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Social Media: Three Resulting Trends in B2B Purchasing
May 20, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Social media is great for sales people, but smart customers are figuring out how to use it too. Here are three ways that social media is putting tools in the customer’s tool belt:
Social Media Multiplies Customers' Solution Options
It used to be just the company website; now potential customers check out vendors on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. And you can tell quite a bit about a company by the way it handles it’s social media.
Is it all about the company or all about the customer?
A savvy company knows that social media is all about helping customers and prospective customers. Ask: Do they offer articles, how-to guides, and information that will help me in my job? No, not information that will “help” me decide to buy from them, but will help me do my job?
Is there engagement or is this just another broadcast media?
Potential buyers want to see companies engaged with their social network fans. If I go to a social media page that’s been around for a year and see no conversations, comments, or attempts at engagement, I know that’s a company that only sees social media as a free broadcast medium.
Are they there at all?
These days, a presence in social media is a check mark--a given. It’s something that's required, like good quality. A company that makes good use of multiple social networks can come across as a more viable option than competitors many times it’s size. I know companies that are $5 million in size leading discussions in LinkedIn Groups, offering free white papers through Facebook, and having conversations with prospects about the prospect’s specific problems through Twitter. Their message: We care. Compare that to a competitor in their space with just several hundred million in sales and no presence on social media at all. Their message: We don’t need to do anything. Which company do you want to work with?
Companies don’t have to be everywhere, engaged with possible customers, and offering terrific ideas and assistance for free, but if they aren’t, they sure are at a disadvantage because that’s what customers like.
The big question that social media research helps answer is: Are they capable?
Prospects UseSocial Media to Reference Check Suppliers
Gone are the days when the company website was the only place to find information on a company. On the company website every company is an industry leader with best in class product, reliability, quality, delivery, and customer service. Social media allows a more balanced perspective to emerge.
Social networks allow professionals to talk with each other.
Regardless of where you are, your peers are online and interested in exchanging ideas and offering advice. I log onto LinkedIn every day and these are some of the groups talking about the industry we’re in:
- The PCB Designers Group (9,600 members);
- The PCB Forum Group (6,100 members);
- The RF and Microwave Community Group (16,500 members); and
- The Electronics Manufacturing Group (13,000 members).
And people trust each other online, a lot more than they do companies. There has been quite a bit of research the past couple of years (much of it by the Nielsen company) that should be an eye opener for many companies:
- Fourteen percent of people trust a company’s advertising;
- Forty percent trust what a company says on it’s website; and
- Seventy percent will trust an online review of a product or service by a complete stranger.
What lessons can be gleaned from this information? Well, first, it means that companies should be monitoring social media for mentions of their name. The only thing worse than having someone talking about a bad experience with a company is for that company to be blissfully unaware that someone is talking about a bad experience.
The second lesson is that companies should be using social media as an option for customers to voice their opinions--good or bad--because then the company can demonstrate it’s responsiveness and salvage the situation.
You can’t win if you don’t play.
The big question answered by social media to reference check suppliers is: Does the company do as they say?
Customers Use Social Media to Preview the Customer Experience
By using social media, a prospective customer can develop a relationship with a vendor or supplier that isn’t purely sales based, or based on a relationship with a single salesperson.Prospective customers can see what a company knows about the customer’s problem areas and whether or not they are interested in sharing that expertise and helping them.
Prospective customers can find out what a company’s opinions and views are on important industry trends. The customer can see whether or not the company is thinking about where the industry is headed and how they thinkit will affect everyone.
Prospective customers can see how the company responds to questions and complaints. In a lot of ways, customers can “test run” the company’s tech support capabilities and overall responsiveness.
The big question a prospect can get answered here is: Do the company have the whole package?
I have always maintained that social media presents companies with a wonderful opportunity to preview how great it is going to be for a prospect to be your customer. Whether or not you take advantage of opportunities like this when they come along is up to you.Bruce Johnston is a sales consultant specializing in social media. He has over 25 years' experience in high-tech sales and management, most recently as general manager of a PCB manufacturer. He can be reached through his website www.practicalsmm.com or through his profile on LinkedIn.