Create a Collaborative External Community with Jive Software
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The document discusses the importance of engaging B2B customers and channel partners through collaborative online communities. It highlights the challenges of traditional sales methods and outlines five key ways social business communities can drive growth, such as enabling partners, nurturing leads, and powering data-driven marketing. Overall, it emphasizes that these communities increase customer loyalty, retention, and sales efficiency.
Create a Collaborative External Community with Jive Software
- 1. ARE YOU DOING ENOUGH TO ENGAGE YOUR B2B CUSTOMERS AND CHANNEL PARTNERS? WITHOUT A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY, THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY NO.
- 2. JIVE BEST PRACTICES MARKETING: EXTERNAL COMMUNITIES Jive Software – May 2013
- 3. • Bigger deals mean longer, more complicated sales cycles • Multiple hoops to jump through & a tag team of decision-makers to satisfy • Buyers need lots of information, hand-holding & give-and-take Business-To-Business Sales © Jive confidential3
- 4. Typical B2B Touchpoints • Outbound campaigns that provide no chance of dialogue • Social networks (eg. Facebook & LinkedIn) that support lightweight interaction but not deep engagement • A few live events that offer face-to-face networking • Online forums with the usual scattered discussion threads • Direct contact with sales reps © Jive confidential4
- 5. The results? • Lost opportunities • Delayed deals • Higher cost of sales
- 6. A New Class of Online Community has Emerged © Jive confidential6 Capabilities include: • Rich profiles & connection features • Groups & rich conversations centered around topics of interest • Focused activity streams that keep users updated • An array of information sources • Smart recommendations on relevant content • Gamification that drives participation and interaction
- 7. HERE ARE FIVE WAYS SOCIAL BUSINESS COMMUNITIES CAN FUEL YOUR GROWTH AND SUCCESS
- 8. 1. Enabling Partners © Jive confidential8 • A social business community provides an ideal environment for channel partners to get the tools they need • Users can collaborate and share information in a secure, private space • You can track participation and engage in dialogues on campaigns and products
- 9. 2. Nurturing Prospects & Leads © Jive confidential9 • Full-featured public communities give B2B prospects a place to research your offerings, ask questions and get recommendations from trusted peers • Your best customers become brand advocates and an extension of your sales force
- 10. 3. Powering Data-Driven Marketing © Jive confidential10 • Social business communities are a goldmine of intelligence on prospect & customer needs, interests & preferences • Integrated with marketing automation & analytics tools, community statistics can be used for overall optimization of your marketing initiatives
- 11. • Communities are the ultimate focus group • You can get invaluable input on existing products & marketing campaigns along with breakthrough ideas for new innovations • Creative crowdsourcing not only spurs product development but drives brand affinity & customer loyalty 4. Driving Innovation © Jive confidential11
- 12. 5. Hosting Virtual Events © Jive confidential12 • Social business communities offer a highly effective alternative to traditional live events • By hosting virtual events – complete with streaming video, presentations, breakout groups & plenty of supporting content - you can reach a far bigger audience at a much lower cost
- 13. SOCIAL BUSINESS COMMUNITIES GIVE A BOOST • Drive customer acquisition, cross-selling & up-selling • Increase customer loyalty & retention • Decrease partner support costs • Increase sales per partner © Jive confidential13
- 14. VISIT JIVESOFTWARE.COM/MARKETING Find out more about maximizing your content potential.