The part centered on identifying the customer value of social media fans requires a committed undertaking of the business itself, whether by using social survey tools to apply to its community for answers on purchase habits, or matching existing databases to social community data, or incorporating social media into media mix attribution modeling.

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Unilever, for instance, is using agent-based modeling software to analyze the purchasing and social patterns of 150, 000 customers who use Swiss online grocer LeShop.ch.

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