans-
formation and adaptation to social
business will turn the competitive
environment to its own benefit, but
it will take time.
Most companies have long practiced some form of
corporate social and environmental responsibility
with the broad goal of valuing the diversity in the
workplace and striving to be a responsible corpo-
rate citizen to all of stakeholders in the communi-
ties. Needless to say the actions of a company color
the perceptions, behavior, and well-being of its cus-
tomers, prospects, and the community at large; thus
affecting its own health as well as its competitive
environment.
Corporations Should
Engage in Regular
Dialogue
Social media has changed the power structure of the society
By Patrick Attallah, Founder & CEO of social4ce - Beirut
We all know that the competitive en-
vironment has perpetually changed.
Customers are connecting, forming
networked (online) communities that
allow them to rapidly share informa-
tion, communicate and interact be-
tween them and have more choices
and more amplified voices than ever
before. As Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s
founder & CEO has said few years
ago: “If you make customers unhap-
py in the physical world, they might
eachtellsixfriends.Ifyoumakecus-
tomers unhappy on the Internet, they
can each tell 6,000 friends.”
By changing the way consumers cre-
ate, access, and share information,
social media has changed the power
structure of the society. Companies
will have to be more responsive to
customer needs and demands if they
want to survive. It’s known that cus-
tomers’ expectations are increasing
year after year. In a way or another,
companies are adapting to custom-
ers’ needs by learning their tone and
approach when seeking resolution
over social media. Needless to say
social media paved the way for cus-
tomers to voice their likes, dislikes,
thoughtsandopinions,inordertofeel
like they are being heard. This sort of
interaction has formed what we call
today, “power of engagement”.
The most efficient way to build this
trustworthy connection with custom-
ersisbytyingsocialmediaandCSR,
leveraging the good work they’re al-
ready doing, and building a network
of supporters over time that aligns
with company’s values and actions.
Addingtothat,it’scriticaltobetrans-
parent when it comes to the compa-
ny’s CSR program, especially when
harnessing social networking plat-
forms or showcasing some support
to a cause or a good deed, or what-
ever helps in improving communi-
ties. Last but not least, authenticity is
needed to build this everlasting trust.
In this case, businesses have to shift
from marketing products to cultivat-
ing customers’ demands to lead this
alignment between businesses and
customers into a success.
At the same time, customer power
is not necessarily new. Custom-
ers have always had the power to
choose what they wanted to buy.
Responding to Stakeholders Key for Business SustainabilityExpert Perspective