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- Is B2B Web 2.0 Over Before It Ever Started?
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
Not yet, but it’s getting close. The potential suspects in its death…the recession, the CFO and the Legal Department. Suddenly, every legal department around the country has become the de facto Web 2.0 governance committee. What doesn’t get killed, modified, or mangled is left to the CFO to cut. Senior executives, who for the most part lack an understanding of the tools, are growing tired of all the noise around Digital, Web 2.0, Social Media, etc. They are now directing their organizations back to what they believe to be proven strategies (as they say in the FS industry "past performance is not indicatve of future results) and tactics (core products, best customers and traditional sales & marketing tactics, like DM). It’s back to the future. You’re mission, if you choose to a...
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- How to get an Organizational TRansformation Right
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
Now that companies have finished cutting, closing, "right sizing", etc., it’s time to figure out what to do with what’s left. Executives are now trying to figure out how to get their new, leaner organizations focused on driving performance again. In their haste to reduce costs quickly companies now find themselves with “lumpy� or “overtaxed� resources and/or essential areas completely gone.Where to start? Here’s what I’ve learned on where to start, and how to be successful. I call it the “T’s� and “R’s� of organizational transformation. TARGETS – the starting point and the first “T�. Given the new economic reality, how targets are determined, agreed upon, forecasted and measured all must be rethought. That new thinking then must cascade its way down thr...
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- Insights and Epiphanies from a recent B2B Social Communication Event
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
I attended the B2B Social Communications Case Studies and Roundtable event in New York last week, my first live event since the downturn. Got to admit, I was impressed by the attendance (probably close to 250 folks) and list of companies presenting included; Microsoft, Amex, Intuit, Dupont, IBM, Deliotte, Pitney Bowes, and others. I came away with some great new insights, not only of social media in a B2B world, but also regarding the structure of the event itself.- Get In, Then Get Out - In my last post I failed to mention the impact of online trends on offline events which I witnessed at this event. Speakers at this conference presented for 20 minutes, a long way away from the old days of hour-long presentations…and there were no breaks. The conference was over by 1 pm…love it....
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- 7 Steps to Creating a Social Media Strategy
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
Lots of clients are now interested (finally) in getting their Social Media house in order. Fortunately, there is a ton of information on Social Media available…unfortunately; I haven’t seen anything that tells a Marketer what to do about it.After spending a year and a half on this topic and working with clients, here's a quick “To Do� list based on the best and worst practices observed. The first 3 deal with the current state, the remaining 4 are future looking. At this point you should have the first three steps in place.Current State – get this done TODAY- Educate – up, down and all around. This space is moving so fast that getting senior executives up to speed on the tools is critical for getting the right focus on the right topic the right way (more on that to come). ...
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- The New Online Paradigm
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
In 1962, Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolution, and fathered, defined and popularized the concept of "paradigm shift." Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another".So what if you spent half your time at work on Linked-In, Facebook or Twitter? Yes, the recession has slowed business significantly. I’m not talking about surfing the net because you have nothing better to do, I’m talking doing this AS PART OF YOUR JOB.In a recent survey by Michael Stelzner, on social media marketing almost 10% of the survey respondents spent 20+ hours a week on social media marketing. Ask senior ex...
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- Why Product Companies Can’t Build Solutions - Reason #1
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
I’m working on my umpteenth “transition the organization from being product led to solution focused…� project. In today’s market environment, I imagine other organizations are pursuing this strategy as a way to improve margins, increase sales, etc.The challenges facing companies that venture down this path are fairly consistent and complex…and certainly not easily described or solved in a post. With that said, I thought it might be helpful to describe how organizations get themselves into this situation and share some ideas on how to get moving in the right direction. “Solutions� typically evolve in two ways at product oriented organizations, none of which are strategic. Internally - Someone in the product group or sales organization notices a trend - if a customer buys ...
