Insights into how digital marketing and social media strategies can play a vital role in making all the B2B lead generation efforts pull in the same direction. Today, 50-60% of the B2B buying process is over even before organizations engage with vendors. In this session for the Pune Digital Marketers Radha Giri (CEO of Midas Touch Consultants) & I covered: • How B2B companies can differentiate themselves in the online world? • What role does ‘content marketing’ play? • Which social media channels are more effective for B2B companies and why? • How to calculate the ROI of the digital marketing initiatives? • What role does Influencer marketing play? (All images belong to their respective owners as clearly credited and they retain all rights to them. They have been used here in a purely illustrative capacity to educate.)

1. An Integrated
Approach to B2B Lead
Gen & Social Media
B2B ●
Social Media ●
Social Media ROI ●
Branding >>
Buzz >>
Business Outcomes

2. Image Courtesy B2B Marketing World
Convinced Or Confused?

3. The Plan ForToday
• What you can expect to hear
– Who From?
• B2B Focused Organisations today – A Snapshot
• A Different Approach
• Role of Social Media in:
– Defining Focus – Social Listening
– Research
– Influencer Marketing
– Social Selling
– Content Marketing
– Lead Nurturing
• The “R” Document
• Questions?

4. EXPECTATIONS

5. Why AreYou Here?
• What do you think you will hear?
• What you will actually get (hopefully)
– An understanding of the sales process
– An appreciation of the need for integrating Sales
& Marketing
– A view of the possible points of integration
– An overview of the role of social media at various
stages in this process

6. The Speakers
Radha Giri
• Software Engineer & Lawyer by
training and a Digital Marketer by
trade since 2002
• Founded Midas Touch 4 yrs. ago
• Product Management &
Marketing Specialist
• Contributor to afaqs!, YourStory,
Technorati on Social Media and
Digital Marketing
• Published Author on Social
Media & Frequent Speaker at
Social Media Conferences
Sanjeev Nambudiri
• 20+ years sales experience
across much of the known
world
• Believes that
– Sales is a process and
– Differentiation is key
• Social Selling & Content
Marketing Advocate
• Contributor to Social Samosa
& afaqs! on B2B Marketing
issues

7. ORGANIZATIONS TODAY

8. IsThis Familiar?
Research
Contact
Discovery
Content
Creation
Social
Media
Inside
Sales
Sales

9. Independent Silos
Courtesy – NetApp Community
Social Media
Inside Sales
Offline
Marketing

10. TheTraditional Sales Process
Research
•Database Creation of
"Suspect Universe"
Initial Contact
•First contact for awakening
interest
First Meeting
•F2F or Remote – Detailed
communication of “Value
Proposition”
Follow Thru’
•Establish if a “Need” exists
and that you can address
that “Need”
Bid Preparation
•Submit your technical /
commercial proposal,
Objection handling,
Negotiations
Customer Acquisition
•Contract Signup, Project
Kick-off, Timelines etc.
Customer Retention
•Build Ongoing relationship
with customer

11. The Handoff
Courtesy – Harvard Business Review

12. HaveYou HeardThis Before?
• Sales
• We waste our time with leads that marketing sends
us.
• Marketing sends us leads that are just names, but
they aren’t really leads.
• We can’t tell which leads are “hot” or “cold.”
• Marketing doesn’t understand what a lead is.
• Marketing
– Sales Can’t Close Leads
• Nearly 36% of online leads are NEVER followed up!
• 77% of companies report a disconnect between sales &
marketing

13. A NEW APPROACH

14. PullingTogether

15. An Integrated Approach
Research identifies the
area getting funding /
budgets allocation - eg.
Healthcare Cos.
Content Creation: 1. White
Papers / User Case Studies
– for eg. “Training in
Healthcare” strength
2. Email Drafts – “Cold” +
“Nurturing” leads
Contact Discovery /
Database build up – for eg.
companies in the
“Healthcare industry” area
or areas with comparable
parameters
Outreach – 1. Email
campaigns to share
content + offer
introductions
2. Calling Campaign by
Telemarketing” team
Integrate into “Sales”
process – 1. Follow up for
“Leads” generated
2. Feedback Loop for
responses received – inputs
for Marketing / Content
Social Media – start
promoting the content in
targeted channels – for
eg. Healthcare Training
focused LinkedIn groups
Influencer Marketing –
Identify Key influencers,
decision makers and start
tracking their social
media presence + engage
with them

