social business journal, volume 3: digital transformation

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The Social Business Journal 2015 Vol. 3

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Digital Marketing Professionals,One of the guiding principles that Michael instilled in Dell is the democratization of IT, helping transform business across industry and sectors. Helping customers, both commercial and consumer, reach their full potential through the use of technology continues to be a guiding force for us. I have the advantage of both leading and experiencing the digital transformation happening in our industry. Social media plays a pivotal role in this transition, for both business and customers alike, in helping to develop a deeper and richer relationship with our customers.

Together with Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College we set out to provide a more cohesive understanding of the pivotal role social media is playing in strengthening the bond between sales professionals and their customers. Today, social selling has become more than a hot topic in our industry, and often the phrase without context can be misleading. Social selling is about harnessing the value-driven culture of social media to connect with customers in a way that best meets and exceeds their needs.

We’re excited about the insights we’ve been able to glean from our research. We hope you gain value from these best practices. We think a socially connected salesforce can truly create business value for our customers as well as build and strengthen the relationships that exist between companies and their customers. The sky’s the limit!

Bryan E. JonesVice President, Dell Commercial Marketing @BryanatDell


Watch Video Bryan Jones







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Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College and Dell have partnered to conduct research on social selling in large IT organizations to provide an up-to-date summary of current insights and best practices for companies interested in the topic.

“Social media plays a pivotal role in this transition, for both business and customers alike, in helping to develop a deeper and richer relationship with our customers.”

Bryan E. JonesVice President, Dell Commercial Marketing

Industry RelevanceAccording to research findings, 75% of B2B buyers are influenced by information found on social channels, 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally and 97% of the time cold calling is ineffective.

Research also indicates that relationship building on social channels needs to be an integral part of a company’s social sales strategy and that the implementation of a comprehensive social sales strategy along with adequate investments will result in a more efficient sales cycle and better cross-selling opportunities.

The objective of the report was to examine the current state of knowledge and practice of social selling. Here, we are sharing the major findings, insights and best practices.







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media training as much as it does leadership driven cultural shifts. The marketing organization has taken the lead within Dell to drive the right social presence and personal relationship building on social platforms to inform and enable customers to make the best commercial buying decisions for their specific needs. A very deliberate approach was chosen that is based on transforming the marketing organization first in order to be able to fully support the sales teams all the way from training to execution and beyond. Success equates to satisfied customers who look to Dell as a trusted end-to-end IT solutions provider helping make their business ready for the future.


I have provided social selling workshops at a number of large companies and find that a common problem is "mass training." Cultural change is very difficult and while the intention of company-wide sales training is often noble, it rarely works in this instance. A better strategy is to look for the passionate few to drive the transformation. Who on the sales team is ready to lead the change? Instead of training 50 people, maybe investing in five will be more effective to achieve short-term wins. And of course the visible sponsorship of leadership is key.

@markwschaeferbusinessesgrow.com

Mark SchaeferCollege Educator, Marketing Consultant and Author

While technology has empowered B2B organizations to move much of the sales process online, these same organizations’ sales teams have yet to learn how to transfer the art of their trade to the social networks where their customers are, to leverage the information wealth available. They need support in optimizing their social communication skills as well as their own social presence for the benefit of customers. Findings show that in order to do that, they need the full support of the entire organization.

Dell’s Commercial Marketing organization is undergoing a digital transformation to become a social business within Dell. This entails social







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To enable sales efficiencies, we have seen the digitization of customer data and its incorporation into applications salespeople use to help organize processes, engage with prospects and close deals. In a continuously changing business environment, data within these systems often becomes out of date and loses its utility. Social data, captured from discrete online interactions, can develop more real time data fidelity and pathways to greater client engagement. However, social data is unstructured, multi-varied and often difficult to assess. Combining these two data sources has numerous challenges but successful efforts can provide a durable competitive advantage.

