Unlocking the value of social media for business customers
pharmafile | March 17, 2009 | Feature | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing |Â Â marketing, social networkingÂ
Conversations around social media dominate the marketing landscape. Twitter-mania has reached fever pitch, proclaiming it the latest 'must have' social media experience following in the footsteps of MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.
In the past three years, a whole industry has sprung up around social media, with a line of agencies and consultants professing expertise stretching into the distance. But for many B2B marketers, the fundamental question 'how do I harness social media with customers to unlock business value' remains unanswered.
A great deal of social media activity to-date has been consumer-focused, with only a few key exceptions like LinkedIn. But even with LinkedIn, many business people view it only as a 21st century Rolodex plus a shop window for their CV. However, business customers are also consumers, and in our personal life we're increasingly comfortable with media-rich content and peer group interactions online (and via mobile devices). As social media becomes increasingly the norm, the downside is the risk of not providing these capabilities in a B2B environment increase.
The economic downturn is leading to a reduction in staff numbers and a thinning in resources. As a result, business people are busier than ever, and as marketers, we have to fight harder to win customer mindshare. Social media offers the opportunity to improve communications and enhance online engagement e.g. by deploying more entertaining and convenient content such as downloadable podcasts and video.
Giving customers the social media tools to network, share and collaborate also creates the potential for new value propositions that can differentiate you from your competitors, providing a precious advantage. Furthermore, customers helping one another and providing you with feedback will lower your operating costs (reducing customer service and insight costs).
If there's compelling evidence of a need for action, then what's holding companies back? Well, a variety of factors. There's a lack of clarity on how to embrace social media successfully within B2B. So finding a good partner is key, but beware, the pool of expertise with real deep social media understanding is only a small proportion of the available choices.
Corporate mindset can also be an obstacle to progress. Whenever technology is involved, there's a tendency to look for strategic IT solutions to get started. With social media, this mindset is potentially disabling. The environment is changing so fast, that in the 12-18 months it takes a large company to deliver a strategic IT solution, the marketplace has moved on. Furthermore, the customer need is now, as are the economic benefits. Waiting might seriously damage your business. Social media has developed through a process of starting small and building on success. Companies need to get experience under their belt and see for themselves what works.
This means a willingness to target specific audiences with a potential need, and create pilot projects. A substantial drop in technology costs in recent years makes this approach much more economically attractive. For example, with cloud computing solutions, there's no software or hardware costs. Furthermore, because the technology can be deployed almost instantly, pilot projects can be launched with greater speed and agility, in response to market opportunities.
The social media market is moving fast and B2B marketers need to embrace change more rapidly if they're to remain competitive, communicate effectively with customers and build the base of experience needed for success.
Graeme Foux is founder and chief executive at Knexus, a media tech company based in London. For more information visit: www.knexusgroup.com
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