B2B Social Media: research into its role in the ICT buying process

© The Marketing Practice 2011

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THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN THE ICT BUYING PROCESS

10 DECISION-MAKER RESEARCH HEADLINES


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About the research

• Conducted in the UK, in April 2011

• 100 senior managers and directors across public and private sectors, segmented by:• Role (Line of business Vs IT)• Organisation size (1000-5000, 5000-10000, 10000-20000 employees)• Age (18-25, 26-40, 41-55,56+)

• For a run-through of the full findings (over 20 different question areas) and analysis, please contact Paul Everett, [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Ten headlines

1. Half of all buyers agree it is important for suppliers to have a social media presence

2. Over 1 in 4 buyers have met suppliers as a result of interactions on social media...

3. ...Of those, 1 in 3 have given business to a supplier

4. LinkedIn comes out on top, with Facebook a strong second (especially for IT decision-makers)

5. Social media is most influential at early stages of the buying process and again post purchase

6. Making uninvited contact via social media isn’t as frowned on as you might have thought

7. Top 3 sources of information in social media are analysts, peers and suppliers

8. Some old rules hold true – don’t expect users to actively contribute to these networks...

9. ...And some content is as much about being found through search engines as communities

10. Traditional communication channels are more valuable than ever before


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A complex picture

• For: We’ve seen that half of decision makers feel that suppliers should be active within social media, and that a surprising number have met and given business to suppliers following a first interaction via social media

• Against: But the influence of social media dips at some key stages of the buying cycle, and more traditional channels are becoming seen as more valuable than ever before in the face of ‘overwhelming’ digital interactions

• The full research also shows us that there are significant variations by job function and size of organisation, as well as in how frequently people are using different social media networks


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Conclusions

• Social media can clearly extend the effectiveness of wider marketing strategies• Although simply using it to broadcast information that wasn’t good

enough in the first place is unlikely to generate returns!

• We should remember that social media isn’t purely about being active in buyers’ networks – it can also simply be about using the fact that 75% of people are active on LinkedIn to mine data/insight for other marketing activities

• There’s a careful choice to be made in each situation about the potential returns of social media activity (does the ROI justify the investment required, or could it be achieved by other means – there’s always an alternative)

• Social media has reached a point where it is almost universally used, but is at its most effective alongside other channels – hopefully we have reached the stage where it can be sensibly considered as an element of any wider marketing strategy rather than a hyped as a standalone silo...


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1. HALF OF ALL BUYERS AGREE IT IS IMPORTANT FOR SUPPLIERS TO HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.

(IT’S A LARGE PROPORTION, BUT OF COURSE IT ALSO MEANS HALF DON’T.)


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How important is it for suppliers to have a social media presence?

Total Director IT/Tech0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

19% 18%20%

30%32%

28%

51% 50%52%

Not Important Neither Important nor unimportant Important


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2. OVER 1 IN 4 BUYERS HAVE MET SUPPLIERS AS A RESULT OF INTERACTIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

(FOR IT DECISION MAKERS, THAT INCREASES TO OVER 1 IN 3.)


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Have you ever had a supplier meeting that was a result of an initial interaction on social media?

Total Director Level Specifically IT/Tech0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

28

18

38

72

82

62

Yes No


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3. OF THOSE, 1 IN 3 HAVE GIVEN BUSINESS TO A SUPPLIER.

(OVERALL, THAT’S NEARLY 1 IN 5 DECISION MAKERS WHO HAVE DONE BUSINESS AS A RESULT OF SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTIONS.)


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If yes, did you go on to give business to that supplier?


10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

68 67 68

32 33 32

Yes No


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HERE’S AN EXAMPLE FROM BUZZIENT AND ORACLE OF BRINGING SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTIONS INTO MEASURABLE CRM RESULTS...


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A post on Twitter


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...is monitored and captured in CRM...


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...and flagged as a lead to respond to


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4. LINKEDIN COMES OUT TOP OVERALL, WITH FACEBOOK A STRONG SECOND (ESPECIALLY FOR IT DECISION MAKERS).

(OUR FULL RESEARCH CONTRASTS THIS BUSINESS USE WITH THEIR PERSONAL BEHAVIOURS, AND ALSO LOOKS AT HOW FREQUENTLY THEY USE THESE NETWORKS.)


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Which of the following social media / networks do you use in a professional capacity?

