- 84% of C-level and VP executives surveyed use social media like LinkedIn to assist with purchasing decisions. Online professional networks are the number 1 information source for buyers in the final purchase stage.
- Social buyers tend to be more senior, have larger budgets, make more frequent purchases, and have greater spending influence than non-social buyers. They spend 84% more per purchase.
- Salespeople need to use social media to connect with buyers, as most relationship building now occurs online. Not using social media can damage sales opportunities.
This report from IDC describes the ways that social buyers use sources like LinkedIn and when they tend to rely on LinkedIn the most. It also describes a social buyer heightened influence within an organization: they are more likely to make company-wide decisions and they have almost 84% more budget than non-social buyers.
44 Facts Defining the Future of Customer EngagementSam Capra โ๏ธ
ย
Imagine having a single view of every customer interaction with your business at your fingertips. From the time they walk into your stores or office, visit your website, tweet about your products, or reach out to your call center for help- all of these interactions would be available in a single view of your customer. Now imagine how you can leverage that rich data to create a differentiated and seamless customer experience. A crystal ball is not required in order to envision the future of customer engagement but you will need to think beyond the traditional CRM to technology that can support the infinite possibilities and unique paths comprising your customersโ journey today.
"From Likes to Loyalty: The Power of Social Media"Ma Foi Analytics
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This paper, based on investigation of distributed writing in the Indian market, expects to highlight the developing significance of social media for advertisers in India by aggregating how a few brands are now harvesting advantages from their ventures and moving beyond just โlikesโ and โfollowersโ
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The way customers engage with companies is shifting from telephones and email to social and mobile applications.
A social media strategy has now become a survival tool for almost all corporates to understand consumer preferences and perceptions towards their products, services and care
Social Media has changed the way we all serve and support our customers
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A 15-page intelligence report that delves into the area of social media for customer service. It contains analysis, insight and case studies including:
โข Are you listening?
โข Social CRM
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โข Future social care
โข Practical tips
This report from IDC describes the ways that social buyers use sources like LinkedIn and when they tend to rely on LinkedIn the most. It also describes a social buyer heightened influence within an organization: they are more likely to make company-wide decisions and they have almost 84% more budget than non-social buyers.
44 Facts Defining the Future of Customer EngagementSam Capra โ๏ธ
ย
Imagine having a single view of every customer interaction with your business at your fingertips. From the time they walk into your stores or office, visit your website, tweet about your products, or reach out to your call center for help- all of these interactions would be available in a single view of your customer. Now imagine how you can leverage that rich data to create a differentiated and seamless customer experience. A crystal ball is not required in order to envision the future of customer engagement but you will need to think beyond the traditional CRM to technology that can support the infinite possibilities and unique paths comprising your customersโ journey today.
"From Likes to Loyalty: The Power of Social Media"Ma Foi Analytics
ย
This paper, based on investigation of distributed writing in the Indian market, expects to highlight the developing significance of social media for advertisers in India by aggregating how a few brands are now harvesting advantages from their ventures and moving beyond just โlikesโ and โfollowersโ
Keys to Community Readiness and Growth ReportLeader Networks
ย
In order to help branded online communities understand the critical success factors, Leader Networks and CMX collaborated on this study. The research examines the organizational people, processes, and technology scenarios that fuel existing or future community initiatives. The result is a data-driven portrait of characteristics that can be used to predict the potential business impact of an online community. Based on the trends of communities deemed โvery successful,โ this portrait offers an inside look at what separates these communities from the pack and provides a strategic and operational model to emulate.
The way customers engage with companies is shifting from telephones and email to social and mobile applications.
A social media strategy has now become a survival tool for almost all corporates to understand consumer preferences and perceptions towards their products, services and care
Social Media has changed the way we all serve and support our customers
Social Media for Customer Service Report 2013Liam Dowd
ย
A 15-page intelligence report that delves into the area of social media for customer service. It contains analysis, insight and case studies including:
โข Are you listening?
โข Social CRM
โข Making connections
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โข Practical tips
Re:Engage: Accelerating Sales Pipeline w/ Marketing's New DynamicsScott Salkin
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According to an IDC study, nearly 57% of B2B prospects and customers feel that their sales reps are not prepared for the first meeting. And more than 1/3 of deals are lost due to circumstances within a reps control.
Why?
Originally presented at the Arizona Technology Council CEO Summit in August 2013, this presentation takes an in-depth look at the effect of marketing's "always-on" dynamics as a result of the web and social media, and how they've impacted the B2B sales cycle.
Topics include social media, lead generation and lead nurturing, marketing automation, sales enablement, search engine optimization, mobile marketing, and much more. Plus some great statistics from IDC, Google and several other B2B sales and marketing research reports.
