social buying meets social selling: how trusted networks improve the purchase experience
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Social buying meets social selling: How trusted networks improve the purchase experience
Social buying: Leveraging professional networks for buying support to
increase confidence in decision-making
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 760
of C-Level and VP-level buyers use social media for B2B purchase
decisions
Social buying is widely practiced among B2B decision makers, especially C-level and VP-level executives
of all buyers use social media for B2B purchase decisions
New research conducted by IDC and sponsored by LinkedIn explores the habits and preferences of these social buyers
• How do buyers use social media for purchase decisions?
• Why do buyers use social media for purchase decisions?
• What are the ideal situations for using social media forpurchase decisions?
Social media is an efficient way for buyers to access resources and inform complex, high-risk purchase decisions
“It made the process much faster and easier and ultimately helped with a better end product."
Average spend of non-social buyers
Average spend of social buyers
Compared with other B2B buyers, buyers who use social media for purchasing spend 84% more per purchase
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 760
Social buyers also make 61% more purchases on average than buyers who don’t use social
# of purchases made by non-social buyers
# of purchases made by social
buyers
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 760
And social buyers have a higher level of company influence than purchasers who do not use social media
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 760
of non-social buyers make purchases for their entire
company, business unit, or multiple departments
of social buyers make purchases for their entire company, business
unit, or multiple departments
More confident we had the right information
Easier to gain consensus within our team
More comfortable with the expertise and credibility of our vendor
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 573
Business buyers reported the greatest benefit of social media as gaining greater confidence and comfort in their decisions
They value social media as a way to access their trusted personal and professional networks
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 760
Prefer to work with vendors who have been recommended
Prefer to work with sales professionals who have been referred
Consider friends and colleagues as critical for reference checking
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 760
In fact, as buyers get closer to making a decision, online professional networks become their #1 purchase resource
Third-party expertrecommendations
Industry-specificmedia
Professional social networks (e.g.
LinkedIn)
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 422
LinkedIn helps buyers build confidence in the credibility of potential business partners
Researched vendors via their LinkedIn profiles
Searched for potential vendors on LinkedIn
Found vendors through common LinkedIn connections
The biggest deterrent to social buying is the authenticity of online profiles, but adoption should increase as social networks grow
Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014For all respondents, n = 187
Non-social buyers who would use social media if their peers
did
Non-social buyers who are concerned / strongly concerned about online profile authenticity
Following leaders
Senior executives are most likely to engage in
social buying. Where these leaders go, others
tend to follow.
Seeking outcomes
The value of social buying (greater efficiency in
reaping trust and confidence from social
networks) is highly desired by most B2B buyers.
Amplifying benefits
As vendors gain more experience at social
selling, their skills will improve. This will amplify the value buyers receive
from social.
Moving forward, IDC expects social buying to become increasingly popular and beneficial
Sales professionals can partner more effectively with social buyers by increasing social proximity, presence, and capital
Social proximity
Grow social networks and contribute to conversations
Social presence
Manage a professional identity that is credible,
authentic, accurate, information-rich, and
service oriented
Social capital
Do your social homework to ensure relevancy before
you reach out and facilitate peer-to-peer
recommendations
Are you prepared to reach social buyers? Find out how.
Download the research:
lnkd.in/b_xEzKS
Get more tips and insights:
sales.linkedin.com/blog