Social Media in B2B Branding-HaakonJensenNTNU2010[1]

8/6/2019 Social Media in B2B Branding-HaakonJensenNTNU2010[1]

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HaakonAndrElveslettJensen

Socialmediain

businesstobusinessbranding

HowB2Bcompaniescanthriveintheneweraofdigital

communication

Mastersthesis

Trondheim,June2010

Academicsupervisor:ArildAspelund

NorwegianUniversityofScienceandTechnology

FacultyofSocialSciencesandTechnologyManagement

DepartmentofIndustrialEconomicsandTechnologyManagement


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II

Executivesummary

Theobjectiveofthisstudyistoexploretheimplicationsofsocialmediaforbusiness

tobusinessbrandmanagement.Thoughtleadersofsocialmediaandbrandinginthe

onlineenvironmentarecurrentlydoingtheirworkoutinthefield,whilstthe

academicsarelaggingbehind.Inordertoshedsomelightonissuesregardinghow

B2Bcompaniesshouldmanageopportunitiesandchallengesinthesocialmedia

space,thismasterthesisseekstoaddressthetopicbyconductinganexploratory

studyonhowB2Bcompaniescanutilisesocialmediatoenhancethebrand.

Thestudyisconductedusingaqualitativeapproach.Thepurposeistogiveanaerial

viewofhowB2Bcompaniesshouldapproachsocialmedia,whatopportunitiesand

threatsexists,andhowtheyshouldfocustheironlinestrategytoenhancetheB2B

brand.Thetheoreticalpartofthisstudybuildsuponbusinesstobusinessbrand

managementduetothegrowthofB2Cbrandsinsocialmedia.Theempiricaldataof

thisstudyisinterviewswithfourexpertsonthetopic,whichisfurtherillustratedby

threecasestudies.

Bysynthesisingtheinterviews,andcomparingthemwiththeillustrativecasestudies

andthetheory,theresultsdevelop.Socialmediadoesnotchangehowbusinessesdo

business,butitaddsanotherlayertobrandmanagementwhichneedstobetreated

differentcomparedtotraditionalmarketingefforts.Inordertoinfluencethrough

socialmediacompanieshavetoprovidevalueandbuildrelationships,ratherthan

hardselling.Thebrandneedstobemonitoredinamuchwiderenvironmentas

conversationsaboutthebrandorconversationsrelevanttothebrandarelikelytobe

happeningonline,butatthesametimetheyarefeasibletomonitor.

Brandinginsocialmediapresentsthecompanywithopportunitiestodemonstrate

thebrandpersonality,anewdimensionforbranding,aswellashighlightthe

competitiveadvantage,increaseawarenessandgatherpeopleinnichemarketsona

globalbasis.Butthechallengeisthereisnodeletebutton.Oncesomethingisoutin

theonlinespaceandstartsbuildmomentum,itisnotpossibletocontrolit.Slipups

spreadthroughsocialmediacanhurtthebrandsignificantly.Asemployeesare

increasinglyusingsocialmediaintheirdaytodayworktheyarealsorepresenting

thebrand,whetheritisconsciouslyornot.Guidelinesareproposedasatoolto

manageemployeesengagementsinsocialmedia.

Beforeapproachingthesocialmediaspacecompaniesneedtomonitorwhatisbeing

saidaboutthebrandandtheindustryonline,aswellasmapouthowpeople

internallyareusingsocialmediaintheirdaytodaywork.Thiswillprovideideasto

whatbusinessobjectivesitispossibletopursuesolvingthroughsocialmedia.When

thecompanyhasestablishedanobjective,theycouldstartchoosingthestrategy.

Whenthestrategyischosen,theycanstartplanningwhichtools,tacticsand

technologiestheywanttouse.Wherethecompanygoesfromtheredependsonthe

objective,thestrategyandtheuniquepropertiesofeachcompany.


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III

Acknowledgements

IwouldliketothankassociateprofessorArildAspelundattheDepartmentof

IndustrialEconomicsandTechnologyManagementatNTNUforsupervisingme

throughthisresearch,helpingmemaketherightdecisionsduringtheresearch

process.HewasflexibletoletmeconducttheresearchinManchester,UK,but

recommendedtogivehimacalleverynowandthen,whichIdid.

IwouldalsoliketoacknowledgethevaluableinsightscontributedbyJeffMcCarthy

(@JeffMcLFC)atManchesterMetropolitanUniversityBusinessSchool,SteveLamb

(@ActionLamb)atMicrosoft,MikeRowland(@MRowland602)atImpactInteraction,

andScotMcKee(@ScotMcKee)atBirddog.Ialsothankthemfortakingthetimeto

sharetheirexperience,knowledgeandexpertiseforthegreatergoodofsocial

science.Andmygrade.

SpecialthanksgotoJohnWatton(@JWatton)atShipServandPaulFrost

(@PositiveDigital)atPositiveDigitalforsharingtheirexperienceswiththeirB2B

socialmediainitiatives.

HaakonJensen

June2010

Trondheim,Norway


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IV

TableofContentsChapter1:Introduction........................................................................................... 1

1.1 Thesocialmediarevolution...........................................................................2

1.2 Problemdefinition.........................................................................................6

Chapter2:ConceptualBackground.......................................................................... 8

2.1 B2Bbrandmanagement................................................................................9

2.2 B2Bbrandingonline....................................................................................13

2.3 SocialmediaforB2B....................................................................................15

Chapter3:Method................................................................................................ 22

3.1 Researchstrategy........................................................................................23

3.2 Datacollectionandanalysis........................................................................26

3.3 Reliabilityandvalidity..................................................................................29

Chapter4:Empiricalfindings................................................................................. 31

4.1 Interviews:Theexperts...............................................................................32

4.2 Interviews:Whatimplicationsdosocialmediahaveon

businesstobusinessbrandmanagement?.................................................33

4.3 Interviews:Whatopportunitiesandthreatsdoesa

businesstobusinessbrandfaceinthesocialmediasphere?....................40

4.4 Interviews:HowshouldaB2Bcompanyenterthe

socialmediaspaceinordertobuildthebrand?.........................................47

4.5 Casestudy:Coloplast...................................................................................56

4.6 Casestudy:ShipServ....................................................................................60

4.7 Casestudy:CelebrityCruisesUK.................................................................69

Chapter5:Discussion............................................................................................ 72

5.1 Crosscaseanalysis......................................................................................73

5.2 Interviewsrevisited.....................................................................................76

5.3 Implicationsformanagers...........................................................................87

5.4 Implicationsfortheoryandfurtherresearch..............................................90

5.5 Limitationsandevaluationofthestudy......................................................92

Chapter6:Conclusions.......................................................................................... 93

Chapter7:References........................................................................................... 96

Chapter8:Appendixes........................................................................................ 101

8.1 Interviewguide:SocialmediainB2Bbranding.........................................102


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V

TablesTable1:Classificationofsocialmedia.........................................................................16

Table2:Existingbusinessfunctionsandtheirgroundswellalternatives....................21

Table3:Interviewees...................................................................................................27Table4:Selectedillustrativecasestudies...................................................................28

Table5:Themesandsubthemesfromtheinterviews...............................................28

Table6:ShipServobjectives........................................................................................62

Table7:Opportunitiesandthreatsidentifiedintheinterviews.................................79

Table8:Approachingsocialmedia..............................................................................82

FiguresFigure1:Thebrandingtriangle...................................................................................11

Figure2:TheSocialTrinityModel...............................................................................17

Figure3:Theevolutionofthesocialwebaffectsconsumers,brandsandsocialnet.19

Figure4:Theresearchprocess....................................................................................25

Figure5:ShipServ'ssurveytomaptheroleofsocialmediaintheshippingbusiness61

Figure6:RedesignofShipServ.com............................................................................63

Figure7:ShipServpublishingthesamecontenttoseveralsocialmediaplatforms...66

Figure8:VideosusedtoenlightenthecontentandbringpersonalitytotheShipS...66

Figure9:CelebrityCruisesTwitteraccount.................................................................71

Figure10:TraditionalROIvs.socialmediaROI...........................................................86


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Chapter1:IntroductionFortwodecadestheInternethasmadeasignificantimpactoneverydaylife.

Informationtechnologyhaschangedeverythingandisincreasinglymaking

businessesmoreeffective.Ithasalsochangedtherulesofthegameintermsof

globalization,increasedcompetition,howpeoplework,andhowinformationis

shared.