Companies are not created equal when it comes to social media maturity. In its latest research, Altimeter Groupโs Charlene Li and Brian Solis uncovered a distinct gap between organizations that execute social media strategies and those that are truly a โsocial business.โ On one side, there are businesses (specifically departments) that are actively investing in social media without being tied to business goals. On the other side are organizations that are deeply integrating social media and social methodologies throughout the company to drive real business impact.
As companies mature in social, Altimeter Group found a natural progression through six distinct stages: Planning, Presence, Engagement, Formalized, Strategic, and Converged. In โThe Evolution of Social Business,โ readers will find common guiding success factors for organizations achieving success in each social business maturity stage, as well as prescriptive recommendations and checklists to grow to the next level of maturity.
Customer Experience is the superset of sensations, emotions and perceptions felt by your customers before, during and after product or service use. Experiences are created through interactions with things, people and the surroundings. Sharing of experiences happens across both physical and digital worlds, from a smile or a laugh, to a smiley face emoticon. The boundaries between physical and digital are blurring, even merging. Instant feedback, instant photos, instant communications, shared easily, quickly and without hesitation, or forethought. People like to share their experiences with their family, friends, co-workers and in general with the world around them. It is not only possible to capture, understand and learn from all of these digital interactions, but, the future of business just might depend on it and doing so requires planning and execution.
Enterprise Customer Experience represents the people, processes and technology required to listen, guide and engage your customers in the digital world; all towards creating personalized therefore enhanced experiences. Just like the real world, in the digital space, experience cannot be given, but can be designed, enabled and carefully considered. The simple idea is to learn from what is shared, turn it into information, provide insights to people that need it and then actions to be executed, all to further enhance the customer experience. There are a lot of moving parts, including technology as one, along with people and process. The imperative is to start with listening and progress to insights, actions and knowledge.
Each digital interaction creates data, which leads to information that when properly leveraged creates insights. When something is good, can you repeat it, when something is bad, how quickly can it be changed, altered? Each customer interaction is an opportunity to learn and grow. From first Ad impression and Website visit, to product purchase, product use, service interaction, receiving a bill or talking to support, each element has a unique input to, and impact on, customer experience.โจ The technology, how it is used by people and the process required;
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This presentation will explore the attitudes of Americans toward advertising in general and how their attitudes differ based on the medium, in particular on social networking services. Social networking services offer marketers a unique channel to interact with consumers and engage them with their brand. However, most advertisers are missing this opportunity because they are employing the wrong approach. During her presentation, Caroline Dangson will present IDC primary research on U.S. consumer behaviors on social networking services, their attitudes toward advertising on these sites, and the implications for how direct marketers can utilize these sites to connect with customers.
Social Customer Service: The Pivotal Driver of the Social EnterpriseLiveops
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ย
Social media is not just for connecting with peers. The IT Committee actively seeks insights and conversations with vendors on social media.
โข2 in 3 are open to connecting with a new vendor.
โข3 in 4 are ready to have a conversation with a new vendor on social media.
Trust drives brand perception, and the IT Committee trust LinkedIn more than other websites to receive information relevant to their IT decisions.
The IT Committee are >50% more likely to engage with their vendors on LinkedIn than on other social networks.
Get Satisfaction is built from the ground up as a customerfacing
platform, designed to build authentic relationships
between customers and companies. More than 35 million
consumers each month use Get Satisfactionโs network
to connect with each other to ask questions, share ideas,
report problems, and truly engage with the brands and
companies they care about.
Every 60 seconds 1,820 terabytes of data are created, including 98,000 tweets, 600 YouTube videos, and nearly 700,000 status updates. Navigating this world of social data can be overwhelming if you don't have the right approach--but the smart business knows that understanding data is the social center of excellence. This field is no longer just for the elite or uber-techs; it's time to democratize social data. It can and should be taken out of its silo and used to drive your decision-making across the company, because insightful businesses know how to turn data into action.
In this webinar, learn from our panel of experts how to:
-Use social analytics to create a 360-view of your customer
-Cultivate a culture of social intelligence in all departments of your business
-Understand social data as more than just numbers and text, but as pathways to actionable decisions.
-Turn data insights into a deeper understanding about how your business does and should work best
This survey confirmed, again, that consumers are challenging companies to sit up and take notice; and if they arenโt willing to care for their customers, they will go elsewhere.
Taking friction out of banking white paper - USNils Mork-Ulnes
ย
In our white paper, โTaking the friction out of bankingโ we research the threat from disruptive FinTech start-ups and look into designing for banking innovation with a focus on improving the digital experience for increasingly digitally-focused consumers.
Re:Engage: Accelerating Sales Pipeline w/ Marketing's New DynamicsScott Salkin
ย
According to an IDC study, nearly 57% of B2B prospects and customers feel that their sales reps are not prepared for the first meeting. And more than 1/3 of deals are lost due to circumstances within a reps control.
Why?
Originally presented at the Arizona Technology Council CEO Summit in August 2013, this presentation takes an in-depth look at the effect of marketing's "always-on" dynamics as a result of the web and social media, and how they've impacted the B2B sales cycle.
