Social Media B2B

One of the things that I have made clear by now is that I like to compare and contrast B2B with B2C research and situations to see what overlap exists. Because of this, I spent some of my week going through a newly released report by Razorfish. The agency’s FEED study is done annually to determine how technology is changing the way consumers interact with brands. While the entire study was full of good information, and I recommend checking it out, one stat jumped out to me from all the others.

From the study:
“But, according to our study, consumers don’t want a conversation with brands—they want deals. Of those who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say access to exclusive deals is the main reason. The same holds true for those who “friended” a brand on Facebook or MySpace, where 37% cite access to exclusive deals or offers as their main reason.”

Do B2B Customers Value Discounts The Same Way?

I am going to answer the B2B discounts question with the dreaded “it depends” answer. Discounts and other monetary incentives have their role in B2B, but aren’t as critical as they are to consumers. The impact of discounts in the B2B space when it comes to social media is really a matter of situational analysis.

Deals Matter When The B2B Customer Is Already Getting Them

If you are working with distributors and other B2B buyers that have been given special deals and incentives, things like sales teams, for decades, odds are these expectations are going to carry over on to the social web. If you are working on an opt-in program, a digital direct response program or working to build an online customer network with these groups, then deals and discounts need to be part of your plan.

Expectations play a critical role in all of this. If an existing expectation of a deal exists through past and current business practices, then it will likely need to carry over to digital. It is not always about money though.

Information Replaces Money In B2B

The difference between consumer deals and B2B deals has to do with how both groups value other things. For example, B2B organizations spend a lot of time and money surrounding information. Being able to assign a monetary value, or savings, to information allows B2B businesses to be less dependent on strictly monetary offers as a form of incentive.

For potential customers providing content that directly impacts their business’ performance and effectiveness is not only a monetary advantage but a branding and positioning advantage.

What type of content can replace money in B2B?

1. Sales Training
2. Product Training
3. Leads and lead generation
4. Best practice information that impacts operations
5. Information that facilitate more informed business decisions
6. Reports that can be used with management
7. Industry trends and insights

Connecting Deals To B2B Social Media Marketing

When developing a B2B social media marketing strategy you are ultimately trying to influence a group of people. These groups need motivation and incentives. For example, on a tactical level if I was planning a social network for distributors, I would included special discounts and product offers because that is their current exception.

The challenge here in developing your strategies and tactics is to decide when to use cold hard cash as an incentive versus valuable content and information. I hope this post provided some guidelines to help you with that decision making process.

Do you use money or content to influence your B2B customers?

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