B2B On-Line Social Networks and Virtual Communities that deliver ongoing value, marketing intelligence and revenue opportunities
Professional Social Networks are online communities of individuals who share common challenges, interests and or activities within a business environment.
These networks and their communities embody one of the most significant sources of business opportunities for both companies and marketers today. If you are able to break though the chatter, social networks can help you to systematically acquire powerful business intelligence, which can shape the development of new products and services and drive your marketing and sales strategies.
During these tough economic times, businesses are struggling more than ever to understand their clients and prospects complex needs. They are also struggling to generate more sales leads, build customer affinity, and ultimately, to deliver real value to their customers in an effort to retain them.
Inherent human nature, compounded by the proliferation of on-line professional networks have opened the doors to unlimited possibilities to connect with and understand prospects and clients alike, like never before. Professional social networks, such as LinkedIn have facilitated the creation of on-line business communities and provided a natural environment for people to connect with one another and to seek help. These communities also offer a venue where professionals can collaborate with peers who are facing similar challenges.
Overnight thousands of on-line groups have surfaced, mostly populated with individuals looking to network with others, and searching for answers and direction on how to address their challenges. However, as you might have experienced first hand, trying to identify which groups are worth participating in, and which can deliver value can be hit or miss. Unfortunately, this reality, has made it more difficult for business executives to qualify how to leverage social networking technologies and communities for their benefit and as such prevented social networks from being adopted more rapidly as business marketing channels. It is exactly this reality that offers a truly unique opportunity for innovative businesses that are willing to invest in building a community that delivers concrete value to its members.
A shift in thinking and behavior, from traditional marketing methods, is required to build an on-line community that has the potential to deliver any value at all to its members and to the business that promotes it. To successfully execute a social networking and community building strategy that yields positive results, you require knowledge from a broad range of disciplines including marketing, sales, market research, behavior analysis, and group dynamics. You must have the ability to create the kind of environment where collaboration and exchange of ideas thrive; where you are able to deliver targeted resources in response to real problems shared by the community members; and where you are able to deliver on-going value.
To develop this value-driven environment, you must build a sense of trust with your members from the moment they join. This sense of trust will help you create affinity with your group members over time. You must focus on tailoring the direction of the group to their specific and shared needs, and deliver resources and opportunities that will make it easier for them to excel in their role. This means developing a real level of intimacy and understanding with your group members, by listening to them, by addressing their problems and by delivering the right resources and information back to them, in turn helping them achieve their objectives. In the process, you will be able to acquire knowledge and intelligence which you can use to develop products and services that your clients and prospect are willing to buy.
A successfully executed community building strategy can provide you with direct insight into your prospects and client’s complex needs, facilitating the identification of new business opportunities, increasing your probability of closing new business, and retaining existing clients. No other method provides such a powerful source of business information about your clients and prospects alike.
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU:
We help Business To Business Companies to build social networking communities that deliver on-going value, marketing intelligence and revenue opportunities, by providing them with creative strategies, tactical support and systems designed to engage, communicate and build lasting one-to-one relationships.
We help you accelerate the acquisition of intelligence and information that your organization will need to develop new products and services, to drive your marketing and sales strategies, and to accomplish many of your marketing objectives. We do this by implementing highly specialized social networking marketing processes that integrate old school proven marketing methods, market research, behavior analysis, and group dynamics with new media and technology that produces breakthrough results.
Barnard Crespi
Datatel Marketing
President and Chief Community Strategist
www.datatelmarketing.com
800-831-6660 x 251
****
LinkedIn, MIT Sloan CIO Symposium are trademarks of its owners.
Datatel does not represent having any interest or affiliation with LinkedIn or its trade marks.
|
