The increasing number of consumers using social media has made businesses to use social media as a marketing tool in an attempt to capture new audiences and strengthen their ties with the existing customers. The social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram and the high level of social media users is not a surprise to most business owners because of the exponential growth in the popular social media outlets. According to Singla and Durga (2015), the social media platform has created a wider interaction field for business competition. Being a powerful tool, tax service organizations use it to increase chances of success. Many organizations in the tax service industry have been left in in a state of uncertainty due to failed social media strategies and the magnitude of resources required carrying a successful marketing campaign. The organizations need to focus on developing social media strategies that would be successful in the long-run and give the company a competitive edge over others in the market.

Organizations such as Deloitte and PricewaterCoopers (PwC) that are in the tax service industry should use social media for public relations. The firms can use the social media platform to spread information that includes press releases, breaking news, pricing and new launches (Singla & Durga, 2015). Besides, some can take a step and use the platform to interact with the customers. With this in the company’s plan, the top management should engage with and respond to what the consumers say on the social media. Since social listening happens in real time, the management can closely monitor their conversation with the customers and take immediate actions (Singla & Durga, 2015). Therefore, the firm will gain a competitive edge over others in the market by being most reactive to social signals. Moreover, these firms should make sure that they use the insights before their competitors.

Second, the tax service organizations should have the right staff taking care of social listening. For the company to be as reactive as possible, they need to monitor the various social channels at all time. Similarly, the firms need to create a positive representation of their business by developing good social media accounts. It is important for individuals that monitor different social channels to have in-depth knowledge of the services offered and the social media (Nord, Paliszkiewicz & Koohang, 2014). This will help the organization to find valuable information that would be used as a basis for strategic action.

Third, the firms should use the social media as a platform to resolve problems. In situations when customers have complaints, it is easier for them to voice them via the social media website. Therefore, it is important for the organization to turn negative situations into something positive by responding to the issues quickly. A fast solution to the customer’s complaint would win loyal customers and help the organization to offer more tax services to other potential customers (Nord, Paliszkiewicz, & Koohang, 2014). This is because they would have seen how the organization handles customers’ problems with utmost responsiveness.

Fourth, the organizations should use the social media sites to market their business by driving the message to the public. With the existence of accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, the firms can professionally present the message to the customers and potential employees. Similarly, they can use the social media to demonstrate their high level of customer service (Turban, Strauss, & Lai, 2015). They can talk about the quality of the services offered and stress the unique after sales services. Since the social media platform is an ideal place to promote loyalty incentives and sales, the organizations should take the chance and interact with the customers by promising discounts.

Finally, the tax service organizations should ensure that their social listening is cross-functional. Precisely, all the departments should use the insights the organization gathers from the social media websites since it will help them to maximize the impact. For instance, the sales department, marketing or service development department could use information on how the customers are using the services in different but equal ways (Turban, Strauss, & Lai, 2015). The organization will use the insights effectively by communicating to the right people on time. Therefore, for the organization to gain a competitive advantage, all departments should monitor the social listening process.

In conclusion, the use of social media to gain a competitive advantage is not something new. The well-accepted management wisdom used by most organization implies that a loyal customer is more likely to purchase from your company than those that have not developed this level of relationship. The first development of the social media outlets and the need to gain a competitive edge have forced tax service organization to focus on building relationships with the customers and establish trust positions. Organizations will gain a competitive advantage when they hire qualified staff with knowledge about both the business and social media, engage in public relations, resolve problems quickly, market the business by promoting loyalty incentives and adopt the cross-functional strategy.

References

Nord, J. H., Paliszkiewicz, J., & Koohang, A. (2014). Using social technologies for competitive advantage: Impact on organizations and higher education. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 55(1), 92-104.

Singla, M. L., & Durga, A. (2015). How social media gives you competitive advantage. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 8, 90.

Turban, E., Strauss, J., & Lai, L. (2015). Social Commerce: Marketing, Technology and Management. Springer.

Do you need an Original High Quality Academic Custom Essay?