Digital Transformation in B2B Sales

Social media is leveraged by savvy B2B sales professionals to strengthen the relationship with their customers and prospects.

On a recent episode of my Social Business Engine podcast, I spoke with Bryan Jones,  Vice President North America Commercial Marketing at Dell. On this episode, we discussed highlights from new research commissioned by Dell and published in our Social Business Journal. The research was conducted at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College and is titled Digital Transformation, Social Selling Research, Insights and Best Practices.

This original research provides all B2B organizations compelling evidence that the buyer’s journey has radically changed. One compelling finding is that 75% of B2B buyers are influenced by information found on social media. Another finding is that 57% of B2B buyers browse existing discussions in social to learn about a topic relevant to their purchase decision. 

During our podcast, Bryan Jones says, “we knew social played an important role…we didn’t know it played such a large role.” He goes on to say that social selling practices are important to any enterprise sales organization.

The report provides an understanding of the pivotal role social media plays in strengthening the relationship between sales professionals and their customers. 

Sales professionals balance their use of social media among customers, prospects and influencers. The role of the customer decision journey impacts how mature social selling teams engage the buyer.  Social selling is most effective when it is an integrated element of an organization’s marketing plan, not a standalone strategy.

The report also highlights how B2B sales organizations have an opportunity to create bi-directional communication between sales and the customer. Bryan Kramer, CEO of PureMatter and best-selling author of Shareology is quoted in the report as saying that he prefers to call social selling “social helping” because this approach builds credibility with your customers. Credibility is a sales person’s currency in the modern B2B sales process. Social media provides a platform and tool to allow salespeople to be helpful. 

However, improper use of social media can likewise damage a sales person's credibility, especially if the approach is dominated by social broadcasting. The role of content in social selling and the need for relevant content, at the right time, at the right frequency in the buyer's journey is pivotal. The seller's content strategy should be methodical and it should be integrated into the B2B seller's over arching marketing plan.

The research report also lists the social media channels used most often by B2B sales professionals in their social selling practices.

In my interview with Bryan Jones, he shares that Dell is two years into a social business initiative to help sales people become socially connected with their customers. The “one thing” Bryan stresses during our conversation is that social selling is a journey with a bi-directional flow of information to build customer relationships. 

This report is available ungated. There is no form to complete to access the report. Click here or the image below to open the report in your browser. 

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