social buying meets social selling: how trusted networks improve the purchase experience

Social Buying Meets Social Selling:How Trusted Networks Improve the

Purchase ExperienceDaniel-Zoe Jimenez

Senior Program Manager, IDC APeJ BDA, Apps and Social

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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

252 AP respondents (100 AUS, 76 NZ, 76 SG)

Titles ranged from C-level executives to individual contributors

Business and technical decision-makers

© IDC Visit us at IDC.com and follow us on Twitter: @IDC 3


Who are the social buyers?

@DZ_Jimenez


The most senior B2B buyers use social media for their purchase process

Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n=760

5

AP

YesNo

84%

16%

C-Level/VP Executives

YesNo

75%

25%

Entire Sample

34%

66%

The most influential B2B buyers use social media

The 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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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?


83.3% 77.0% 65.9%

16.7% 23.0% 34.1%

0

20

40

60

80

100

North America(US, Canada)

EMEA(UK, France, Netherlands)

AP(Australia, NZ, Singapore)

(%)

No

Yes

AUS 65%


Why do B2B buyers use social media?

@DZ_Jimenez

Complex decisions are fraught with risk


Buyers place great trust in their professional networks


I prefer to work with vendors that have been recommended to me by someone I know 76.2%

73.0%

65.1%

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 checking




I prefer to work with vendors that have been recommended to me by someone I know 71%

70%

62%




Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n=760, AP n=252

APAC



I prefer to work with vendors that have been recommended to me by someone I know 73%

73%

61%




Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n=760, AP n=252 AUS n=100

Social media makes it easier to reach your trusted professional network.

13© IDC Visit us at IDC.com and follow us on Twitter: @IDC


How does social media improve purchasing

decisions?

@DZ_Jimenez

How did social media improve your purchase decision?


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%







45%

45%

45%


APAC






43%

51%

35%

Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n=760, AP n=252, AUS n=100

#1 WW and AP

Non-social media purchasers would use it - if their peers were on it


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 MoneyJust

won’tIf 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

Non-social media purchasers would use it - if their peers were on it


28% 28%22% 21% 19% 19%19%

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 my purchasing decisions were more complex

If I was more comfortable using

social media

Peers Need Comfort Time MoneyJust

won’tI would not

consider using social media to




If I had more authority in

deciding which vendors

AuthorityIf I had more

time

APAC

Non-social media purchasers would use it - if they had more authority


40%

26%

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 I had more authority in deciding

which vendors

If I was more comfortable using social

media

If more of my peers were

actively using social media

Authority Comfort Peers

23%

Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n=760, AP n=252, AUS n=100

26%

If my purchasing

decisions were more complex

NeedIf I had more time

Time

23%14%

20%

Money Just won’tI would not

consider using social media to



Huh? Who cares? YES!!

The Buyer’s Journey

Exploration Evaluation Purchase

@DZ_Jimenez

21

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=rk6yJhOKkTqf2M&tbnid=6wfl89QzXxyE2M:&ved=&url=http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/walking-bridge&ei=M2YaUvuTJ6WuigKtnIHgCw&bvm=bv.51156542,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNF_zyrZPabSgWHnrz88OwVEf9a4BQ&ust=1377548212163860

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=rk6yJhOKkTqf2M&tbnid=6wfl89QzXxyE2M:&ved=&url=http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/walking-bridge&ei=M2YaUvuTJ6WuigKtnIHgCw&bvm=bv.51156542,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNF_zyrZPabSgWHnrz88OwVEf9a4BQ&ust=1377548212163860

When stakes are the highest, professional social networks are the #1 preferred resource.


Information Resource (Partial List)ExplorationStage 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 1Internet 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.


When stakes are the highest, professional social networks are the #3 preferred resource.


Information Resource (Partial List)ExplorationStage Rank

Evaluation Stage Rank

Purchase Stage Rank

Industry-specific Media 1 2 5

Third-party expert recommendations 4 1 1Professional social networks (e.g. LinkedIn) 9 6 3Internet Search 2 5 7

Microblogs (e.g. Twitter) 6 13 6

General Word-of-Mouth 3 3 8

Q. For each stage of the purchase process, please rate the value of the following resources.


APAC


Future Outlook

24


How do we reach social buyers?

@DZ_Jimenez

Reaching Social Buyers


Build Social Proximity




Build Social Presence




Build Social Presence

Build Social Capital


Daniel-Zoe JimenezSenior Program Manager, IDC APeJ BDA, Apps, Social

[email protected]@DZ_Jimenez

Kathleen SchaubVice President, IDC CMO Advisory Service

[email protected]@kathleenschaub

social buying meets social selling: how trusted networks improve the purchase experience

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