@alightmansocialtheorem.com

Ari LightmanProfessor and Director at Carnegie Mellon University

• Social selling experts: What are common messages? • Social media platforms: Which channels are most

appropriate in a B2B environment? • The customer: Who is the target audience? • Content & digital strategy: What type of content needs

to be delivered when, where and how • Competitive analysis: How other large IT vendors are

approaching social selling

Social engagement is increasingly seen as critical in helping organizations quickly adapt to changing market dynamics and for responding more effectively to customer demands. The objective of this research was to capture current knowledge about social selling from the following perspectives with the goal of helping companies gain a deeper understanding of how social selling can support business goals:









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Social selling experts recommend these best practicesSocial selling influencers, the highly connected social business industry experts and thought leaders, offer valuable advice and best practices that represent an excellent starting point for organizations on their journey to build a social selling strategy.

Know your prospects on socialKnowing the prospect is a prerequisite to initiate a connection. Utilizing existing connections in the form of associates, partners and existing clients can enhance social traction. Central to social selling is a focus only on relevant network connections. Industry expert, Brian Bachofner, suggests two practices as his pick for executing a social strategy in acquiring new prospects: Optimized landing pages and analytical email tracking. Such tools help sales professionals to determine the level of social traction their communication is generating.

Figure 1: Prospect Groundwork







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Build social credibilityA sales professional’s social impression impacts his or her credibility. Social selling trainer and LinkedIn expert, Jeff Zelaya, suggests that to effectively convert a lead, it is imperative that the prospect likes, trusts and respects the sales person. Social platforms provide the foundation for the groundwork that a sales person should do to build credibility and assess exactly what the prospect expects and needs. Transition events, such as a prospect’s promotion, are discoverable and important as these events can potentially trigger changes that generate sales opportunities.


Figure 2: Impact of Social Buzz

A sales professional’s social impression impacts his or her credibility.







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“Take 3 minutes before calling a prospect to find 3 things you have in common to talk with them about.”

@kenkrogueinsidesales.com

Ken KrogueFounder of InsideSales.com

Do your social homeworkFollowing the existing customer’s company keeps a sales person abreast with any organizational, strategic or operational changes. In the B2B space, these changes often trigger needs for new business solutions. Even if the opportunities are not directly related to the sales person’s product profile, a referral may help the sales person to build her network and rapport with the customer.

Ken Krogue, founder of leading sales acceleration platform provider InsideSales.com, suggests that keeping the profile updated, promoting events attended etc. helps a sales professional to develop credibility as an informed and knowledgeable individual.

This can be enabled socially through LinkedIn recommendations, posting blog comments and likes. Ken proposes a 3x3 formula for analyzing prospects: “Take 3 minutes before calling a prospect to find 3 things you have in common to talk with them about”.

Go beyond the digital divideSales professionals need to consider a more human-centered approach toward prospects than being caught in the digital notion of social selling. The use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can provide insights on a customer’s social media activity. This becomes critical prior to reaching out to the customer. Mark Schaefer, founder of









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Cold CallingDon’t do it – it fails 97% of the time. With today’s digital technologies, there is no longer a case for this practice.

Social IntroductionsDo it. Recommendations from common connections ensure that there is a foundation of trust between the prospect and the salesperson. LinkedIn provides an easy way to make introductions or get recommendations.

Social PlatformsUse the right social platforms. Don’t use them for sales pitches. Instead, provide relevant information. Be helpful.

Schaefer Marketing Solutions, points out the relevancy aspect of the content, and contrasts social selling with the practice of using social channels for advertising, which might alienate some prospects.

Where do leading technology vendors focus?Social media has evolved into a relationship management platform for the leading technology software and hardware companies. Social is no longer limited to marketing, it has extended into processes like selling, commerce, service, recruiting, and collaboration. Strategic, proactive, consistent social media engagement provides a competitive advantage in the market place. These leading companies understand that customers increasingly ask for recommendations from other customers, peers, or technology gurus and influencers, underscoring the importance of a robust and smart social media presence.

To varying degrees, IT vendors use social media intelligence tools, train sales on how to build effective online profiles and put in place social media governance policies. Most of these companies also use or experiment with gamified user engagement and optimize content before publication.