Topics include social media, lead generation and lead nurturing, marketing automation, sales enablement, search engine optimization, mobile marketing, and much more. Plus some great statistics from IDC, Google and several other B2B sales and marketing research reports.
Companies are not created equal when it comes to social media maturity. In its latest research, Altimeter Groupโs Charlene Li and Brian Solis uncovered a distinct gap between organizations that execute social media strategies and those that are truly a โsocial business.โ On one side, there are businesses (specifically departments) that are actively investing in social media without being tied to business goals. On the other side are organizations that are deeply integrating social media and social methodologies throughout the company to drive real business impact.
As companies mature in social, Altimeter Group found a natural progression through six distinct stages: Planning, Presence, Engagement, Formalized, Strategic, and Converged. In โThe Evolution of Social Business,โ readers will find common guiding success factors for organizations achieving success in each social business maturity stage, as well as prescriptive recommendations and checklists to grow to the next level of maturity.
Customer Experience is the superset of sensations, emotions and perceptions felt by your customers before, during and after product or service use. Experiences are created through interactions with things, people and the surroundings. Sharing of experiences happens across both physical and digital worlds, from a smile or a laugh, to a smiley face emoticon. The boundaries between physical and digital are blurring, even merging. Instant feedback, instant photos, instant communications, shared easily, quickly and without hesitation, or forethought. People like to share their experiences with their family, friends, co-workers and in general with the world around them. It is not only possible to capture, understand and learn from all of these digital interactions, but, the future of business just might depend on it and doing so requires planning and execution.
Enterprise Customer Experience represents the people, processes and technology required to listen, guide and engage your customers in the digital world; all towards creating personalized therefore enhanced experiences. Just like the real world, in the digital space, experience cannot be given, but can be designed, enabled and carefully considered. The simple idea is to learn from what is shared, turn it into information, provide insights to people that need it and then actions to be executed, all to further enhance the customer experience. There are a lot of moving parts, including technology as one, along with people and process. The imperative is to start with listening and progress to insights, actions and knowledge.
Each digital interaction creates data, which leads to information that when properly leveraged creates insights. When something is good, can you repeat it, when something is bad, how quickly can it be changed, altered? Each customer interaction is an opportunity to learn and grow. From first Ad impression and Website visit, to product purchase, product use, service interaction, receiving a bill or talking to support, each element has a unique input to, and impact on, customer experience.โจ The technology, how it is used by people and the process required;
IDC Consumer Attitudes About Internet Advertising and the Implications for Pe...Caroline Dangson
ย
This presentation will explore the attitudes of Americans toward advertising in general and how their attitudes differ based on the medium, in particular on social networking services. Social networking services offer marketers a unique channel to interact with consumers and engage them with their brand. However, most advertisers are missing this opportunity because they are employing the wrong approach. During her presentation, Caroline Dangson will present IDC primary research on U.S. consumer behaviors on social networking services, their attitudes toward advertising on these sites, and the implications for how direct marketers can utilize these sites to connect with customers.
Social Customer Service: The Pivotal Driver of the Social EnterpriseLiveops
ย
Customer Service is now driving the voice of the customer (VOC) cross-functional collaboration and that integration and use of VOC data makes all departments more effective and efficient.
Linkedin the Social Bridge to the IT CommitteeJill Sida
ย
Social media is not just for connecting with peers. The IT Committee actively seeks insights and conversations with vendors on social media.
โข2 in 3 are open to connecting with a new vendor.
โข3 in 4 are ready to have a conversation with a new vendor on social media.
Trust drives brand perception, and the IT Committee trust LinkedIn more than other websites to receive information relevant to their IT decisions.
The IT Committee are >50% more likely to engage with their vendors on LinkedIn than on other social networks.
Get Satisfaction is built from the ground up as a customerfacing
platform, designed to build authentic relationships
between customers and companies. More than 35 million
consumers each month use Get Satisfactionโs network
to connect with each other to ask questions, share ideas,
report problems, and truly engage with the brands and
companies they care about.
Every 60 seconds 1,820 terabytes of data are created, including 98,000 tweets, 600 YouTube videos, and nearly 700,000 status updates. Navigating this world of social data can be overwhelming if you don't have the right approach--but the smart business knows that understanding data is the social center of excellence. This field is no longer just for the elite or uber-techs; it's time to democratize social data. It can and should be taken out of its silo and used to drive your decision-making across the company, because insightful businesses know how to turn data into action.
In this webinar, learn from our panel of experts how to:
-Use social analytics to create a 360-view of your customer
-Cultivate a culture of social intelligence in all departments of your business
-Understand social data as more than just numbers and text, but as pathways to actionable decisions.
-Turn data insights into a deeper understanding about how your business does and should work best
This survey confirmed, again, that consumers are challenging companies to sit up and take notice; and if they arenโt willing to care for their customers, they will go elsewhere.