Moreimportantly,theInternethaschangedthewaypeoplecommunicate.Where

informationpreviouslywassharedanddistributedonpaper,fax,telephoneorface

tofacecommunicationthedigitalizednewworldmakesiteasiertocommunicate

andshareinformation.TheearlydaysoftheInternetbroughtusemail,butasthe

Internetismaturingthegrowthofthenewsocialmediahasexploded.Socialmedia

connectsmillionsofpeoplewhombuildrelationshipsonline,andisgrowingatan

astonishingpace. MarketingandPRpeopleareembracingthesenew

communicationchannels,usingthemtoimprovethemarketperformanceoftheir

businesses.Researchinthefieldofsocialmediaishoweverlimited,mostlybecause

theexpertsandthoughtleadersonthetopicareprofessionalsdoingtheirworkout

inthefield.Bycontinuouslytestingandfailingthesepioneersslowlyploughsthrough

thenewfieldstocreatenewventuresorleveragetheopportunities.

B2Bisallaboutrelationships.Onetendstothinkaboutcompaniesdealingwithother

companies,butinrealityitisbusinesspeopledealingwithotherbusinesspeople.

SocialmediainaB2Benvironmentneedstobeexploredtorevealtheopportunities

fortheseB2Bcompaniesandtheirbrands.Researchonthesubjectisimportantto

understandhowcompaniesshouldproceedwithsocialmedia,andwheresocial

mediafitswithinthebusinessstrategyorevenhowcompaniesneedstochangein

ordertocopewithsocialmedia.

Theaimofthismasterthesisistoprovideinsightstohowbusinesstobusiness

companiescanleverageopportunitiesinthesocialmediaspheretobuildtheirB2B

brand,bylookingathowthefrontrunnersandthoughtleadersofsocialmediautilize

thenewtechnology.


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1.1 Thesocialmediarevolution1.1.1 ThehistoryofsocialmediaThetermsocialmediawasadaptedsometimeduring200607,butacommon

definition

is

yet

to

be

declared.

The

Internet

encyclopaedia

Wikipedia,

one

of

the

primeexamplesofsocialmedia,describessocialmediaasfollows;

Socialmediaismediadesignedtobedisseminatedthroughsocial

interaction,createdusinghighlyaccessibleandscalablepublishing

techniques.SocialmediausesInternetandwebbasedtechnologies

totransformbroadcastmediamonologues(onetomany)intosocial

mediadialogues(manytomany).Itsupportsthedemocratizationof

knowledgeandinformation,transformingpeoplefromcontent

consumersintocontentproducers.(...)

Socialmediacantakemanydifferentforms,includingInternet

forums,weblogs,socialblogs,wikis,podcasts,pictures,video,rating

andsocialbookmarking.Technologiesinclude:blogs,picture

sharing,vlogs,wallpostings,email,instantmessaging,music

sharing,crowdsourcing,andvoiceoverIP,tonameafew.

(Wikipedia,2010c)

Socialmediaisnotanewphenomenon,eventhoughthetermwasbornwhensocial

networkingsitessuchasFacebookandMySpacegainedpopularity(Kaplanand

Haenlein,2010).Socialmediahasbeenaroundforalongtimenewsgroupswas

socialmediainitsearlyadaptionalbeitonlytechsavvyusersadoptedthe

technology.Themassesstartedusingsocialmediawhenrecentadvancementsinthe

webtechnology,broadlynamedasWeb2.0,madeitpossibletocreate

collaborativeWebexperienceswheninformationissharedmultilaterally

(McConnellandHuba,2007,p.57).Enhancedbyuserfriendlyinterfacesthe

thresholdforallkindsofpeopletousethenewonlineapplicationswaslowered.

SocialisationoftheInternetisaresultofthematuringInternettechnologywhich

startedwiththecommercialisationofthewebbackin1988.Throughoutthe90sthe

Internetchangedtheeverydaylivesofpeopleallovertheworld;emailsmadeit

easiertocommunicate,searchenginesmadeiteasiertofindinformation,

informationsystemsmadeiteasierforcompaniestomanagetheircustomersandso

on.

Comingtowardstheendofthe90stheInternethypemetthewall;alotofnew

companieswerefoundedbyventurecapitalists,builtonimmaturetechnologyand

unhealthybusinessmodels,lookingtoclaimamarketposition.Itallcametoanend

whenthedotcombubbleburstbecauseitbecameobviousthatalotofthesenew

ITventuresdidnotperforminthemarketplacefordifferentreasons.Someranoutof

funding,otherscouldnotcompletetheirproductwhilstothersfacedlowdemand

fromthemarket(Buttell,2010).


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LookingbacktotheearlydaysoftheRailwayManiainthe1850sonthearrivalof

thesteamlocomotivetechnology,thesimilaritiesarestriking.Hundredsof

companieswerefounded,fuelledbyoveroptimisticspeculationaboutits

profitability.Thehypecametoanendandonlythemostsolidcompaniessurvived.

Thisledtothedevelopmentofthesteamlocomotiveatechnologywhichhada

majorimpactonthesocietyandbusinessesallovertheworld(Robinson,2009a).

HistoryrepeateditselfintheITindustry;thesolidcompaniessurvivedtheboom,

realisticexpectationswereinplace,andtheInternetbusinesscontinueditsgrowth

withanincreasingimpactonthesociety.Informationtechnologyismaybeaboutto

makeanevenlargerimpactaspeoplearebecomingmoreandmoreaccustomed

withusingtheweb,whilstthetechnologycontinuestoevolveandcreatenew

opportunities.

1.1.2 DisruptionfromsocialmediaTheongoingsocialisationoftheInternetisoneofthemostdefiningchangesin

presenttime.Traditionalmediaoutletslikenewspapers,magazinesandTVare

dominatedbyadvancementsinonlinepublishingtools,whereeveryonecanbecome

theirownpublisher,fast,easyandfreeofcharge(HusaandKvale,2009).Theshift

hasgonefrominformationandnewsbeingdistributedbyafewlargeplayers,to

informationandnewsbeingdistributedbymillionsofpeopletonichemarkets.

Thedriverinthesocialmediarevolutionisnotthetechnology,itisabouthowpeople

useonlinetoolstoconnectandcommunicate.LiandBernoff(2008)hasnamedthe

trendthegroundswell;

Asocialtrendinwhichpeopleusetechnologiestogetthethings

theyneedfromeachother,ratherthanfromtraditionalinstitutions

likecorporations.

Source:LiandBernoff (2008,p.9)

Themostimportantaspectofthesocialmediaisthusnotthetechnology,butthe

people;howwedependonrelationships,drawstrengthfromeachotherandour

desiretorebelagainstinstitutionalisedpower.Ourdesiretoconnect,new

technologyastheenablerandonlineeconomicswheretrafficequalsmoney,explains

whythistrendishappeningnow,accordingtoLiandBernoff(2008,pp.101).The

technologywillcontinuetoevolveandmorepeoplewillbejoininginatan

astonishingpace.

Facebookhasnowmorethan400millionactiveusers.IfFacebookwasacountryitwouldbetheworlds3rdlargestcountrylargerthanUSA.

FacebooklaunchedinFebruary2004.ByDecemberithad1millionactive

users,inOctober2007ithad50millionactiveusers,August2008100million

activeusers,andasofFebruary2010Facebookhad400millionactiveusers

averaging55minutesonthesiteeveryday(Facebook.com,2010,

DigitalBuzzBlog.com,2010).


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Twitterhas105millionusers,with300,000newuserssigningupeverydayper14thApril2010(Huffingtonpost.com,2010).

LinkedInhas60millionusers(perFebruary2010),adding5millionusersthetwopreviousmonths(Rao,2010).

YouTubeusersareadding24hoursofnewvideoevery60seconds(per17thMarch2010),orputinotherwordstwomillionminutesofvideoisuploaded

toYouTubeeveryday.Thatisa17%increasesince20thMay2009,andan

200%increasesinceApril/May2008(Mashable.com,2010).

Thesheersizeoftheamountofpeoplemovingintothesocialmediaspaceisbound

tomakeanimpact.Socialmediadisruptstraditionalbusinessmodels,becausewith

lowentrycostanybodycancreateawebsiteconnectingpeopleandleveragingthe

powersofsocialmediatoconductcommerce,sharenews,reviews,starta

movementorwhateverobjectivethesitehas.Firstmoveradvantageisessentialin

thefastmovingenvironmentoftheInternetwherenetworkeconomicscomesinto

play;nosocialsitecanallowforsocializingunlesstherearepeopleitsuserscan

socializewith.

ThesuccessofWikipediaforcedEncyclopdiaBritannicatoreviseitsbusinessmode.

