I was going over some data at the marketing charts website and was kind of surprised to see a report stating that business to business companies don’t have much of a social media presence. I read the report, and it got me thinking. What could these companies accomplish with social media, and how should they use it to their advantage? It seems we (as marketers) focus alot on business to consumer social media marketing, especially when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, and maybe that’s the major problem. So I’d like to discuss some ways that business to business companies can use social media to their advantage. Let’s start by discussing…

Top barriers to social media for business to business companies

According to the report, there are 4 main reasons why b2b companies don’t focus as much on online marketing. Here we go…

1. Insufficient personnel to maintain - It’s not surprising that this is number 1. So many companies have downsized, and they are continuing to do so (HP just let go of a ton of people the other day). However, why do you need to hire more people to do this? Here’s what I think. I would solicit blog entries from employees and offer some sort of reward for entries that are picked. Wow, pretty simple. Every one of your employees should have a presence on LinkedIn. If not for the company, then for their own good. Encourage them to post and answer questions. Now you have a social media presence and you didn’t even have to hire anyone.
2. Lack of organizational knowledge - I’m not sure what they mean by “organizational” knowledge, but I think that if you don’t know something you need to go and figure it out. There are a ton of online resources to find out more about online marketing. There are tons of books out there. If you don’t have time to research them yourself, then pick a different career. To think, these guys call themselves marketers. You should always make time to educate yourself.
3. Preference for traditional marketing - Let me say something here (like you have a choice). I prefer traditional marketing. And yet, I still engage in online and social media marketing. Why? Because I see the advantages, and also because a marketer needs to use any and all weapons at his or her disposal. If you aren’t using social media, you’re leaving a big weapon in the armory collecting dust. There’s no reason for that.
4. Perceived irrelevance to their field - Bottom line: you have to go where your customers go. This is 2010, take a deep breath and say it with me now, twenty-ten, soon to be eleven. People go online to find information. When you go fishing, you probably go to the lake where there are tons of fish. Why is marketing any different. Sure you’re dealing with a company, but that company is made up of individuals. And individuals like to go online to educate themselves. If you have a presence online and provide relevant information, then those individuals will find you. That’s called marketing.

What can b2b companies do to take advantage of social media

1. Start a blog - We’ve talked about it before. People go online to find information. Provide useful information to people and they will find you (and your company). Provide information on all aspects of your industry and your business. Like I said before, solicit entries from your co-workers (you’ll be surprised at all of the great ideas and talent that you have on board). If you can become an industry expert, then you can’t help but increase your brand awareness… and your profits.
2. Get on LinkedIn - People go to Facebook to interact with friends, relax, and play games, and all that good stuff. People get on LinkedIn to interact with other professionals, and to learn. You and every one of your co-workers should have a presence on LinkedIn. You should spend time asking and answering questions, linking up with other professionals in your industry, and basically becoming a part of the community.
3. Be one of the few - The fact that not many b2b companies are using social media means that the ones that do are ahead of the game. Going back to the fishing analogy, if you’re the only one at the lake, you’re going to catch alot of fish. Get started, stop making excuses and do it. Your competition will hate you, but your customers and prospects will love you.

What do you guys think? How can b2b companies take advantage of social media? What other obstacles do they need to overcome?

I remember when I first discovered ebay way back in the day. Thankfully I had a job back then, and spent most of my disposable cash on all kinds of products that I just couldn’t find in stores. I used to by manga (Japanese comics), out of print books, out of print CD’s and old NES games. It was fun and cool, and it opened up a whole new world for both companies and consumers. With ebay and other auction sites like Bonanzle customers can now buy products directly from each other. As a matter of fact it’s about time for another shameless plug (it’s been a while since the last one). If you’re a woman, and are into clothes and stuff, check out my friends auction site here. Seth Godin’s discusses this with his ninth trend in Meatball Sundae, “direct communication and commerce between consumers and consumers.”

