So much buzz about social media marketing (Facebook, Ning, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, LinkedIn), it’s almost tough to separate practical information from the hype.
In reading dozens of blogposts on the topic, I recently came across a post by Mac MacIntosh who writes the Sales Lead Insights blog that made me go “hmmm….” His post looked at the study done by Forrester that was in response to the question, Which of the following sources of information impact your decision making process?”
And here are the answers:
- Peers and colleagues – 84%
- Vendor, industry and trade Web sites – 69%
- Your direct vendor salesperson – 69%
- Technology or business magazines – 66%
- Consultants, VARs and SIs – 65%
- Industry trade shows or conferences (in person) – 59%
- Forums, online communities and social networks – 45%
- Industry analyst firms – 45%
- E-mail or electronic newsletters – 41%
- Web events or virtual trade shows – 40%
- Interactive media: podcasts, video, online demos – 30%
- Blogs – 24%
From that, he says a story in eWeek about this research states, “…while business buyers may be using social networks and other tools in their enterprise and personal lives, Web 2.0 social technology isn’t affecting their decisions when it comes to purchasing business solutions.”
Mac doesn’t offer his own conclusion, but instead asks if we agree, so here’s my take—
People do business with those they know, like, and trust. I know, it’s an old, overused statement, but it still holds true. I believe this is the major reason why social media for B2B (or even B2C) has so much value. It started with relationship selling and has now been expanded into “relationship marketing” through social media. And, given nearly half those asked said their decisions were impacted by social media, really the newest entrant on the list, how can that be ignored?
Using a B2C example, the Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, Twitters constantly about his customers, vendors, and employees. One of his latest tweets said, “Busy busy day! Didn’t notice any @Zappos employees doing the robot dance at the office today – http://bit.ly/zrobot.” That got me curious, so I checked out the link. Pretty funny and I got to see some of the employees and their reactions. Looks like a fun place to work and fun to do business with.
For a B2B example, look to Lucidera, a software company specializing in business intelligence. They leverage LinkedIn, Ning, YouTube, and Twitter. Lucidera takes the opportunity to share information and product examples, and also maintains a BI community forum. Look these guys up and see how broadly they’ve used social media.
I’ll bet you’re seeing some good B2B examples as well. If the same survey is taken again in the next couple years, I think you’ll see social media rise, possibly to as high as second place. It’s hard to top those we already know, like, and trust!
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Terri, I agree (at least in regard to B-to-B) that social marketing has the potential to influence the position a company and its products or services in the minds of prospects occupies in the mind of its prospects and customers.
Research is just starting to become available that shows social media is effective in this influencing role. Many marketers call this “branding.”
I’ve also been searching for evidence that B2B social marketing can be directly linked to leads or sales. Unfortunately, all I’ve been able to find so far are a few anecdotal examples, rather than any quantifiable data.
Based on that lack of quantifiable data, one could draw the conclusion that there are more direct (efficient?) marketing tactics for driving leads and sales.
If you or your blog readers have any quantifiable data that proves the link between B-to-B marketing via social media and the generation of sales leads and the conversion of those leads into sales, I sure would appreciate learning about it.
Thanks,
M. H. (Mac) McIntosh
McIntosh@Sales-Lead-Experts.com
Hi Mac,
In the B2B sale, I think it’s useful to compare social media with offline networking.
Offline networking activities can’t be judged solely on their relationship to this quarter’s revenue. However, and especially in big-ticket sales, relationships are crucial to success. They take months or years to develop, because they have to do with establishing trust and communication between people who do not intrinsically have reason to trust each other.
Not every B2B sale benefits from a personal network of connections. Likewise, the role of social media in the B2B sales process will vary greatly from company to company. It may not be 100% about this quarter’s direct lead generation.
Obviously, it makes sense to invest sales and marketing resources into a portfolio — invest the lion’s share in short term tactics to find people who are in pain today. Investments in other relationships may take years to develop and won’t necessarily unfold along a plan I can control.
Christie