NotbecausethetechnologyofWikipediawassuperior,butbecausepeoplewanted

toengagewithBritannicainthesamewaypeopleengagesWikipedia.Theonline

versionnowallowsforadditionalusercreatedcontent.Britannicaishowever,still

laggingbehindWikipedia;only1.5milliondailyvisitorscomparedtoWikipedias

approximate6millionvisitorseachday.Theencyclopaediapreviouslyrelianton

sellinghardcopiesnowhasanrevenuewhereroughly60%stemsfromtheironline

operations(Sweeney,2009,Charlton,2009).

Basically,socialmediacanmarginalisethestrengthofexistingcompanies,whereas

existingcompanieshavetorevisetheirbusinessstrategyinordertocopewiththe

newthreatsandopportunities(LiandBernoff,2008,p.13).

Theeraofsocialmediaimposesalotofthreatstobrandmanagersasthesocial

mediasphereisuncontrollableandstoriespickedupinthesocialmediaspherecan

seriouslyhurttheirbrand.Buttherearewaystomitigatethesethreatsandembrace

newopportunities.Acompanywithapresenceinthespherecanbuildrelationships

anddiscussboththeirproductsandservices,aswellasrespondtorumoursor

criticism.

1.1.3 Socialmedia,brandsandB2BAstudyonClevelexecutivesintheUSshowedthattheInternetisthetop

informationresource(Millar,2009).39%oftheexecutivesunder40inthesame

studymademorethan20workrelatedsearchquerieseveryday,whilst17%forthe

4049yearoldsandonly6%of50plus.56%oftheexecutivesunder40and34%of

theexecutivesbetween4039usedmicrobloggingtoolssuchasTwitteratleast

severaltimeseachweek.Astheunder40s,coinedtheNetscapegeneration,takes

overexecutivespositions,theimportanceoftheInternetwillgrowandassocial


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mediaisthedriverofthecurrentdevelopmentoftheInternet,theimportanceof

presencebothonlineandinthesocialmediaspaceincreases.

B2Bbusinesseshasadoptedtheuseofsocialmedia;91%ofpurchasersinover1200

technologycompaniesinNorthAmericaandEuropeusesocialmediainrelationwith

business(Bernoff,2009).AnothersurveyshoweddonebyHerder(2009)showedthat

82%ofmanagersinAmericausesocialmediaforbranding.Inthesamestudy81%

feltsocialmediacouldassistinbuildingthebrand,i.e.perceivedvalue.Evenbeingin

averyearlyphaseofsocialmedia,ithasalreadymadeanimpactonmodern

marketingandbranding.

AlanMitchell(2001)arguesthattheemergingeraofinteractivemarketingisabout

toaltertheverybasicsofmarketing;thenewmanytomanycommunicationgives

thecustomerstheupperhand.Socialmediafacilitatesmanytomanydialogues,and

onthesemediumspeopletalkaboutdifferentbrandsandtheirexperiencewith

them,aboutboththepositivesandthenegatives.Christodoulides(2008)pointof

viewisinthesamelineofthoughts;marketersarenolongerincompletecontrolof

theirbrand,associalnetworksandcommunitiesheavilyinfluenceshowthosebrands

areperceived,whichinturninfluencesnotonlyconsumerchoicesbutalsocompany

decisions.Valueisbeingcreatedinadialecticalprocess,andcompaniescaneithersit

onthesidelinesorenterthesocialspaceinordertoparticipateinanopen

conversation,andinfluencehowtheirbrandisbeingspokenabout.

TheamountofinformationontheInternetisimmense,andthescarceresourceis

peoplestime.Marketersneedtoprovidereturnonattentiontothecustomersin

ordertogetkeeptheirattentiononcetheyhaveit;ratherthanpushingmarketing

messagesonthepublic,marketersneedtofocusoncreatingrelationships,

connectingwithcustomersinordertounderstandtheirbehaviourandneeds,in

ordertoincreasethedemandfortheirproductsorservices.Thisnewerawillprovide

opportunitiestobuildbrandswithcustomersratherthantryingtoinstilreadymade

brandimageryintopeoplesminds(Mitchell,2001).

WebsterJr.andKeller(2004)havepointedtothefactthatbuyingandmarketingfor

businesstobusinesscompaniesthelastdecadeismovingtowardsrelationship

management.Ratherthanhavingatransactionalperspective,alongtermview

lookingtocooperateprovidesmoreopportunitiesinthelongrun.Valuessuchas

trustworthiness,reliabilityandcredibilityaregoingtohaveasignificantimpacton

brandinginmarketswherelongtermrelationshipsareofimportance.Socialmedia

canbeavaluabletoolinordertobuildtheserelationshipsandenhancebrand;

understandingandcommunicatingwithcustomersisjustasimportantasdelivering

uponthevaluepropositiontodeveloprelationships(LynchandChernatony,2004).

Atfirstsightsocialmedialooksharderforbusinesstobusinesscompanies.Liand

Bernoff(2008,p.70)explainsthiscouldbeduetothelackoffewrolemodels,asthe

largesuccessfulsocialmediainitiativesaretargetatconsumers.Butbusinessesdoes

notinteract,peopledo;businesspeoplearepeople,too.


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1.2 ProblemdefinitionSocialmediaisnotafadanditisnotgoingtoaway;itisafundamentalchangein

howcompaniesrelatetotheircustomers(McKee,2010,p.176,LiandBernoff,2008,

p.75,Christodoulides,2008,Mitchell,2001,Qualman,2009b,pp.23941,Qualman,

2009a).KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,pp.1404)arguedthatbrandingonlineneededto

betreateddifferentcomparedtotraditionalbrandingapproaches. Twoother

authors(Christodoulides,2008,Mitchell,2001)tooktheargumentevenfurther and

claimedthatthechallengesoftheonlineenvironmentwillforceaparadigmshift.

Socialmediaiscurrentlyhavingamassiveimpactonthesetraditionalmarketing

approaches,butthemainattentionhasbeenonsocialmediainB2C.ForB2B

companiestoentersocialmediathethresholdissignificantlyhighercomparedto

B2Ccompanies.

HowB2Bbrandscanthriveinsocialmediaisunderresearched.Thoughtleadersof

socialmediaandbrandingintheonlineenvironmentarecurrentlydoingtheirwork

outinthefield,whilsttheacademicsarelaggingbehind.Inordertoshedsomelight

onissuesregardinghowB2Bcompaniesshouldmanageopportunitiesandchallenges

inthesocialmediaspace,thismasterthesisseekstoaddressthetopicbyproviding

anexploratorystudyonhowbusinesstobusinesscompaniescanutilisesocialmedia

toenhancethebrand,whatopportunitiesandthreatsthereis,andhowtoconnect

andbuildrelationshipwiththeirclients,prospects,partners,otherstakeholdersand

widernetwork.Theobjectiveofthisthesisistoexploretheimplicationsofsocial

mediaforB2Bcompaniesmanagingandbuildingtheirbrand.

1.2.1 ResearchquestionsThemainresearchquestionproposedis;

Whatimplicationsdosocialmediahaveonbusinesstobusinessbrandmanagement?

Subquestionsrelatedtothemainresearchquestion;

Whatopportunitiesandthreatsdoesabusinesstobusinessbrandfaceinthesocialmediaspace?

HowshouldaB2Bcompanyenterthesocialmediaspaceinordertobuildthebrand?


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1.2.2 ReviewcontentThisstudywillseektoaddresstheimplicationsofsocialmediaonB2Bbranding

throughanexploratoryresearchprocess.

Chaptertwowillpresentaconceptualbackgroundtoframethediscussion,including

literatureavailableonB2Bbrandmanagement,B2Bbrandingonlineandbasictheory

onsocialmediaforB2Bcompanies.Theresearchprocessisdescribedandjustified

throughchapterthree.Bytakinganexploratoryapproachfourinterviewshavebeen

conducted,whereastheyarefurthertriangulatedbythreecasestudies.Thechapter

alsoexplainswhyandhowtheselectedintervieweesandcaseswasselected,aswell

asaddressreliabilityandvalidityissues.

Chapterfourpresentstheempiricalfindings.Thefourintervieweesarepresented,

beforetheinterviewsaresynthesisedbaseduponthemainresearchquestion;the

generalimplicationsforB2Bbrandmanagement,theopportunitiesandthreatsand

strategyforapproachingsocialmedia.Theinterviewsarefollowedupbythefindings

fromillustrativecasestudiesbasedmainlyonsecondarysources.