Many businesses have been created (or have become more successful) because of this new trend. My favorite bookstore in the world, Half-Price Books has taken advantage of this customer to customer interaction. Sure, they buy and sell used books, but I’m talking about their community meeting groups. I don’t know if all of their locations offer this, but the main store on Northwest highway in Dallas offers a place for clubs and groups to meet up and discuss their chosen topic. That means all you pen-and-paper rpg folks can game it up, all you manga readers can get together and swap and discuss books, poets are welcome to come out and try their new stuff out on an audience, Star Trek fans can live long AND prosper (how about that?), etc. I don’t know of any other company that offers this type of meeting place, and I applaud Half-Price books for doing this (HPB marketing team, please start promoting this stuff).

Instead of fighting against this trend (look at what software producer Electronic Arts is doing to punish people that buy used games; they call it “project ten dollar”), companies should embrace and even encourage their customers to interact with each other. Let’s be honest, the genie’s already been let out of the bottle anyway; we’re going to talk to each other whether you like it or not. Get with the program and create a place where your customers can talk to each other. If you don’t, just don’t be surprised when you competition does (and takes home some extra goodwill and business as well).

Trend ten discussion coming soon.

Notable quote from this section:

• “As social networks become more powerful, consumers will gravitate to each other, not just informing each other about their experiences but banding together into unions that will pressure organizations for more of what consumers want.”

There used to be only a few channels out there for businesses to communicate with their customers: radio, television, and print. Now there are an infinite number. The eighth trend in Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae is “Infinite channels of communication.” Today, every interaction with a customer is a channel of communication. Sure, your Facebook page is a channel, so is your Twitter account, but so also are the interactions your customers have with each other and with potential customers. Let’s face it, people talk to each other, and in today’s marketplace it’s easier than ever for people to have discussions about your company and your brand. In the wise words of Luke Skywalker, “you can either profit by this or be destroyed. It’s your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power.”

So what does this have to do with you? Everything. Before, companies had to broadcast their messages to anyone and everyone out there in the hopes that the message would reach their target demographic. This meant that it just wasn’t economically feasible to market niche products. Why spend a fortune marketing something using mass media that has limited appeal? Sure, there are specific demographics for specific programs on TV, radio, or print articles, and so it’s not impossible to reach your target demographic in this manner. However, you will waste alot of money reaching people that don’t care about your product. Not only that, but people are actively trying to avoid these types of interruption messages.

On the internet, it’s not only possible to reach these niche audiences, it’s actually preferable. You don’t need to interrupt anyone; customers will look for you and your products if they pertain to them. You can succeed with a smaller market, but a larger market share. All you need to do is stay relevant, and treat every interaction with your customers as a channel of communication.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “In order for a customer to make a decision, two things need to happen. The second is that she needs to determine that it’s worth the time or money or risk to take action. But first, she needs to know about the opportunity.”
• Instead of reaching everyone (because you have no other choice) and creating generic products for large audiences, you can now reach a tiny slice of the market - just the people who are passionately interested in your products and services.”
• “The product is everything the company needs to spread the idea itself.”

I’ve talked about it before, and will probably talk about it again. Authenticity. The third trend that Godin discusses in Meatball Sundae is “need for an authentic story as the number of sources increases.” How many times have you looked for information on a corporate website? I’ve visited my share, and they’re all filled with the same old corporate talk. Even when they are trying to have fun, it’s corporate. It reminds me of the 50 year old man wearing the backwards baseball cap calling me dude or man, or those guys with the fake mohawks (you know who you are). That’s fine if that’s who you are, but if you’re not, watch out. Big brother is watching… and so is big sister, and everyone else in the world for that matter.

Corporate websites are great if you want to hear what the company is saying about itself, but to get any kind of objectivity, you usually need to look elsewhere. It shouldn’t have to be that way. The internet is a big place, and there are tons of sites available to find the information that your looking for. Customers are going to visit the sites where they will get an honest, unfiltered answer. And why shouldn’t they? You don’t like being lied to and neither do your customers. Be honest with them, be authentic to your brand, and you’ll never have to worry about getting caught lying.

There are tons of stories about people saying one thing and doing another. We hear about them all the time, Godin discusses them in his book, so I’m not going to bother listing them out (maybe later). The bottom line is that if you say one thing and do another, you will get caught eventually, and the world will find out about it in minutes. And then you’ll be stuck sending out one of those fake apologies written by a PR person, and I will make fun of you.

