Can social media be successful in B2B?
May 6th
Most of the professional marketing forums are clogged with endless debate over questions like “Is Twitter for real?” and “Getting sales leads from Facebook.”
Usually I sit back and let people knock themselves out, but occasionally I join the fray, especially when people make outlandish claims about how social media platforms should be at the heart of every marketing campaign. Poppycock. (Did I actually just use that word? Gentle readers I am turning into a curmudgeon before your eyes).
Here’s a post I made in a heated debate on the viability of social media in B2B (business-to-business, as opposed to B2C — business to consumer) …
Demonstrable B2B results are scant unless you define success as “number of mentions” or “number of hits.” How is it driving top line growth?
Social media has vast opportunities to increase visibility, which hopefully will contribute to brand awareness and growth in the long-term. It also has amazing potential for consumer research. However, I am working on a class presentation and have been stymied coming up with any significant, measurable B2B growth success stories.
Why it’s not catching on
One contributor to this vacuum is the fact that many mainstream B2B companies have been slow to get into it. And why should they? Their customers aren’t pulling them into it, marketing budgets and resources have been slashed to the bone, and the focus is delivering near-term sales results. Let’s face it, a company selling wheels to Chrysler is not going to Twitter its way to success.
Another reason is that the apps to measure and quantify social media contributions are really just emerging. The technology is literally weeks or months old. The channel is not going to get attention until it can be quantified.
Finally, social media depends on the power of community. There are significant hurdles in the B2B world that do not encourage a community of all information, everywhere, all the time. One hurdle is called the SEC. Another is the risk of competitors monitoring the buzz. A third is an entrenched and tightly-controlled communication hierarchy at most major companies. For these reasons, B2B will lag significantly behind B2C in this emerging marketing channel.
Show me the money!
One of the forum participants referenced a site that claimed to have examples of mainstream businesses using social media to increase sales. I explored the link but did not see one viable case study of B2B social media success.
One article claiming “proof” that social media is relevant to B2B cites a niche restaurant site “with more than 1,000 videos posted, 10,000 images, and an average of 300 blog posts per month.” Activity does not necessarily equal economic success.
I’m not a naysayer — I DO SEE POTENTIAL and amazing progress, especially in B2C! It is only a matter of time before we start seeing B2B successes. I only hope professional marketers evangelize based on data, business fundamentals and economic realities, not simply unbridled enthusiasm and hope.
Don’t forget the lessons of the Internet bust. You cannot sustain an economic model based on site hits and video posts.
NOTE: Since I wrote this article, I’ve softened my position in this area after studying what some B2B companies are beginning to accomplish through social media. I wrote a series of articles on this topic, which include the best and worst B2B companies for social media and a post on why companies eventually MUST get into this arena: http://snipurl.com/kt4vm
Most painful marketing mistakes — Ego
May 5th
Part two in a series of blunders I know you can avoid, gentle reader!
One my wisest and favorite teachers would preach, “there is no such thing as a personal weakness — just over-done strengths!” Think about it. It’s nice to be out-going, but over-done, it becomes over-bearing. Tenacious becomes stubborn. Laid-back becomes lazy.
Most business owners have to be self-assured to found and run a company. But over-done, that means arrogance. That can be annoying, but when it impacts a marketing strategy, it can be a disaster. Every successful marketer knows to be successful, you have to push aside your personal agenda and serve the customer.
So, painful mistake number two is thinking your business is all about you.
Marketing isn’t about who you think you are and what you think customers need. Marketing is about who your customers think you are and what they think they need.
Please write that one down. There will probably come a time in the life of every business where you need to be reminded of this!
Time and time again, I hear clients tell me what they want to sell … without really knowing what their customers NEED. And by the way, those needs are changing, probably dramatically in this economic environment. What are you doing about it?
You deserve a lot of credit for what you’ve accomplished in your business. I give you permission to celebrate within your own home. But at work, be humble and put your customers FIRST! Listen, respond. Learn and grow. Most of all, beware of your over-done strengths!
Using Twitter to Connect with Audiences
May 5th
This is a superb introduction to Twitter as a marketing tool. You can advance the slides within this blog.
Using Twitter to Connect with Audiences
View more presentations from Corinne .
Most painful marketing mistakes — Lack of strategy
May 4th
Today I’m beginning a new series on the most painful small business marketing mistakes. Follow me for the next few days and you’ll get the whole picture!
Mistake number one is also the deadliest blunder of them all: NOT HAVING A STRATEGY.
I had lunch with a potential new client the other day. He opened an innovative retail business last year and has spent tens of thousands of dollars on advertising. He’s tried everything — print, radio, TV, Internet, billboards. He’s had sales, promotions, and PR events but can’t seem to move sales.
So I asked him, “Who’s your customer?” He said at first he predicted it would be middle-aged women, but then he noticed mostly couples entering the store. He said senior citizens need his product but he doesn’t know how to target them. He tried ads in the UT student newspaper to appeal to college students but it got him nothing. And he thought locals would frequent the store but has seen people drive in from Kentucky and Alabama, too.
You can see that it’s impossible to have an effective advertising campaign without clearly defining who you’re selling to, the customer needs you’re meeting, competition, pricing, and your points of differentiation. In fact, if you don’t KNOW these things, you are probably going to fail.
My friend is firing “buckshot advertising” … just shooting here and there, hoping he to get lucky and hit a customer. What he needs is a guided MISSILE (see, you knew you would figure out the photo eventually!) … and that’s where strategy comes in.
What makes up a strategy?
Some of the key elements of a marketing strategy are:
- Target demographic and market segmentation
- Market positioning and points of differentiation
- Product and service attributes – finding under-served needs
- Competition and external influences, threats and opportunities
- Marketing channels
- Pricing
- Communications and branding
- Distribution
Developing your strategy
Going through a methodical process to research and identify your marketing approach is the most important thing you can do for your business. And it’s so LIBERATING! You don’t have to guess any more. You don’t have to play advertising roulette. You can sell with confidence and it will work because you have data, insight and a PLAN!
How do you develop a marketing strategy? If you want to try the do-it-yourself approach, there are many possibilities (free) out there through the SBA and other small business websites. Even Microsoft Small Business and Yahoo Small Business have excellent templates.
The problem is not finding a methodology, it’s having the skill and experience to actually do it. Without a background in marketing and research, most people get frustrated trying to put together a meaningful marketing strategy. It’s difficult and it’s so important. Unless you’ve cornered the market, the effectiveness of your plan is probably the difference between profitability and failure.
Call in the troops
One alternative is to look for help. If you pardon my act of shameless self-promotion, that would be me. It’s the kind of work I have done for more than 25 years. If you need me to do the whole project or just need a little guidance, I would be glad to help. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a business grow and come alive with the help of a focused marketing strategy! To learn more, please visit my website at http://www.businessesgrow.com/.
Whether you go it alone or use the services of a marketing professional, please don’t overlook this marketing essential! If you don’t have a marketing strategy, you probably don’t have a business.
Welcome to {grow}
You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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