In my first position as a community manager I worked directly with customers. Our products ranged in price from $40 to $350. That B2C (business to customer) environment was intuitive for me.
For the past six months I’ve been working with a company that’s mostly B2B (business to business). We offer the ability to white label our software. In turn many of our customers are agencies that offer the service to their clients. We also have companies/organizations that use our tool for their own needs.
Some of our customers realize quickly that I’m not in sales. When I was hired, my CEO specifically told me that I was not doing sales work. There was a period of time where we were growing and I tried helping out with sales. It was quickly apparent that I’m much better at opening conversations rather than closing deals. But I am pleased to say that our sales team has written some contracts for my sales so there is hope for me if I need a career change! ;)
People wonder how my role fits into sales? It’s a great question for two reasons:
1. Customers sense how my team has evolved a great model of how a community manager can compliment & enhance the efforts of the sales team.
2. It underlines how invaluable community building can be in every organization.
One of the best things about my present role is that we have evolved together. I taught our sales team about social media and they in turn have taught me about the sales funnel. Because we have a web 2.0 product I believe that our company has to live and breathe it. I noticed that someone commented on my blog that my team should be closing sales rather than participating in social media. I disagree. I think that they all should be building community. I’ve created a team that’s well versed in my role. They are all practicing community managers!
My philosophy is that if a company provides resources & excellent customer service then people will purchase. This is how my role interweaves with the sales funnel.
- Outside the sales funnel – I build product awareness by providing information and interacting on the web at large. I help direct traffic if people are interested in learning more about our product. It’s a conversation though, not push marketing.
- In the sales funnel - I provide high level training & specialized support. My team also knows that they can always call on my expertise in social media. This is not limited to sales but includes the executive level in regard to assistance with partnerships. Our focus is on building relationships & ensuring that the potential customer is confident that our product will serve their needs.
- After the sale – We are a software as a service (SAAS) so we really don’t have an end point of sale but rather a monthly contract. It doesn’t matter to me because I would never consider a sale as the end of the company’s commitment. Once a customer joins the Techrigy family by purchasing they experience excellent customer service. Our customers are delighted with weekend support. This is the most important time to continue building relationships & educating on product use. We can see the result as people recommend our tool to others. Positive word of mouth isn’t something that can be bought. It’s earned.
- All around the funnel – No matter where I connect with people I’m continually gathering ideas & feedback on our product. This is imperative for our evolution. We need to provide what our customers need and what they don’t even realize they need.
In melding my role with sales the purchase cycle is 2/3 shorter in time. I have some ideas on why that has happened: 1) We have a symbiotic relationship that benefits our customers in every way. And our customers have not only noticed, but they want to know more. 2) The leads are people that are sincerely interested in our product & it suits their needs. They already know that before exploring a trial.
What could a community manager do for your business? Would you like to:
- shorten your purchase cycle?
- increase the number & quality of leads?
- increase your brand visibility?
- increase satisfaction with customer service?
- re-energize your sales department?
- gather product feedback directly from influencers, potentials and customers?
- gain market research ideas directly from the community at large?
Can you afford not to?
A great article connie! The point we continually make to companies we are consulting is that Social Media, while many of the tactics are “Free”, social media and community marketing is not.
You make the point perfectly. It is an extension of your customer service, marketing, sales and opeations teams. As a result, real resources and dollars must be commited to the implementation and execution of what I like to call a “Communication Activation” strategy. Every company that hopes to succeed in the future must include such a strategy in its marketing plans today.
Thanks for a great article Connie, I’ve just forwarded to a number of persons in my company who should read it (hope they do :-)
Thank you for your review of sales ROI benefits from social media.
I’d like to additionally suggest that social media acts as the public relations arm for your company which you lead with.
Your sm work helps to focus and define the sales cycle for the traditional sales executives. Your community members indicate the words that your consumers identify with, as well as the features that most interest them.
Are these things crucial in today’s tightening markets, you betcha!
Mike, I like the chosen title of “communication activation” it seems to fit very well.
Connie, thank you for the article, well written and thought out. Resources and Customer Service are exactly what keeps them coming back.