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- B2B Social Media and the Upside Down Funnel
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
In my post on 6 Steps to Getting Control of Social Media, I mentioned the concept of an “upside-down funnel�. I thought I’d spend some time explaining it in this post. As with most new technologies, social media is starting to “settle in� and common applications of the platforms are becoming known. In many large B2B organizations, that means social media is finding a home in the marketing communications group, often landing in PR. That seems fine for B2C organizations, however, I’m convinced that it’s the right spot, and/or the only spot for social media in B2B companies. The Upside Down FunnelIn most B2B organizations corporate marketing’s role is related to driving “top-of-the-funnel� activities. From advertising, PR, and now social media, the focus is on c...
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- Cloud Computing - Vaporware?
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
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- The New Partner Marketing Model
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
In the “good old days� companies like IBM built a ubiquitous brand with unique products and then dictated their terms and funds to sales channels. Brand advertising was typically done on one of the three major TV networks aimed at the mass market to create a “pull� that would have customers do whatever it took to get those products regardless of price, location or availability. Product marketing teams would assemble sales and marketing material, and route it to partners via partner portals or directly to their offices assuming that the partner had everything they needed to sell the company’s products or services. And that worked, especially with those partners who were former employees.Business was good and predictable, but then things began to change. More channels became ava...
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- Inside the Ritz Carlton Customer Experience Model
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
For years, the Ritz-Carlton has been recognized for its ability to delight customers. Although I’ve used them frequently as a best in class example for clients, I never truly experienced what makes them so good…until now.
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- Too Much of a Good Thing
B2B Sales & Marketing Knowledge Sharing | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
Yesterday Xerox launched a new global marketing campaign titled, Real Business. Xerox is calling it their most ambitious and innovative campaign ever created. Realbusiness.com includes interactive billboards, innovative media, video, and what they are calling “attention-grabbing digital units� showcasing Xerox’s clients, featuring brand icons, such as P&G’s Mr. Clean.
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- Replace Book with Internet and This Looks a Lot like Addiction
Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
This was an interesting perspective I’d not thought about before. It especially rang true, since as a kid I can remember often being told to “get your head out of that book and go outside to play�. I wonder how many parents say that nowadays. read more
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- Three Book Reviews for Your Summer Reading: Innovate The Future, Seizing The ...
Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
I’ve a stack of books sitting on my coffee table waiting for me to write a review. I am reading less and less lately, from a historically high of 4 books a month to now 15 books a year. But I am buying more art books. And I review 2 dozen of books a year. My magazine subscriptions have been cut down from 40+ magazines to less than 10. Many including Wired and Forbes have dropped off from my list and I stopped many of the journals, many are just repeating old things. It is like digging out bones from one graveyard and put them in another one. I’ve picked three books to review and share with you this week: read more
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- Keep It Simple for Boomers & Seniors
Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
Targeting Boomers or seniors with your advertising? Keep it simple. While that’s usually good advice for any kind of advertising, brain scans show a dramatic difference in the ability of older brains to suppress distracting information. Studies by Dr. Adam Gazzaley (then at UC Berkeley, now at UC San Francisco) found the suppression difference in older vs. younger brains was the key factor in memory formation decline in older people. read more
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- When Consumption Isn’t Conspicuous
Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog | Sep 08, 2010 | Permalink
Marketers know that a key element in many purchases is to signal something about the buyer. A Toyota Prius, for example, says that its owner is concerned about the environment. Expensive luxury brands let the world know the buyer has discriminating taste, and, more importantly, has plenty of money. read more
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- Is B2B Web 2.0 Over Before It Ever Started?
