Despite being only a few years old Social Media is a phenomenon that has transformed the world we live in. Organisations now have a new medium to deal with, a medium that has enhanced some businesses and impaired, if not totally devastated others. This has also resulted in the creation of a number of new opportunities, thanks to reduced barriers to entry and the global reach of the Internet. The presentation will focus on three waves of technology that have led to where we are today, namely computerisation, the Internet and finally Social Media. We will discuss how these waves have impacted Competitive Advantage and also how they have been brought to bear on local businesses. JCC are pleased to present Owen Cutajar, a technology consultant who has worked with a number of organisations helping them make best use of ICT at both a strategic and a tactical level. Having a background in both technology and business spheres Owen has been able to bridge the gap between the two disciplines enabling him to bring technology into the boardroom and strategic intent to technology teams.

1. Owen Cutajar Social Media and its Impact on Competitive Advantage

2. Introductions 20 years experience in technology MBA from Heriott-Watt On-Island since 1999 Day job: Enterprise IT Passion for blogging/Social Media Cofounded IOM Social Media Club Twitter: @OwenC www.facebook.com/OwenCutajar Email: owen@cutajar.net

3. Topics to Cover

4. Sustainable Competitive Advantage Larger Market Uniqueness Cost Smaller Market

5. Cost Leadership Being the cheapest option on the market through: Improving processes Economies of scale Access to raw materials Vertical Integration Access to capital High level of expertise Efficient distribution channels

6. Differentiation Strategy Unique product or service Access to cutting-edge research Highly skilled and creative development team Corporate reputation for quality Strong sales team Leaders in innovation

7. Focus Strategy Concentration on a narrow segment Within segment implements cost advantage or differentiation High degree of customer loyalty Customers ready to pay more Multiple niche strategy

8. The Impact of Technology Multitude of benefits including: Automation Management of information Reductions in operational costs Monitoring and Reporting Communication networks with suppliers/partners Interaction with customers

9. Definitions ofSocial Media?

10. Social Media and Cost Leadership Low advertising and PR costs Reduced cost of creating content & conversations Lowering cost of product design by listening to the network Lower customer services cost

11. Social Media & Differentiation Effective way to build a brand “voice” Ability to accurately target and dialogue with potential customers Tap into passionate fan base Analytics on audience Creation of viral content

12. Social Media & Niche Markets Provides global reach The rise of micro-targeting Creates viable niches which wouldn’t otherwise exist Creating communities Minimal cost

13. Practical advice from Starbucks Whenever Starbucks identifies a problem or opportunity, it responds in one or more of the following four ways: Amplify: As Starbucks identifies trends or something its customers seem to like, Starbucks amplifies whatever it is to help bring it to the surface and increase visibility and enthusiasm. Context-ify: Back in 2004, an e-mail was going around claiming that Starbucks had refused to supply free product to GIs serving in Iraq. Many people believed it, got pretty angry and forwarded the message to all their friends. Unfortunately, the message was false. By context-ifying the message, Starbucks revealed the other side of the story--check it out yourself on snopes.com. Change: If it's broke, fix it. MyStarbucksIdea.com actively solicits constructive criticism and ideas to improve its business and gather suggestions for products, services and projects. Ignore:You gotta respond? No, sometimes it's best to ignore, especially when it appears you're being provoked into a response or fight. It's easier to ignore things when you can put them into their proper context; for example, if your primary critics are a Facebook Group with 82 members out of the 400 million-plus Facebook accounts, you have little to worry about.

14. Roadmap to Maturity

15. A question of survival About Online Markets: “Networked markets are beginning to self-organize faster than the companies that have traditionally served them. Thanks to the web, markets are becoming better informed, smarter, and more demanding of qualities missing from most business organizations.” Source: The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual (Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Seals, David Weinberger)

16. Questions?

17. Contact and Credits Where to find me Email: owen@cutajar.net Twitter: @owenc Facebook: Search for “Owen Cutajar” Additional reading The 10 Stages of Social Media Integration in Business http://tinyurl.com/jcc01 On Competition (Michael Porter) http://tinyurl.com/jcc02