B2B and Social Media
I get a lot of questions about the “appropriateness” of using Social Media techniques for Business to Business (B2B).
Arguments against tapping Social Media in B2B circles range from “we already know all of our customers” to “we have a very technical, specialized product” to “our customers are very conventional,” etc.
But let’s simplify this: are your customers online?
If your customers are online, you should be considering Social Media strategies.
And trust me: your customers are online. They are not faceless corporate drones — they are individuals; they have Internet access; they surf the web; they use Google; they do research on the best practices and products in their industry. Will they find you online — in places beyond your website?
You already know all your customers? Then you must know where they tend to hang out online: you should make sure that they find your content there…
You have a very technical product? Well, there are a ton of techie types who use del.icio.us for social bookmarking. Do a search on the del.icio.us site for the tags and terms related to your industry. If, say, 500 people have saved relevant content, you can reach out directly to them to show off your own content, relying on the context of their proven interest to ward off spamminess…
My point is simple. The world of business is increasingly moving online. And businesses are comprised of people. Find the people important to your business and make sure that your company’s best assets are found in all the relevant places.
… Or am I missing something?
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In B2B the buying decision is made by a committee, oh I mean a ‘community’. The average number of people in a complex sale can easily top 20 – and they consume a lot of information and have opinions. Since common interests are the new demographics, this is a perfect opportunity for social media. The RFP process, for those that go that route, has lots of opportunities. Since people decide emotionally, but defend rationally its all about consensus.
Maybe we could produce a social media proposal offering. What do you think?
We do quite a bit of B2B social media work and in many cases it’s easier to manage and measure. From a metrics and sales perspective you’re usually dealing with a finite audience and a well tuned sales channel with longer lead times.
Josh,
We currently send e-newsletters to our existing customer base using constant contact and run a banner ad in an online trade publication, but how do we more effectively target new B2B aside from doing “cold calling” or direct mail?
At the moment we do not have an e-commerce module on our site and our orders are processed through a very efficient customer service staff.
Open to any and all input.
Thanks!
Todd,
This is SO true. OK, I run a tiny non profit arts organization in Northern Vermont. We serve a poor and hungry county of under served rural folks who really have very little discretionary income – including myself.
But we have found that even those who don’t seem to be able to afford to eat still sign up for our programs and our financial assistance programs on line. It’s true, even those on dialup. It appears that almost everyone is out their googling.
Best,
Steve
” Find the people important to your business and make sure that your company’s best assets are found in all the relevant places.”
But in a genuine way. Businesses that are “social” but are constantly selling are annoying. Businesses that are there because they really want to be responsive, add value, build community … that’s altogether enriching.
Good call. I;d say ‘Social’ is *even more* effective in B2B. Whilst the communities may be smaller, they’re definitely better defined and more enagaging in terms of a thirst for content and discussion. Social channels are more helpful to me if I’m looking to upgrade AppSproket v2 than if I’m buying a can of beans, no?
Good call. I;d say ‘Social’ is *even more* effective in B2B. Whilst the communities may be smaller, they’re definitely better defined and more enagaging in terms of a thirst for content and discussion. Social channels are more helpful to me if I’m looking to upgrade AppSproket v2 than if I’m buying a can of beans, no?
Anyone who knows me or has read my blog knows what I’m about to say here…I just don’t understand how people could question the use of social media for B2B marketing. They are most likely the same folks who didn’t want a website or to use email because it was a “fad”. If you are in a B2B marketplace, particularly tech, and you haven’t incorporated social media into your marketing you are missing out on a cost-effective means of building a loyal community and generating leads.
You aren’t missing anything Todd, it’s the folks who ask this question who are the ones missing the point.
/kff
My experience with B2B social media clients is that they tend to have trouble with the personal voice. Sure, that is very common with any kind of enterprise, but I find B2B clients quite stuck with their old way of meeting clients (or as a country manager for a top 5 laptop vendor put it: I know what my clients want – donuts in the morning, beer in the afternoon).
Because of that I think working with B2B clients can be more rewarding – you can simply make a bigger impact.
I remember a recent Forrester research report that highlighted that a majority of B2B decision makers were gong online to find information but only 25-30% of the marketers were using social media. I believe part of this is comfort level in using tried and true methods – email, banner ads and DM – to drive leads vs. new ways of communicating – twitter, social networks, etc.
And the excuse of “we know our customers” or “we already talk to them” doesn’t hold true. If that were the case, then companies wouldn’t need websites, right? =)
I’m not sure if they still do, but Oracle has produced a podcast aimed at existing customers (all B2B) talking about everything from recently discovered bugs to uses to which their software can be put that you may have never considered. The show put me to sleep but was probably riveting for Oracle database administrators. I’ve always found B2B to be MORE aligned with social media that B2C companies, not less.