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![](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.b2bknowledgesharing.com/2009/07/how-to-do-organizational-transformation.html&title=How-to-get-an-Organizational-TRansformation-Right&bodytext=Now that companies have finished cutting, closing, "right sizing", etc., it’s time to figure out what to do with what’s left. Executives are now trying to figure out how to get their new, leaner organizations focused on driving performance again. In their haste to reduce costs quickly companies now find themselves with “lumpy� or “overtaxed� resources and/or essential areas completely gone.<br/><br/><p>Where to start? Here’s what I’ve learned on where to start, and how to be successful. I call it the <strong>“T’s�</strong> and <strong>“R’s�</strong> of organizational transformation.<br/></p><img src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/SnCj7XFdMCI/AAAAAAAAAQA/t_fBo70TgZQ/s400/Slide1.GIF' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363967396402769954' border='0' alt='' style='display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; cursor: hand; height: 300px; text-align: center;'/> <p><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>TARGETS </span></strong>– the starting point and the first “T�. Given the new economic reality, how targets are determined, agreed upon, forecasted and measured all must be rethought. That new thinking then must cascade its way down through the organization. Once defined and communicated, you then move on to the addressing the second “T.� </p><p><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>TOOLS</span> </strong>- what tools are needed by the organization in order to reach the targets? In this category, I include key enablers such as process, infrastructure, systems and measurement, etc. If this is not addressed fully...it will impact how you evaluate the next “T.� </p><p><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>TALENT</span> </strong>– once you have an understanding of the results you’re trying to achieve and a good idea of what tools are needed THEN you address Talent. This includes defining skill sets, competency, organizational structure, roles & responsibilities. This particular “T� also creates a subset of “R’s�. </p><p><em>The R’s include</em>: </p><ul><li><strong>REALLOCATE</strong> - correctly allocating resources along the work flow should address the “lumpy� effect. Depending on the approach your organization took during the downturn will determine the amount of work you’ll need to do here. For example, in companies that made headcount reductions across the board…this may not be an issue. But for others that made cuts based on a performance and/or a ranking system, it could be a big deal…e.g. one group may have remained relatively untouched based on their performance while another part of the organization was completely decimated. </li><li><strong>REALIGN </strong>– resources may have to be realigned based on gaps left by RIF’s. Also, changes in corporate and/or customer needs and/or priorities may also bring about a need for “realignment.� Make sure you address compensation and performance objectives (e.g. MBO’s) during this step. </li><li><strong>REFRESH</strong> – could also call this step “reinvigorate.� After everything your team has been through during the past 12 to 18 months, it’s time to motivate them…this is not a “one and done� event. Build a 12 month plan and be consistent. </li><li><strong>RECRUIT</strong> - after all is said and done you may need new talent (for example, analytics, social media, etc.) either “coach 'em up� through training (the last “T�) and/or bring in new skills sets. </li></ul><p><span style='color: #cc6600;'><strong>TRAINING</strong></span> – now that the resources are aligned, it's time to ensure that everyone knows how to use the tools, execute on their responsibilities, etc. Yes, it’s time to invest in your staff...again! </p><div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-7819935105384836286?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)
 and list of companies presenting included; Microsoft, Amex, Intuit, Dupont, IBM, Deliotte, Pitney Bowes, and others. I came away with some great new insights, not only of social media in a B2B world, but also regarding the structure of the event itself. <br/></div><br/><ol><li><strong>Get In, Then Get Out</strong> - In my <a href='http://b2bknowledgesharing.blogspot.com/2009/08/future-look-of-articles-blogs-and-im.html'>last post</a> I failed to mention the impact of online trends on offline events which I witnessed at this event. Speakers at this conference presented for 20 minutes, a long way away from the old days of hour-long presentations…and there were no breaks. The conference was over by 1 pm…love it. Rapid fire information that allowed the audience to assess the value in hearing, or not…that’s when you take a bathroom break. </li><li><strong>What Happens In The Event…Doesn’t Stay In The Event</strong> -This was the first event where I watched the impact of Twitter on those presenting. Many speakers were noticeably conscience of the impact of Twitter, not only because the large screen monitor on the stage featured <a href='http://twitter.com/home#search%3Fq%3D%23bdi'>Twitter</a> for the entirety of the event, but also because they knew their comments could immediately be broadcasted around the world. You could see how the realtime capability to broadcast ideas and comments impacted how each speaker responded to questions from the audience. </li><li><strong>Who’s Googling You?