Forrester Study Reveals How Enterprises are Embracing Social Selling. In fact, 36 percent believe that social selling will become the “default way to engage with buyers in the future.” In response, they are investing in social media tools and embracing social selling tactics. What is social selling? The Forrester study explores social selling adoption trends and the challenges and benefits that go along with developing a social selling program. “Empowered buyers prefer to self-educate, gain third-party validation, and rely on peers to learn about new products—and increasingly prefer to use social networks to do so.” The fact that their customers and potential customers are on social makes it vital for organizations’ sales teams to be there, too. The study found that 98 percent of B2B enterprises see the value in social selling in the short- and long-term. The potential of social selling is still unrealized Although the study found that social selling is a priority for most organizations surveyed, far fewer have a fully optimized program in place. Marketing and sales need to join forces The study found that a “fragmented approach to social selling weakens efforts to sustain a formal program within the enterprise.” According to Forrester, the top three barriers for social selling are: A lack of confidence within the sales team to engage on social (32 percent) Limited understanding of available social selling technology (29 percent) A lack of alignment between sales and marketing teams (28 percent) The study says that addressing these barriers and creating a successful program involves improved training programs and tighter alignment between marketing and sales. “Broad implementation of social tools signals that sellers and marketers are eager to embrace social media and connect with buyers in their digital communities.” Hootsuite’s Amplify for Selling app makes it easier for marketers and sales teams to work together to generate leads and build relationships that turn prospects into customers. Read the full Forrester study The full Forrester study, Social Selling: A New B2B Imperative, includes these and other insights into how B2B organizations are adopting social selling.
New independent research from Forrester sheds light on how business-to-business (B2B) enterprises are adapting to how buyers use social media to inform their decisions. The big takeaway? Enterprises could be doing more to leverage social as a sales channel.
Social Selling: A New B2B Imperative is a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Hootsuite in May 2017. It surveyed 265 sales and marketing technology decision makers at B2B companies.
Forrester found that enterprises see social as the place where customers are—and therefore the dominant sales channel of the future. In fact, 36 percent believe that social selling will become the “default way to engage with buyers in the future.” In response, they are investing in social media tools and embracing social selling tactics.
What is social selling? Social selling is how organizations use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks to find, connect with, understand, and nurture sales prospects.
The Forrester study explores social selling adoption trends and the challenges and benefits that go along with developing a social selling program.
Here are a few key takeaways. Be sure to download the full study for more detailed analysis.
1. The buyer journey is changing
The study highlights some of the challenges facing today’s B2B sellers. Chief among them is that the sheer volume of marketing and sales messages aimed at consumers every day results in many people simply tuning them out.
“These buyers prefer to embark on self-guided journeys and they don’t want to be sold to,” writes Forrester. “Empowered buyers prefer to self-educate, gain third-party validation, and rely on peers to learn about new products—and increasingly prefer to use social networks to do so.”
The fact that their customers and potential customers are on social makes it vital for organizations’ sales teams to be there, too.
“As sellers struggle to gain and sustain their buyers’ attention, it is essential to meet customers and prospects where they digitally reside,” according to the Forrester study.
2. Social selling is a priority
“Sales and marketing leaders see promise in formalizing their approaches to social selling,” writes Forrester.
The study found that 98 percent of B2B enterprises see the value in social selling in the short- and long-term. Of that group, 49 percent have already developed a formal social selling program, and 28 percent are in the process of…
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