Taking friction out of banking white paper - USNils Mork-Ulnes
ย
In our white paper, โTaking the friction out of bankingโ we research the threat from disruptive FinTech start-ups and look into designing for banking innovation with a focus on improving the digital experience for increasingly digitally-focused consumers.
Key Finding: The Most Senior and Influential B2B Buyers Use Social Media for Their Purchase Process
Complex decisions are fraught with risk. To increase trust and confidence in making high-stakes company purchase decisions, B2B buyers leverage their professional networks. Social media makes accessing these networks more efficient. New global research, conducted by IDC in February 2014, finds that online social networks play a vital role in the purchase process of 84% of the most senior B2B buyers. In the final stage of the purchasing process, when stakes are highest, online professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn) are the number 1 information preference of buyers.
Social@Ogilvy and OgilvyOne thought-leadership on unlocking engagement opportunities across the customer journey.
This research aims to answer a simple question. Do visible Social programmes undertake the fundamental Customer Engagement activities that drive sales, loyalty and advocacy?
Information, reviews, complaints, and compliments are spread globally across social media with a few mouse clicks. And they are like a permanent tattoo seen over and over by customers and prospects researching your products and services. Even if your goods have improved by leaps and bounds, the โtattooโ of your past is merely faded.
This is why itโs crucial to use social media listening and measurement applications to monitor, analyze, and inform you quickly of online brand threats and opportunities. However, this data is only important if you actually do something with it.
In this webinar, weโll talk about taking the next steps from listening to actionable insights. Join our panel of experts to discuss:
-Turning social data into insights.
-Aligning KPIs across departments and channels.
-Streamlining company-wide collaboration.
-Fine-tuning your business goals and strategies.
-Turning insights into action.
-Scaling social across your company and systems.
โข More than 665 million people now use Facebook every day
โข Over 70% of Internet users say they are more likely to purchase from brands they follow on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook
โข The number of active LinkedIn users has grown to over two million, and 35% of them access the site daily. So potentially one third of your leads can be contacted on LinkedIn
How the consumer shift to online media channels is changing the marketing mix.
(All research is cited. Special shout out to Hubspot and Aberdeen Group, both great resources on the subject matter).
Lithium whitepaper: Hey, Tech! Get Serious About Social Customer EnlistmentLithium
ย
Learn about the current state social for tech and why social customer enlistment is a game-changer. Learn how to get social customers to co-create value with you with
gamificationโdone right. Get sustainable social strategies from Lithium.
If you have started your social media marketing, you should know what is social media ROI.
Here are some useful information that you should have in mind.
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Social Buying Meets Social Selling: How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience
1. April 2014, IDC #247829
WHITE PAPER
Social Buying Meets Social Selling: How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience
Sponsored by: LinkedIn
Kathleen Schaub
April 2014
IDC OPINION
Complex decisions are fraught with risk. To increase trust and confidence in making high-stakes company purchase decisions, B2B buyers leverage their professional networks. Social media makes accessing these networks more efficient. New global research, conducted by IDC in February 2014, finds that online social networks play a vital role in the purchase process of 84% of the most senior B2B buyers. In the final stage of the purchasing process, when stakes are highest, online professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn) are the number 1 information preference of buyers.
IDC found that buyer trends are generally similar for all three geographic regions studied and expects the practice of online social buying to increase as the use of online social networks, particularly professional networks, expands.
Sales professionals are advised to pay attention to this trend. The rise of digital communications has already eroded the opportunity to sell face to face. For example, IDC's 2012 IT Buyer Experience study reported that an average of nearly 50% of the purchasing process for technology solutions is complete before a salesperson becomes involved. Reduced face-to-face time is not the only change salespeople need to worry about now. Relationship building, referrals, and recommendations are also shifting online. To succeed today, sales professionals must answer their social phones.
Summary
๏ง 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level/vice president (VP) executives surveyed use social media to make purchasing decisions.
๏ง Online professional networks are the number 1 information preference of buyers in the final stage of the purchase process.
๏ง Social buying correlates with buying influence. The average B2B buyer who uses social media for buying support is more senior, has a bigger budget, makes more frequent purchases, and has a greater span of buying control than a buyer who does not use social media.
๏ง B2B buyers find the greatest benefit of social media is gaining greater confidence in and comfort with their decisions.
2. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 2
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Key Finding: The Most Senior and Influential B2B Buyers Use Social Media for Their Purchase Process
Social media, especially online professional networks, plays a vital role for senior executives making company purchases. A large majority, 84%, of C-level and VP-level buyers use social media for purchasing. Overall, 75% of B2B buyers consult social media when making purchasing decisions (see Figure 1). Also, senior-level buyers are more likely to use online professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn) for purchase support. 63% of C-level/VP-level buyers have used online professional networks for purchase support in the past 12 months compared with 56% for the entire sample (see Figure 2).