</strong> - I watched several folks checking out speakers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, etc., as the speakers presented their information. In the future you could eliminate the speaker bio’s from the event material altogether. This growing trend should make you think about what you’re putting out in the public domain and what it might do to your credibility, reputation, etc. Then again…you should always be thinking about that. </li><li><strong>All The Cool Kids Are Doing It</strong>… - The audience demographic was interesting. The crowd seemed to be the same folks that used to say; “I don’t get it�, to whatever new Web 2.0 technology came out. Saw lots of bald and grey heads (including yours truly) in the audience taking copious amount of notes. </li></ol>Aside from my initial observations on the atmosphere of the event and those attending, there were, of course, some great points from the presenters themselves. <br/><br/><ol><li><strong>Play Hard to Get</strong> - The best Social Media campaigns I saw were very subtle (as they should be) in their messaging (almost hidden). Why is this important? Instead of overly broadcasting a message, they presented in a way that the viewer/reader “discovered it.� This subtle, but difficult approach I think can make all the difference in the acceptance, retention and comprehension of your message. It also sets itself up nicely for word of mouth marketing. </li><li><strong>Ethics (Have Them) </strong>- Speaking of word of mouth, I learned that Dupont uses <a href='http://womma.org/main/'>WOMMA</a> ethic guidelines to guide their social media activities, particularly blogging. Good source. </li><li><strong>Share With Others - </strong>I can’t remember which speaker presented this, but their research found that if customers viewed video on the corporate site they also expected to find it in the public video domain…a la YouTube, etc. Same presentation also showed that corporate websites are the preferred location for video. </li><li><strong>Go Viral</strong> - All the videos I saw were initially launched through existing blogs with the goal of driving blog traffic. </li><li><strong>Start a (Useful) Conversation</strong> -The most interesting insight came from a case study on fencing. Companies have been struggling for years to do effective application/solution marketing. In this example the fencing company, Loius E Page Inc., developed their blog (link below) to help fence builders understand what type to buy based on what they want to build…brilliant. Want to build a horse paddock? Visit their blog and they can tell you to use a Farm & Field fence if you want X, Y, Z, and if you want to do A, B, C, to use a Horse fence. The lesson? Instead of the product marketing department wrestling with how to message an application or solution, the company put the product out there and let the engineers blog about how best to use it. </li><li><strong>In With The Old, Out With The New?</strong> - Many of the presentations were dated. There were very good presentations by IBM and Dupont (see links below), but they presented campaigns, video, etc. from 2006 & 2007. And here is where the concern comes from:Tim Washer from IBM said it; “things have changed in our social media governance and policies. I don’t think I could do this again given the current environment.� When I attended a roundtable later that include marketers from other companies, they express the same concern…�don’t know how he got that video approved…that would never happen in my firm/company…�</li></ol>This topic will be a future blog post entitled: “<em>Is Social Media in <a href='http://b2bknowledgesharing.blogspot.com/2009/10/b2b-web-20-is-overbefore-it-ever.html'>B2B Over Before it Ever Started</a>?</em> “ Look for that soon. <br/><br/>Best practices from the presenters:<br/><br/><ul><li><strong>Best Leverage of Existing Assets Award goes to Dupont</strong>. They went back into their video files and found product testing videos showing bullets hitting Kelvar, things blowing up and/<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGHkX_wOnwQ&feature=related'>or on fire</a>…simply brilliant. New information added <a href='http://adage.com/brightcove/lineup.php?lineup=1266084202'>10/28/09</a></li><li><strong>Best Use of Social Media for a Campaign Award goes to Intuit.</strong> They ran a <a href='http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2EF36196A3508771&search_query=intuit+small+business+winner'>great campaign</a> aimed at SMB - helping them use Social Media to promote their businesses.</li><li><strong>Best Use of Comedy in a Video Award goes to IBM</strong> - <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSqXKp-00hM'>The Art of the Sale</a></li><li><strong>Best Use of Blogs to Increase Customer Spending</strong> – <a href='http://www.louispage.com/blog/'>Louis E Page</a></li></ul>I didn’t get a chance to catch all of the presentation… had some problems getting into the city so I missed other “best of’s.� To see all the presentations, check out the <a href='http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=9c6b69da-14dc-464c-b677-5cd98a887d2f'>event site for the presentation</a>.<div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-8628798637004568212?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)