EXPERTS AGREE







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Number of community members and engagement

Percentage of support calls saved

Number of visits to representatives’ pages / profiles

Increase in conversations and mentions across various channels (SOV)

Search engine optimization rankings

Increased seller connections / contacts

Traffic to company websites / company related blogs

One of the interesting findings in the research is that publishing content frequently does not correlate to higher engagement; the key is for content to capture the attention of the target audience.

LinkedIn Company Profile AnalysisA content analysis of ten social updates over a randomly chosen period of time showed that companies with a larger number of followers did not post content as frequently as companies with a smaller number of followers. A couple of content strategies emerged from the findings. One was to focus on posts with links to internal articles, blogs about products, technology trends, and ongoing research, including gated content to capture user data. Another content strategy was focused on posting articles from third party websites, such as Forbes, gearing more towards highlighting third party endorsements. The remaining content ranged from positive product reviews, leadership pieces to job opportunities and other topics.

WHAT METRICS ARE COMMONLY USED?







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Figure 3: Phases of Customer Journey

One of the interesting findings in the research is that publishing content frequently does not correlate to higher engagement; the key is for content to capture the attention of the target audience..

The purpose of B2B customer personas, representing various purchase decision makers, is to serve as a tool that defines and guides marketing programs developed to engage a specific market segment at various critical times during the decision journey.

There are multiple decision makers involved in the customer journey. IT organizations need to design their social selling strategy so that it addresses the range of decision makers at critical times in their customer journey. Below are the five phases of the customer decision journey and the decision maker at that stage.

Know your audience, tailor your contentAn important aspect of any social selling strategy is knowing and understanding your target audience, then adjusting your content and marketing messages accordingly.







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A Digital Content Strategy is IndispensableAccording to a research study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute, B2B marketers face numerous challenges, such as creating engaging content, achieving content consistency, measuring content effectiveness and producing a variety of content.

Social media provides a path for an organization to build its online presence, which can improve brand recognition and customer sentiment. Creating a content strategy geared towards social selling will improve marketing and sales effectiveness.

Buyer behavior research findingsForrester research shows that today’s B2B buyer will find three pieces of content about a vendor for every one piece that marketing can publish or sales can deliver. A 2014 Demand Gen Group behavioral study that surveyed 150 B2B decision makers found that while B2B buyers strategically browse social media discussions during their research, web search results remain a top source of information. Interviews conducted by the CMU Heinz College team revealed that while 57% of respondents browsed existing online discussions on social media, 28% of decision makers did not use social media for this purpose.

“For us, the difference between a winning vendor and other vendors is the ability to provide relevant information at all stages.”

CMU IT Decision Maker







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Figure 4: Role of Social Media in Buying Research

What role did social media play in your buying research online?

Trusted vendors tend to get preference when a new purchase need comes about. However, new vendors are given a chance if the customer is aware of the new vendors, underscoring the importance of the ‘awareness’ phase. For small IT suppliers, buyers look for fast responses and a good price from the IT vendors.

The below figure illustrates the role played by social media in the buyer research process. Findings showed LinkedIn as the top choice among executives who look to connect via social media whereas blogs are the top choice for non-executives.

Following the understanding of a B2B buyer, an analysis of social media platforms that IT organizations should use helps to further fine tune a social selling strategy.

Not surprisingly, research shows that the majority of purchase decision makers interviewed agree that relevant content about specific IT solutions is still one of the most important aspects to influence their purchase decisions.







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Tell me the term social selling doesn’t conjure up some images of a hard-hitting salesman spamming everyone in sight with promotional messaging. I think if we struck the word "selling" from our vocabularies and replaced it with "helping," we would be much better off. We’re all marketers of something today, whether it’s our own personal brand or a company brand, so we’re all selling something. However, it’s no secret that the most successful salespeople are helpers first. In fact, they’re passionate about it. They listen carefully, ask the right questions, get to know their prospects as individuals and assist them in their decision-making process. Social just gives us new and varied channels for helping, especially if you establish a good content pipeline.

@bryankramerbryankramer.com

identify platforms that match the objectives of a company’s social selling strategy. Research shows that for the large B2B IT organizations under examination, there are three main social platforms that should be considered based on reach, existing audience, differentiating features, user engagement and specific attributes: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Slide hosting service SlideShare and IT Professional community SpiceWorks also have value as purchase decision influencers during the purchase cycle.

