A wide range of communication channels are used by business-to-business companies to get customers excited about their products and services and keep them coming back for more. But how effective are these?
Sometimes your key messages can get lost in the sea of meetings, phone calls, emails as well as online and offline media that your customers are exposed to on a day-to-day basis.
Social networking tools can help to bring structure and order to this wealth of information.
Developing a reputation as a thought leader
Social networking tools, like blogs or wikis, can help create and consolidate a B2B company’s position as a thought leader. Providing you have relevant and credible insights in their sector and present these in a clear and compelling way, companies can make themselves a “go to” source of information.
Social networking tools, like blogs or wikis, can help create and consolidate a B2B company’s position as a thought leader. Providing you have relevant and credible insights in their sector and present these in a clear and compelling way, companies can make themselves a “go to” source of information.
Helping customers help themselves
A community where people can search, browse and post answers online to questions about products or services they’re thinking of buying or business problems they are facing makes perfect sense. It can help to reduce sales and support costs as well as improve customer satisfaction ratings.
A community where people can search, browse and post answers online to questions about products or services they’re thinking of buying or business problems they are facing makes perfect sense. It can help to reduce sales and support costs as well as improve customer satisfaction ratings.
Providing instantaneous answers
Companies can use social networking to create a databank of answers to customers’ common queries. However, they should make it equally easy to send someone a tweet or instant message and get their response right away from the company’s sales and service support professionals.
Companies can use social networking to create a databank of answers to customers’ common queries. However, they should make it equally easy to send someone a tweet or instant message and get their response right away from the company’s sales and service support professionals.
Innovating for and with your customers
A B2B social community can be a fantastic resource to track people attitudes to emerging business trends, collate feedback on your products and services or even collaborate with customers on future ones via a virtual user community.
A B2B social community can be a fantastic resource to track people attitudes to emerging business trends, collate feedback on your products and services or even collaborate with customers on future ones via a virtual user community.
Building stronger relationships with your customers
Online social networking should be used to complement and enhance offline networking. Online polls can be used to determine the relative importance of a range of business issues or product features and functions. The results could be discussed at user community events or participants could even be invited to get involved in product or service pilots.
Online social networking should be used to complement and enhance offline networking. Online polls can be used to determine the relative importance of a range of business issues or product features and functions. The results could be discussed at user community events or participants could even be invited to get involved in product or service pilots.
Lowering your costs and achieving global reach
Social networks connect people at low cost and have global reach. By reducing sales, marketing and support costs, companies can deliver better value to customers and improve their gross margins.
Social networks connect people at low cost and have global reach. By reducing sales, marketing and support costs, companies can deliver better value to customers and improve their gross margins.
Attracting and retaining talented employees
Social networking can help your company attract the attention of talented prospective employees. It provides an opportunity to make people aware of vacancies and give candidates a sense of your company culture.
Social networking can help your company attract the attention of talented prospective employees. It provides an opportunity to make people aware of vacancies and give candidates a sense of your company culture.
This blog will investigate each of these key benefits in turn, identifying new research, case studies and best practice examples in the blogosphere. It would be great to hear your thoughts and experiences.
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