16. How?
• Campaign Based Approach
– Business dictates the Campaign thrust – Research /
Social Listening
– All activities aligned with the specific campaign
• Who to target? – Contact Discovery + Influencer Marketing
• What message for them? - Content Creation – Website,
Blogs, Collateral, Social Media
• Outreach – Email Campaigns, Phone Campaigns – Landing
Pages, CTAs
• Lead Follow up – Sales
• Lead Nurturing – Marketing / Sales – Content, Campaigns,
Newsletters

17. ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

18. Social Media Habits of B2B Decision Makers

19. Social Listening
Image Courtesy: Green Book Blog

20. Social Listening
• Building a Suspect Universe
– What is the Market Talking About?
• Twitter
• LinkedIn Groups
• Blogs
– How to, Where to, What to Research?
• Social Channels – Twitter & LinkedIn
• Blogs

21. Who DoYouTrust?
Image Courtesy : Cassandra Campbell

22. Influencer Marketing
• Identify, Engage & Connect
– Define parameters to identify few top prospects or
influencers
– Map their social media footprint – Twitter,
LinkedIn – profile & groups, Blogs
– Engage with them in their turf and get in their
eyeline
– Build a long term relationship

23. DoYou Have SomethingTo Say?
Image Courtesy Web Access Global

24. Content Marketing
• Content to Reflect Credibility and Expertise
– Editorial Calendar for content in line with
campaigns
– Adherence to schedule
– Publishing across appropriate social media
channels
– Different types of content – text, graphics,
infographics, audio & video

25. Revenue Matters

26. Social Selling
• Create a perception of your B2B brand on
social media that reflects your positioning
– Social Media Strategy
– Find and engage with communities of your target
customers
• For example: LinkedIn groups
– Leverage Content
– Build an “Inbound” engine

27. Everything In It’s OwnTime
Image Courtesy MBA Life Cycle

28. Lead Nurturing
• 90% of Leads will say “We like what you have to
say but we don’t have a need right now” – stay
on their radar
– Draw up database of leads to be nurtured & define
the necessary filters to slice & dice the database
– Define differences between the various lead
categories and the differing communication objectives
– Design campaigns – content, time & frequency to
reach out to the various different types of leads

29. Platform Primary Purpose Projected Benefit
Blogs Putting out own Point of view, inviting
serious comments
Thought Leadership
position, gain trust of
readers
Twitter Short, sharp updates or very specific
information like events, client news etc.
Make connections, “piggy
back” on well known brand
followings
LinkedIn More professional, role or technology
specific forums, placing our point of
view and participating in on-going
conversations
Able to get very specific
p.o.v across to highly
targeted audience, connect
with opinion makers
Leads
Nurturing
Revive connections with old leads, open
possible new opportunities
Widen prospect base
Comparison of Platforms - snapshot
29

30. B2B Lead Gen Options

31. Your Money’sWorth?
Image Courtesy Rob Cottingham

32. The ROI Q
• What do you think is ROI?
– R Revenue
• Important to define “Return”
– For eg. Engagement, Site Visitors, “Form Fills” are also
valid “returns”
• “Return” is also context specific
– Eg. Event registrations in response to social outreach
– “Connections” with Influencers
• “Investment” is also considerably lower – think
about it!

33. ROI Examples
Lenovo
Lenovo attributed a 20% reduction in call center activity to
use of a community website for answers
TurboTax
Twitter campaign to respond and answer questions during
key tax season (found customers were 71% more likely to
recommend TurboTax)
Oracle
Trained 25,000 partners using social media (Reduced costs,
boosted satisfaction and increased PR)

34. ROI Examples
Kogi Korean BBQ
Uses Twitter to let the customers know where the truck
would be and when it would be in their neighborhood.
Comcast
Provides customer support on Twitter (Reduction in
support cost + satisfied customers)
Home Depot
Appreciates technical support employees on Twitter
through tagging (Morale boost, unique appreciation)

35. SomeThoughts ForThe Road!
• Forget silos – start thinking of integrated
approach
• Define business objectives and goals before
you start marketing
• Social media is a two-way conversation
• You can get ‘ROI’ from social media – provided
you know what to measure

36. QUESTIONS?

37. THANK YOU
Radha Giri
Twitter - @radhagiri
Sanjeev Nambudiri
Twitter - @sanjeevnambudir
@MidasSocial
www.i-midastouch.com