Chapterfivediscussthefindings.Firstacrosscaseanalysisisconducted,beforethe

interviewsarerevisitedandthehighlightsfromtheinterviewfindingsarepresented

anddiscussed.Thecasesarefurtheranalysedandputupagainstthefindingsfrom

theinterviewsinordertotriangulatethepointsmadeintheinterviews.Thefinal

partofchapterfivepresentimplicationsformanagers,theory,furtherresearch,as

wellaslimitationsandanevaluationofthestudy,beforetheconclusionsaredrawn

inthefinalchapter.


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Chapter2:ConceptualBackgroundChapteronearguedfortherelevanceofthestudy,anddefinedresearchquestions

forfurtherinvestigation.Thispartwillframetheresearchquestionbycovering

theoryfrombusinesstobusinessbrandingbothonlineandoffline,andrelevant

aspectsofsocialmediainordertohaveafoundationforthefurtherresearch.


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2.1 B2BbrandmanagementBusinesstobusinessbrandingconsistsofawidevarietyoftopics,butthischapter

willfocusonhowtheB2BbrandisdefinedandhowitdifferstoB2Candtheoverall

managementstrategiesformanagingthecorporatebrandbothinternallyand

externally.

2.1.1 TheB2BbrandAbrandservesthesamepurposeinB2BmarketsasitdoesinB2C;themyththat

industrialpurchasersarethoroughlyinfluencedbyrationaleassessmentsandnot

emotions,andthattheimportantissueswerehardfactsasfunctionality,priceand

qualityratherthansoftfactslikereputationorarenownedbrand,isfalse(Kotlerand

Pfoertsch,2006,p.2).Agoodreputationisofutmostimportanceforacompany

(McKee,2010,p.9).KotlerandPfoertschprovidethefollowingdefinition;

They

facilitate

the

identification

of

products,

services

and

business

aswellasdifferentiatethemfromcompetition.Theyareaneffective

andcompellingmeanstocommunicatethebenefitsandvaluea

productorservicecanprovide.Theyareaguaranteeofquality,

origin,andperformance,therebyincreasingtheperceivedvalueto

thecustomerandreducingtheriskandcomplexityinvolvedinthe

buyingdecision.

Source:KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,p.3)

Abrandismorethanalogoandproductpackaging;tangiblecommunicationisused

to

support

the

brand,

but

it

is

not

the

brand.

The

brand

is

a

intangible

short

cut

of

attributesexistinginthemindsofcustomers,derivedfromthetotalityoftheir

perceptionofthebrand(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.5).BetweenB2BandB2C

brandingthereareseveralfundamentaldifferencesasindustrialandconsumer

marketsdiffersignificantly. KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,pp.206)highlightsthese

differences;

Thecomplexityofindustrialproducts;PurchasingoftenrequiresqualifiedexpertsinstarkcontrasttoB2C.

Deriveddemand;Industrialdemandisfarmoreinelasticthanconsumerdemand,

but

also

more

volatile

than

consumer

demand.

Internationality;TheongoingglobalisationenablesB2Bcompaniestoselltothewholeworld.B2Bproductsingeneralrequireslessadaptiontolocal

markets,butnationaldifferencesincultureandvaluecanhaveimplications

forhowproductsorservicesareperceived.

Organisationalbuying;FewercustomersthanB2C,largervolumespercustomerandcloser,longlastingrelationshipswiththeclients,combined

withacomplexpurchasingprocess.

Buyingsituation;Differentbuyingsituations,whetheritisastraightrebuy,modifiedrebuyornewtask,andhasimplicationsforthecomplexityofthe

decisiontobemade.


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Buyingcentre;buyingcentresareoftencomposedbydifferentpeoplewithdifferentroles.Thesepeoplehavedifferentbackgrounds,differentinterests

inthepurchase,differentrolesintermsofthepurchase,differentauthority

andpower,differentinfluenceanddifferentaccesstoinformation.

ThedifferencecomparedtoB2CwithmostimpactforB2Bmarketersisthe

complexityofthebuyingcentre.Howthisbuyingcentreiscomposed,whetheritis

formallysanctionedoradhoc,howmanypeople,andtheirrolesdiffersignificantly.

Seventypesofrolesareproposed;initiators,users,influencers,deciders,approvers,

buyersandgatekeepers.Onepersoncanoccupyseveralroles,andformarketersit

thusbecomesachallengetotargetthepeoplewithinfluencewithinthebuying

centreoftheirprospects(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,pp.268).

2.1.2 AholisticperspectivetowardsbrandingThereisarecurringviewregardingaholisticperspectivetowardshowcompanies

shouldbuildtheirB2Bbrand;abrandingstrategyshouldbestronglyalignedtowards

thebusinessstrategy.Thebrandisseenasadifferentiatorwhichcanincreasethe

competitiveadvantage,butthebrandneedstodeliveruponthebrandpromisein

ordertoincreasethecompanysmarketperformance(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004,

Boatwrightetal.,2009,Rooney,1995,Rosenbroijer,2001,RozinandMagnusson,

2003).

TheholisticviewofKotlerandPfoertsch(2006,p.108)proposesthatthebranding

andbusinessstrategyneedstobecloselyrelated.Theauthorsadvocateaholistic

perspectiveduetothecomplexnatureofB2Btransactions.Implementingthebrand

strategyonlyintheexternalmarketingdimensionisnotenough;abrandingeffort

shouldbeconsistentthroughouteverycustomertouchpoint.

Consistencyisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofabrand

strategy.(...)Thebrandidentitythatthecompanywantsto

communicatehastotransverseallmarketingmaterialsand

communicationsinordertobuildbrandequityintheintendedway.


InordertostriveforconsistencythroughoutthebrandingtouchpointsKotlerand

Pfoertsch(2006,p.16)visualisestheneedforaholisticbrandingperspectivebyusing

thebrandingtriangle(seeFigure1).Inordertoleveragethefullpowerofbrandinga

companyneedstoconsiderthebrandandbeconsistentaboutitineverypart;

relationshipmarketing,integratedmarketing,internalmarketingandsocial

responsibility.Theactivitiesneedtobealignedtocreatesynergiesbetweenthe

marketingefforts.

Thebrandingtrianglevisualisingtheholisticconceptconsistsofthreemarketing

dimensions;theexternaldimension,theinternaldimensionandtheinteractive

dimension.


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Externalmarketingconcernstraditionalmarketingcommunications,wherethecompanycommunicatesitsofferingstotheir(potential)customers.

Internalmarketingisvitalinordertoalignthegoalsofthecompanywiththegoalsofthebrand.Itisimportantfortheemployeestounderstandand

appreciatethebrandingmessageinordertodeliveruponthebrandpromise.

Interactivemarketingconcernsemployeeshavingadialoguewithcustomers,suppliersandretailers.InaB2Benvironmentwhererelationships

areimportant,theemployeesaretheonestohavetodeliveruponthebrand

value,inregardstocustomersatisfaction,problemsolving,andthelikes.

B2B >holisticviewofKotlerandPfoertsch >usefulforabasisforasocialmedia

Frameworksforaholisticbrandingstrategy

TheAccelerationThroughBrandingframeworkpresentedbyKotlerandPfoertsch

emphasisestheimportanceofbuildingabrandovertimewithongoingchangeand

continuousimprovements.Thebrandbuildingframeworkconsistsoffivephases

(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,pp.1608);

Duringtheplanningphasetheorganisationispreparedtoundergothebrandingprocesses,involvingallpartsoftheorganisationinorderto

establishbrandvaluesamongsttheemployees,establishingprocessesfor

informationflow,implementationprocessesetc.

Theanalysisphaseexaminethecompanyitself,competitors,customers,inordertoestablishbrandvaluesalignedwiththecorporatemissionaswell

asthepersonalityofthebrand.

Abrandstrategyisthenbuiltfromthebrandfundamentalsestablishedintheanalysisphase;theguidingideabehindthebrand,positioning,value

proposition,brandarchitectureandbrandpromise.Thebrandisapowerful

communicationtoolbothinternallyandexternally,somethingmany

companiesfailstoappreciated.

Customers

Company

Internal

marketingExternal

marketing

Interactivemarketing

Collaborators

Generalpublic

Figure

1:

The

branding

triangle



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Thebrandbuildingphaseusesthebrandstrategyasthebuildingblockstoovertimeinstilassociationsinthemindofthecustomer,wheretheactual

brandinginitiativeiscarriedoutthroughouttheorganisation;themarketing

program,directexperiencewiththeproductsorservice,wordofmouth,

andthebrandsidentificationwithacompany,events,distributorsholistic.

