Why Your Sales Force Needs Social Media

For many companies the words Web 2.0, or Social Media conjures up images to do with technology and new systems. Often with the thoughts of new technology comes the fear, within businesses, that they lack the understanding of this “New Technology” or that it’s the preserve of teenagers and “the younger generation.”

This thinking can be a barrier to the adoption of Social Media, to the detriment of the company. The truth is, Social Media is less of a technology set and more of an online experience – one that is driven by the customer rather than the company.

Because of Social Media…

Your customers have now come to expect a higher level of interaction with and accessibility to, the information that drives their buying choices.
Your customers research your products and services on-line – and not necessarily on your website. They go to wikis, blogs, they read peer reviews, and importantly listen to other users of your service
Your customers will Google your company name (or your name) and see what comes up. They will download and read your articles, and see if you have a newsletter that will tell them more about your value proposition – outside your products.
They will look at, and take not of, what feedback people have been giving on your products and use that information to inform their buying decisions

If people have been talking about you, and it’s not the face you’d rather put forward, you have a problem. A big one. It can be fixed, but that means you must recognize there is a problem… and fix it.

See my post on that particular topic.

The bottom line is, the competitive landscape has shifted – and your customers (or potential customers) have done the shifting. Implications for your sales force? Customers are quite likely to know a great deal more about your products and services than they themselves do. This is a challenge, because, in effect, your sales reps are competing with customer knowledge as well as points of differentiation of the “traditional” competition.

Companies need to arm their sales representatives with as much knowledge as possible – in the shortest possible time – to help them speak to customer needs and sell more effectively.

According to the Aberdeen Group research,

top performing companies are now turning to enterprise Social Media Solutions as a way to connect their sales representatives to subject matter experts within the company and reduce the time spent in preparation.

This is good news, because Social Media is uniquely suited for both collaboration and quick access to information within organizations.

Social Media tools - properly deployed - can help you sales representatives quickly access updated information and knowledge on products and service, gain deeper understanding of customer needs and what customers are thinking and saying.

Results: a better informed sales force, increased productivity, more confident sales people and higher sales revenues.

Much of the discussion around Web 2.0/Social Media has been focused on marketers. However the Sales force, as your frontline, and often face of the company, can definitely benefit.

Edit: When navigating to the Aberdeen Group website I received a “safe browsing” warning. I have therefore not linked directly to the site, however please feel free to reference the site yourself. It has some great research.