CK's Blog

Dear B2Bs: I. TOLD. YA. SO. (In fact, I've told ya many times over.)

IDC just released The State of Social Business: 2009 Survey Results, a study that surveyed 4,700+ U.S. workers which outlines the use of social media for BUSINESS purposes.

And while the shared findings from the study have produced a whole lotta happy for my world, the implications should definitely be taken to heart by all marketers in the B2B world.

Why? Several reasons that we'll get to in short order. But first, let me provide IDC's explanation of the study for some background:

Broad in scope, The State of Social Business: 2009 Survey Results represents the current state of SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE FOR BUSINESSES in the United States, providing a profile of BUSINESS WORKERS leveraging these newer tools, and an understanding of the use cases for each social tool, including blogs, microblogs, discussion forums, photo/video sharing sites, social bookmarking tools, social networks, Web chats/instant messages, wikis, and virtual worlds.

According to IDC's Michael Fauscette, group vice president, Software Business Strategies: "If you look deep into the social business movement you will see that we are on the brink of a fundamental change in the way businesses interact with customers, partners, suppliers, and employees. Businesses today fall into three camps – the social 'denyer', the accidental socialite, and the socially aware. Regardless of where a company falls in these categories, customers expectations of technologies and the way they interact with suppliers have changed, driven greatly by the social Web."

As for the study's findings, let's begin on this gem...

*Finding* 57% of U.S. workers use social media for business purposes at least once per week.

57% of U.S. workers, that's a significant number—given that's more than half and at a highly engaged rate of at least once weekly. Let's put that in perspective, shall we? Think of any business that holds over 50% market share in any given sector and what do we call them?

Behemoths. Best-In-Class. Captains of Industry. Leaders. The 800-Pound Gorilla. And so on. The point is, we take those businesses VERY seriously. We don't label them fads, fly-by-nights or even trends. Nope. They're permanent and they permanently change the (business) world. Same too with social media's effect on the B2B world, both internally to organizations from process and productivity standpoints, and externally from a profit standpoint on attracting and maintaining customers.

Here's another epiphany...

B2B Mobile Marketing: 5 Reasons Why Mobile Is Prime For B2Bs, And 5 Questions B2B Marketers Should Be Asking.

In the B2C space there's a lot of buzz around mobile marketing, but in the B2B sector it's more likened to a whisper.

Yet amid the low level of mobile chatter, B2Bs are missing out on SUPER-sized opportunities for integrating a valuable new brand touch point for their customers and establishing a dynamic new communications channel with professional audiences.

Make no mistake about it, mobile has arrived—and it's changing how (and where) business professionals communicate with one another and how (and why) they interact with B2B brands. 

On that imperative, in my most recent piece for MarketingProfs I'm highlighting 5 reasons *Why* mobile marketing is PRIME for B2Bs and 5 *Questions* that every B2B marketer should be asking.

The content, insights and ideas are free to all... and if you're a B2B Marketer you best be getting on over there as new ways to increase ROI await you: The article is located here.

(Oh, and if you missed my 10-Step Starter Guide for Integrating Mobile Into The Marketing Mix then just go here.)

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •

B2B Mobile Marketing Best Practices: Marketers, Your (Mobile) Audiences Need "More Show, Less Tell."

There are many best practices that have already been established in the mobile marketing sector... and many more that B2B marketers, in particular, will still need to learn and adopt.

Why?

Because mobile is an emerging new space with entirely new constraints on SPACE. And for complex B2B offerings requiring a lot of explanation for buyers, this is a BIG learning curve for B2B marketers who will need to start thinking "small".

Take a look at that mobile device up there. Pretty snazzy, eh? To be sure, it's visually stunning and all sorts of cool. It's also very small. After all, it's designed for mobility. But what our B2B target audience of business executives really need—due to now having to manage larger amounts of information on smaller screens—is for their content to be delivered in ‘bite-sized chunks’ and to be optimized for mobile environments. Whether that content is delivered through text, audio or video formats.

Why?

In Both Social Media and Mobile Media, Your *Goal* Is Exactly The Same: To Get YOUR Brands Into THEIR Worlds.

In my previous post I discussed how we marketers fight different battles in Social Media and Mobile Media, but the *mission* for which we’re fighting is exactly the same, namely: Integration of these Disruptive Media into the Marketing Mix.

That post focused on the battles (and obstacles!) we face as they pertain to acceptance from the corporate community and standards from the industry's players. It was more internally based vs. outwardly, market based. So in this post I want to turn my attention away from captains of industry to focus squarely on CUSTOMERS.

I want to look at marketing goals, not marketers' missions. And while B2B marketing is my preferred focus, I should point out that this advice wholly applies to B2C marketing as well. That said, my advice is this:

In Social Media and Mobile Media, your *Goal* with your target audiences is exactly the same: To Get YOUR Brands Into THEIR Worlds.