"I was looking for a special product for my business and not finding companies manufacturing this product around me. I asked my actual social network and a friend put me in touch with a supplier."
"It's at your fingertips โ there's no waiting for someone to get back to you." FIGURE 1
75% of B2B Buyers and 84% of C-Level/VP Executives Surveyed Use Social Media to Make Purchasing Decisions
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?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
75% 25% Entire Sample84% 16% C-Level/VP ExecutivesYesNo
3. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 3
FIGURE 2
Over Half of B2B Buyers Have Used LinkedIn to Support Their Purchase Process During the Past Year
Q. Have you or has anyone on your purchasing team used LinkedIn to support your purchase process in the past 12 months?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
B2B buyers who are active on social media represent a more senior and influential segment than those who do not use social media. Social buyers, those who use online connections to support the purchase process, are more senior (see Figure 3) and have a greater span of purchasing control (see Figure 4) than non-users. They also spend 84% more per purchase (see Figure 5) and make 61% more purchase decisions (see Figure 6). These attributes are likely related (senior executives generally have more span of control and can authorize bigger budgets). Nonetheless, the finding belies a common perception that social media is used primarily by junior people who are less busy.
"[Social media has been] very helpful for us. We've made some big business decisions based on help received through social media."
56% 44% Entire Sample63% 37% C-Level/VP ExecutivesYesNo
4. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 4
FIGURE 3
Senior Executives Are More Likely to Use Social Media
Q. Which of the following best describes your job title or level?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
FIGURE 4
Buyers with Greater Influence Are More Likely to Use Social Media
Q. Which of the following best describes your role in company purchase decisions?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
46.6
27.8
0
20
40
60
80
100
Use Social Media for
Purchasing
Do Not Use Social Media for
Purchasing
(% of respondents)
Manager Level or Lower
Director Level or Above
45.2
19.8
24.6
19.8
14.0
16.0
16.2
44.4
0
20
40
60
80
100
Use Social Media for
Purchasing
Do Not Use Social Media
for Purchasing
(% of respondents)
Influence or make the final
decisions for my department only
Influence or make the final
decisions for multiple departments
Influence or make the final
decisions for my business unit
Influence or make the final
decisions companywide
5. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 5
FIGURE 5
Buyers with Larger Budgets Are More Likely to Use Social Media
Q. What is the typical size of the purchase(s) you were involved with over the past 12 months?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
FIGURE 6
Frequent Purchasers Are More Likely to Use Social Media
Q. How many purchasing decisions at the "department level" or above have you been involved
with in the past 12 months?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
355,520
193,515
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
Use Social Media for Purchasing Do Not Use Social Media for Purchasing
($)
Average Typical Purchase Decision Size
84%
19.8
12.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Use Social Media for Purchasing Do Not Use Social Media for Purchasing
Average Number of Purchase Decisions in the
Past 12 Months
61%
6. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 6
Implications for Sales Professionals
Sales professionals who are not active social media users are missing an important opportunity to connect. Salespeople have long leveraged offline social networks for recommendations, referrals, and revenue because the strategy is so successful. All things being equal, people prefer to buy from those they know and trust. Now, sales professionals selling high-impact products or services (e.g., complex, expensive, important to the buyer) need to replicate their networking strategy online because social media is where peer conversations are happening.
Salespeople active with online networks will gain additional benefits. Large numbers of relationships can be maintained more efficiently online. It takes less time to keep up with customer news and changes. Contact is made more quickly. Social media gives a sales professional's positive actions more visibility and a longer shelf life. Online social networks may make it easier to build relationships with senior, influential buyers because the constraints of time and location are reduced for all parties.
"[Social media provides] the ability to check references and work history and supply satisfaction, etc."
Opting out of social media may cause real damage. Salespeople should recognize that they can't opt out of social media if their buyers are there. Evidence of non-participation is just as visible as presence. Salespeople will inadvertently deliver a negative message with their absence. Put simply, sales professionals must answer their social phones.
"We put out the call to our social media 'friends' to refer us to tech vendors with engineering experience. We asked for names and any relevant URLs, references, etc., and we received over 75 responses, which gave us more options to consider."
Key Finding: Social Networks, in General, and Social Media, in Particular, Help Establish Confidence and Trust
Buyers place great trust in their professional networks. Complex problems with complex solutions are fraught with risk. B2B buyers reduce that risk by practicing social buying. They leverage professional networks for buying support in order to increase their confidence in decision making. Buyers place greater trust in commercial relationships that have the stamp of approval from their professional networks (see Figure 7).
"[Social media] smoothed over our reference checking, allowing us to verify what the vendor was known for and allowing us more direct contact with the vendor's representative."
7. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 7
FIGURE 7
Buyers Place Great Trust in Their Professional Networks
Q. Please rate your agreement with each of the following statements. (Answers reflect the percentage of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed.)
