Recently Sprinklr asked me how companies today are in trouble if they're not keeping up with social disruption. Which led me to consider:  What makes a company smart when it comes to being social?

Answer:  Smart companies recognize three things...

Customers' social expectations continue to rise.More and more consumers and B2B buyers are contacting brands through social media. Brands that fail to meet social expectations risk alienating a large portion of customers.

Offering social support to your customers brings valuable insight -and can help or hurt your brand depending on how you do it.Our customers give and get help from each other on social platforms. If you listen in and listen carefully, it's a tremendous source of insight to provide a better experience and a better product.

The changing role of marketing means you can't afford to ignore social selling.Recent ITSMA research shows 85 percent of B2B buyers use social media during the purchase process. Smart marketers begin discussions with buyers on their own terms and in the social environments where buyers seek information.

For more on this topic, please see my article in Sprinklr's new Social@Scale Journal, available for download here.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section or via Twitter @KarMWalker