the rise of social selling in b2b organisations
DESCRIPTION
How Google Used Social Networks to Generate Connections, Engagement, and Meetings with the C-Suite. This was presented by Cathy Yum, Head of Enterprise Marketing for Google Asia. and Tom Skotidas, Director, Skotidas at #adtechaseanTRANSCRIPT
The Rise of Social Selling in B2B Organisations
Tom Skotidas and Cathy Yum
The Rise of Social Selling in B2B Organisations
Tom Skotidas and Cathy Yum
The Old Model
Salespeople and Account Managers used to be Key Information Sources for
B2B Buyers.
Transformation
The Internet + Social Networks Have Changed Buyer Behaviour Forever.
Why Should B2B Professionals Care?
Source: Corporate Executive Board (www.executiveboard.com)
Buyer Shift
● Sales professionals need to capture B2B buyers’ attention earlier
● Sales professionals need to be customer-centric and provide insights that go beyond the 57% that the buyer already knows
● How do you achieve both of the above?○ Sales professionals need to participate in channels that
buyers use for research, discovery, and discussion
What Do B2B Professionals Need To Do?
Sales Mindshift
Issues with Traditional Marketing Channels
Performance Fatigue
Channel Dilemma
Channel DilemmaIssues with Traditional Marketing Channels
Limited Access toSenior Executives
Channel DilemmaIssues with Traditional Marketing Channels
Limited Relationship-Building
B2B OpportunityThe Case for Social Networks
● Fresh Marketing Channel (first-mover advantage)
● Transparent + Direct Access to Senior Decision Makers
● Brand building, demand generation, and lead generation can be executed simultaneously
● Relationships can flourish between Buyer and Seller
Social Selling OpportunityWhat Is Social Selling?
Social Selling is the process of Social Marketing for Sales Enablement.
● Connect your brand with B2B buyers on social networks
● Use Brand Building to grow Market Trust in your brand
● Use Demand Generation to grow Market Need in your solution
● Convert Market Trust + Market Need into meetings, pipeline, and revenue
Key Numbers and Statistics
● LinkedIn has over 300 million members globally; 60,000,000+ are in Asia Pacific
● ASEAN:○ 1,400,000 in Singapore○ 3,560,000 in Indonesia○ 2,635,000 in the Philippines○ 1,900,000 in Malaysia
● Rest of Asia:○ 28,000,000 in India○ 5,475,000 in China○ 930,000 in Hong Kong○ 912,000 in Korea
Social Selling Opportunity
Source: LinkedIn (July 2014)
Search Volume Trends (Keyword = LinkedIn)
Social Selling Opportunity
Source: Google Trends (3 July 2014)
Search Volume Trends (Keyword = LinkedIn)
Social Selling Opportunity
Source: Google Trends (3 July 2014)
Age of B2B Buyers on LinkedIn
Singapore Malaysia
Indonesia Philippines
Social Selling Opportunity
Source: Quantcast.com (3 July 2014)
Login Activity of B2B Buyers on LinkedIn
Source: Quantcast.com (3 July 2014)
Between 32% - 41% of ASEAN LinkedIn Users are either “Regular Visitors” or “Addicted Visitors”
Social Selling Opportunity
Target Audience: Chief Financial Officers / CFOs
4,250 CFOs throughout ASEAN;
1,099 of these work for organisations > 1000 staff
Social Selling Opportunity
Target Audience: Chief Information Officers / CIOs
Social Selling Opportunity
1,161 CIOs throughout ASEAN;
378 of these work for organisations > 1000 staff
Target Audience: Chief Marketing Officers / CMOs
Social Selling Opportunity
1,079 CMOs throughout ASEAN;
205 of these work for organisations > 1000 staff
Target Audience: CHROs / Heads of HR
Social Selling Opportunity
1,044 Directors of HR / CHROs throughout ASEAN;
476 of these work for organisations > 1000 staff
Engaging Buyers
So How Do B2B Professionals Engage Through Social Selling?
Company-to-Person
● “Company-to-Person” is the dominant engagement model today
● Examples of Company-to-Person Social Selling:
○ LinkedIn Company Page○ Twitter Page○ Google+ Page○ Facebook Page○ Corporate Blog
● Engagement and lead generation is often limited due to amorphous brand
Social Selling Models
Paradigm Shift: Person-to-Person
● Social Networks were designed from the ground up, for Person-to-Person engagement
● The majority of B2B relationships and deal flow are based on Person-to-Person engagement○ People always rely on, and buy, from other people during B2B
sales engagements
Therefore:● Social Networks are an ideal channel for B2B
Social Selling Models
Social Selling ModelsPerson-to-Person in Action
Google Enterprise:Social Selling Case Study
Who is Google Enterprise?Case Study: Google
● Google products and technology for work
● Packaged up for the Enterprise:○ Google Apps for Business○ Google Maps for Business○ Google Search for Business○ Cloud Platform
● Key Challenge: highlighting the relevance of the Google brand for work, to Senior Executives
Why Social Selling?
● Pinpoint the right decision maker
● Overcome “list fatigue”
● Highlight the Google brand for Enterprises
● Build trust => Build relationships
● Our DNA: Innovate with cloud, social and mobile tools
Case Study: Google
Process Overview (Snapshot)
Case Study: Google
Build Social Seller Profile
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3
Target Audience Identification
Make Connection Requests
Share Relevant Content (Brand Building + Demand Generation)
Request Meeting
Discovery Meetings
Opportunities & Pipeline Created
Target Audience Identification
Advanced Search Parameters:
● Job Title + Variations
● Company Name
● Regional Locations
Case Study: Google
Social Selling ModelsBuild your Social Sellers Profile
Make Connection RequestsCase Study: Google
All invitations must:
● Be Personalised
● Show Context and Relevance between the Seller and Buyer
● Be supported by a strong Profile
● Cory’s connection rate with CIOs and CMOs: 66.31%
Share Content - Status Updates
Brand Building (Market Trust)
Demand Generation(Market Need)
Case Study: Google
Amplification
Request Meetings
Key:The Social Seller converts the Market Trust + Market Need they have developed into meetings.
Case Study: Google
The Social Seller sent Personalised,
Contextualised, and Relevant Meeting Requests
to all of his connections.
41.82% of his connections agreed to meet him.
Cory generated dozens of meetings with senior decision
makers, resulting in a large sales pipeline.
AnecdoteThe Social Seller’s Feedback
● Tone of meeting is open and friendly
● One-on-one meetings: Top-Down vs. traditional bottom-up
● Business challenges are discussed
● Social Selling accelerates the buying cycle
Tracking, Measurement, and ROI
● Capture + score buyers’ digital language (clicks, downloads, web page visits) using Marketing Automation
● Capture buyers’ thoughts and sentiments using Social Listening platforms
● Incorporate this data into social-enabled CRM
● Provide greater buyer information to your sales force
● Disrupt your competitors
What’s Next for Social Selling?
● The B2B buying process has been disrupted forever
● Social Networks:○ Provide transparent access to your target audiences○ Are a real-life engagement channel○ Enable brand building, demand generation, and lead generation
● Person-to-Person Social Selling differentiates you from competitors
● You can track and measure No. Connections, Meetings, Pipeline, and Revenue
● When rolled out at a large scale, Social Selling can transform your sales force, and your organisation
Summary
Thank You and Let’s Connect!