Duringtheauditphasethestrengthsandweaknessesofthebrandisassessedbyathoroughinvestigation,wherebyonegoesbacktotheplanning

phasetoiteratetheprocess.

WebsterJr.andKeller(2004)presentedintheirarticleAroadmapforbrandingin

industrialmarketstenguidelineswhicharesignificantlyalignedtothe presented

AccelerationthroughBrandingframework.Thearticleemphasisestheimportance

ofalignmentbetweenbrandingandcorporatestrategy,avoidinternalconfusionand

educateemployeesaboutbrandvalues,andinvolvingtheentireorganisation.

Inadditiontheyrecommendfocusingonbuildingthecorporatebrand,andnot

productbrands,usingabasicvaluepropositionrelevantforallplayerswithinthe

buyingcentreaswellasunderstandingtheroleofthebrandinthebuyingprocess.In

linewiththebrandingtrianglethisbrandingapproachstrivesforconsistency

throughoutalldimensions.

2.1.3 InternalbrandingThegoalofinternalbrandingistocommunicatethebrandtomakethemindsofthe

employeesalignedandconsciousonthebrandandbusinessstrategy,inorderto

deliveruponthebrandvalueineveryphaseoftheireverydaywork(Lynchand

Chernatony,2004,WebsterJr.andKeller,2004).AsparaandTikkanen(2008)argues

forinternalbrandingasanimportantmanagementphilosophywherebrandingis

seenasanefficientmanagementtooltocreateaspirationalbrandvaluesaimingto

secureaconsistentperceptionofthecompany.Internalbrandingisimportantto

aligntheemployees,thebrandandthebusinessstrategy.

Oneofthemostimportantpropertiesofabrandisthecapabilitytoconnectionwith

theemotionsofbuyers;astrongbrandcanremoveuncertaintyandbuildtrust,thus

theinternalbrandingshouldalsoemphasisnotonlyontangiblevaluesbutalso

intangiblevaluessurroundingthebrand.Asindustrialproductsoftenhavemultiple

customertouchpointswhichinfluencesthebrandperception,itisimportantthatthe

entireorganisationisawareandconsciousuponwhatthecustomersareexpecting

andwhatimagethecompanyistryingtobuild,inordertodeliveruponthebrand

valuesoneverycustomertouchpoint(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004,Boatwrightetal.,

2009).

Itisimportantforacompanytoeducateitsemployeesinvolvedinthepurchasing

processtopromotetheaffectivebenefitsoftheproducts,includinghowdifferent

benefitsaffectsdifferentactorsinthebuyingcentre.LynchandChernatony(2004)

arguesforthreeinternalbrandingchannelswhichshouldbealignedinordertobuild

thebrandinternally; theorganizationalculture,internalcommunicationmedia,and


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training. Connectingwiththecustomersemotionsareespeciallyimportantfor

salespeopleaspurchasingdecisionsareofteninfluencebytheemotionsconnected

tothecorporatebrand;therelationshiptowardsthecustomeristhoughbasedupon

bothrationalandemotionalbrandvalues(LynchandChernatony,2004).

2.2 B2BbrandingonlineInternetasanewchannelforbrandbuildingactivitiespresentsnewopportunities

andchallengesforanykindofbusiness,eventhoughB2Bbrandingonlinehas

receivedratherlimitedattention(VirtsonisandMarchHarridge,2009).Theonline

environmentisdifferentcomparedtotraditionalbrandingapproaches;Kotlerand

Pfoertsch(2006,pp.1404)encouragecompaniestousetheInternettoinnovate,

attractandinformprospects,anddevelopandmaintainrelationshipswiththe

customers.

KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,p.142)arguesfortwospecificadvantageswhenitcomes

tobrandingonline;informationandsimplicity.ThenatureoftheInternetmakesit

possibletodistributeinformationtotheentireworldinaninstant,enablingbusiness

transactionstotakeplaceanywhereatanytime.Acompanycancustomizethe

messagedeliveredtodifferenttypesofusersinordertodeliverthebrandmessage

dependinguponthedifferenttypesofusersandbuyers(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,

p.142).

2.2.1 TheB2BwebsiteIntheliteraturearecurringapproachtoB2Bbrandingonlineistofocusonhowthe

company

website

can

be

used

to

communicate

the

brand

(Rozin

and

Magnusson,

2003,KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.140,Wood,2004,VirtsonisandMarchHarridge,

2009).Thecompanyswebsitecouldbeaprospectsfirstcontactwiththebrandand

thefirstimpressionisvital.BecauseofthecomplexityoftheB2Benvironmentitis

difficultforindustrialpurchaserstocomparepricesonline,theB2Bmarketerhave

theopportunitytoincorporatethebrandextensivelyandconsistentthroughoutthe

websitetopositionthecompanyinthecompetitivelandscape(KotlerandPfoertsch,

2006,VirtsonisandMarchHarridge,2009).

Itisimportanttolookatonlinebrandingdifferentfromtraditionalbranding,andnot

just

use

the

Internet

to

display

a

catalogue

but

rather

to

focus

on

the

value

propositionandhowthecompanydiffersfromitscompetitors(VirtsonisandMarch

Harridge,2009,KotlerandPfoertsch,2006).Providingagoodbrandexperiencefrom

thewebsitescaninfluencethebrandperceptionsinthemindsofthevisitors

positively,obviouslybystayingtruetothecompanysbrandingstrategy.Acommon

themeonB2Bwebsitesistodemonstratecredibilityinordertoinstiltrustand

reliabilityinthebrand.Thesoftvaluesofthecorporatebrand,suchastrustand

professionalism,arehighlyregardedbyB2Bindustrialbuyers.Thosevaluescouldbe

furtherenhancedbyusabilityandthequalityofthecontentinordertocreatea

brandexperiencewhichcaninfluencetheperceptionofthebrand(Virtsonisand

MarchHarridge,2009,RozinandMagnusson,2003).


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2.2.2 ExtendingonlineinteractionbeyondthewebsiteThematurationoftheInternetasanarenaforcommunicationarmsB2Bmarketers

andbrandmanagerswithnewtoolstotargettheircustomers.Theonlinemedium

presentsopportunitiestofostertwowaycommunicationwithitsaudience,which

subsequentlyfostertrust(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004).Whencompaniesenterthe

onlineenvironmentseekingdialogue,theneedtobecomfortablewithtwoway

relationsishighlighted.

Brandstendtohavealifeoftheirownanddevelopthroughtime.Ifacompany

createanaspirationalbrandpromisebutfailstodeliveruponit,peoplewilltalk

aboutit.Wordofmouthmarketingcanhavetremendousimpactbutpeopleare

morelikelytotalkaboutabrandwhentheyareunhappyaboutit.Theformulafor

developingwordofmouthishowevertomeettheexpectationsanddeliveruponthe

brandpromise.Socialmediaisanextensionofwordofmouthwithagrowing

importance,andthenewonlinemediumsareperceivedtohaveasignificantimpact

(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.148).Qualmansuggestedsocialmediaiswordof

mouthonsteroids(Qualman,2010).

NovellsCMOJohnDragoon,SunMicrosystemsCEOJonatanSchwartz,AdobesChief

SoftwareArchitectKevinLynch,BoeingsCMORandyLerner,andthebasketballteam

DallasMavericsownerMarkCubanareamongthelotoflargecorporationsthriving

inthesocialmediaspacethroughcorporateblogs.Theseareauthoritativeblogsin

theirniche,andcandictateimportanttopics,createinterest,sparkdebatesand

gatherprofessionalsthroughtheirbrand.Itispossibletocommunicatethebrandon

apersonallevel,ratherthantraditionalbroadcastmessages(Christodoulides,2008).

Thetoolsandplatformsavailableintheonlineenvironmentlowerthebarriersforby

facilitatingengagementanddialogueinaninformalmannerbetweenthecompany

anditsaudience,whetheritisfellowprofessionalsorcustomersonalow

commitmentlevel.WebsterJr.andKeller(2004)arguesthatbrandcommunications

shouldbeusedinmultiplechannelstoreinforcethebrandstrategy,andnoother

viabletoolcanfacilitatemanytomanyconversationwiththesameeaseassocial

mediawhichisacomplementtotraditionalchannels.Peoplefavouringacertain

supplierorsolutioncanusethesetoolstogainaccesstomoreinformationto

influence

the

decision

makers

within

the

buying

centre.