And the way into their worlds—whether as part of their online communities (social media) or securing a presence on their Web-enabled handheld devices (mobile media)—is through the value your brands provide them. High levels of value will get your brands into their worlds, lack thereof will get your brands ignored.

Integration Amid Disruption: In Social Media and Mobile Media, The Battles May Be Different, But The *Mission* Is Exactly The Same.

There’s a lot to love about marketing in a world where everyone has a voice (Social Media) and everything is accessible from magical little devices that fit in the palms of our hands (Mobile Media).

And marketers who advocate for social or mobile technologies (or both!) are indeed fighting a common mission, which is to say: Integration of these Disruptive Media into the Marketing Mix.

After all, we're rallying our companies, clients and industries around the business case of integrating these game-changing media, we're arguing the overwhelming ROI potential of these tools, we're imploring our executives to not only institute new technologies but altogether new marketing practices, and we're pushing professionals to open their minds on how the world around them is changing... and how they must change, too.

But while our mission is the same for these media, the battles (and obstacles) are quite different. With social media, the battle is for common *ACCEPTANCE* from the corporate community that these "social" tools mean business. And with mobile media, the battle is for common *STANDARDS* from the mobile industry so as to more efficiently use these mobile tools to advance our businesses.

B2B MOBILE Marketing: A 10-Step Starter Guide for Integrating Mobile Into The B2B Marketing Mix. (Slideshow/PDF)

(Please note: for my full archive of B2B mobile-marketing content, please go here.)

As I’m integrating more mobile marketing in my work projects, speeches and trainings, I’m finding that the *same* mindset that has been prevalent in B2B social media marketing is also occurring in B2B mobile marketing. Which is to say, mobile marketing opportunities are, by and largely, perceived by B2B marketers as "purely a B2C marketing play". 

Ah, the more times (and media!) change, the more they stay the same.

But a new year brings new opportunities and new minds to open...so, CK is back championing the B2B crusade—and this time my sights are set on B2B mobile marketing.

Why the marketing crusade? Because business professionals, which are B2Bs' target audience, not only use mobile devices to stay connected, they rely on them to stay informed and make business decisions when not located at their place of business. And phone calls are just one part, given innovations such as smartphones have morphed our mobile devices into handheld computers that also happen to ring. Plus, since business professionals must stay connected to their communications devices, many times their mobile devices equate to their "lifelines to their livelihoods." Moreover, mobile is the most personal communications channel and the closest you'll get to your business market, other than in-person meetings.

Ergo, if business professionals are always connected to their mobile phones, why wouldn't marketers want to connect their B2B brands to these devices and, vis-a-vis, connect their B2B brands to their target markets in meaningful, helpful ways? Of course they would, that's more of a rhetorical question. But the real questions from B2B marketers is WHY mobile presents a strong business case and HOW to integrate mobile into the B2B marketing mix.

And that's exactly what I cover... step by step... in my 10-Step B2B Mobile Marketing Starter Guide.

In the guide I've set out to accomplish two goals: First, to highlight the B2B-centric opportunities in mobile marketing. And, second, to walk B2B marketers through the 10 key steps covering (A) WHAT they need to know (and what they need to ask/assess) to get started in mobile marketing, (B) HOW to approach mobile environments and audiences, (C) WHICH tools they can implement to add impact to their programs, as well as (D) key proof points to analyze WHEN measuring mobile ROI.

And contrary to much of the buzz on mobile metrics, Mobile ROI is not just analyzing number of SMS subscribers/application downloads/etc. Far from it. Mobile ROI, just like ROI from all other media and marketing programs, is the BIGGER-picture value it brings to your business. I cover that in the guide, too.

On that note, you'll see plenty of posts, presentations, videos, speeches and articles from me throughout 2010 on B2B mobile marketing. But worry not, you'll also see a great deal more B2B social media marketing content from me, as while we've come much further on that crusade we've still much further to go. After all, as a B2B marketing specialist, I need to mine all media—be it traditional, broadcast, interactive, social or mobile—to identify revenue-generating opportunities and new ways to engage our business markets.

Anything less would put my clients and me at a disadvantage during these ever-evolving, always-in-flux, disruptive times. More to the point, I need to keep moving—and keep crusading!—my clients, colleagues and community to do the same.

Please view the slideshow below, which is best viewed in FULL-screen format as slides are text-heavy to ensure an adequate level of explanation for B2Bs starting out in mobile marketing. 

B2B Mobile Marketing:10-Step Starter Guide for Integrating Mobile Into The B2B Marketing Mix.

View more presentations from Christina "CK" Kerley.

*B2B Mobile-Marketing Content* To access my full archive of mobile-marketing content, please go here.

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •