A client recently asked me: “How prolific is social media marketing in the B2B space? Can it work as well here as in retail?”
My answer was simple:
Business-to-business social networking in South Africa is quickly becoming far more important for B2B marketers than for retail/consumer marketers. The number of potential customers is smaller for B2B companies. Therefore, the potential impact of a socially active customer is magnified. Social media allows you to interact with current and potential customers. More importantly those customers seek you out.
Businesses are also much more likely to thoroughly research purchases when compared to consumers. For example, a company does not go to the grocery store to buy enterprise software. Instead, several people research the purchase, several others approve it, and there are many input points. This translates to an increase in the likelihood that social channels (such as online comments and reviews) will be explored before purchase is made.
The more important thing for B2B marketers to remember when using social media is aligning the goals of your social media strategy with that of your marketing strategy. If you do not have a marketing strategy you are “flogging a dead horse” with ANY marketing activities you do.
“Every customer has the potential to change the way other customers think about your business in ways that individual B2C consumers do not. Every customer is more important in terms of down-stream perception.” – Jay Baer, President, Convince & Convert
