How to Benchmark Your Social Media Analysis with Next-Generation Consulting Methods?
ABOUT BENCHMARKING
According to the IFAC publication of 2013, benchmarking is a common technique applied at the company, sector, and international levels. It is essentially a continuous improvement tool allowing a more formalised and disciplined application of search for excellence through operational improvement (Passos & Haddad, 2013). In summary, benchmarking is the essential step of research in a broad spectrum.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
One important factor that makes benchmarking highly crucial to market research is its feature to satisfy the need for a consistent set of data for the initial stages.
3rd and 4th issues of the İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Journal of 2003 suggests that to achieve superior performance in data collection, “identification, measurement and comparison of key business processes with others” is required. Therefore, inclusive benchmarking practice is a substantially important step for consulting projects (Demirdöğen & Küçük, 2003).
Besides, one of the most critical features of benchmarking is its flexibility upon different variables indicating the outcomes of practices. Along with the rise of next-generation consulting methods, new practices that originated from the troubled past is now determining the future of fundamental steps such as benchmarking. The main motivation behind this article is to reflect the change of benchmarking practice upon advancing consulting nature of the current business world.
Note: Benchmarking and the data analysis tasks are traditionally given to the young members of the consulting team; thus, it is necessary to understand the future of consulting by using the new methodologies by new consultants.
Management Consulting is dying! Long live next-generation consultants.
In this article, the benchmark outcomes of the social media analysis conducted by Dogma Alares will be shared in a simplified form. At the very beginning of the social media analysis, there was no designated path to conduct a benchmark; in fact, it was encouraged to develop a different research method. Similar to the origins of the many other projects, the stress of ambiguity caused a simple structure of flexible steps. After a long development and transformation of the benchmarking structure, the whole process came down to 6 main steps to take until the delivery of the practice.
- DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF YOUR BENCHMARK
i. Draw a strict line of your research field
One of the most challenging steps at the beginning was drawing a strict line of the research field. In this case, determining the social media channels to focus on was the first step. After a collective decision on the platforms where the company intends to take place, brief research on other firms’ social media activity conducted for a double-check to consolidate the accuracy of the judgment.
ii. Assess the actors in the market
The second major independent variable of the benchmark is the company types performing in the common market. That’s why seven global and seven local companies were selected to provide a wide range of factors variety to the analysis.
2. CONDUCT AN UNBIASED OBSERVATION OF THE MARKET
After the determination of the companies to evaluate, a broad work needs to start to divide the company names by their social media practices.
i. Eliminate potential biases
To prevent all types of biases, these activities were evaluated channel by channel. To observe the trend of social media activities and eliminate biases caused by exceptions, the last 20 posts in each social media account were taken into evaluation.
ii. Incorporate diverse team
Due to the multifactorial nature of the research process, participation of multiple next-generation skill sets in the benchmark analysis made a significant difference from the classical practices. Concurrently with these actions, experienced consultants’ suggestions in the associated fields were taken into account. Thus, the risk of missing out on important features to look for can be eliminated. The flexible organisational relations of Dogma Alares made it possible to communicate and multiple criticisms and ideas on modifications.
3. CREATE SUBDIVISIONS FOR DIFFERENT CONTENT TYPES
To end up with purposeful data, each post has been gathered under different categories. The list of categories was created in this step not to miss any important type of content. One crucial aspect was the creation of a specific title for every different post type. Creating the content bundles is a critical step to have a strong basis for solid future classifications and more straightforward inferences.
i. Utilise the diversity of consultants with different focus areas
This step requires an open and transparent discussion to end up with a consistent structure in the practice’s future. For this reason, a clear and sustainable connection with other strategy consultants experienced in the marketing field who supports the progress with more innovative technological methods.