2.2.3 MissingaspectsoftheonlineenvironmentTheonlineenvironmentposesasignificantchallengeforbrandsingeneral;whileitis

possibletomonitormentionsofthebrandonline,itisimpossibletocontrolthe

conversations.Researchonbrands,brandmanagementandcorporatebrandingis

increasing, butthecontextoftheonlineenvironmentforthesetopicshavebeen

underresearchedbybusinessandmarketingacademics,evenmoresoforthe

businesstobusinesssetting(iamot.org,2009).


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2.3 SocialmediaforB2BChapteroneoutlinedhowsocialmediadevelopedfromobscurenewsgroupsto

socialnetworksconnectinghundredmillionsofpeopleandhowitdisruptsthe

marketplaceandthecompetitivelandscape.Thischapterwilloutlinethebasicsof

socialmedia,hereintheclassificationandevolvementofsocialmediatoolsandthe

userbehaviourofB2Bbuyers.Arecommendedapproachtocreatingsocialmedia

strategieswillbepresented,aswellasthedifferencebetweenB2BandB2Csocial

media.

2.3.1 SocialmediaisnotatraditionalcommunicationchannelSocialmediaisalowthresholdcommunicationchanneltothecustomers,butthere

arecaseswheremarketersengagewithsocialmediaastheydowithtraditional

media.Socialmediaexpertsdiscouragemarketerstopushdirectsalesmessages,but

ratherprovidingthebrandwithapersonalityandengagingindiscussionsand

conversationswiththetargetaudience.Theaudienceinthesocialspacedoesnot

acceptdirectselling,anditputsdownandexposeifnecessarilycompanieswho

doesnotobligetothoserules;keyvaluesappreciatedbytheaudienceonsocial

mediaishonesty,respect,openandtransparent(Herder,2009).KotlerandPfoertsch

(2006)arguedalsothatsocialmediashouldbeapproachedwithadifferent

perspectivecomparedtotraditionalmarketing.

Ilookattheinternetasbeingaroad.Socialmediahastransformed

thatroadintoafourlanehighway.

StuartFoster

Source:Borders(2009)

Almostallofthesenewonlinemediumssharethecharacteristicsaboutparticipation,

openness,conversation,communityandconnectedness.Insocialmediaeveryoneis

usuallywelcomeandencouragedtocontributeandgivefeedback,andtheline

betweenthesenderandtheaudienceisblurred.Theseservicesencouragevoting,

commentingandsharingofinformation,aswellaspeoplebeingopenaboutwho

theyareandwhotheyrepresent.Anonymityandpasswordprotectedcontentis

oftenfrownedupon.Ratherthanthebroadcastmarketingtraditionalmediais,social

mediaisbynatureatwowaydialogue.Communitiesarebuiltondifferent(often

niche)topicslookingtogatherpeoplewithcommoninterestswheretheycan

communicateeffectively.Anditsallconnected;socialmediathriveon

connectedness,connectingothersites,resourcesandpeople(Mayfield,2008).The

valueofanetworkincreaseasthenumberofusersincrease(StabellandFjeldstad,

1998).


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2.3.2 ClassificationandevolvementofsocialmediatoolsThedevelopmentofthedifferentsocialmediaplatforms,toolsandnetworkshas

increasedrapidlythelastfewyears.Therearenowsomanydifferenttoolsitis

impossibletoevenknowaboutthemall.Thetechnologywillalwayschangeand

evolvesoitisimportanttounderstandtheforcesatwork,ratherthanhowthe

differenttypesoftoolswork.LiandBernoff(2008)hasclassifiedsixmaintypesof

socialmediatechnologiesinsixcategories.

Table1:Classificationofsocialmedia

Activity What Purpose

Peoplecreating Blogs,usergenerated

content,podcasts

E.g.:Wordpress,Blogger,

YouTube

Peopleactsaspublishers,creatingand

sharinginformation,knowledge,

opinionsorother.Contentcreators

commentandconnectwithother

contentcreators,aswellascontentconsumers,throughdiscussionareas.

People

connecting

Socialnetworksandvirtual

worlds

E.g.:Facebook,SecondLife

Facilitatesrelationshipbyenablingusers

toaddotherpeopletotheirnetworks

andgivingaccesstoeachothersprofiles

withpersonalinfo.

People

collaborating

Wikis,opensource

E.g.:Wikipedia,Firefox,

Linux

Communitiesevolvingaround

collaborationtocreateacoreproduct

e.g.onlineencyclopaediasandsoftware.

Peoplereacting

toeachother

Forums,rating,reviews

E.g.:Commentingandrating

productsonAmazon,

IMDB.com,TripAdvisor,Blackberryforums.com

Peoplehelpingeachotherbye.g.

recommendingordiscouragingvarious

items,orgetting/givinghelpfrom/to

otherpeoplebyengagingonforums.

People

organizing

Taggingcontent

E.g.:Digg,Del.icio.us,

StumbleUpon

Classifyandorganisetheonlineworld;

contentistaggedinvideoandphoto

sharingservices,blogposts,

bookmarkingtools.Taggingtoolsallow

forsharing,whichinturncanbeapart

ofpeoplespersonalbrand.

Accelerating

consumption

RSSandwidgets

E.g.:AnRSSfeedmightbe

thepostsfromablog,a

widgetcanbeanewsticker

runningonyourdesktop

Toolsthatbringscontenttotheuser

ratherthantheuserhavingtofind.

Increaseefficiencybyallowingpeopleto

monitormoresocialactivity.

Source:LiandBernoff(2008)

McKee(2010,pp.18294)presentedamorebrandcentricmodellabelledTheSocial

TrinityModel (seeFigure2),wherethedifferentsocialplatformsarepresentedon

threedimensionsdependingontheirpurpose;networking,conversation,and

community.Ratherthanlookingathowthedifferenttypesofapplicationswork,they

aredividedintermsofhowtheycouldbeutilisedforespeciallybusinesstobusiness

companies.

ThreeplatformsemergingasmostrelevantandpopularforB2Bcompanies;Twitter,

FacebookandLinkedIn.Eachofthesetoolsrepresentsonedimension;conversation,


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communityandnetworking.Whenthesetoolsareusedinparalleltheyreplicatethe

activityorprocessacompanywouldusetocommunicateofflineinordertosecure

business.McKeearguessocialmediashouldbeappliedtoaugmenttraditional

businessactivities,ratherthanreplacingit.

Figure2:TheSocialTrinityModel

Source:McKee(2010,p.183)

Conversation:Sharenew,views,opinionsandideasandengageinconversations

new,alternative,interesting,different,andlikemindedpeople.Onlineconversations

cancreateinterestforthebrand,andamplifyitsvoice.Toparticipateandsucceed

thebrandneedtocontributesomethingofvalueratherthanselling,whichinturn

encouragesloyalty.Conversationshavealwaysbeenanintegralpartofbusiness.

Conversationcreatesopportunitieswhichcreatesrevenue(McKee,2010,p.183).

Community:Onetooneconversationsarepowerful,butconversationsopenfor

anyoneinacommunitycanreachanevenwideraudience.Communitiesoffer

participativecommunicationinaderegulated,casual,informalenvironment.This

providescustomerswithvaluableengagementopportunities(McKee,2010,p.187).

Networking:NetworkingplatformssuchasLinkedIniseasytounderstandthevalue

of,easierthane.g.FacebookorTwitter.Employeescanconnectwithother

professionalstheywouldliketokeepintouchwith,andprovidesothercompanies

andotheremployeeswithasearchabledatabasetofindothercompaniesand

people.Networksprovidecontexttothebrand;activeparticipatingingroups

relevanttotheindustry,marketortopicsrelevanttothebrandcanexertinfluence

andprovidesachannelforbusinesspeopletofind,evaluate,andformthe

perceptionofbrands(McKee,2010,p.191).


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Figure3:Theevolutionofthesocialwebaffectsconsumers,brandsandsocialnetworks

Source:ForresterResearchviaDestinationCRM.com(2010a)

2.3.3 SocialmediastrategyLiteratureonsocialmediaadvicescompaniestostartengaginginthesocialmedia

spaceasthetrendissomethingwhichcannotbeignored,andtheexamplesof

successfulB2Csocialmediacampaignsaremanyandincreasing(LiandBernoff,

2008,p.75,McConnellandHuba,2007,p.x,McKee,2010,p.176,Qualman,2009b,

p.xix).

Alotofcompaniesareenteringthesocialmediaspaceinordertoutilisethe

opportunities,albeitthereisanissueofhowandwheretostart.Toooften

companiesengageinsocialmediawithoutaplan.Theinitialcoststotakepartin

socialmediaarepracticallyzero,butestablishingandmaintainingthepresencedoes

requireresources.Inthesamewaythebrandingstrategyneedstobealignedto

supportthebusinessstrategy,thesocialmediastrategyneedstobecloselyaligned

tobusinessobjectivesbyfocusingonstrengtheningandreinforcingeachotherwhich

ultimatelyincreasesthecompetitivenessofthecompany.


