Entries from February 2009
How does social media rank in influencing business technology purchase decisions?
According to a new study from Forrester Research, technology decision-makers actively participate in social media as it relates to their job.
However, the same research puts social media pretty far down the list of sources of information impacting purchase decision making process.
I’ve personally been searching for quantitative evidence of social media’s impact on B2B leads and sales results. So the following statement in Forrester’s press release about its new study caught my attention: “…social media has yet to effectively influence a large part of the technology buying process.”
My friend, Dianna Huff, suggested I check out Laura Ramos’ blog to see what she had to say about it. (Laura is vice president and principal analyst in Forrester’s technology marketing research team.)
A link in Laura’s blog led to a slide presentation addressing the study which included a survey of 1,217 technology decision makers at companies in North America and Europe with 100 or more employees.
Slide #20 addressed the survey question, “Which of the following sources of information impact your decision making process?” The answers were:
- Peers and colleagues – 84%
- Vendor, industry and trade Web sites – 69%
- Your direct vendor salesperson – 69%
- Technology or business magazines – 66%
- Consultants, VARs and SIs – 65%
- Industry trade shows or conferences (in person) – 59%
- Forums, online communities and social networks – 45%
- Industry analyst firms – 45%
- E-mail or electronic newsletters – 41%
- Web events or virtual trade shows – 40%
- Interactive media: podcasts, video, online demos – 30%
- Blogs – 24%
A story in eWeek about this research said, “…while business buyers may be using social networks and other tools in their enterprise and personal lives, Web 2.0 social technology isn’t affecting their decisions when it comes to purchasing business solutions.”
Do you agree with eWeek’s conclusion? Please share your thoughts.
Marketing-for-Leads Guide: Step 8 – What are your competitive advantages?
Step 8: Determine your company’s competitive advantages and how best to articulate them.
You need to leverage your company’s unique selling proposition to articulate for prospects what is in it for them (the solution) if they buy from you. For example, if you are an individual consultant, you could articulate your competitive advantage by explaining that you will not be relegating the prospect’s business to an inexperienced employee. You could also point out that, because you are a small company, the prospect’s business will be very important to you—more important than it would be to a larger vendor.
If yours is a large company, you could talk about the depth of expertise represented by your large staff. Or you could point out that you wouldn’t have grown so large if you didn’t provide the highest quality products or services.
Pinpoint your company’s competitive advantages by using a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Start a list under each category.
Then determine which of those you can do something about. Are there threats you can turn into opportunities? An example of a threat would be the downsizing occurring in prospect companies. You can turn that into an opportunity by articulating the operational efficiency provided by your product or service offering.
To articulate your company’s competitive advantage, tell customers why the advantage is relevant to them. Here are some examples:
Competitive advantage: Your company has the capacity to mass produce silicon micro-gizmos.
Articulation: "We can supply all your silicon micro-gizmos with minimal lead time, thanks to our annual production capability of 4,000 tons."
Competitive advantage: Your company is the only one in the industry headquartered in the Miami area.
Articulation: "We can provide just-in-time service for Greater Miami-based companies because we are headquartered in Coral Gables."
| To download the complete guide as a PDF, visit B2B Marketing-for-Leads Guide. |
Competitive advantage: Your company has a nationwide network of service centers.
Articulation: "We can support all your installations, coast to coast, through our nationwide network of technicians."
Marketing-for-Leads Guide: Step 7 – Determine the specific business problems you solve
Step 7: Determine the specific business problems your products/services address and the problems your company is qualified to solve.
The first step in developing your marketing strategy is to identify the business problems your product or service will relieve. Why would somebody buy what you are selling? What specific problems does it solve?
For example, if you sell filling-line equipment to bottling plants, you might solve the problem caused by faulty integration between the labeling and bar-coding equipment. Or if you are selling tax-consulting services, you might solve the economic problem caused by paying too much in taxes.
| To download the complete guide as a PDF, visit B2B Marketing-for-Leads Guide. |
In addition, you need to think about the problems your company and its people are qualified to solve based on your experience and special credentials. What kinds of business problems have you helped customers with in the past? What kinds of professional or educational credentials and industry experience do your people have? What licenses, certifications or approved-vendor status does your company hold?