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
Social media improves purchasing effectiveness because social media provides buyers with better access to the trust and confidence they seek from their social connections (see Figure 8). Senior executives typically have extensive professional networks. In one sense, it's not surprising that they would seek to leverage those networks via social media. Humans are humans. The same needs and desires that drive behavior in the offline world are often sought online. However, senior executives are also among the world's busiest people, and effective use of social media does take time. Why would so many busy people spend their extremely valuable time in this way?
While time is scarce, trust and confidence can be even rarer. Buyers making high-impact decisions will gravitate toward methods that make confidence building easier. To get more time, executives can reprioritize tasks and use productivity-enhancing tools. Executives can delegate time-consuming tasks to staff, but they cannot delegate trust. Executive buyers use social media and especially online professional networks to more efficiently leverage their professional social networks and thus improve access to the confidence those networks provide.
"[Social media offers] a way to correlate information and cross-reference opinions from a wide range of colleagues and fellow industry professionals."
59.562.663.965.173.076.2020406080I prefer to buy from someone who also knows my colleagues, friends, or acquaintancesI appreciate being contacted by vendors at the right time with relevant information and opportunitiesI appreciate introductions to new peopleMy network of colleagues, friends, and acquaintances is critical for reference checkingI prefer to work with sales professionals who have been referred to me by someone I knowI prefer to work with vendors that have been recommended to me by someone I know (% of respondents)
8. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 8
"We used social media to solicit opinions, create new vendor relationships, and hear back from colleagues about what worked for them and what did not."
"Finding potential options is much easier, and with all the references, it becomes even more reliable." FIGURE 8
Social Media Drives Confidence and Credibility in the Purchase Decision
Q. When using social media as a resource to support your purchase, how did social media improve your purchase decision? Check all that apply. (This question was asked of respondents who had used social media for purchasing support.)
n = 573
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
Buyers need trust to buy confidently and would like to ensure this trust is maintained online. When asked about concerns they may have about social media, respondents answered that their top concern is that vendors and sales professionals would not be authentic. Of those survey participants who acknowledged concern about social media, 62.2% are concerned or strongly concerned about the authenticity of online profiles.
"There are a lot of false promises and profiles [online], that's why references are key for us."
In spite of this concern, respondents were overwhelmingly willing to use social media for purchasing support. 75% of B2B buyers surveyed have already used it, and of the remaining 25% who have not yet used it, only 5.2% are unwilling to try.
.536.541.046.453.655.30204060OtherThe purchase cycle was shorter than it may have beenIt was easier to gain consensus within our teamWe had more satisfactory options available to usWe felt more comfortable with the expertise and credibility of our vendorWe felt more confident that we had the information to make our decision(% of respondents)
9. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 9
The approximately 80% of buyers who had not yet used social media for purchasing support were willing to do so under the right conditions. What is the most desired condition? It is access to their trusted network. The top motivation (32.6% of respondents) for initiating social buying would be if more of their peers used social media for professional purposes (see Figure 9). In addition, trust played a role in their citing of other conditions for future social media use. Some social media non-users would be more inclined to use it if their purchases were more complex or expensive, indicating more high-stakes purchases. FIGURE 9
Non-Users of Social Media Would Use It If Their Peers Were On It
Q. Which of the following would enable you to consider using social media for company purchasing decisions in the future? Check all that apply. (This question was asked of respondents who had not used social media for purchasing support.)
n = 187
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
Implications for Sales Professionals
When engaged in social media, respect the connection. Sales professionals can certainly use social media for direct outreach to buyers who they don't know. In the IDC study, many buyers were open to this contact under the right circumstances. 62.6% agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement: "I appreciate being contacted by vendors at the right time with relevant information and opportunities." However, the more important social media benefit was the ability to reach recommended vendors (76.2% agreed or strongly agreed with this benefit) and recommended salespeople (73% agreed or strongly agreed with this benefit).
2.116.020.921.923.524.127.332.605101520253035OtherIf my purchasing decisions were more expensiveI would not consider using social media to support my purchasing decisionsIf I was more comfortable with using social mediaIf my purchasing decisions were more complexIf I had more authority in deciding which vendors my company usesIf I had more timeIf more of my peers were actively using social media for professional purposes(% of respondents)
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Social media is not simply a new way to cold-call. When sales professionals interact via social media, it's better if they approach prospects through a mutual connection. Even when a connection isn't possible, sales professionals must boost buyers' confidence by being visibly present online in an authentic, transparent, and reasonably complete way. Actions speak louder than words, and online, the longevity of activity means that it is difficult, if not impossible, to retract actions that go wrong โ so get interactions right from the beginning.
Key Finding: In the Final Stage of the Purchasing Process, When Stakes Are Highest, Online Professional Networks Are the Number 1 Information Preference of Buyers
Online professional networks show up as important in all stages of the purchase process, and use of these networks rises until they become the most important information resource in the final stage.
In this survey, IDC described the purchase process as consisting of three stages. For each stage, respondents were asked about the usefulness of various information resources, including various types of social media.
