Social Networking for Business: How is it different?

The difference between B2B and B2C community Vanessa DiMauro CEO Leader Networks www.leadernetworks.com v

Agenda

What are the main differences between consumer and business-focused communities?

What are the critical success factors for a professional network?

What business benefits should (or shouldn’t) you expect?

Three general community models B2B B2C Hybrid Select, narrow target audience Acceptance criteria Protected dialog Managed topical agenda Sponsor supported and sometimes member fees Open call, all interested Member directed Public forum Big bang Ad generated support Tiered membership Consensus/Trend driven Public forum w/ private area Thought leadership (responsive) Hybrid Revenues

B2C and B2B community overview

B2C

Large in number

Users share an experience

Focus on low-touch services

Grows by mass adoption

Forums, ratings and self-serve offering

Typically quick to scale but users have weak ties

Vague mission: it is interpretive

B2B

Number can vary

Members share a purpose

Focus on high-touch services

Grows by word of mouth trust

Programmatic membership offering

Typically slow to scale but members have stronger ties

Strong stated mission that is visibly embraced

Audience differences

B2C: Target general public – any and all

SEO, advertising and blogger outreach drives traffic

“ accept” (celebrate!) all who join

B2B: Target highly defined memberships by business process or solution focus

Invitations and WOM drives traffic

Google tracking and SEO non-operational in private (gated) communities

Develop clear membership guidelines and adhere to them strictly to yield credibility

Design differences

B2B must offer a more intuitive and simplified tool set than B2C communities.

Consumers are more agile users than business users. B2B users are more focused on solving problems and are less tolerant than consumers.

Make no assumptions about web 2.0 usage…

“ basic” things like hover links are best explained or made explicit through helper text

simpler design... if a professional can’t use the community while having the phone ring and conducting a conversation in his office it is too difficult.

Information/ content differences

B2B communities generally must offer less information. The community needs to be the concierge of interactions and information for the members.

“ The Neiman Marcus Model”

Information must be connected with purpose – solve a business problem or support a business process.

They are too busy for innate curiosity so each content piece must be useful, usable and engaging

Exclusive information and WOM is well read

Avoid marketing slicks and language. Plain speak with a quirky or interesting POV.

Differences in interactions

The goals for B2C and B2B are different. Exclusivity or attracting the “right” member is the key in professional networks. Professional groups need to be treated and engaged differently than consumers.

Protect and support your key members

Identify and design reasons for interactions

they are too busy to connect for connection sake.

Support different types of collaboration

Collaborate and evaporate model

Longer standing collaboration (working) groups

Create ways for members to take ownership over the community

Create safety in exposure – professionals are (generally) better at solving problems than asking for help.

Technology

There are more similarities than differences with B2B and B2C communities. The nuances are in deployment.

Key question: build, buy or assemble?

Technology choices tend to be similar to consumer communities with password (LLDAP) authentication

Typically a CMS system + forum software and web 2.0 components OR

Community in a box solution

Community Server/Hive/Jive are examples

Hosted or in-house options

.net or java platform

Costs can range from open source to $200K per year

B2B Marketing

Member-Generated Content

Profiles / home pages

Endorsements and Reviews

Interviews and high-value content creation

Requests for assistance

Member-To-Member Interaction

Professional links

Professional networks

Discussion Forums

Blogs, Wikis and social media entries

Phone calls

Events

Guest events

Expert Seminars

Virtual meetings / Trade Shows

Outreach

Newsletters

Volunteer / Leader programs

Polls / surveys

Driving Participation: Discussion group management and facilitation. (Only 10% of membership will participate in discussion groups)

Driving Conversion : All other site interaction. IE: polls / surveys, answering specific questions, rating content, participating in events…etc

B2B = Business Benefits

Increase:

Participation … of current and prospective clients

Membership … expanding our reach

More clients represented

Happy paying sponsors

Press and analysts

Value … for all of our constituents

Client retention

Connections

Reputation

Ease of use

Save and make money and value creation

B2B community business model in action Member has an idea Member seeks advice Member evaluates options Member expands network Member aligns with brand Goes to discussions Uses answers features Requests a review, participates in buying experience, purchases additional services Showcases thought leadership in profile, subscription renewal create value get benefit

Organizational Integration

Leveraging what you learn

Use your knowledge assets widely

Sales

Marketing

Customer Service

Product Development

Research & Development

Competitive Intelligence

Critical success factors

Demonstrate high integrity and transparency at all times

Fix the rules of engagement and do not change them

Create rich member care programs

Trust and support UGC

Solve their professional needs and even the busiest exec will use the network

The Sum Of The Parts

The combination of strong feature sets and a comprehensive membership support program can create a trusted, vibrant community engaging in deep professional collaboration world-wide.