Which social platforms matter the most?The Global Digital Snapshot in January 2015, a survey by We are Social, indicates that there are 2.03 billion active social media users and roughly 1.56 billion people use a mobile device to access social platforms.

In the US alone, 53% of the population has active social media profiles on a plethora of different social media platforms. It is critical to

Bryan KramerCEO of PureMatter and Author









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The biggest challenges to social selling adoption are emotional and personal. They are rarely functional or organizational and that’s why top-down directives rarely work if they are not fully supported by leadership buy-in and a comprehensive enablement strategy. If you instead help people understand how to navigate the tumultuous and mercurial world of online privacy, organization, and etiquette, they grasp how to use the various platforms quickly. The goal is to help the team connect the dots between their existing business objectives and the benefits of integrating social media. Digital communication is a tool that has a learning curve; you need to provide the support and framework to allow people to move along it quickly.

@dfishrockstariamdfish.com

LinkedIn research indicates that cold calls are ineffective 97% of the time, because business users are reluctant to make strategic decisions with outsiders. A warm referral through LinkedIn can increase the odds of sales success by 2x- 4x. Sales Navigator is LinkedIn’s premium service that allows users to supercharge their accounts, access their third degree connections, leverage coworkers’ connections, send InMails to anyone on the network and get warm introductions.

LinkedInLinkedIn, a community of three hundred eighty million potential decision makers, has emerged as the first stop for B2B social selling. 40% of B2B decision makers say that they use LinkedIn to research and evaluate products even before contacting any vendor. LinkedIn helps to build relations with buyers early in the sales cycle, can improve trust and create respect before the buyer decides to purchase the product.

David FisherPresident of RockStar Consulting









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Facebook Facebook’s one billion plus users represent a critical audience for raising awareness about an organization. Facebook is a one-stop shop to access highly segmented customer groups, launch marketing campaigns, advertise on a user’s homepage and provide social and organic impressions.

Facebook pages provide a great opportunity to connect with people who best fit the buyer profile of a company. Businesses have the ability to identify and connect with targeted consumer segments, and to gain valuable insights that help them adjust messaging and campaigns in the long and short term.

Twitter 400 million tweets per day by probable consumers makes Twitter a must have tool for sales teams. Twitter provides an opportunity for a sales person to be part of the relevant conversations with consumers, prospects and influencers while building relationships and trust. B2B companies who use Twitter can identify twice as many qualifying leads as compared to those who don’t.

TweetDeck is a tool provided by Twitter that offers flexibility and is said to transform any user into a Twitter expert. The tool allows sales teams to organize contacts by creating groups and keeping track of their activities in real time. A sales team can Tweet together, i.e. share multiple accounts thus making Tweets homogeneous across teams.

“By leveraging social networks, sales professionals have the historically important opportunity to connect consistently, helpfully, and meaningfully with prospects and customers.”

@markwschaeferbusinessesgrow.com

Mark SchaeferCollege Educator, Marketing Consultant and Author









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Scott Abel, co-founder and CEO of Spiceworks, states that “Millions of IT professionals already rely on Spiceworks for the technical information, peer feedback and vendor connections they need to make an informed purchasing decision.”

B2B Sales 2.0Leveraging social media has allowed organizations to influence potential and current customers as well as to move away from outdated sales techniques, such as cold calling. They can receive almost immediate feedback from their peers about products and services. Social media has fostered a new approach, where social media channels can be used to engage and educate current and future customers.

SlideShare This slide hosting service can be used to share presentation decks used by sales teams to get long-tail benefits. SlideShare can provide product information, a catalogue, user manuals and training materials. SlideShare content can also be embedded on other platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.

SpiceworksA community of six million IT professionals use Spiceworks to discuss IT products, provide feedback, give reviews, solve concerns and learn about the latest IT solutions in the market. IT professionals can also leverage this community for market research, needs discovery and to engage with IT managers about B2B products. In order to drive social into the sales process, organizations must understand that it’s a "2 way street." Organizations look to push data to salespeople to make their social selling efforts effective. However, Salespeople dealing at the intersection between company and clients, obtain rich market information that can be aggregated, organized and used throughout the entire organization. Establishing this bi-directional flow of data can help assess communication effectiveness, customer needs identification and overall brand reputation. Iterating around these efforts will ultimately drive higher levels of sales awareness and engagement and become a part of developing a more social organization.