๏ง The earliest stage of your purchase process includes investigating how you can improve business and/or productivity, determining whether your problem(s) is important enough to invest in a solution, and investigating possible alternatives (features you may need, etc.).
๏ง The middle stage of your purchase process includes constructing a "short list" of specific brands and products and determining implementation challenges and solutions.
๏ง The final stage of your purchase process includes getting answers to final questions, finalizing decisions, and negotiating terms and conditions.
In the earliest stage of the purchasing process, B2B buyers place greatest emphasis on information gathering overall and tend to value more general information resources. News-oriented social media (e.g., microblogs such as Twitter) is the most popular type of social media used at this stage. Online professional networks rank in the middle of the list of information resources (see Figure 10).
As the purchasing process progresses and buyers become more serious, the desire for credibility increases. Recommendations from third-party experts rise to the top of the list during the middle stage of the purchasing process, and online professional networks rise to the fourth position.
By the time buyers get to the final stage of the purchase process, they have already made a significant investment of time and effort. They are on the brink of committing to a vendor and solution. When stakes are highest, B2B buyers find online professional networks to be the most valuable information resource.
11. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 11
FIGURE 10
Ranking of Information Resources During the Purchase Process Stages
Q. For each stage of the purchase process, please rate the value of the following resources.
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
"Social media helped us to learn more about the vendor [and] the product and helped us to receive recommendations. It made the process much faster and easier and ultimately helped with a better end product."
"[Using social media] gave us a more secure feeling when making our final decision."
"LinkedIn was the most helpful. We got more recommendations and more information through this network."
Implications for Sales Professionals
Sales professionals can benefit from social media activity at all three stages of the purchasing process. However, buyers use social media differently in each stage, implying that sales actions must also differ. For example, when working with buyers during the earliest stage, sales professionals can monitor important customers for trends that can be converted into relevant conversations. When encountering buyers in the middle stage, sales professionals who are better able to track and manage engagement via social networks may have an advantage when it comes to keeping deals on track.
Information ResourceEarliest Stage RankMiddle Stage RankFinal Stage RankIndustry-specificmedia126Third-partyexpert recommendations412Professionalsocial networks (e.g., LinkedIn)841Internetsearch2310Microblogs (e.g.,Twitter)3135Generalword of mouth588In-person events6912VendorWebsites7611Vendor content (e.g., white papers, infographics)957General media101013Personal socialnetworks (e.g., Facebook)11114Private domain ortopic specific 1273Digital events (e.g.,Webcasts, virtual events)13129
12. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 12
Buyer interaction with vendors via online professional networks may signal a high level of commitment and the likelihood of the buyers being in the final stage of the purchasing process.
Some companies consider social media participation to be exclusively a marketing responsibility. However, salespeople should not "outsource" critical relationship-fostering responsibilities to anyone else โ it's just too important for sales success. Marketing can be a very valuable partner, helping the sales team get the most from social media. Sales management should insist that marketing invest in social media monitoring and share critical data with the sales team.
Regional, Industry, and Age Trends
Regional Considerations
IDC found that buyer trends are generally similar for all three geographic regions studied. However, there were some regional differences primarily related to degree of social media preference and confidence (see Figures 11 and 12). For example, North American buyers are the most likely to use social media for purchasing and the most likely to say it brings confidence and credibility to the purchase process. IDC believes that as the size of online professional networks expands in various regions, the use of social media for purchasing support will also grow.
FIGURE 11
Active Social Buyers Are Found in All Global Regions
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?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
83.377.065.916.723.034.1020406080100North America (US, Canada) EMEA (UK, France, Netherlands) AP (Australia, NZ, Singapore) (% of respondents) NoYes
13. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 13
FIGURE 12
Trust and Confidence Are Valued Resources Everywhere
Q. When using social media as a resource to support your purchase, how did social media improve your purchase decision?
n = 760
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
Industry Considerations
The IDC study included a limited range of industries โ technology, professional services, and financial services. The study was intended to provide a forward-looking view of the B2B buyer's experience with and related preferences for using social media to support the company purchase process. As known early adopters of new technologies and new media, the selected industries provided a deep look into the subject. Because of the industry selection criteria, this study carries the caveat that buyers in other industries may not yet have achieved the same level of social buying penetration. However, since IDC found no significant differences in the findings between industries studied, we believe that the trends are directionally true for other industries. IDC also found that company size did not significantly change the trends.
Age Considerations
Buyers who used social media for purchase support are somewhat younger than those who do not use it. 81.7% of social buyers are under the age of 45 compared with 63.6% of non-users.
