Who are We?
Poets vs. Plumbers
The Cutting Edge
Courses and Events
News & Updates

Blog | What we’re reading: Social Marketing to the Business Customer

Created by News Editor   |  1 Comment   |  March 04, 2011 10:36

By Jomar Reyes

There are many books on the nuts and bolts of social media and how businesses and brands can start engaging consumers. However, there are precious few publications that explore how organizations can use social media in the business to business (B2B) environment. In researching corporate social media, however, I came across a new book called “Social Marketing to the Business Customer.” It quickly joined my iPad/Kindle collection, and soon after I got the opportunity to chat with co-author, Eric Schwartzman.

JR: You are sort of pioneering this social media for the B2B industries. Why do you think that there’s less focus on that as opposed to the corporate, private sector?

ES: Well, I think that when people think about Facebook having 500 million users, the prospect of going there to market a general purpose product is… [for example] everyone’s there to sell toothpaste. But I think it’s a little more challenging if you sell wind turbine ball-bearings. How do you focus in on the 1200 people on Facebook that have a specialized need for a product or service and are they even receptive to information about it on a social network like that?

So, I think they are baffled and I also think B2B is typically, you know, the second one to the party when it comes to anything new… They’re thinking ‘gosh we gotta do this but how?’ Teaching these courses… we looked around and Paul [Gillin, co-author] and I (Paul writes a column for B2B Magazine), we were planning on writing a book together…. He said ‘Look, there’s nothing out there on B2B,’ and I said, ‘It’s a question I get all the time.’ [So] we decided to write a book, it would be a hands-on guide – step by step through the process, finding and engaging business customers through social media. And that’s exactly what we did.

JR: Were there any surprises that came to you in the researching and creating of the book?

ES: Do you know the biggest surprise, and it probably shouldn’t have been but it was, is just how different B2B and B2C purchasing decisions are. I mean they are fundamentally different in every way. … A B2B purchasing decision is made by a committee of stakeholders, whereas a B2C purchasing decision is made by me with the approval of my wife – you know, that’s it. A B2C purchasing decision is impulse based, it’s emotional. And a B2B purchasing decision is rational, it’s complex. Some of the lines we came up with from the book, you know, ‘B2C marketing is about making a splash, B2B marketing is about swimming a marathon; B2C marketing is about the sizzle, B2B marketing is about the steak.’

JR: So let me ask you, where do you see social media taking B2B in the future?

ES: Well, I do think we’re still in the early stages. You know, it’s not as developed and evolved as it is for B2C markets, so I think just putting together rational strategies that allow you to strike while the iron is hot, I think that’s the immediate future. In the book we advocate a strategy that starts with listening, so that you can see where your communities are active already. With the thought that you would engage them where they are first, instead of trying to lure them to a platform that they’re not on. So if they’re not on Facebook, why would you start there? We’re all dealing with limited time and resources, so you can’t really do a blitz for all channels at the same time, nor would you want to.

So we advocate a strategy – listen first, and then strike in while the iron is hot. [And] in terms of where it’s ultimately going in the future, I think [the concept of] social media will eventually go away and social just becomes a component of your business.

“Social Marketing to the Business Customer” is the first book devoted exclusively to B2B social marketing, tailored to meet the needs and corporate policies of individual businesses. It’s an invaluable guide to topics like cost justification, prospecting and lead generation, B2B search engine optimization, social media monitoring, policy development, long-term client relationships, and much more.

Poets and Plumbers is planning workshops and a Social Media Bootcamp with Eric in Copenhagen in the fourth quarter of 2011. Stay tuned for more details.

Up

1

Down

0

Comments

Pat Barniak Atkinson  |  March 10, 2011 20:23

This may be just the type of resource many of us in the PR industry have been praying for! With PR now entering into the marketing cycle much earlier, understanding the ramifications of B2B social marketing is critical. Love the handbook format. It goes to the top of the reading list.

Add a comment