@alightmansocialtheorem.com

Ari LightmanProfessor and Director at Carnegie Mellon University









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http://www.socialtheorem.com/

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maker respondents preferred social posts or updates with high quality images, calls to actions, variety in content forms and easy to understand text. For example, the LinkedIn post analysis revealed that posts with high quality images and less text have almost 200% more likes.

TrackingIn order to create quality ideas constantly, an organizational creative process should be discussed and created. It is imperative to set up a system to keep track of content created, how it was distributed and how it performed. This will enable the organization to actively track and analyze performance, taking the guess work out. Once tracking is put in place, setting production goals based on content type and the resources available is crucial. As you get your processes solidified, your production time should go down and you will be able to increase your output.

GoalsA social media content strategy is more than simply posting content and hoping it’s successful. Organizations that implement a clear, concise and data-driven strategy will have higher engagement, stronger brand recognition and, ultimately, have better success with social selling, or “social helping” as Bryan Kramer says.

Team DiversityIn order to leverage social selling appropriately, social media management must be a consistent and ongoing process for the organization to reflect customers’ real-time information needs. A team of multi-discipline, passionate, and dedicated people, collaborating across departments, is needed to develop a content strategy for each social media platform addressed above. For instance, the product development coordinator has the best information on new products, which can be translated into photos and discussion questions. An engineer will know how a certain piece of hardware or software package will work, and the marketing content writer can offer copy that ties the entire message into the current company branding campaigns. The social media teams (potentially sitting in different departments) will have the knowledge to review and adjust the content to fit each social media platform based on customary rhetoric and audience profiles.

ContentOrganizations should maintain a high-level view of what the company shares via social networks to better track campaigns. It is important to analyze your own successes and understand what competitors are doing right and wrong. According to this study’s research, decision







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“At Dell, social and digital programs provide a direct path to listen, build and deepen relationships and add value for our customers.”

@bryanatdelltechpageone.com

Bryan E. JonesVice PresidentDell North America Marketing

As any organization starts to implement social selling, it is imperative to have a digital and content strategy that reflects input from cross-functional teams who must be part of the development process.

Based on the findings of this research report, it is clear that a successful social sales strategy must be based on support from a wide range of cross-functional, internal stakeholders, adequate resources, leadership driven cultural shifts, expertise in social media best practices, communication and technology and, above all, a deep understanding of customers’ needs.

ReferencesFor references and sources contact [email protected].

ConclusionIn this era of social selling where cold calling has lost its value, technology has empowered sales teams with social tools, that when combined with networking best practices, gives them a leading edge over traditional means of selling.

The leading IT solutions providers have already started to invest heavily in social media and social selling. To remain relevant and trustworthy, organizations need to continuously interact with their customers at every touch point using relevant content on the right social media channel, at the right time, with the right audience in mind.









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Let’s get together in Austin for Dell World 2015.Registration is now livefor Dell World andDell World User Forum.

Keynotes by industry leaders.

Sneak peeks at new technology.

Real-time collaboration with the professionals you want to know.

Hands-on labs and learning opportunities.

Dell World will be your chance to connect with Dell thought leaders and esteemed industry professionals who are passionate about making a lasting difference in business and IT. Discover how they’re solving the challenges you’re currently facing. Get ready for long-term, tangible benefits.

Together, we’ll share ideas, discuss and innovate around Security, Cloud, Big Data, Mobility and the Internet of Things. Respected industry leaders will offer fresh ideas and insights to prepare you for the future. And, of course we’ll feature the newest technology from Dell and our partners.

This is your chance to get a first look and experience it all, before anybody else. So join us in Austin, a little place we call home, and the perfect cultural setting to gather, learn and collaborate.Get insights. Get connected. Get educated. Get registered.

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Collaborate. Learn.Share your perspective.







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