Dell’s Social Evolution: From a Corporate Blog to a Social Business

Topics in this article

Seven years ago, Dell’s social business strategy began with listening and quickly evolved to the launch of a little corporate blog known as Direct2Dell. Since then, we’ve been dedicated to evolving our social strategy because we knew that cultivating a strong program would pave the way for future success. Our social progress was recently recognized by the MIT Sloan Management Review in their 2013 Research Report, “Social Business: Shifting Out of First Gear.” The report delves into why some businesses are reaping value from social business and why others are holding back. Dell is cited as a prime example of how companies can capitalize on social business opportunities and reach social business maturity over time.

Our experience in building a social business uniquely positioned us to offer our customers and partners social business solutions to help their businesses grow while improving our own business offering. Our IdeaStorm channel, launched in 2007, allows us to collaborate directly with our customers online and has led to the implementation of more than 500 new product ideas. Our Social Media Command Center, launched in 2010, has helped us monitor online conversations in real-time and more deeply understand and address our customer’s needs. We’ve integrated social media into the sales and marketing functions of our organization, generating significant value across the entire customer lifecycle and have leveraged social insights to better understand broader market dynamics. In December 2012, we took our social business strategy to the next level with the launch of Dell Social Media Services, which trains other companies on how to be an effective social enterprise.

These are just a handful of examples that depict the innovative work we’ve done over the past seven years. We are committed to building on our social business foundation, providing value to our customers and partners, leveraging insights, and creating connections. Check out more of the milestones on our journey here and below. Here’s to the continued evolution of our social business strategy as we work to leverage our own social media expertise to give our customers the power to do more. 

Dell’s Social Business Evolution:

About the Author: Richard Margetic

Topics in this article