In my last blog I included a link to a post about social media and whether it is the silver bullet many sales organizations want it to be.
I whole-heartedly agree with this blog. I think too many companies are looking at social media as the be-all/end-all when, in reality, it's simply another tool in the sales and marketing arsenal. The presence of social media doesn't mean you shouldn't be creating a holistic marketing plan or communications campaign like you did in the past; rather, it means you can add it into the mix and, if and as it proves itself, potentially direct some of the money from more traditional marketing channels to social media. I think Dave Stein hits the nail on the head when he says,
"The challenge is, once a connection has been made through channels such as LinkedIn or Twitter, salespeople still need to have the knowledge and resources to follow through to conversion (e.g., a sales proposal, a product demonstration, or a detailed explanation of your offering over your competitors). "If I don't have the skills, the tools, or [the] people...then that sale will never happen."
Nothing that we have today, including social media, replaces solid sales skills. In my opinion, one of the best ways social media can be used by B2B companies right now is as a new avenue of prospecting via sales' social media connections. The connections possible through tools such as LinkedIn and Facebook are limitless but, once you have a connection, you still need to go through discovery, diagnose the problem, present the solution, close the sale, and offer a great customer experience...and social media won't do those things for you.
Another thought...it is worthwhile to define social media in each company's world, as the term social media can mean different things to different companies. For some, like the directors of this study, social media will be defined by networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Other companies, however, will define social media much more broadly to include things such as webinars, video conferences, and the like.
Finally, social media takes work. Social media isn't something like the Field of Dreams, where you build it and they will come, but rather your social media has to reach out and engage people...and that takes planning, time, and effort. You have to hang out where your prospects and customers hang out and become part of that community. You can't wish social media a success, you have to work it to realize success.
As a result of all of the above, my advice is to define what you want to happen (in essence, your goals) and then determine what avenues can help you get there. I daresay no company will have one road to success, but will rather have a series of paths that will touch and engage different audiences in ways relevant to each.
Bottom line, social media is no silver bullet, but can be one of the tools you use to target your audience.
jkl
