Gaining competitive advantage through the analysis of customers' social networks

Abstract

Recently, companies have become interested in understanding customers ' social networks -and gaining competi ti ve advantage through this understanding. Analysis of social interacti ons can potenti ally provide great value! For example, Social Network Analysis (SNA) in the telecommunicati ons industry provides insights into customers ' relati onships with each other, which can help drive customer retenti on, growth and acquisiti on acti viti es, as well as giving operators signifi cant competi ti ve advantage. In this paper, the authors describe several ways in which SNA can provide competi ti ve advantages to companies in diff erent industries. We also describe the challenges to realizing this potenti al value and some ways in which technology can help overcome obstacles. We also provide case study examples describing the ways in which companies gain competi ti ve advantage through SNA. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice Introducti on to Social Network Analysis (SNA)Historical role of SNA SNA is the study of relationships and infl uence within a network of individuals. This is a very broad notion and, indeed, SNA has existed as a tool in the social sciences for more than a century. Historically, SNA focuses on identifying the critical individuals within some organizational structure, and identifying the various roles of these individuals in controlling the information fl ow and decision process within this organization. 1 To perform SNA, one needs to identify the individuals and then defi ne a measure of strength for the relationship between any two individuals. There is a very broad range of measures that have been used. Some of these are: fi nancial transactions, messages, time spent on phone, time spent in live meetings,

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