BOOK REVIEW: SOCIAL MARKETING TO THE BUSINESS CUSTOMER

SOCIAL MARKETING TO THE BUSINESS CUSTOMER by Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman

This book is AWESOME! Actually, the word "awesome" has become so overused these days I will rephrase my assessment and call the book - “FRIGGING AWESOME”.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned a lot about social media and social marketing. I have learned how to take some of the fundamental concepts of social media and apply them to the very niche specific aspect of my foodservice beverage company. I have learned how to use social media to identify opportunities (both on the sales and manufacturing sides of the equation). I have learned how to solicit market research using social media, and enjoy the benefit of real-time feedback as a result. I have learned how we can use social networks to connect with, and therefore support, our customer base. And, I have learned how social media can be used to solicit feedback and evaluate marketing programs (again, in almost real-time).

I know there is no teacher like experience. But learning from experience takes time. Since time is the most valuable commodity there is, we look for tools to help us save time and (in terms of our education) speed up our learning curve.

This book is THAT tool for speeding up your learning process of WHY and HOW to use social media/marketing for B2B business.

If your business is on the fence about participating in social media, or if you have said something along the lines of, “our organization will fully commit to a social media program as soon as someone can show me how we make money with it…” then you NEED to read this book.

If you are in the foodservice industry (either on the manufacturing side or the distribution side) and a digital immigrant like me: someone who grew up in a world with only 3 major television channels; someone who remembers (or better yet, still has information stored on) 5 ¼” or 3 ½” disks; someone who used Lotus 1-2-3 or dBase III…this book will help you build a solid understanding of social media and its importance for our industry. More importantly, it will help you do it FAST.

I downloaded the electronic version to my iPad. It is the first book I have read on the iPad where I have highlighted (what I felt were) important passages. When you flip thru my copy, it looks like a college textbook of yesteryear. There are highlighted passages and notes “in the margins” throughout the entire book.

One of my favorite quotes comes early in the book. “Social media marketing is a way to humanize the business, to turn frailties into endearing qualities that encourage experimentation, loyalty, and forgiveness.” If you want to discuss the WHY of social media for our companies, is there a better reason than helping to humanize our businesses?

This book is literally a blueprint on how B2B businesses can get started in social media…just look at some of the chapter titles:

· Creating a Social Organization

· Creating and Enforcing Social Media Policies

· Learning by Listening

· Understanding Search

· Choosing Platforms

· Planning Social Media Campaigns

· Lead Generation

· Profiting from Communities

· Return on Investment

If you aren’t sure what some of those things are…do not worry. The authors do a fantastic job of explaining concepts in a manner that even I can understand.

The electronic version will travel with me from now on. It is a permanent fixture in my iPad library. The hardcover book will soon be taking up residence on my office bookshelf, becoming neighbors with some of my all-time favorite business tomes.

If you want answers to “WHY social media” and “HOW do we implement social media” as part of an overall marketing strategy…this book is a must read.

If you want a link to purchase the book from Amazon…click here…

(Full disclosure…I am not an affiliate of Amazon. I don’t get credit for you clicking on my link. It’s a straight link to the Amazon site and I post it because I really think you should read the book. I would also like to point out that I have not been offered anything from the authors, or publisher, to review this book. I bought it (twice) because I wanted to read it. I reviewed it because it is a great book and I believe it can help many in my industry understand social media integration.)

If you purchase and read this book as a result of my review, please let me know...not because I am keeping any sort of tally, but because I want to ask you if you got the same amount out of the book that I did.

Alas, no bonus questions on book reviews. Sorry. But be sure to brush up on your Arnold Schwarzenegger movie references for my next post.

WHAT CLINT BARTON TAUGHT ME ABOUT B2B AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Let me pose this question to the social media “experts” out there…how many times have you been told, “We are a B2B company and just don’t see the need, or benefit, from a social media program”? Well, I am about to give you some tips on how to sell me.

Yesterday, thanks to Twitter, my “understanding” of why social media is important to B2B grew significantly.

If you are a foodservice manufacturer, pay very close attention. If you’re a consultant, pay even closer attention. What I am about to reveal is not only cool, but also relevant to our industry…and for the consultants, THIS is how you sell someone like me on social media.

Like other foodservice manufacturers, we participate in food shows across the country. We participate in state restaurant association shows, like the Florida Hotel and Lodging Association show or the Texas Restaurant Association show. We also support our distributor partners by participating in their individual shows.

Yesterday, in Des Moines, Iowa, one of our distributor partners (Hawkeye Foodservice) held their seasonal show. While we try to stay on top of what shows are occurring and when, the sheer volume of shows tends to prohibit (or at least impede) that flow of knowledge. There have been instances where we have not found out about a food show until after it occurred.

Yesterday, if not for one of our standard twitter searches, we might not have known about the Hawkeye food show in Iowa.

I personally use TweetDeck because I like the layout and functionality of the application. As one of my standard Twitter searches, I keep a lookout for the term “foodservice”. Yesterday, while sifting through the tweets regarding “foodservice job postings” I came across a tweet from Michael Leaders.

Michael is the manager of sales training and development for Hawkeye Foodservice. Through his Twitter account, he was letting people know the Hawkeye food show was kicking off at 9am.

We sell Hawkeye some iced tea and beverage concentrates, so I was VERY interested in our participation at the show. I contacted my VP of Sales and asked him to check with our sales rep and broker to make sure we had a presence at the show. He contacted the sales rep and confirmed our participation at the show. We then contacted everyone we knew in the Hawkeye distribution coverage area to let them know we would be at the show, and to please stop by and say “hello”. We did not try to sell them anything. We did not offer any discounts. We invited them to come by and share a glass of iced tea.

The show finished late in the afternoon and I have not had a chance to review the post-show report to see how successful our efforts were. Hopefully I will get those numbers later today.

Because of an integrated marketing plan that does include social media and email marketing, we were able to generate a few more “touches” on our end-user client base. We attempted, on relatively short notice, to get more people to attend the show…even if they were not regular Hawkeye customers. We did not pitch the email as “hey come visit us so we can sell you more of our product”. We informed our foodservice customers that a foodservice operator was having a show…we know our customers buy more than just iced tea and beverage concentrates and might just need the services of a distributor like Hawkeye Foodservice.

My one regret is we only found out a few hours before the show. If we had more time, we could have done a much better job of marketing in that area. Michael and I are now following each other on Twitter so I will be sure to catch all his updates, ensuring I know about their food shows well in advance from now on.

How can B2B companies utilize social media into their marketing strategy, and why is it important? The “how” is easy…(to borrow a phrase from Nike) “Just Do It”.

“Why” should you do it? Ultimately the company is going to have to figure that reason out on their own. But, having a social media presence allowed us to: KNOW about a food show; ensure we were AT the food show; strengthen the relationship with our distributor; get another “touch” with our clients; and hopefully sell more products.

Today’s bonus question: How does “Clint Barton” relate to ANYTHING in my post? Can you figure it out without cheating by clicking here?