Trend #4, “Extremely short attention spans due to clutter”, will be discussed later.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “Saying one thing and doing another fails, because you’ll get caught.
• “When consumers are making a decision that matters to them, they often rely on the truth as they receive it from the community, not on the story the marketer manufactured.”

I’m sure it’s happened to you too. I’m sitting there talking to someone, passionately discussing something that’s important to me, and then I notice something disturbing; the person I’m talking to couldn’t care less, and judging by the look they give me, they haven’t heard a word I’ve just said. It’s a devastating feeling to know that no one is listening to you, especially when you feel so strongly about something. It’s one of the main reasons why I started this blog. Here I can discuss the things I care about, and at least a few people out there are listening (by the way thanks to all you guys that have started following me on Tumblr and/or Twitter, or you guys that have me bookmarked or whatever). Godin addresses this need to be heard with trend #2: “amplification of the voice of the consumer and independent authorities.”

Back in the day, companies needed to cater only to a small group of critics. If they got a good review in the newspaper, or magazine, or got featured on some television show, then they were guaranteed millions. Today though, everyone’s a critic. It’s nothing new really, people have always been this way. The difference is that they now have a way to instantly spread the word to millions. The internet, and blogs in particular, have given a voice to anyone and everyone that has something to say. And you know what? People are listening. Every interaction your company has with anyone can quickly be shared with the world.

This may seem like a bad thing, but in reality it’s actually a huge opportunity. As a marketer, it’s your job to make the most of every interaction with the customer or client. Shut up and listen to what the people that you market to are saying. They want to be heard, and if you care at all about your brand, you will listen to what they have to say. If you are unjustly criticized you can always address the situation directly. Set up a discussion board for your clients to talk, and interact with them. It’s not that complicated really.

Trend #3, “Need for an authentic story as the number of sources increases”, discussion coming soon.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “It’s not us and them. Now it’s us and us.”
• “A post on a blog anywhere in the world could very well rank higher in a google search than information on that same topic on your company’s website.”
• “The easiest way to understand blogs (text, audio, or video) is to understand that they (finally) connect three real desires: to hear our own voices, to be heard by others, and to hear what the crowd thinks.”
• “Big numbers matter when you run mass ads that are ignored. Small numbers are just fine when you deliver powerful messages with permission.”

For years, companies have searched for ways to “eliminate the middleman.” Well, we’ve gotten to the point where this is a reality for many types of businesses. Unfortunately, many companies mistakingly see this as a problem, not a solution. The first trend that Seth Godin discusses in Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync? is “direct communication and commerce between producers and consumers.” Basically this means that consumers now have (and expect) the ability to communicate directly with companies. This also means that it’s possible for companies to market and sell directly to consumers.

In the past businesses relied only on mass media to reach customers, but today the average consumer is going out of their way to avoid these interruptions (commercials are skipped, radio stations are changed, ads are forgotten). So much money has been wasted, and continues to be wasted on marketing to masses of people. Only a small percentage of people will even pay attention, much less be moved, by these mass marketing messages. So why do companies spend so much time and money on these methods? Because it’s the way it’s always been done. Like I said in an earlier post, instead of spending a ton of cash on ads, I would instead hire a team of excellent marketers that can take advantage of the free and cheap tools on the internet… but (you guessed it) that’s another story.

So, how can you take advantage of this new trend? Well for one, you should be immediately responsive to your customers. When they send you and email, they expect a reply. And fast. I’ve been guilty of leaving email unanswered for too long, and I’m sure you have too. It’s a mistake, and smart people learn from mistakes. Be smart, and remember that every unanswered email is a missed opportunity for you. Every interaction with the customer matters, and yet many companies seem to go out of their way to avoid customers (how many times have you been given the runaround?). This is a big opportunity for you to differentiate yourself and your company. Instead of ignoring those emails, answer them; engage yourself with your clients.

