A new study by McKinsey has foundthat blogs, social networks and online video are the Web 2.0 tools which are providing the most benefits to compnaies looking to engage consumers.

The company conducted an online survey among 1,695 executives from a wide variety of industries and regions, and with a range of different job functions.

It found that 69% of participants regarded Web 2.0 as having helped deliver “more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business and higher revenue.”

More specifically, 52% of contributors agreed it had increased the effectiveness of their marketing, most particularly in terms of building awareness, followed by driving loyalty, and increasing consideration and conversion rates.

A further 43% said Web 2.0 played a key part in improving customer satisfaction, falling to 38% for reducing marketing costs, 24% for accelerating the launch of new products, and 22% for establishing more successful innovation programmes.

By media type, 51% of the sample regarded corporate blogs as having aided their efforts to connect with consumers, with 48% saying the same for video-sharing and social networking platforms, and 45% for RSS feeds.

Almost two-thirds of companies in the high-tech and telecoms sector had benefited from using Web 2.0 as a communications medium, falling to 60% in the business, legal and professional services sector, 37% in manufacturing, and 32% for financial services.

The most successful companies were distinguished, McKinsey argued, by the fact they used the growing range of interactive options to aid employee productivity and forge links with customers and suppliers.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 10:06 am and is filed under Internet Marketing, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.