Post on 15-Jul-2015
Social Buying Meets Social Selling:How Trusted Networks Improve the
Purchase ExperienceAlys Woodward
Research Director, IDC European Software
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SOCIAL BUYING is….
Leveraging professional
networks for buying support to
increase confidence in
decision-making.
2
About the Research
Survey conducted in February 2014
760 respondents from 8 countries
257 EMEA respondents (75 FR, 79 NL,
103 UK)
Titles ranged from C-level executives to
individual contributors
Business and technical decision-makers
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Who are the social
buyers?
@kathleenschaub
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The most senior B2B buyers use social
media for their purchase process
84%
16%
C-Level/VP Executives
Yes
No75%
25%
Entire Sample
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257, UK n=103
5
The most influential B2B buyers use
social mediaThe average B2B buyer who uses
social media for buying support…
is more senior
has a bigger budget
makes more frequent purchases
has a greater span of buying control
…than a buyer who does not use
social media
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Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760
6
Active social buyers are found
in all global regions
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Q. Have you ever used social media, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or online professional communities to assist in any way with your
company purchasing decisions?
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760
83% 77%66%
17% 23%34%
0
20
40
60
80
100
North America(US, Canada)
EMEA(UK, France, Netherlands)
AP(Australia, NZ, Singapore)
(%)
No
Yes
UK 80%
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Why do B2B buyers use
social media?
@kathleenschaub
Buyers place great trust in their
professional networks
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I prefer to work with vendors that have been
recommended to me by someone I know76%
73%
65%
Q. Please rate your agreement with each of the following statements.
I prefer to work with sales professionals that
have been referred to me by someone I know
My network of colleagues, friends, and
acquaintances is critical for reference
checkingSource: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760
Buyers place great trust in their
professional networks
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I prefer to work with vendors that have been
recommended to me by someone I know76%
73%
68%
Q. Please rate your agreement with each of the following statements.
I prefer to work with sales professionals that
have been referred to me by someone I know
My network of colleagues, friends, and
acquaintances is critical for reference
checkingSource: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257
Buyers place great trust in their
professional networks
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I prefer to work with vendors that have been
recommended to me by someone I know80%
76%
70%
Q. Please rate your agreement with each of the following statements.
I prefer to work with sales professionals that
have been referred to me by someone I know
My network of colleagues, friends, and
acquaintances is critical for reference
checkingSource: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257, UK n=103
Social media make it
easier to reach your
trusted professional
network.
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How did social media improve your
purchase decision?
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We felt more confidentthat we had the information to make our decision
We felt more comfortablewith the expertise and credibility of our vendor
We had more satisfactory optionsavailable to us
55%
54%
46%
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760
How did social media improve your
purchase decision?
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We felt more confidentthat we had the information to make our decision
We felt more comfortablewith the expertise and credibility of our vendor
We had more satisfactory optionsavailable to us
52%
51%
47%
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257
How did social media improve your
purchase decision?
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We felt more confidentthat we had the information to make our decision
We felt more comfortablewith the expertise and credibility of our vendor
We had more satisfactory optionsavailable to us
56%
55%
55%
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257, UK n=103
Non-social media purchasers would
use it - if their peers were on it
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33%
27%24% 24%
22% 21%
16%
Q. Which of the following would enable you to consider using social media for company purchasing decisions in the future?
(Asked of non-social media users)
If more of my peers
were actively using
social media
If I had more
time
If I had more
authority in
deciding which
vendors
If my purchasing
decisions were
more complex
Peers Time Authority Need Comfort Money
Just
won’t
If I was more
comfortable using
social media
I would not
consider using
social media to
support my
purchasing
decisions
If my purchasing
decisions were
more expensive
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=860
Non-social media purchasers would
use it - if their peers were on it
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35% 35%
22%27%
20%
25%
17%
Q. Which of the following would enable you to consider using social media for company purchasing decisions in the future?
(Asked of non-social media users)
If more of my peers
were actively using
social media
If I had more
time
If I had more
authority in
deciding which
vendors
If my purchasing
decisions were
more complex
Peers Time Authority Need Comfort Money
Just
won’t
If I was more
comfortable using
social media
I would not
consider using
social media to
support my
purchasing
decisions
If my purchasing
decisions were
more expensive
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257
Non-social media purchasers would
use it - if their peers were on it
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52%
33%
29% 24%
10%
Q. Which of the following would enable you to consider using social media for company purchasing decisions in the future?
(Asked of non-social media users. UK respondents)
If more of my peers
were actively using
social media
If I had more
time
If I had more
authority in
deciding which
vendors
Peers Time Authority
29%
If my purchasing
decisions were
more complex
Need Money
Just
won’t
33%
Comfort
If I was more
comfortable using
social media
I would not
consider using
social media to
support my
purchasing
decisions
If my purchasing
decisions were
more expensive
Authority
29%
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257, UK n=103
Huh?
Who cares?YES!!
The Buyer’s Journey
Exploration Evaluation Purchase
20
@kathleenschaub
When stakes are the highest, professional
social networks are the #1 preferred resource.
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Information Resource (Partial List)
Exploration
Stage Rank
Evaluation
Stage Rank
Purchase
Stage Rank
Industry-specific Media 1 2 6
Third-party expert recommendations 4 1 2
Professional social networks (e.g. LinkedIn) 8 4 1
Internet Search 2 3 10
Microblogs (e.g. Twitter) 3 13 5
General Word-of-Mouth 5 8 8
Q. For each stage of the purchase process, please rate the value of the following resources.
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760
When stakes are the highest, professional
social networks are the #1 preferred resource.
© IDC Visit us at IDC.com and follow us on Twitter: @IDC 22
Information Resource (Partial List)
Exploration
Stage Rank
Evaluation
Stage Rank
Purchase
Stage Rank
Industry-specific Media 2 6 8
Third-party expert recommendations 3 1 3
Professional social networks (e.g. LinkedIn) 9 3 1
Internet Search 5 4 11
Microblogs (e.g. Twitter) 1 11 5
General Word-of-Mouth 7 9 6
Q. For each stage of the purchase process, please rate the value of the following resources.
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014
For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257
Reaching Social Buyers
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Build Social
Proximity
Reaching Social Buyers
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Build Social
Proximity
Build Social
Presence
Reaching Social Buyers
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Build Social
Proximity
Build Social
Presence
Build Social
Capital