One of the advantages of this type of communication is that you can learn more about your customers, and even begin designing products based on their needs. In the past, companies created products and then used marketing to find customers. Now, you can communicate with your customers and create products and services that are specifically tailored to their needs. Pretty cool, huh? Godin has tons of examples in his book, and I’m sure you could think about many more.

Another way to take advantage of the changing relationship between companies and consumers is to begin taking part in permission marketing. Godin talks alot about this, and it’s easy to see why. With mass media becoming less and less effective (and therefore more and more expensive), permission marketing is the way to go to reach customers. Here’s how it works, instead of spamming tons of people with a message that may or may not pertain to them, you should find (and eventually build your own) communities built around the types of people that your product appeals to. Talk to them, respect them, don’t waste their time. Godin outlines some basic rules for permission marketing. Here’s the short version…

1. Serve your customers, not yourself.
2. Permission is not to be bought and/or sold.
3. Keep your message relevant. If it has nothing to do with the customer and their life, they will leave.
4. Legal print and privacy policies are meaningless. If you do wrong by your customers (even if you are legally correct) they will leave.
5. Respect your customers.
6. Strike first, strike hard, no mercy sir! (okay, I just made that one up)

Next we will discuss trend 2, “Amplification of the voice of the consumer and independent authorities.” See you then.

Notable quotes from this section:

• “The fact cannot be denied: Your people (customers, employees, prospects, readers, whatever) want to be heard. They demand it.”
• “An inbound e-mail is not (just) an expense; it’s (also) an opportunity - a chance for your organization to eliminate barriers and have a dialogue with a prospect or a customer.”
• “The job of marketing is to grow the organization, and growth comes, obviously, from putting yourself in front of people who didn’t know about you before you got there.”
• “Outbound marketing now demands respect for the people on the receiving end.”

It’s time for another book discussion. This time, I’m reading Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync? by Seth Godin. The general idea is that not all organizations are optimized to take advantage of the new marketing opportunities out there today. Instead many companies are still focused on old marketing techniques. Godin discusses 14 trends that have re-shaped marketing, and illustrates how you can optimize your business to take advantage of these trends. Since the organization of the book is a bit different (and you really should read it yourself), I won’t be discussing the book chapter by chapter. Instead, I’m going to discuss each of his 14 trends in turn.

Let’s start the discussion by defining old marketing vs new marketing. Godin describes the era before advertising as a time when small and local businesses thrived. Products were usually made by hand, and sold locally. Many of these companies failed to invest properly in marketing to the masses and therefore died out when the advertising age hit. The era of advertising is what really describes “old marketing”. Godin define’s old marketing as “the art of interrupting masses of people with ads about average products.” (reminds me of those old toy commercials when I was a kid) Many companies are optimized to take advantage of this approach. However, we are in the era of “new marketing”, and many companies aren’t set up to take advantage.

“New Marketing” Godin says, “leverages scarce attention and creates interactions among communities with similar interests. New marketing treats every interaction, product, service, and side effect as a form of media.” See the difference? Let’s break it down a bit. Old marketing relies on a limited number of media outlets (print, radio, television, etc); new marketing has unlimited media outlets. Old media is focused on appealing to masses; new marketing focuses on appealing to niche audiences. Old marketing is based on marketer-to-consumer communication; new marketing is based on consumer-to-consumer communication. Old marketing sells with features; new marketing sells with stories. The book outlines many more differences, but you get the idea.

Think about it for a few minutes. From the ground up, many companies are designed with this old marketing approach in mind. They create average products for the average consumer, and use mass media to let the world know. If this describes your approach to marketing, then you will not be able to take full advantage of all the new marketing opportunities available. I’ve talked about companies using social media poorly. Many times, it’s because they focus only on the new toys and not enough on organizational changes. If you want to take advantage of new marketing opportunities, you need to create outstanding products and then tell stories directly to the people that you’ve gained permission to talk to.

What do you think defines old marketing and new marketing? Do you agree that we are in a new era? Discuss in the comments or send me an email.

Next time we’ll discuss the first trend, “direct communication and commerce between producers and consumers”.

Like I said before, good marketing is about relationship building. Tell a story, don’t just sell a product. Check out this bit of knowledge from the heavyweight champ of marketing, Seth Godin.