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Socialmediaisnotacampaign.Itisacommitment.Yourplan

shouldcoverboththeimmediateandshorttermwithaneyetothe

longtermunderstandingthatthetechnologychangesdaily.You

mayfindthatsomeofthetoolsyouinitiallychoosearegonebythe

timeyougetaroundtoaccessingthem.Beflexible.

JeffreyHayzlett,formerKodakCMO

Source:deHaaff(2010)

ThebookGroundswellbyLiandBernoff(2008),perceivedtobeoneofthemost

appreciatedbooksonthesocialmediastrategy,presentsafourstepplanning

labelledThePOSTmethod.Thisprocesstheyconsidertobebestpracticeforhow

companiesshouldbuildtheirsocialmediastrategy.

ThePOSTmethod:Afourstepplanningprocessforsocialmedia

POSTisanacronymforpeople,objectives,strategyandtechnology,whichisthefour

stepsthecompanyhavetovisitinordertobuildaviablestrategy;thereisnocorrect

wayofdoingitbecauseallcompaniesareunique(LiandBernoff,2008,pp.6771).

Eachcompanymustadoptthetacticsthatarerightsforits

customersanditswayofdoingbusinessandadaptasthe

technologieschange.Copyingothersdoesntworkbecauseyour

company,yourcustomers,andyourgoalsarenotthesameas

anybodyelses.

Source:LiandBernoff(2009,p.75)

Thefirststep,people,istoassesshowtheaudiencethecompanywanttoreach

currentlyareengagingonline.Iftheaudiencethecompanyistargetingaremore

likelytocommentonblogsthanjoiningsocialnetworks,thestrategyneedtobe

buildonthatbasis.Companiesthenneedtobeclearontheirobjectivetotheirsocial

mediaengagement;seekingcustomerinsights,extendmarketinginitiativestoa

moreinteractivechannel,motivatebrandambassadors,decreasingsupportcostsor

integratingthecustomersintothebusinessbye.g.helpingthemdesignproducts.See

Table2forthefiveobjectivessuggestedinthemodel.Acompanyshouldhaveone

primaryobjecteventhoughtheymayaccomplishmorethantheysatoutto;itisthe

progresstowardsthisprimaryobjectivecompaniesshouldmeasuretheirsuccess(Li

andBernoff,2008,p.67).

Thepeopleandobjectivesarethebasisforthestrategy;howcouldtheirrelationship

withtheircustomersbedifferentandbetterinthreeyears?Thecompanyshouldalso

thinktroughtheconsequencesofthestrategyandaddresskeyissuesthatmay

followfromsocialmediaengagementsandhowitwillchangethecompany.Only

whenpeople,objectives,andstrategyarethoughtthroughthecompanydecideon

whichtechnologiesandplatforms,i.e.choosingthetoolsandtactics,viabletoreach

thedesiredobjective,baseduponhowtheirtargetaudienceusesocialmedia,what

theobjectiveofthecompanysengagementisandhowtheywouldlikethe

relationshiptochange(LiandBernoff,2008,pp.68,713).


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Table2:Existingbusinessfunctionsandtheirgroundswellalternatives

Existingbusiness

function

Groundswell

objective

Howthingsaredifferentinthegroundswell

Research Listening Ongoingmonitoringofyourcustomersconversations

witheachother,insteadofoccasionalsurveysandfocus

groups

Marketing Talking Participatinginandstimulatingtwowayconversations

yourcustomershavewitheachother,notjustoutbound

communicationstoyourcustomer

Sales Energizing Makingitpossibleforyourenthusiasticcustomers

(brandambassadors)tohelpselleachother

Support Supporting Enablingyourcustomerstosupporteachother

Development Embracing Helpingyourcustomersworkwitheachothertocome

upwithideastoimproveyourproductsandservices

Source:LiandBernoff(2008,p.69)

.


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Chapter3:MethodChapteroneidentifiedseveralresearchquestions;thischapterdescribesthe

methodologyusedtoprovidedatatoinvestigatethem.Thenoveltyofsocialmedia

makestheapproachaqualitativeandexploratorybynature,butthereareseveral

wayssuchastudycanbedone.Thischapteroutlineshowtheresearchtopicwas

selected,theresearchquestionsformed,howdatawascollectedthroughinterviews

andcasestudies,andprocessedinorderaddresstheresearchquestion.Italso

justifiesthechosenapproach,andarguesforthereliabilityandvalidity.


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3.1 ResearchstrategyAqualitativeexploratoryresearchstrategywaschoseninordertogetadeeper

understandingofhowsocialmediawasusedbyactorsinagivencontext.Duetothe

noveltyofthefieldthereislittleacademicliteratureavailableonthetopic,andthe

inductiveapproachsetssightatgeneratingtheorywhichthencanbehypothesised

andtestedthroughe.g.qualitativemethods.Theepistemologicalorientationis

interpretivismbecausethestudysetsouttounderstandhowpractitionersutilise

socialmediaintheB2Bcontext,whilsttheontologicalorientationisconstructionism

becausethesocialpropertiesareoutcomesofaseriesofinterleavedinteractions.

3.1.1 DefiningtheresearchquestionsUsingsocialmediatobuildthebusinesstobusinessbrandcaughttheattentionof

theauthorduetotheincreasingimportance,impactontraditionalmarketingand

attentionofsocialmedia,aswellasthenoveltyofit.Theamountofacademic

researchconductedonthetopicwasperceivedtobeverysparse,andduringthe

autumn2009aprestudywasconductedbydoingaliteraturereviewonthetopicof

B2BbrandmanagementwhereB2Bbrandingonlinewasinfocus.Thefindings

revealedthatsomescholarspredictedthatthechangesintheonlineenvironment

wouldpresentaparadigmshiftfortheentiregenreofmarketingandbranding

(Christodoulides,2008,Mitchell,2001).Thosefindingsledtotheproblemdefinition

ofthisstudyinordertofindouthowsocialmediacanworkinrelationtoB2B

brandingandbrandmanagement.

3.1.2 ResearchprocessanddesignBecauseofthenoveltyofthetopicSocialMediainB2BBrandingaqualitativeand

exploratoryapproachwaschosen;theobjectiveistodiscovernewinsightstohow

B2Bcompaniescanutilisethesocialmediaspace.Exploratoryresearchisusedfor

topicsthathaveseenlittleresearch,inordertoformulateaproblemsinterestingfor

moreaccurateinvestigation,developinghypothesisesforquantitativestudies,and

establishingpriorities.Exploratoryresearchaskswhatarethevariablesinvolved,

ratherthantheexplanatoryresearchwhichaskswhatarethepreciserelationships

betweenthevariables(Perry,1998).Theflexibilityandlimitedstructuregivesthe

researchertheopportunitytohavealittlecontaminationoftheworldaspossible,to

risk

imposing

an

inappropriate

frame

of

reference

(Bryman,

2008,

p.

389).

TheapproachwasopenbutbasedonaholisticB2Bbrandmanagementtheory

foundation,andtheconceptualbackgroundwasbuiltonthefindingsfroma

literaturereview,aswellasadditionalliteraturefocusingonsocialmedia;basics,

strategyandthebusinesstobusinesssidesofit.Duetothelackofacademic

researchonsocialmediaafewappreciatedbookswerechosen,GroundswellbyLi

andBernoff(2008)themostsignificantoneasitwaswrittenbyateamofanalyticsat

therenownedresearchcompanyForrester.Inadditionblogs,articles,andquasi

scientificsurveysandwhitepapersconductedbypractitionersandthoughtleaders,

were

carefully

selected

to

have

a

foundation

for

the

data

gathering

process.

These

resourceswereusedduetotherapiddevelopmentoftheareaandtheneedforup


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todatecontent,nothamperedbygoingthroughthetediousacademicpublishing

processes.Blogscantendtobebaseduponsubjectiveopinions,anditcouldproveto

beaproblemofvalidity.Theyarehoweveroneoffewresourcesavailablefor

researchonthetopicandprovidesfreshinsightsfromthoughtleaders.Theblogs

werecarefullyselectedbaseduponthereputationofthesiteaswellasresonancein

termsofcomments.

