A look at B2B social media case studies

1. Social B2B - Not Your Usual Suspects
by Suzanne Bell
Social Media Class
Prof. Bill Ward (DR4WARD)
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/suzanne-bell/6/939/296
@BellMarketing
http://suzannebell.wordpress.com
Suzanne@bellmarketinggroup.com

2. “Social is the New Normal” - Ann Lewnes, senior VP-global
marketing at Adobe
“Two or three years ago we
were nowhere with social
media. . . Now we have a social
media hub. . .” - Ann Lewnes, senior VP-global marketing at Adobe
Many B2B marketers are using social
media in a random manner, not
systematically” - Jeff Ernst, principal analyst at Forrester
Source: Maddox, K. (2012, Aug, 8) “Forrester conference focuses on digital, social: Finding metrics that measure success
key as CMOs struggle with data explosion.” retrieved online at http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20120514/STRATEGY02/120519940

3. B2B Social Media Really B2C
• Problem reviewed: How is social
media implemented in traditional
B2B? Is it used to change industry
norm?
– Many case studies labeled B2B social
media but really are HR training, consumer
sales support, or job recruiting.
– Social media lore include United, Dell,
Nike, and other consumer brands.
– Few case studies on how social is
furthering business internally, truly
connecting suppliers, developers and
factories, in traditional industries, not
consumer-facing.
Graphic Source: “How Social is B2B”, Retrieved online at: http://www.dr4ward.com/dr4ward/
2012/04/how-social-is-b2b-infographic.html#

4. SAP Community Network
• Problem solved: Simplified customer
support, product development.
– Created 10 yrs. ago. - mostly IT and
developers who were used to collaborating
online.
– Grown to more than 3M customers,
developers, business experts, universities,
and partners
– Blogs, forums, wikis
– Crowd sourcing for product idea generation
and feedback; users vote on which ideas to
implement
– 1.2 million unique visitors every month.
– 4,000 discussion forum posts every single
day
– 15 blogs every day, 365 days a year, from
any of the 3 million members.
Source: Kiron, D. (2012, Aug. 7) SAP: Using social media for building, selling and supporting. MIT
Sloan.com. Retrieved online at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/feature/sap-using-social-media-for-
building-selling-and-supporting/

5. ShipServ
• Problem solved: Forum for industrial
shipping collaboration.
– Implemented a social media plan despite
research showing 65% of industry thought
social media was “waste of time”.
– Created customer-specific pages, content
on new site.
– Partnered w. CRM for score card tracking
of leads
– Outlined content promo plan using blogs,
whitepapers, twitter, facebook, Linkedin,
videos
– Initiated an industry forum through Linkedin
groups, now with more than 860 members
– Results: increased sales ready leads
400%, decreased marketing costs 80%
Source: Schaefer, M. (2012, Aug. 8) A fascinating B2B social media success story. Retrieved
online at:http://www.businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/a-fascinating-hardcore-b2b-social-media-
success/

6. Dell - The Social Company
• Problem solved: Social
media outcast now innovator
– Thrust into social media due to
horrific response (or lack) to post.
– Social media weaved through
company
– IdeaStorm - started in 2007,
more than 400 product features/
changes.
– Social Media & Community
University - 24,000 employees
trained as ambassadors -
including executives, legal.
– Removed all walls for
collaborating
– “it’s not about controlling the
message, but making sure that
everyone in the organization —
or as many people as possible —
can be a part of the message”
Source: Schaefer, M. (2012, Aug. 7). A fascinating B2B case study. Retrieved online at: http://
www.businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/a-fascinating-hardcore-b2b-social-media-success/

7. Some Final Thoughts
• Social media has drastically changed
how businesses interact with their
supply chain and customer.
• Is it fleeting?
– Every product has a lifecycle, every idea
has a lifecycle
• Customer collaboration has always
been integral to success; not new, just
takes on different form?
• Can it augment industry change like
social media did for Egypt, for news
reporting?
– Nike and open source Materials Index
• Further research?
Graphic Source: Retrieved online at: http://worldofdtcmarketing.com/a-final-thought-about-drug-
sponsored-online-communities/focus-on-patients/

8. Expert Sources:
@jasonfalls
@markwschafer
@haakonjensen
@jowyang (Jeremiah Owyang)
Additional:
Paul Dunning, MIT Sloan
D. Kiron, MIT Sloan Review

9. Thank You
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/suzanne-bell/6/939/296
@BellMarketing
http://suzannebell.wordpress.com
503.422.2996
Suzanne@bellmarketinggroup.com
Bend, Oregon