40 Percent of Canadian Businesses Using Social Media, Social Networks to Win New Business
DALLAS, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
The last year has seen a rise in Canadian companies using social networks, blogs, microblogs and forums to win new business, reveals a new survey from Regus (http://www.regus.com/), the global provider of flexible workplace solutions. According to the survey, 34 percent of firms are successfully using social networking to win new customers, up six percentage points from last year's survey.
The research also reveals globally more firms are using social media to engage with existing customers than a year ago, with the following highlights:
- 43 percent of businesses in Canada use websites such as Twitter (http://twitter.com/) to engage, connect with and inform existing customers
- In Canada, 50 percent of firms encourage their employees to join social networks such as Linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/) and Xing (http://www.xing.com/)
- 43 percent of Canadian companies dedicate up to 20 percent of their marketing budget to business social networking activity
- Globally, the survey reported a seven percent increase in the proportion of businesses successfully recruiting new customers through social networks such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/)
Social networking has fully evolved from a nice-to-have to a necessity as the majority of businesses in Canada (67%), and internationally (74%) agree that social media activity is playing a bigger role in their marketing strategy. Canadian (69%) and global firms (61%) are also emphasizing the need for a balance of marketing media, confirming their belief that without a combination of traditional and digital techniques, marketing campaigns will not work .[1]
The global Regus survey findings are based on the responses of over 17,000 managers and business owners across 80 countries.
Wes Lenci, Regus regional vice president for Canada comments: "As businesses emerge from the downturn they are increasingly reconsidering pre-recession working practices and opting for more flexible, competitive strategies. From supply chain management, to leaner working practices, to cloud computing, to increased use of video communications and mobile working - no area of business is being overlooked. Particularly in Canada where Itracks (http://www.itracks.com/) reports that most companies believe that social media has a positive impact on word-of-mouth, awareness, promotions and referrals, more and more companies are leveraging this channel to increase the loyalty of existing customers, and as a successful acquisition tool."[2]
About Regus
Regus is the world's largest provider of workplace solutions, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world's largest network of video communication studios. Regus enables people to work their way, whether it's from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.
Over 800,000 customers a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,100 locations in 500 cities and 88 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. Regus was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information please visit: http://www.regus.com
To download a copy of the full report please visit http://www.regus.presscentre.com
Press contacts Julia Gaynor Affect +1-212-398-9680 regus@affect.com [1] Marketing Week, Pulling in the same direction, Digital Strategy Supplement, May 2011 [2] CMA project- Case study results, Itracks, May 26th 2011
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