How Prepared Are We for Customer 2.0? by Juliann Grant, Telesian Technology

How Prepared Are We ForCustomer 2.0?
September 9, 2011
Juliann Grant Gary Wagner
Telesian Technology Ophir-Spiricon

Today’s Approach
Challenges of Customer 2.0
Explore social media’s affect in how our buyers research products/services
Discuss survey & results
Survey Insights
Where are the opportunities?
Conclusions
Case in point: OphirSpiricon – Open discussion

Challenges in Buy Cycle
Buyers’ Time is Extremely Valuable
Working avg 46 hrs/week
24% of buyers’ time is spent on post-purchase IT product or solution-related activities
Must optimize their time and your value
Buy teams getting bigger
On average, 4-5 people are involved in influencing short list and making the purchase decision
Vendor Information is of High Importance to Tech Buyers
22% of Tech buyers value product demos and proof of concepts the most.
Buyers Wish to Reduce Their Buying Cycle Length by 40%

5
More Challenges
Buyers’ purchasing budgets smaller too
How do we most efficiently approach shrinking markets?
Shift from print to electronic media marketing
How do we leap into relevant, timely brand messages using new approaches without faltering?
Evaluating the effectiveness of marketing programs
How can we measure effectiveness?
Are we giving buyers what they want?

6
What are Buyers Doing Now?
Are they using social media for research?
What do they prefer?
Buyer Survey in July 2011:
8 multiple choice questions
Option to add comments
Survey emails sent to over 300 end-users of Automation equipment, instrumentation, devices, hardware, and software
>70 completed surveys
Non-commercial, positively framed survey
Results are consistent and useful

Survey Results

What social media network do you use the most (for any reason)?

If you use Facebook, do you use primarily for:

Insights
LinkedIn still strongest social network for engineers
How are you using it? Are you leveraging that opportunity?
Facebook mostly used for personal – no surprise
Twitter adoption still slow
Requires more time to develop a network and techniques to participate
More brands participating than ever before
31 percent of consumers follow between one and five brands on Twitter
47 percent follow a company on Twitter because it has interesting tweets.
Other reasons: getting discounts, participating in contests and speaking with customer service (http://blog.lab42.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/twitterinfo-final.jpg)
Google+ a network to watch
Not clear how business/brands will be accepted

Which avenues do you pursue for product research?
INSIGHTS:
Customer 2.0 still approaching research business as usual
With Google leading the way
Personal contact still leading ahead of social media
Trade shows holding strong
Blogs growing as a resource

Rank your biggest challenges with using social media for product research (Rank from 1 to 6, 1 biggest, 6 least)

Information Overload
Big challenge
Not so big a challenge

Best Source of Information
Are we making it easy for our buyers
to find OUR information?
Big challenge

Trusted Sources
Whoa…
What’s happening here?
Big challenge

Perceived Value
Is it because they don’t know who to trust or
where to find us?
Big challenge

Social Sites Blocked at Work
Or because they cannot access the info? Likely not
Big challenge

Don’t Use Social Media for Research?
Why?
Because of the other challenges? Or die hard Googler’s?
Big challenge

But Whose Fault Is It?

Insights
It’s them, right? They don’t use social media for research….
Maybe because:
We’re not making it easy to find us in social media circles – even the ones they do participate in - LinkedIn
We’re not building trust through our content
We are not helping build value or providing the best source of information to help them…

When you are looking for a specific product, how often do you sign up/opt-in?

If you do opt-in, what are the decision factors for doing so?
Other comments:
Enjoy receiving new information as it becomes available, but like to be able to make categorical/frequency selections of what I receive.
Vendor does not allow any other choice
Never: SPAM SPAM SPAM!
If there is a possibility the information could be useful in other circumstances
Don't use social media for searches

What type of medium have you used to research product or service information:
Other comments:
Used all six listed at some time or another, but prefer either Vendor-specific or general events
Call sales rep
Find operating manuals on line
Online Manuals and Drawings
Manufacturers catalogs, manuals, specifications

When was the last time you unsubscribed to something product/service related?

Why did you unsubscribe?

Key Insights
Buyers are very fickle, they want what they want
Need to a better job developing targeted content
Find a way to let buyers self-select what they want
Need to find ways to engage without overselling
They still want contact with sales
Changes in behavior are slow, and will depend on how you deliver valuable information

Survey Participants

Opportunities
Listening!
Tune into what is being discussed
By showing buyers that you are paying attention will go a long way to building trust, perceived value and becoming a trusted source
What areas can Listening affect in marketing and sales?

So, what’s the problem then?

Opportunities

How to Listen
Google RSS Feeds and Alerts

How to Listen
Twitter Searches

Blogs
It’s not just about
writing any more
Micro
blog
Photo
Share
RSS
Key
Social
Media
Components
Video
Share
Widgets
Podcasts
Events
Message
Boards
Chat

What to Content Create?
What do we know that’s of real value to prospects and customers?
What are our areas of distinctive expertise?
How can we show/demonstrate/illustrate our best ideas?
What lasting impression do we want to make on readers? What action do we want them to take?
Can we speak the right language?

Map Current Content to Buy Cycle

Blogging
Most promising social vehicle we have
Bridge the gap between building trust and value for your buyers
Serves as a foundation for other social media efforts
Ideal for search engines – buyers will find you
Blogging can convert into sales

Blogging: Frame the Debate
Blatant self-promotion is a no-no, but you don’t need to be 100% neutral
Define the subject matter such that it’s favorable to your strengths
Arguments are not won by logic and evidence, they are won by the side that sets the context for the debate.
Don’t name your product or your competitor. Refer to product/service categories/applications.
As you compose your content, always lead the reader to conclusions…features and benefits that play to your strengths

Blogging Style Tips
Keep It Short and Sweet.
Write a good headline.
Tell a story.
People love lists “5 ways….” “10 Things” – it has clear takeaways.
Let your personality shine through writing style.
Write about your personal life experiences.
Don’t publish your first draft. Cut it down, and then cut it down again.
Ask yourself Who/Why Care
Share links from outside of Intranet.
Be funny or share funny things, cartoons, videos, lighten it up.
Be provocative. If something riles you up, write about it and why it did.
Include an image or other media if possible to make it more interesting.
Break up long text paragraphs with headlines and bullets.

To cross the finish line…
Help buyers adapt to the shift in how information is distributed
Be where they are
Begin to integrate social media more tightly with marketing and sales efforts
Plan resources, budget
Implement listening tools
Be the “go-to” brand for your area of expertise
Build content to serve all stages of the buy cycle
Be willing to experiment
Adapt your message and tone for various needs

Exercise
Write a first paragraph for a blog post on a new product/project you are working on
Then write a 140 character Twitter lead in

Case in Point:Ophir-Spiricon
Gary Wagner,
President

Questions to Explore
What shifts have you noticed in buying patterns in last two years?
How do you use social media in your overall business strategy?
How do you measure success in social media?
Has it affected marketing and sales strategies/tactics? If yes, how?
What are the most successful marketing content tactics that you use?
What content produces the best conversions digitally?
What social media tactic has been the most effective?

Q&A
Thank you for your time
Contact: Contact:
Juliann Grant Gary Wagner
julianng@telesian.comgwagner@ophir-spiricon.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/juliannghttp://www.ophir-spiricon.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/julianngrant

How Prepared Are We for Customer 2.0? by Juliann Grant, Telesian Technology

by ISA Marketing & Sales Summit on Sep 21, 2011

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