![](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.b2bknowledgesharing.com/2009/06/new-online-paradigm.html&title=The-New-Online-Paradigm&bodytext=<a href='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/SjFvy3A_6GI/AAAAAAAAAN4/3HGQCBBanF0/s1600-h/facevase.gif'><img src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/SjFvy3A_6GI/AAAAAAAAAN4/3HGQCBBanF0/s200/facevase.gif' border='0' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346177152217770082' alt='' style='cursor: hand; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 149px;'/></a><br/>In 1962, <a href='http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhnsnap.html'>Thomas Kuhn </a>wrote <em><a href='http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Scientific-Revolutions-Thomas-Kuhn/dp/0226458083'>The Structure of Scientific Revolution</a></em>, and fathered, defined and popularized the concept of "<a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shift'>paradigm shift</a>." Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another".<br/><br/>So what if you spent half your time at work on <a href='http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7704259'>Linked-In</a>, <a href='http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.html'>Facebook </a>or <a href='http://www.crunchbase.com/company/twitter'>Twitter</a>? Yes, the recession has slowed business significantly. I’m not talking about surfing the net because you have nothing better to do, I’m talking doing this AS PART OF YOUR JOB.<br/><br/>In a <a href='http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/report/'>recent survey </a>by <a href='http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/about.html'>Michael Stelzner</a>, on social media marketing almost 10% of the survey respondents spent 20+ hours a week on social media marketing. Ask senior executives in marketing in my age demographic (age 40-44) and they’ll tell you; “<em>I don’t get it…�</em> In the past, spending time online at work to do personal business was viewed as a major productivity waster.<br/><br/>In a 2006, <a href='http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200608/time.html'>INC reported the productivity loss</a> to be as high as $544 billion dollars (just think about that, if we all stopped surfing the net at work we could fund the Federal bailout of the Banking, Insurance and Auto industries). As a result, companies took dramatic measures to <a href='http://www.vault.com/nr/newsmain.jsp?nr_page=3&ch_id=402&article_id=51917&cat_id=1342'>block or monitor access </a>to sites, tools like IM and other “distracting� technologies.<br/><br/>Now after years of being told that being online at work was a bad thing, this new research and the appeal of Social Media sites, makes the case that it’s not only safe, but in certain cases, necessary to be online. According to the Salary.com & AOL survey, the average 2 hours a day American workers wasted in 2006 surfing the net is now the average time needed to do social media marketing...my, my how times have changed.<br/><br/>And what might be most surprising is that may be “OK� with the boss - the most active users of sites like; Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are small business owners according to Stelzner's report.<br/><br/>Other interest findings from the research:<br/><br/><ul><li><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>A New Day is Dawning</span></strong> - although 88% of marketers reported using social media for marketing, 72% have just started (less than 3 months). </li><li><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>Once You Start…You Can’t Stop</span></strong> – the research points out a direct correlation between how long marketers have been using social media and their weekly commitment. For folks just starting, the mean is 2 hours a week, compare that with folks who have been at it for years…an average of 20+ hours. </li><li><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>One Thing L</span></strong><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>eads to Another</span></strong> - the more time you log, the more tools/sites you’ll use. Similar to the old thinking that cigarettes and alcohol lead to the “harder� stuff, the same is true with Social Media usage. The “newbies� like to start with LinkedIn, hard core users are most interested in <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking'>social bookmarking </a>sites, <a href='http://friendfeed.com/'>FriendFeed</a> and <a href='http://www.stumbleupon.com/'>StumbleUpon</a>. </li><li><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>Not the “Young'ins�</span></strong> – contrary to popular belief, it’s the 30 to 39 year old segment that logs in the most time, with 44.8% reporting spending 10+ hours a week.<br/></li><li><strong><span style='color: #cc6600;'>Small Business “Sweetspot�</span></strong> – small businesses love social media marketing because it has generated exposure for their business, leads and partnerships, and to close business. </li></ul>So if you’re going to be logging some social media hours on the company dime you might want to follow a protocol to keep the lawyers happy. In an article entitled "<a href='http://www.thefreelibrary.com/+MANAGING+THE+TWEETS-a01611884603'>Managing the Tweets</a>" in the June 1, 2009 edition of <a href='http://www.businessweek.com/'>Business Week </a>the author lays out IBM’s social media guidelines.