MAD Perspectives Blog

Every day there are more articles showcasing the value of social media for business.  However, 80% of those articles reflect the value for companies marketing to and communicating with consumers.  The challenge, for companies selling products or services to other companies, is how social media can help them.  After all, when most people are on Facebook, they are there to communicate with their friends and family.  Sure, they may be job hunting, and Facebook has proven to be a good place for employers to recruit new employees.  It is also a good place for companies to connect with users regarding customer support issues.  However, Facebookt is still first and foremost a destination for the individual thinking about personal, rather than business, topics.

A recent article on The Next Web highlighting the high proportion of U.S. based LinkedIn members, with membership growing internationally. What was more interesting is how companies are taking advantage of LinkedIn, particularly those in high tech. One of the dominant metrics, for measuring success in social media , is tracking the number of followers. For a company in the B2B space, it is most important for followers to be individuals who can influence purchasing decisions. LinkedIn is the most relevant social network for attracting influential followers. Who's are the companies leading the pack?

    1. IBM, ~590,000 followers

    2. HP, ~449,000 followers

    3. Microsoft, ~424,000 followers

    4. Accenture, ~419,000 followers

    5. Google, ~409,000 followers

    6. Oracle, ~293,000 followers

    7. Deloitte, ~283,000 followers

    8. Apple, ~253,000 followers

    9. Dell, ~244,000 followers

    10. Cisco, ~240,000 followers

source:  Zoomsphere

It's not a surprise to me that tech companies lead the pack.  Tech company employees tend to adopt new tools more rapidly than individuals in other markets.  IBM, in particular, has invested heavily in "socializing" its entire approach to business. This is partly to promote their own business intelligence capabilities, but also to simplify how employees get and stay connected internally or externally.  

These companies use LinkedIn's company pages to promote the company and their product lines. The benefit of promoting products and services on LinkedIn, allows the company to highlight new products, customer case studies and increase attention to key product lines. Another benefit is the ability for users to provide recommendations for company products. Hewlett-Packard, in particular, has gained a significant number of recommendations across all of its businesses. In addition, they sponsor several groups targeting different customer segments.

Social media is changing the way we connect with customers.  LinkedIn provides an additional channel for communicating value and differentiation, as well as listening to what customers are saying.  Look into leveraging LinkedIn for more than your personal profile, there are benefits for large and small businesses. Check it out!

What's your perspective?

I spent some time with a boutique architecture firm while I was in London two weeks ago. This firm provides contemporary design to residential developers and individual homeowners. Each architect, including the partners, honed their skills in larger architecture firms, but elected to move to a smaller firm to gain broader experience in managing projects from conception to design to planning board approval to build. My goal in working with the firm was to help them define themselves for their clients and prospective employees, with the intent to help them expand their market reach.

Our morning workshop gathered the entire team around the conference table in their open space work area. The partners had met at a larger firm and found success in co-managing a small team within that firm. They had left to establish their firm, ph+, immediately winning business with residential developers. However, they had never thought about how they would market their firm. Their business is won through word of mouth. As we talked about the firm and how their business evolved, why each employee joined the firm and what they enjoy about working with clients - the value of ph+ became clear. The challenge will be how they incorporate these values into their web site, physical media and social media (should they elect to leverage social media).

We defined value in terms of the way ph+ acts and why they want to be for their clients. They are honorable and act with integrity. We defined value based on what motivates them. They want to provide comprehensive plans, paying attention to every detail to ensure planning board approval. We defined value based upon a commitment to contemporary design.  ph+ pay attention to design details from window details to plumbing fixtures to how the space will be used by its inhabitants.

In today's world, Word of Mouth marketing is the cornerstone for many firms, large or small.  Social media simultaneously simplifies and complicates word of mouth marketing.  For a business, like ph+, whose first goal is to fulfill client requirements through comprehensive, detailed designs, marketing is a scary business. Marketing distracts energy from actual architecting, without a clearly defined return. Yet, ph+ wishes to expand its client base.  

As ph+ moves forward, they will combine face to face and online word of mouth. They will continue to attend events which expose them to desired clients. They will review options for using social networks to gain insight about and access to new projects. They will identify what content is proprietary versus general information that will attract clients. They will consider expanding the content shared on their blog. Their primary concern remains individual bandwidth as they do not have dedicated marketing staff.

The commitment to social media by small business is challenging. Staffing and individual bandwidth is a key concern. ph+ has reinforced their values and their goals. Their identity has ben clarified. This is helpful as they continue to grow as a business and consider formalizing their marketing efforts. Have you taken the time to define your identity, based on your values and your business goals? If not, please do so before you jump into using social media to promote your business! Authenticity comes from an understanding of identity and purpose and authenticity is a core requirement of social media.

What's your perspective?

I'm in London this week, cultivating relationships. What's interesting about this trip is that it is driven my belief in the power of face to face meetings, despite the fact that many of these relationships are maintained using social media. Over the course of careers we meet many contacts. Some of these contacts blossom into mutually beneficial business relationships, and many times, into true friendship. Like other social media enthusiasts, I do believe that social media provides an additional forum for sustaining business relationships.

If we look at the evolution of business communication, it has always been about the spoken and written word. The methods for written communication have simply evolved. While the spoken word in facet to face meetings or video and phone calls allows the best understanding of nuance, the written word provides a tangible account of intention, meetings, actions, goals and metrics. The options for creating that record has simply expanded over time.  From letters to faxes to email to social media, we capture and communicate our purpose.  

The challenge with social media is adapting to a open form of communication. Letters, faxes and emails were shared with a specific audience. Social networks widen the reach of our communication, which can be intimidating. However, it can also be extremely beneficial. We can reach out to our colleagues quickly and easily.  Of course, we need to pay attention to what we are saying. We need to be thoughtful about the content shared and the frequency of sharing. We must think about our goals for communicating as well as the needs of our audience.

I primarily use LinkedIn and Twitter for business purposes. I share my thoughts on social media for B2B, communication technologies and high tech. My posts have led to many face to face meetings leading to new insights and new business.  My connections have helped me fulfill deliverables for clients. On the flip side, I pay attention to what my connections are saying and what they need. This has led to my making introductions that I feel are beneficial.  Much of this is no different than what we have all done in the past - and continue to do in our daily business lives. Social media simplifies our ability to keep up with our network.

I'm enjoying my time in London, face to face meetings are fantastic. However, I know that I will use all forms of communication - email, social media, phone, Skype, to keep up with these colleagues once I've returned home. Maintaining business relationships is one key to success. Taking advantage of all the tools available to us is the key to successful cultivation!

What's your perspective?