Do Social Media Tools Help B2B Companies To Sell?

No, says ES Research Group.

According to a recent study by ES Research Group, CRM (Customer Relationship Management)and sales methodologies are better than social media at closing deals for B2B. The study says while Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo and even Linked In are good for certain things, helping B2B companies close sales isn’t one of them.

The research found that CRM is most effective, while Hoovers/One Source and LinkedIn are the most useful of the social media tools used. The study surveyed about 400 sales professionals in the U.S and in their report “The New Social Media: Do They Enable B2B Selling?” found:

“only LinkedIn (86%) and Hoovers/OneSource combined (61%) were used by more than half of respondents in their selling efforts.

Facebook (50%), Plaxo (48%), Twitter (31%), and Jigsaw (26%) trailed in use.

“Of respondents actually using the tools for sales, Hoovers and OneSource were the only tools helping more than half (54%) of them win B2B sales sometimes or often. LinkedIn was next at 42% and Jigsaw followed at 35%. Worst were Facebook (15%), Plaxo (13%) and Twitter (13%)”.

Dave Stein, CEO and founder of ES Research Group says these results demonstrate, among other things, that Social Networking and Social Media tools aren’t yet helping close sales for B2B. CRM tools are still the best for closing deals in B2B and that, for now

“the use of sales methodologies integrated with CRM systems and other sales enablement tools are proving far more successful in driving sales.”

At first when I read the news release I thought that this was yet another B2B survey being used to prove the point that “social media doesn’t work for B2B only B2C.” I wanted to know more about how the sales people were actually using the social media tools (I wasn’t inclined to pay $29 for the report though). On further thought, however, I realized that I wasn’t really surprised at the findings at all.

That’s because I understand the fundamentals of social media marketing and social media networking, something that many businesses are still struggling to get their heads around. I also don’t think it’s a question of either Social Media or CRM – companies need to have them working together to support sales teams.

Note: I’ve always known about Hoovers and more recently learned about One Source. I wouldn’t call them Social Media tools at all. I think they are more traditional sources of business leads.

Social Networks Are Not Places to Go and Sell

Social Networks, by their very definition are not sales tools. I would even say they aren’t there to foster sales ( some may disagree with me).

They are “social” networks and tools to build relationships and build these over time. The emphasis is Social, not sales. They are more accurately networks and applications that can help companies market themselves (create awareness and exposure) and, particularly in the case of B2B support the sales process by helping make and forge new relationships and connections based on trust. The very basis of social networks and tools are the ability to engage, have users generate their own content, listening, conversation and authenticity. If they are to be successfully used in the lead generation phase plenty of upfront work needs to be done by the organization, marketing and other areas of the organization.

Social Media Marketing Supports the Sales Effort – over time

Many companies (B2B and B2C) seem to only see $$$ when they think of social media and social networking.

1000’s of connections on Linked In does not mean millions in sales, but it could mean the awareness created by sharing of expertise, contribution to user networks and potential connecting and meeting with like-minded people seeking your services to solve their problems. The ability to network and learn of business needs with people you could never have met otherwise could be the start of new business relationships that turn into leads and result in million dollar contracts – over time. It is no co-incidence this is how it operates off line. But the relationship comes first.

B2B must embed Social Media into CRM

Having 10,000 Twitter followers doesn’t mean you have 10,000 new people to sell to. It means you have people who have elected to follow you because, for some reason they are interested in you or your company. It means you have a potential community on which you can build by sharing expertise with them. It is up to the company to feed that interest by providing value – not treat them as sales leads. It’s up to the company to build relationships from what they all have in common.

It is up to marketers to facilitate these interactions and more importantly it’s up to the organization in integrate social media applications and networks into the lead qualification process. This is more easily said than done and takes a very strategic approach from the top down.

Customer Relationship Management tools will always be more successful in driving sales. That’s what they are designed to do and they do it well. But even Sales Force is looking to embed Social Media into its application. Where Social Media is embedded into the CRM and lead qualification process, sales reps will find they have information at their finger-tips… and it’s this that can help close sales

B2B companies seeing social media tools as simply sales closers are missing the point and are going to be disappointed – as are B2C. The difference is B2C have realized this and are taking a different approach. B2B companies for some reason have been a little slower off the mark. B2B companies also need to start with their strategy and business objectives… not social media tools. It will then become clear which tools work and which don’t. It isn’t a one size fits all.

The news release contains some other findings, for example which tools are most used by B2B.

Also check out my previous post: Why Your Sales Force needs Social Media

Some months ago I read some research from Aberdeen Group which paints quite a different picture of how companies are using social media in their sales process. Granted it does not single out B2B, however it does include companies that are best in class and they include B2B. I’ll highlight that in a future post, as this is an interesting topic. If you have a view on B2B and social media or the above please share it by commenting below.

The full report is available for a fee at ES Research.

Have a view on the above? Share by leaving a comment below.