63.267.051.052.044.644.601020304050607080We felt more comfortable with the expertise and credibility of our vendorWe felt more confident that we had the information to make our decision (% of respondents) North America (US, Canada) EMEA (UK, France, Netherlands) AP (Australia, NZ, Singapore)
14. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 14
Implications for Sales Professionals
The time to invest in online social competency is now. Regardless of geographic location, companies that want to sell to technology, professional services, and financial services companies and that aren't active on social media are certainly already behind the curve. Sales professionals who sell complex solutions to any industry are also advised to become active now. Conditions for social buying are applicable for most, if not all, buyers of complex solutions. Therefore, it is highly likely that buyers in industries not studied would have similar social buying practices โ now or in the near future.
"Researching vendors online and checking out their online profiles gives a lot of insight into them. I would recommend using these tools to any purchasing team."
FUTURE OUTLOOK
IDC believes that social media, especially online professional networks, will continue to grow in importance as purchasing tools. This projection is supported by several reasons:
๏ง Senior executives (the C-level and VP-level buyers who demonstrate the greatest propensity to use social media for buying) set the pace for others in their organization. Where the leaders go, others tend to follow.
๏ง The value offered by social buying (greater efficiency in reaping trust and confidence from social networks) is a core benefit highly desired by most, if not all, buyers of complex solutions. There is no reason to believe this need will abate.
๏ง As vendors gain more experience in social marketing and social selling, their skills will improve. IDC's work with leading technology companies, for example, indicates that companies are actively trying to change into buyer-centric organizations in order to court empowered buyers. While this transformation is difficult and will take time, the new competencies will amplify the value that buyers seek from social media. This will create an echo effect, making social media even more valuable to buyers.
As the use of social media expands, the gap between companies that use social media for buying and selling and those that do not will widen, creating a significant disadvantage for companies that lag.
15. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 15
ESSENTIAL GUIDANCE
IDC recommends that sales professionals make the following changes to their approach:
Increase social proximity
๏ง Find the social connectors (people in your industry with strong social networks and influence), and try to get to know them.
๏ง Grow social networks to be closer to more people/right people.
๏ง Be at the intersection of conversations, as presence alone helps build familiarity and eventually trust.
Improve social presence
๏ง Be present in the right way. Buyers will want to get to know a sales professional in advance of a deeper relationship, and people who may serve as possible references will also be looking. Manage a professional identity (trusted personal brand). Be credible, authentic, accurate, information rich, and service oriented.
๏ง When sharing thought leadership or expertise, consider the interests of potential buyers with respect to the purchase process stage. For example, buyers who engage with content intended for final-stage decision making may be primed to purchase, which is a signal for salespeople to increase attention and outreach.
๏ง Engage earlier and with a lighter touch. Approach people with a "warm" introduction โ through their valued social network.
Build social capital (build up a reservoir of "like" and trust)
๏ง Conduct research before making sales calls. Review the prospective buyer's profile, follow the individuals and companies of interest, and investigate group memberships and other social media activity to ensure relevancy. Salespeople with knowledge of the person/situation are more likely to be able to serve as a trusted advisor.
๏ง Facilitate peer-to-peer recommendations. Make others proud to be a reference. Make it easy to share information.
๏ง Be a good guy. Send thank you notes, share knowledge freely, facilitate exchange between peers (help them help each other), provide referrals, and rarely ask for favors (social capital is built when people give without demanding immediate exchange).
16. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 16
APPENDIX 1: BUYERS' TOP USES OF LINKEDIN
Survey participants who responded that they had used LinkedIn during the purchase process were asked about specific service feature use. Their responses are ranked in Figure 13. FIGURE 13
Buyers' Top Uses of LinkedIn
Q. What LinkedIn features did you or others on your purchasing team use in your purchase decisions in the past 12 months?
n = 422
Source: IDC's Social Buying Study, February 2014
APPENDIX 2: METHODOLOGY
Information for this white paper came from a February 2014 IDC global survey of workers in the technology, professional services, and financial services industries with reporting levels ranging from C-level executives to staff/individual contributors. IDC surveyed 760 respondents: 319 above the director level, 306 at the manager level, 96 supervisors, and 39 staff/individual contributors. Respondents were employed in organizations of over 100 employees. All respondents had responsibility for or influence on company purchases at the departmental level or above and had made at least one purchase decision within the past 12 months. The median number of purchasing decisions was 18. The majority of the respondents were involved in the purchase process as a company, division, or functional leader (e.g., CEO, regional VP, director of HR, practice leader) or as a technical decision maker (e.g., IT, engineering, or R&D).
29.133.233.638.939.341.944.146.048.60204060Received outreach from vendors after sharing articles of other content on LinkedInContacted vendors via InMailFollow companies on LinkedIn and receive their updates in my homepage feedInvited vendors to connectContacted vendors via LinkedIn GroupsFound vendors by looking at who my coworkers knowFound vendors by looking at who my connections knowSearched for potential vendors on LinkedInResearched vendors by looking at their profiles(% of respondents)
17. ยฉ2014 IDC #247829 17
Respondents were recruited and screened from international panels and came from eight countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The survey was conducted over the Internet and administered in the local language.
18. About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact- based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company.
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