Customers are in a stronger position today as anyone can voice opinion through social media that enables near-real-time responses.

Businesses now hire staff to monitor and respond to virtually everything because of the increase in volumes of activity. They also do not want to risk having inconsistent responses or have staff that does not know how to risk mitigation.

Correct handling of interactions can help increase the business and improve both customer experience and relevance.

"Calculating influence based on how many Twitter followers someone has, or friends on Facebook or re-tweets is only the beginning," advises Hornby. "What you are really after is an understanding of how many people took action based on a recommendation or negative posting from a customer."

SAS notes that businesses can use SAS Social Media Analytics to identify connections that exist among online consumers and how much conversation flows between an individual and his/her network.