Twitter LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Blogs (general) Specialist blogs Specialist online communities /

forums

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

23%

75%

41%

22% 22% 21%24%

34%

72%

34%

24%

32% 32% 32%

12%

78%

48%

20%

12%10%

16%

Total

Director

IT/Tech


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FOR ANYONE WONDERING HOW FACEBOOK CAN HAVE SUCH A STRONG PRESENCE, HERE’S AN EXAMPLE...


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http://www.facebook.com/Symantec


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5. SOCIAL MEDIA IS MOST INFLUENTIAL AT EARLY STAGES OF THE BUYING PROCESS AND AGAIN POST PURCHASE.

(BUT DOES STILL INFLUENCE THE FINAL BUYING CHOICE OF 1 IN 5 DECISION MAKERS.)


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How influential is social media at different stages of the buying cycle?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2731 31

48

3844

3541

322829

3428

20

34

Little or no impact Neutral impact Some or great impact


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6. MAKING UNINVITED CONTACT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T AS FROWNED ON AS YOU MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT.

(ALMOST 3 IN 4 (4 IN 5 WITHIN IT) SAY THAT MAKING UNINVITED CONTACT WOULDN’T DISADVANTAGE A SUPPLIER.)


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Would potential or current suppliers be disadvantaged if they tried to approach you, without invitation, via social media of any sort?


10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

27

34

20

73

66

80

Yes No


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7. TOP 3 SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA ARE ANALYSTS, PEERS AND SUPPLIERS.

(BUT THERE’S NO CLEAR WINNER, AND THE FULL RESEARCH SHOWS THAT DIFFERENT JOB FUNCTIONS VALUE DIFFERENT SOURCES)


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How valuable is the information that you can receive from the following social media contributors?

Suppliers Peers Journalists Analysts Independent bloggers0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2321

31

21

36

40

3739

30

3937

42

30

49

25

Not valuable Neither valuable or not valuable Valuable


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8. SOME OLD RULES HOLD TRUE – DON’T EXPECT USERS TO ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO THESE NETWORKS.

(BUT THE NUMBER WHO DO CONTRIBUTE IS NEARLY DOUBLE THE 1 IN 10 FIGURE SOMETIMES USED)


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Would you say you are an active contributor or do you use them more simply as a source of information?


10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1713

25

8387

75

Active Member Use Them As A Source Of Information


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9. AND REMEMBER THAT SOME CONTENT IS AS MUCH ABOUT BEING FOUND THROUGH SEARCH ENGINES AS COMMUNITIES.


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Do you come across useful information mainly as a result of traditional online searches or as a result of direct involvement in social media?


20

30

40

50

60

70

80

53 52 53

47 48 47

Mainly As A Result Of Traditional Online Searching, Such As Search Engines

Mainly As A Result Of Regular Direct Involvement In Social Media Channels


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10. TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS ARE MORE VALUABLE THAN EVER BEFORE.

(RICHARD WATSON’S FUTURE FILES GIVES AN INTERESTING VIEW ON THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF ‘REAL LIFE’ INTERACTIONS)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Files-Trends-Shape-Years/dp/1857885147


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Taking into account the rise of digital interaction, do you value the following forms of traditional communication more, less or the same as in the past?

Networ

king

at e

vent

s

Face

to fa

ce m

eetin

gs w

ith s

uppli

ers

Teleph

one

conv

ersa

tions

“Soc

ial” b

usine

ss a

ctivi

ty (E

.g. D

inner

s, h

ospit

ality

, tea

m b

uildin

g)

Inno

vativ

ely p

rese

nted

phy

sical

mat

erial

from

sup

plier

s

Hearin

g fro

m s

peak

ers

at c

onfe

renc

es a

nd s

emina

rs

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

19 20 22 20 22 23

43

31

4350

45 4438

49

3530 33 33

Less Than You Have Done The Same As You Have Done More Than You Have Done


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“BUSINESS TECHNOLOGISTS ARE NOT CLEANLY SUBSTITUTING SOCIAL FOR OTHER DECISION-MAKING APPROACHES AND INFORMATION SOURCES, BUT RATHER ARE ADDING SOCIAL IN A COMPLEMENTARY WAY. TECH MARKETERS MUST FOLLOW SUIT, MIXING TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL TACTICS TO ACHIEVE BROAD COMMUNITY MARKETING OBJECTIVES.”

SOCIAL TECHNOGRAPHICS®: BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY BUYERS, FORRESTER, 2010


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For a run-through of the full findings (over 20 different question areas and variations by size of organisation/age/job function), and our resulting 90-day social media action plan, please contact:

Paul EverettDirector of Marketing [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

B2B Social Media: research into its role in the ICT buying process

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Transcript of B2B Social Media: research into its role in the ICT buying process