Social Media:  Can it Work for B2B?

I’ve just returned from participating on a social media panel at the A.R.E. Annual Convention and Industry Summit.

That’s Association for Retail Environments. Huh? Its members are leaders in the retail built environment, meaning retail design firms and suppliers of store fixtures, visual merchandising products, materials and equipment to the industry. They design, supply and build the look, feel, ambiance of retail stores. These companies are not household names outside their industries. They probably have little name recognition to consumers. Can social media outlets, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, play a meaningful role in their marketing mix? Or are these tools best left to consumer-direct businesses?

Two companies represented on the panel proved convincingly that these businesses can successfully use social media. And that as social media marketing catches on for B2B, those refusing to play in the social media playground will be picked last. Centiva is an Alabama-based flooring company. It used a simple iPad giveaway to launch its iPhone and iPad apps containing Centiva’s sample books, technical information and sample order process. The apps make Centiva’s products available to architects and designers at the project site, when they are making project decisions. Companies like Centiva that make life easier for its clients will most likely sell more product.

Stiles Machinery, Inc., a machine manufacturer, sponsored a YouTube contest. It challenged companies who had never used its CNC (that’s computer numerical control) router to submit a creative video describing why they deserve to win a free CNC router for one year, a $70,000.00 value. A risk to be sure. Or was it?

Contestants posted their videos to YouTube where family, friends and others in the industry could vote for their favorites. In addition, contestants were obligated to complete a survey describing their companies, their future plans and how the router would improve their businesses. As a result, Stiles gained valuable information about over 100 companies who had never used its CNC routers but were considering the possibility. Stiles interviewed the top 10 YouTube finalists and even conducted some site visits, gaining more valuable data and developing relationships. After selecting the winner, Stiles shipped and installed the router and trained the winner’s employees. It also supplied a camcorder so the winner’s required vlog about its experience could show other companies what’s involved in using the technology and the importance of ongoing support services.

Stiles has its marketing strategy for the router set. All it needs to do is follow up with all the contestants and the “other companies” that might follow the winner’s vlog. And of course make the winner so happy that it will never want to give the router back at the end of the year, converting it to a first-time purchaser. Not bad when you consider that all the buzz was created simply by posting an inexpensive video on a free medium.

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