LinkedIn's Sales Solution guru, Ralf VonSosen, recently wrote a blog posted by Eloqua discussing how "social selling" is changing the way businesses market themselves and their productions. The dynamics of the virtual marketplace are ever evolving. The article clearly outlined the steps that businesses need to take to keep up with the constant ebbs and flows of the online marketplace.
The bottom line here is that people know more about technology and online media than ever before. And increasingly, people turn to the internet and social media for a variety of everyday needs. Need a book? Don't go to the library, you can just get it online. Newspaper? They're online. Food? You can get that online too. Want to talk to grandma? No need to call her, just video chat online. Online, online, online. Well, you get my point. And businesses are getting the message, too. Companies have to change the way that they market and sell to reach this growing audience, the online social community. Social community = social selling.
What exactly does the term "social selling" mean? VonSosen defines social selling as "a philosophy that can scale through technology and business rules, designed to engage in collaborative conversations that establish a sense of trust, while providing mutual value to buyers and sellers without wrestling control of the process from the customer." What does that mean in simple terms? Essentially it means that sales and marketing are no longer two distinct entities with entirely different goals and functions. Social selling encourages cooperation between the sales and marketing groups much more than the traditional sales and marketing funnel where marketing fed leads to the sales team.
VonSosen outlines the three steps of the cooperative social sales and marketing process:
- Find- pursuing the best prospects to sell products to
- Relate- using social media to study the habits of potential clients
- Engage- applying social selling strategy by connecting with leads across social platforms
Each step of the new cooperative process is significant. However, most businesses find that relating to and engaging customers are the most challenging parts of the process. What good does it do you to find great leads if you do not understand how to entice them into becoming sales? Customers have a choice about how and where to spend their hard earned dollars. And increasingly, they are choosing to buy from companies that engage them through social media. The online marketplace has created a global market for nearly every good or service under the sun and customers have more choices today than they had even five years ago.
"Social selling" may be a new term but the idea behind it is an old one: adaptability. Evolve or die. Companies must learn to adjust their online marketing strategies to embrace the increasing social media marketplace to stay viable. If you don't change the way you interact with your customers, you will become irrelevant. Businesses must evolve to avoid becoming obsolete. Social selling is a necessary adaptation for any business that wishes to succeed.
The bottom line here is that people know more about technology and online media than ever before. And increasingly, people turn to the internet and social media for a variety of everyday needs. Need a book? Don't go to the library, you can just get it online. Newspaper? They're online. Food? You can get that online too. Want to talk to grandma? No need to call her, just video chat online. Online, online, online. Well, you get my point. And businesses are getting the message, too. Companies have to change the way that they market and sell to reach this growing audience, the online social community. Social community = social selling.
What exactly does the term "social selling" mean? VonSosen defines social selling as "a philosophy that can scale through technology and business rules, designed to engage in collaborative conversations that establish a sense of trust, while providing mutual value to buyers and sellers without wrestling control of the process from the customer." What does that mean in simple terms? Essentially it means that sales and marketing are no longer two distinct entities with entirely different goals and functions. Social selling encourages cooperation between the sales and marketing groups much more than the traditional sales and marketing funnel where marketing fed leads to the sales team.
VonSosen outlines the three steps of the cooperative social sales and marketing process:
- Find- pursuing the best prospects to sell products to
- Relate- using social media to study the habits of potential clients
- Engage- applying social selling strategy by connecting with leads across social platforms
Each step of the new cooperative process is significant. However, most businesses find that relating to and engaging customers are the most challenging parts of the process. What good does it do you to find great leads if you do not understand how to entice them into becoming sales? Customers have a choice about how and where to spend their hard earned dollars. And increasingly, they are choosing to buy from companies that engage them through social media. The online marketplace has created a global market for nearly every good or service under the sun and customers have more choices today than they had even five years ago.
"Social selling" may be a new term but the idea behind it is an old one: adaptability. Evolve or die. Companies must learn to adjust their online marketing strategies to embrace the increasing social media marketplace to stay viable. If you don't change the way you interact with your customers, you will become irrelevant. Businesses must evolve to avoid becoming obsolete. Social selling is a necessary adaptation for any business that wishes to succeed.
About the Author:
Jonathan X. Livingsworth is a media writer in the world of marketing. If you are interested in working with the latest in marketing he suggests you check out Marketing Consultants. You can learn more about this revenue marketing company at www.pedowitzgroup.com.
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