Source: Jon Iwata, “Toward a New Profession: Brand, Constituency, and Eminence on the Global Commons,” Nov. 4, 2009
Over 90% of the technology prospects go online to find information before a purchase decision Peer opinions matter the most in the technology buying process. (Source Forrester 40% of B2B buyers are advocates (Source: Zuberance) 70 % of IT professionals actively participate in work-related online communities. (Source: e-Marketer) This is not about B2B or B2C anymore Welcome to the C2C era Research - April 2010 Our goal is to reach prospects in the early phase of their exploration so we can make sure we can participate in the problem definition, solution options and then be in the consideration set for purchase. In research to help us design a web entry point that will attract early stage prospects and retain them, we explored their needs, motives, and behavior. Actions you take on the web when beginning to address a business or IT issue 1. use search engines to find information 2. look for a community of others like me who are dealing with the same issue 3. seek out expert forums or blogs Customized information needs 73% of responders said they work with a team whose members have different roles in researching the problem 78% of IT responders said that information needs to be differentiated by role 55% of IT responders said that industry is very important (only 10% said it is not important) Finding expertise 64% indicate they participate in discussions on the web with other people to exchange ideas about larger issues having to do with software .blogs,Twitter, .Forums and Community sites: Facebook, Linked In, Google groups .Vendor site discussion groups (Microsoft, HP) .interviews 61% of Tech and 46% of business would like a vendor site to include ability to participate in discussions and exchange ideas Motivation 75% said an IT vendor site can inspire you to become the IT professional you envision Relationship How can an IT vendor site help you feel like you have a trusted partner in that company? .provide more customer testimonials (aka people who have experience) .enable chat with some company experts .forums and online discussions (looking for experience) .pay attention to my opinions (respected for experience) Revenue goal this year and software story revenue This much we’re trying to target with digital Revenue from core accounts; invest; new Big nut out there where we can go after new business Our competitors are already on this track What are we doing about the behavioral changes How many people are using social media, then behavioral stuff What is the larger opportunity in the marketplace? The opportunity below the waterline because we’re not reaching them effectively today. Social media is used to reach out to these people What is our SWG revenue target using digital approach? Why we must tap into social media groundswell Who are we trying to motivate and what are we trying to get them to do? Match customer needs to business needs Highlights of research that inform our direction. Facebook fans Actions you take on the web when beginning to address a business or IT issue 1. use search engines to find information 2. look for a community of others like me who are dealing with the same issue 3. seek out expert forums or blogs Finding expertise 64% indicate they participate in discussions on the web with other people to exchange ideas about larger issues having to do with software .blogs,Twitter, .Forums and Community sites: Facebook, Linked In, Google groups .Vendor site discussion groups (Microsoft, HP) .interviews 61% of Tech and 46% of business would like a vendor site to include ability to participate in discussions and exchange ideas Relationship How can an IT vendor site help you feel like you have a trusted partner in that company? .provide more customer testimonials (aka people who have experience) .enable chat with some company experts .forums and online discussions (looking for experience) .pay attention to my opinions (respected for experience)
Make a note that this is conceptual only
Best practices, skills development, guidelines, tools, policies
Social business strategist Owns responsibilities given to the brand exec Exists at the category level sometimes Provides social framework, infrastructure, budget Coordinates listening and metrics plan Trains market segment managers on social roles, strategy development and execution Provides training for IMTs and SMEs Converses in external social networks daily Marketing segment manager Coordinates strategy and listening across disciplines Coordinates tactics with Demand Generation Recruits SMEs Coordinates content calendars Assists on country guidance Promotes through regular communications SMEs Work with MSM to understand strategy and listening results Map expertise to influencers and networks Coordinate content plans with MSMs Co-create social assets Write and post social content Engage with influencers and customer Respond to questions
Marketing Manager: high-level (macro) view of the social media landscape – sentiment, demographics, geospatial, temporal, correlations, community clustering, ... Community Practitioner: macro → micro – building on marketing – add community dynamics, influencers, individual sentiment, interest profiles, affiliations, influence networks, ... potential sales leads? Sales Manager: Frank receives his weekly opportunity report which highlights potential leads from Social Community Practitioner. He reviews, sets up watchlists for some candidates, forwards 2 leads to one of his sales lead. Joe receives this lead and reviews the social media activity stream, social network, influencer numbers, and company affiliations. He decides to engage directly with this account via Twitter in order to get a better sense of the likelihood of this being a real opportunity
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