Monday, July 18, 2011

Social media still not central to B2B online marketing

Social Media
Despite the fact that many companies leverage social media to listen to customer feedback, many still do not consider the medium central to their B2B online marketing campaigns.

According to a new report from Dell, as many as three-quarters of companies leverage social media to listen to online conversations and respond to them when necessary. Additionally, 64 percent of them incorporate this feedback into product and service revisions, while 76 percent discuss it internally.

However, social media is still not a focus of many of these businesses' marketing efforts. Only 20 percent place the channel at the core of their online promotional efforts, while 50 percent say their social campaigns are serious but not a core function.

"Listening and responding to customers is so basic and fundamental. The emergence of social media elevates how companies can act on the feedback they get from customers," Karen Quintos, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Dell, explains.

If B2B marketers want to succeed, they need to do a better job of incorporating social media into their broader campaigns. The medium is unique in that it offers brands a way to garner feedback from customers, but they need to ensure they have a strong presence in the social sphere if they want to maximize its potential.

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