Employee advocacy ~ 7 min

Tata Consultancy Services Doubles Its Conversion Rate Thanks to Employee Advocacy

Learn how Tata Consultancy Services has harnessed the social media savvy of its own employees, saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, and doubled its conversion rate — all thanks to an effective Employee Advocacy program.

tata consultancy services

Discover their Employee Advocacy journey

Tata Consultancy Services is a leader in digital transformation, with a global network of innovation and delivery centers. Based out of Mumbai, TCS has over 436,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 46 countries; the company is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India.

They’ve built a global reputation as trailblazers in their field, using innovative solutions to guide high-tech transformation initiatives. One area where TCS saw potential for growth, however, was in online lead generation. They knew that the enthusiasm and expertise of its large employee base could be harnessed to promote the brand and interact with potential clients . . . but how?

Their Challenge: How to structure and maintain a lead-generating Employee Advocacy program

TCS knew they had a huge employee base, and that they needed to find a way to leverage that network to create positive brand awareness and generate leads online. Generally speaking, their salesforce was very connected via social media, and they saw the potential to get leadership more active on LinkedIn—what was lacking however, was relevant TCS content, as well as a standardized way to track progress and measure results.

The employees were there, active on social media, but they weren’t taking full advantage of social media as a sales tool because of these challenges. TCS reached the conclusion that a structured Employee Advocacy program could help turn its enthusiastic online salesforce into powerful advocates for the company, and help increase the conversion rate as a result. But what would such an EA program entail?

Thanks to the program we had a 10% conversation rate, which is an amazing ratio.Digital Media Strategist

Our Solution: A user-friendly, mobile-first platform loaded with engagement features, data analytics, and customized consulting

TCS needed an intuitive employee advocacy platform that its employees could use on a regular basis—and that didn’t require extensive training, and that was backed up by consulting and on-demand customer service. The program that we designed together with them included the following:

Engagement and Content features

TCS wanted to increase their engagement levels as well as their content offering. The Sociabble platform chosen by TCS includes engagement features like a built-in engine for challenges and quizzes to boost interaction with posts, backed up by an employee advocacy mobile app that allows employees to participate on the go—a crucial element in India, where mobile phones are extremely popular as business tools.

Additionally, a new content strategy of 70% tech-based company content, and 30% user generated content, which is usually industry-specific and targeted via a specific channel, has been incorporated.

This new content mix ensures a steady stream of content that is actually relevant to potential clients, both at the global and local level. Sociabble’ content-related channels and pinpoint audience targeting help the TCS content to reach exactly the right people.

Data Analytics and ROI : how to double conversion rate

TCS knew that data analysis was key to maximizing the program’s potential. Which is why the platform also comes with a full analytics package, capable of supplying post data on reach and number of clicks, which allows them to track the sources of leads, and thus determine which kinds of content are most effective and which employees are top performers.

This is enhanced by a gauge for equivalent paid media, so that sponsors can see how much they are saving in terms of impressions and exposure. TCS has found this feature to be unique in the competitive landscape, and it allows them to see exactly how much money is being saved with Employee Advocacy vs. a traditional marketing spend.

The Paid Media saving is a very good feature, which we could not find anywhere else in the competitor’s landscape.Digital Media Strategist

tata consultancy services doubles its conversion rate

Consulting and Customer Success Management

TCS also knew that training and ongoing support were key factors for success. To ensure that they had both, their Employee Advocacy platform is backed up by Sociabble’s team of consultants and Customer Success Managers. TCS wanted a platform that was intuitive and easy to use, and together with Sociabble, a training program was created that can get employees familiar with the basics of the platform in under 20 minutes.

And thanks to Sociabble’s Mumbai office, there is assistance available on the same time zone, which cuts down on delays when tech or strategic help is needed.

The Transition: From brand awareness to sales enablement

At first, the initiative was positioned as a brand awareness project, designed to get employees more active and sharing online. This step was important to familiarize them with the general concepts of Employee Advocacy, as well as the platform itself—and the TCS employees rose to the occasion, sharing content and encouraging online conversations around the brand. Once there was an army of skilled employees sharing online, however, a pivot could take place: the focus has been shifted to sales enablement, with TCS salespeople actively using the platform to generate leads and follow through to create sales.

Content is supplied, categorized by channel, and shared thanks to targeting with exactly the right audience, which in turn attracts precisely the type of potential customers they are looking for. And thanks to the analytics, TCS is able to determine which content and techniques worked the best, and build on that.

The Results: Media dollars saved and a conversion rate that’s doubled

TCS was able to deploy its Employee Advocacy platform quickly, in just under a month, with full support of the Sociabble Customer Success team. And the results of TCS’s efforts are impressive, thanks in no small part to the enthusiasm and expertise of the company’s employees, who have adapted extremely well to the newEmployee Advocacy platform and strategy.

In equivalent paid media, TCS was able to see that they saved $200,000 in marketing spend for online exposure thanks to the Employee Advocacy program, in just the first three years. This has been achieved due to a variety of factors, such as high adoption of the platform, effective use of gamification, and the recruitment of senior staff members to get involved.

And thanks to Sociabble’s analytics package, together with Adobe Analytics, they are able to track the number of downloads by region and the amount of time people spend on their website thanks to the program. And as a result, they have seen their conversion rate double, from their previous average of between 3% and 5%, to a conversion rate of 10%.

The Conclusion: Employees truly are the best advocates for a brand!

TCS’s experience with Employee Advocacy as an international consulting actor clearly demonstrates that by harnessing the expertise and enthusiasm of their employees, and by pairing it with a powerful platform and a smart strategy, brand awareness can be created and leads can be generated in a way that was not possible before.

By taking the time to show employees that the tool can help them to boost their digital presence and enhance their digital profile, they are able to change the way they see the platform, leading to fantastic results, for individual employees and the company alike. If you’d like to learn more about how Sociabble can help your company with Employee Advocacy, schedule a free demo today.

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