 "Human factor in social selling")
Year 2010: "Social selling" was launched and it suddenly got a lot of attention. In the last five years, there has been a tremendous buzz around the new technique. This year will see some interesting developments around this exciting concept that is taking the digital world by storm.
- LinkedIn index will dominate social selling space: LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a phenomenal tool for social selling. It not only allows one to find out the relevant prospects but also enables to reach out and engage with prospects. Its easy-to-use interface requires no training and mobile app enabling provides on-the-go access to key contacts and opportunities.
- ROI of social selling: Organisations which will deploy social selling will first evaluate the returns of the programme. Measuring the return on investment (ROI) requires a strong attribution model, right from lead generation. It means the enterprise IT solutions and processes have to be robust enough to support multi-channel attribution, which would only happen if they are capturing all interactions with the prospects. The first step to enable attribution is by educating the sales team to select "social selling" as source in the customer relationship management system.
- Traditional channels will continue to support sales: Social media is cheaper than any form of advertising today. It is one of the only forms of media that can expose you to over 1,000 people for less than Rs 180. In addition, you can incorporate traditional elements into your social media campaign. You can advertise video commercials, publish articles, host live podcasts and webinars, and much more. Social media is the only "billboard" that can communicate to your customers, answer their questions, and offer them feedback. While social media is really picking up, it is not going to replace the traditional media. In fact, both will be leveraged together. It has already started. Twitter is providing Twitter ads that map with TV audience. Similarly, social selling isn't a replacement for traditional ways of selling. In fact, one can achieve ultimate success if social selling is used as a foundation to take the relationship offline.
- More niche social networks: As the mass-appeal networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter expand functionality to try to be all things to all members, it will rapidly open up opportunities for topical or industry-specific social networks to better serve a niche.
- Rise of many automated engagement tools: Now that sales have gone digital, it may seem daunting to keeping up with the endless advance of technology. Fortunately, at the heart of it, social selling is more about people than technology. It's about meeting your buyers where they are, getting to know them by taking a genuine interest in their needs, and giving them the information they need to make the best purchasing decisions. Content is the one of important factor to be successful in social selling. In 2015, there was the rise of many content curation tools. 2016 will witness the rise of more engagement tools.
- Enterprise social selling: A lot of organisations are adopting social selling, but few have been successful. There will be the rise of a mature social selling programme that will follow a structured approach to ensure it is successfully adopted within the organisation.
- More listening than talking: Nobody likes someone who keeps talking. It's the same on social media. Social selling is about listening to buyers to discover their interests as much as it is about becoming an effective content curator and thought leader. In the early days, sales reps saw social media as a place to broadcast their message. However, social media's true value is more as a listening tool.
Now let's discuss the reasons why social selling might not work for brands. The biggest reason is that many brands simply lack the human approach to their social selling strategy. People don't do business with companies, they do business with people. This is the reason why social selling is based on precisely comprehending their requirements and concerns.
It is unprofessional, irritating and desperate to use every interaction with a connection to deliver a sales pitch. This uninformed sales pitch elicits an impression that you're only interested in making the sale, and you are unwilling to learn how the best value can be provided to the consumer. Actually knowing the people, thus, is indispensable for the success of any social selling strategy. According to an independent survey, less than a quarter of online consumers in the US trusts ads in print publications. This number is claimed to be even worse for digital media. People merely don't trust ads - they trust people.
So, the best thing to do with your social selling strategy is to acknowledge that it is not for immediate sales. If you're hoping that your business will see sales directly from your social media efforts, you're going to end up chasing your own tail. Although sales are important, your priority on social media shouldn't be selling. It should be getting found and providing value. If you can take care of those two things and get yourself in front of your customers as much as you should, the sales will gradually take care of themselves. Even if it takes a little bit longer than you're used to.
Apurva Chamaria
Author, VP & head, strategic marketing, HCL Technologies
Author, VP & head, strategic marketing, HCL Technologies