<br/><img src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/SjFbkA1grjI/AAAAAAAAANw/0egWUMRfjYM/s400/Slide1.JPG' border='0' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346154906923347506' alt='' style='cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;'/> <br/>As you may have noticed, I’ve been sitting on this report since March. At first I had a hard time believing some of the results…still do, but then it occurred to me that maybe I needed to shift my paradigm. Not sure that I’m ready to “replace my conceptual world view with another� but given current trends I guess we in the “post 30-39 generation� do need to be open to it. <br/><br/>Kuhn maintained that, scientist are, in essence, puzzle-solvers who aim to discover what they already know in advance - "<em>The man who is striving to solve a problem defined by existing knowledge and technique is not just looking around. He knows what he wants to achieve, and he designs his instruments and directs his thoughts accordingly</em>." <br/><br/>The upside is if I do “replace my world view� it should give me 20+ hours per week to spend on social media...it may even help me turn around a blog post in less than 3 months.<div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-999084940492961882?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)
. </li><li><strong>Externally</strong> - Customers force the organization to integrate products and/or services (something <a href='http://www.forbes.com/2002/11/11/cx_ld_1112gerstner.html'>Lou Gerstner</a> took note of when he was at Amex that eventually led to the greater focus on services when he came to IBM). </li></ul>The company then realizes (usually late) that this can lead to premium pricing and higher margins, increased share of wallet and customer loyalty, etc., and thus the journey begins. The problem is that they over estimate the ease of scaling solutions because:<br/><ul><li><strong>The last mile</strong> - no one trains the sales force, or the sales force doesn’t have the skill set, and/or no one has figured out how to comp on selling a “solution�…I’ve seen the last one a dozen times. </li><li><strong>The solution is TOO customized</strong> – really good solutions are typically highly customized, you build the “solution� with the customer. The challenge then becomes finding another customer and/or group of customers that looks like that one. As a result, you can’t scale the solution. Put your hand up if you’re heard that one before. </li></ul><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'><a href='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/Sv3H9pnlZKI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Nagos_RyTLo/s1600-h/Slide1.GIF' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'><img src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/Sv3H9pnlZKI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Nagos_RyTLo/s400/Slide1.GIF' border='0'/></a></div>So what do you do about it? The scenarios I described are symtematic of the “dipping the toe� approach to solution development. To successfully transition the first thing has to happen is that the company <strong>must make the COMMITTMENT. </strong><br/><br/>It sounds easy but this is where most organization fall down. You will not be successful if you only “half ass� it. Building real solutions that scale requires time, investment, a new group/organization and probably new people. Understand why companies fail now? <br/><br/><strong><span style='background-color: #073763; color: orange;'> Some thoughts on how to do it right</span></strong><br/><br/>I've commonly seen two successful approaches to starting the transition. The first is internally focused and involves evolving the product group. Best-in-class organizations that have made this journey start by adding or creating an <strong>“application� </strong>group. This is commonly seen in the Hi-Tech industry. <br/><br/>This group begins collecting market data on customer trends looking for broad based technology, competitive or usage trends. The goal is anticipate and understand how the company’s portfolio of products and services can and/or will be used when applied to certain situations (use cases). This then begins the solution development process. <br/><br/>The upside to this approach is that the products typically “snap together� seamlessly and are easy to install. The downside is that they sometimes miss the mark with customers because products get over engineered and lose sight of customer needs. <br/><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'><a href='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/Sv3JTxQJD7I/AAAAAAAAAWY/PrYKndlh8Pw/s1600-h/Slide2.GIF' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'><img src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/Sv3JTxQJD7I/AAAAAAAAAWY/PrYKndlh8Pw/s400/Slide2.GIF' border='0'/></a></div>The other approach is to evolve from external side and develop a <strong>segment marketing</strong> group. In organizations that can’t, or won’t, evolve their product organizations, I have helped companies build a segment marketing group that integrates products into market aligned solution sets. <br/><br/>The group is aligned to unique customer segments and uses customer research, feedback from the sales channels, etc. to develop solutions based on the specific needs of that segment. This approach is commonly seen in the financial services and communication industries. <br/><br/>The upside of this approach is that solutions developed at the segment level have very compelling value propositions because of the tight alignment with customer needs. The downside is the solutions don’t always live up to the hype. <br/><br/>Whatever path your organization takes is a step in the right direction. It shows that the organization is <b>committed</b>...but it is also only a starting point. <br/><br/>More detail on how to complete the journey in future posts.<div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-4705561037516851729?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)