4. COME UP WITH AN APPLICABLE JOINT SUCCESS CRITERIA
There are many ways to measure success in social media analysis; however, those approaches cannot be applied to every platform on the internet. Calculating all data under the same equation would only unify the results. In dealing with many variables from many different sources, the value of each engagement option should be analysed and carefully placed in the equation.
i. Attribute the role and importance of the criteria
In this case, all social media platforms had their equation with similar approaches. However, while this approach gives a sketchy overview of the success of content, many other variables may be affecting these results; thus, we were not radically committed to the success rate of each post.
ii. Systematise the practice by toolmaking
Calculation of success criteria through a benchmark tool is a solid way to build up a meaningful analysis. It is also very crucial to create tools with the motivation of sustainability and openness for improvement work. So that a non-textbook MVP practice took place with the participation of the development value and the innovation team in progress, in this manner, keeping the tool in a template form in the archive of the organisation will end up with an improved and never-ending evolution of outcomes.
5. REGULATE THE CASES WITH A DESIGN APPROACH
After filling up the analysis tool, results need to be collected in a more transparent working field. The simplification of the analysis outcomes had to be in a form to be presented clearly.
i. Present the outcomes with key features
For this reason, the creation of a simple chart that reflects the detailed information of the post and success rate is essential. Along with visuals and the chart, the proposed post type can be examined clearly during the benchmark presentation.
ii. Construct a decision-making strategy
The marketing team in the company designated meetings to vote for proposals, and the approved ones were separated in a different document. The general impact of the comparative approach in this step is to extracting value as much as possible out of the process. As known, the comparative viewpoint is a classic feature of the benchmarking process; however, next-generation consulting brings the value of the outcome to the centre of the practice not to underestimate the achievement of excellence.
The Service Design Team of Dogma Alares has undertaken the key decision-maker role in this process. Factors such as applicability, adaptation and prioritisation were evaluated plainly by the Service Design Team; thus, the direction of the practice became clearer. A successful combination of the comparative approach with the expertise of the top-level Service Design consultants generated a consistent decision mechanism.
6. PLAN THE EXERCISE OF OUTCOMES
The last and most important step of this practice is the application process.
i. Plan the application steps upon the time variable
In this step, flexible long and short-run plans need to be determined.
ii. Coordinate the progress
It is vital to communicate constantly with the marketing team members to follow their tasks and assign new ones without delays.
iii. Determine the priorities
Prioritising the benchmark outcomes upon their importance and applicability is a crucial step to implement new policies in a more coordinated way. Following the prioritisation step, a calendar must be formed with due dates and dates of future policies.
Consequently, the comprehensive benchmarking structure, shaped by the pioneering values of the next-generation consulting concept, entirely comes under the strategy consultancy framework with the contributions of other fields. From now, it is up to the project owner to follow the timetable and check outcome impacts.
CONCLUSION
As a recently graduated Strategy Associate, I had a chance to observe the formation of a social media structure of a rapidly growing consulting firm. On my second project in DA, I found myself in a department where I have never been in the decision-maker position before. Eventually, this practice came into existence from the reformist nature of Dogma Alares. As an entry-level employee, I had a chance to obtain the next-generation consulting values while reinforcing my knowledge by practising simultaneously. Re-construction of the social media operations of a company naturally required a broad benchmarking process, and the liberal policies of the next-generation concept, which provokes individuals’ creativity to act freely, made this comprehensive practice possible. While the next-generation values nerve to push projects into interdisciplinary areas made this practice significantly distinct from its traditional equivalents. For this reason, this social media practice was not only a broad benchmarking work, besides it reflects the trends on the future of the management consultancy methods.
REFERENCES:
1. Passos, C. A. S., & Haddad, R. B. B. (2013, September 11). Benchmarking: A tool for
the improvement of production management. Elsevier.
https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1474667016322509?token=2922F857074
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7E634132ADDEE95BACA&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=20210620121131.
2. Demirdöğen, O., & Küçük, O. (2003, October 17). Kıyaslama (Benchmarking) Süreci ve
Ürün Odaklı Kıyaslama'nın İmalatçı İşletmelerde Uygulanmasının Verimliliğe Etkisi.
Dergipark. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/30019.
