Modern Day Cio

The role of the modern day CIO demands not only knowledge of business or just simply technological skills, a hybrid of the two. The CIO must be able to use technology to improve his business in a variety of ways. One of the quickest growing fields in terms of customer recruitment and interaction is social media. Having a strong social media presence is paramount in today’s industry. Companies are now more than ever relying on word-of-mouth to gain/keep business. People love to rave about their purchases; it is just our young culture to brag. Social media posts can spread like wildfire. If a customer has a negative experience at a store, with less than 160 characters they can tarnish a brands reputation. It is the role of the CIO to find out how they can best remedy these situations and prevent the plague of a bad reputation. One possible way they can do this is to have a dedicated response team constantly scanning for bad experiences, attempting to get a second chance by talking to the customer and finding out exactly what the issue is. For example, at McDonalds this past summer I was charged and received the wrong order, after sending a 15-word tweet I was contacted by their customer service. After discussion of the issue they sent me coupons for multiple free meals and drinks, you could say I was more than satisfied with the experience! In addition to protecting the brand, social media can be used in many positive ways. Interacting with customers is a great way to keep their business and make them feel more like family than just a consumer. For example re-tweeting and replying whenever a customer tweets a positive statement about the brand. Customers are more likely to return when they establish a connection with the brand. Many studies show that it is much cheaper to retain current customers than to recruit new ones. Moving on from social media, it is the role of the CIO to implement technology in the most efficient way possible. While it would...