. Companies should be actively pursuing strategies and tactics to retain, expand, grow and then leverage customer accounts to win business. </div><div class='MsoNormal'>This is where I think the “sweetspot� is for social media in B2B. Here’s why: social media is about “consumers selling to consumers�, or “professional-to-professional.� If a company does its job of nurturing and retaining customers, it should be able to transition from having a relatively unknown prospect, to a known customer, to hopefully, a well-understood customer advocate…at least that’s the goal. </div><div class='MsoNormal'><b style=''>The Opportunity<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class='MsoNormal'/><div class='MsoNormal'><a href='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/S-QvQO9mCkI/AAAAAAAAAa4/9jaPej_KzmM/s1600/Slide2.jpg' style='clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'><img src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/S-QvQO9mCkI/AAAAAAAAAa4/9jaPej_KzmM/s320/Slide2.jpg' border='0'/></a>If a company enables those customer advocates with social media it gives them a platform to spread the good word. The potential of this opportunity is huge, and for the most part, being missed at most companies today. </div><div class='MsoNormal'>As we all know, word of mouth is the most effective marketing there is, enabling it with technology creates scale, and the ability to track it. </div><div class='MsoNormal'>To do this successfully, companies have to first identify this opportunity within their organization; second, they have to change their current way of thinking about social media beyond its present use in marcomm and PR. </div><div class='MsoNormal'>It means finding uses and opportunities within sales and customer service. Yes, listening to customers chat about your service on Twitter is important, but I’m talking about creative ways to use it for: 1) customer-to-<a href='http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/customer-service-acquisition/turn-customers-into-your-sales-force.aspx#Turncustomersintoyoursalesforce'>customer referrals</a>, 2) c<a href='http://www.communityspark.com/'>ommunity building</a>, and 3) facilitating <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Users%27_group'>user groups.</a> The goal is to find ways to emotional connect avid customers to the company and/or products, and then provide them with an outlet to communicate that passion. </div><div class='MsoNormal' style=''><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-weight: bold;'>What to Do</span></div><div class='MsoNormal'><o:p></o:p></div><div class='MsoNormal'><a href='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/S-Qu51AwThI/AAAAAAAAAaw/VboU19Uq0OI/s1600/Slide3.jpg' style='clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;'><img src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/S-Qu51AwThI/AAAAAAAAAaw/VboU19Uq0OI/s400/Slide3.jpg' border='0' height='300' width='400'/></a>As relationships deepen, customers begin interacting in more personal channels. Through those interactions they are likely to share more intimate details about themselves, and their relationship with products/services and the company. Companies have to be able to collect this information across channels to create a complete profile of a customer. If this can be achieved, an organization will have everything it needs to begin enabling, influencing and studying cusomer advocates. <o:p></o:p></div><div class='MsoNormal'>Finally, watch out for the “silo� effect. Typically, at least three different organizations will be interacting with the customer as the relationship develops. But it’s only one customer interfacing with what the customer expects to be one company. The organization has to be “in sync� because the last thing a company wants is to provide a customer with a platform for communicating the wrong message. Turning an advocate into an adversary is not the goal. </div><div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-5981668969621658659?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)
</span><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'><span id='goog_239307100'/></span></a><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>. </span></div><div class='MsoNormal'><br/><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>These figures may entice you to conclude that this is a great opportunity for a salesforce to provide value in explaining the Cloud and define a company’s solution; a rare situation where the salesforce can be “solution sellers�. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the case, according to a Forrester’s </span><b><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'><span id='goog_1083551803'/><a href='http://www.blogger.com/goog_439980908'>Technology Buyer Insight Study</a></span></b><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'><a href='http://www.blogger.com/goog_439980908'>: </a></span><i><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'><a href='http://bit.ly/9MXTlT'>Are Salespeople Prepared for Executive Conservations?</a></span></i></div><div class='MsoNormal'><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'><a href='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/TBZcYchWEHI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/jIfRhYB1a5Y/s1600/Slide1.jpg' style='clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;'><img src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/TBZcYchWEHI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/jIfRhYB1a5Y/s320/Slide1.jpg' border='0'/></a></div><br/>IT executives interviewed for the April 19, 2010 study, only 15% of executives believe that their meetings with salespeople are valuable and live up to their expectations. </div><div class='MsoNormal'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>Reasons given according to the report:</span><br/><ul><li><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>Business leaders (24%) don’t believe salespeople are knowledgeable about their specific business. </span></li><li><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>Only 34% of buying executives said salespeople understand their roles and responsibilities. </span></li><li><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>And across the board, only 38% feel that reps are prepared to answer their questions. </span></li></ul></div><div class='MsoListParagraphCxSpLast' style=''><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class='MsoNormal'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>Could this be a case of the blind leading the blind? Confusion around cloud computing even occurs at the highest levels of leading Information Technology conglomerates. One story accounts for the CEO of a large information technology firm asking his senior executives to explain cloud computing to him. When no one could convey a clear answer, the CEO fired back that if they can’t sell it to him, then their company cannot sell it to customers.</span></div><div class='MsoNormal'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class='MsoNormal'><br/>There is no doubt that the Cloud is making as much noise as any good thunderstorm. Companies are reallocating resources and investments to the Cloud. Countless marketing dollars are being spent to get companies in the consideration set. As with any good technology trend the hype exceeds the reality. </div><div class='MsoNormal'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'>The real challenge seems not to be marketing the Cloud, but rather selling it. Those companies who best enable their sales people to break through the noise will reap the greatest benefit. </span><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: inherit;'/></div><div class='MsoNormal'><o:p></o:p></div><div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-8117007490934150062?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)
 available to them.</span></li></ul><span style='color: #221e1f;'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>The old “push� product and programs through partners and “pull� customers to your products through mass marketing was no longer working. It was time to rethink the model.</span></span><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'><br/></span><br/><div class='MsoNormal' style='line-height: 12.05pt; margin-bottom: 0in;'><a href='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/S_1DTDvUmdI/AAAAAAAAAb4/XLgMdo5_fKE/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-05-26+at+11.56.14+AM.png' style='clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'><img src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sTe-XmR7Luc/S_1DTDvUmdI/AAAAAAAAAb4/XLgMdo5_fKE/s200/Screen+shot+2010-05-26+at+11.56.14+AM.png' border='0' height='200' width='155'/></span></a><span class='Apple-style-span' style='line-height: normal;'><span class='Apple-style-span'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>To learn more about the future direction of partner marketing request a copy of the </span><a href='http://bit.ly/aLGyrW'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>Channel Insight white paper </span></a><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>by register for the live webcast by June 15th 2010 at </span></span><u><span style='color: #1f497d;'><a href='http://www.gyrohsr.com/channelforum'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>www.gyrohsr.com/channelforum</span></a></span></u><span class='Apple-style-span' style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>. </span></span><br/><div style='border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'><br/></span></div><div style='border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;'><span class='Apple-style-span' style='line-height: normal;'><span class='Apple-style-span'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>The webcast is scheduled for <strong><span style='color: red;'>12 PM on June 16th 2010</span></strong> and will include a discussion of the New Channel Marketing model that is evolving in the Technology Industry. I will be co-hosted the webcast with Bob Ray, President of the <a href='http://www.gyrohsr.com/news/gyrohsr-grows-leadership-team-in-san-francisco'>San Francisco office</a>. Hi-Tech clients managed out of that office include </span><a href='http://www.vmware.com/'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>VMware</span></a><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>, </span><a href='http://www.sybase.com/'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>Sybase</span></a><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>,</span><a href='http://www.adobe.com/'><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'> Adobe</span></a><span style='font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;'>, as well as others. </span></span></span></div><br/></div><div class='blogger-post-footer'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5066045252169973135-4222245644231517447?l=www.b2bknowledgesharing.com' height='1' alt='' width='1'/></div>)