TheunitofanalysisselectedwasthebrandingstrategyandapproachofB2B

companiesinthesocialmediaspace,i.e.howcompaniescouldorshouldformtheir

strategiesforthisnewmedium.BythisapproachitwaspossibletodiscoverhowB2B

socialmediaaffectB2Bbrandmanagement,atopicwhichhaveseenverylittle

academicresearch.Yin(1994,p.6)proposesthatcasestudiesisanappropriate

researchdesignwhentheresearchquestionishowandwhy,withnorequirementof

controlofeventsaswellasfocusoncontemporaryevents.Howandwhybusinesses

haveconductedtheirB2Bsocialmediaisanimportantissuetoaddresstheresearch

question.Perry(1998)alsoarguesforcasestudyresearchoractionresearchbeing

thebestmethodologyforthesetypesofstudies.

TherearehoweveralimitednumberofpubliclyavailableB2Bsocialmediasuccess

stories,anditwashardtoidentifypossiblecases.ThelackofB2Brolemodelsisalso

mentionedbyLiandBernoff(2008,p.70).QuiteafewB2Bcompaniesareengaging

inspace,butitisdifficulttopinpointwhichoftheB2Bsocialmediainitiativesthat

havebeenhighlysuccessfulaspractitionersinB2Barestillstrugglingtofindtheir

wayinthenewworldofsocialmedia.Interviewsarerecommendedwhenonelooks

togaindeeperinsightsintowhattheintervieweeseesasrelevant,andtheycan

departfromthescheduletospeakaboutwhattheythinkisimportantwhichis

valuablewhenexploringnewafieldofstudy(Bryman,2008,p.437).Onthatbasis

interviewswiththoughtleadersonB2Bsocialmediawereselectedasthemaindata

source,whereasthreeappropriatecasestudieswereselectedtoillustratethe

findingsfromtheinterviewsasthelimitednumberofcasesavailablewouldnotalone

besufficienttojustifythegenerationofnewtheoryandinsights.

FourinterviewswithB2BsocialmediaexpertsintheUKandtheUSwasthemain

datasource.Theinterviewswereconducted,transcribed,andanalysed

systematically.Theseexpertinterviewswerefurthertriangulatedbythreeillustrative

casestudiesonB2Bsocialmediainordertofurtherenhancethevalidityofthe

findings.Interviewsandcasestudieswereselectedtoachieveanunderstandingof

howpeopleinrealworldorganisations,atthecoalfaceofthenewchallenges,

perceiveandutilisesB2Bsocialmedia.Inordertoextractthenewknowledgeofthe

studythediscussionpartcomparestheinterviewsandtheillustrativecases,

triangulatedwiththeory,concepts,evidenceandopinionsfromotherdatasources.

Theresearchdesignisthusagroundedtheoryapproach,wheretheconceptual

backgroundframestheresearchquestionuponwhichtheinterviewguidewas

developed;interviewsandcasestudieswereconducted,datawascoded,reduced

andcomparedtotheliteraturewhichformsconceptualbackground.Itisacommon


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misconceptionthataresearcherusinggroundedtheoryapproachmuststartwitha

blankmind,withnopriorknowledgeoftheliteratureorexperience.Substantive

theoryisthestrategiclinkintheformulationandgenerationofgroundedformal

theory,andprovidestheinitialdirectingindevelopingrelevantcategories.Constant

comparisonwasdonetomaintainacloseconnectionbetweenthedataand

conceptualisationinordertoseecategoriesemerge.Additionalliteraturerelevant

forthefindingswasalsousedtotriangulateandverifythesefindings,andthestudy

wasevaluatedintermsofitslimitations,reliabilityandvalidity(Bryman,2008,pp.

415,3850,Suddaby,2006).

Datacollection

Fourindepthexpertinterviews,threecasestudies

Datareduction

Categorisingthedatafromtheinterviewsandcases,andidentifyingthemes

Discussion

Findingsimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthecasesandtheinterviews

Connectingfindingsfromtheorytoempiricalfindings

Verification

Limitations,aswellasreliabilityandvalidityofthestudy

Data display

ImplicationsforsocialmediaonB2Bbrandingandmarketing

OpportunitiesandthreatsforB2Bcompaniesinthesocialmediaspace

B2Bcompaniesdevelopingasocialmediastrategy

Casestudyfindings

Conclusionsdrawing

Theoreticalconclusions,managerialimplications

Formationofresearchquestion

Basedonliteratureframingtheresearchquestiontoarelevantcontext

Figure4:Theresearchprocess


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3.2 DatacollectionandanalysisTheinterviewsarethemaindatasourceofthestudy,whilstcasestudiesbasedon

secondarysourcesareusedtoillustrateandtriangulatepointsmadebythe

interviewees.Duringthedatagatheringprocesstheresearcherwasbasedinthe

UnitedKingdom,andattendedtheInternetWorldExpo20101,thelargestInternet

industryexhibitioninEurope,andattheB2BMarketingseminarTwitterandblogs:

Howtointegratewithinthedigitalmarketingstrategy2.Atthesetwoeventsthe

intervieweesandtwoofthecaseswereselected.

3.2.1 InterviewsItwasdecidedtodoafew,butindepth,interviewswithindustryexpertsonsocial

media.Inordertogetdifferentperspectives,aheterogenicgroupofexpertswith

differentbackgroundswereselected.Everyonedidhoweverhavebackgrounds

relatedtoB2Bandsocialmedia;adigitalmarketingacademicfromabusiness

university,practitionersfromaB2BmarketingagencyandaB2Bsocialmediaagency,

andonePRmanagerfromalargecorporation.

Thecredibilityoftheirexpertiseonthetopicwasdemonstratedbyallofthembeing

speakersonthetopic,andthreeofthemspokeatthetwomentionedconferences.

Thefourthone,ScotMcKee,wasselectedbecausehewasatheCEOofaB2B

marketingagency,amonthlycolumnistintheB2BMarketingMagazine3andwasthe

authorofthebookCreativeB2BBranding(No,really)(McKee,2010),whichalso

hadasectionaboutB2Bsocialmedia.Takenthesefactorsintoaccount,itwasstilla

conveniencesampleduetothembeingspeakers,andtheconferenceandagreeing

onconductinginterviews.Noonedeclinedtodoaninterview,thusthesefourpeople

aretheonlyfouronesthatwasasked.Oneoftheinterviewswasconductedin

personandthreewasconductedthroughSkype.Thedurationofeachinterviewwas

aboutanhour.

Aninterviewguidewaspreparedbeforetheinterviews,andthesameguidewas

usedforallthefourinterviews(seeappendix1).Theobjectiveoftheinterviewswas

togetanunderstandingofhowpractitionersandacademicsperceivedsocialmedia

forbusinesstobusinessorganisationsinarealworldcontextonastrategiclevel.

Details,tacticsandtools(e.g.howtouseTwitterorFacebook)werenotthefocus,

oneofthereasonsbeingbecausethesocialmediaspaceevolvessorapidlythatthe

technologieswillquicklybecomeoutdated.Theinterestingpartandthefocusofthe

studywasthestrategicimpactofsocialmediaandhowaB2Borganisationcan

approachit.

Questionsfortheinterviewguideweredevelopedtogiveanswertotheresearch

questionswithoutbeingleading.Semistructuredinterviewswerechosenasit

1InternetWorldExpo:http://www.internetworld.co.uk/

2Seminarprogramme:http://www.mardev.com/Events.asp3B2BMarketingMagazine:http://www.b2bm.biz/


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providesastructureforwhattopicstobecoveredandsimilarwordingtothe

questionsasked.Atthesametimeasemistructuredinterviewallowsforflexibility;

questionsmaynotfollowinthesameorderasoutlinedonthescheduleasthe

interviewercanpickupdifferentthreadsrelatedtotheansweroftheinterviewee.It

alsogivestheopportunitytoprobetheanswersoftheintervieweetogetadeeper

understandingoftheissuediscussed(Bryman,2008,pp.43842).Allinterviewswere

audirecordedinorderfortheinterviewstolaterbetranscribedandanalysed.This

reducedthepossibilityofmisinterpretingtheinterviewees.Itwaschosennotmake

theintervieweesanonymousinordertokeepthestudyastransparentaspossible.

Allintervieweesagreedtobothbeingrecordedandbeingnamedinthethesis.

Table3:Interviewees

Name

Nationality

Date

Where/how

Position

Company

Expertise

JeffMcCarthy

UnitedKingdom

7thMay,2010

MMU,Manchester

SeniorLecturer

MMUBusinessSchool

Digitalsportsmarketing

experiencefromB2B

SteveLamb

UnitedKingdom

19thMay,2010

Skype

TechnologyPRmanager

MicrosoftUK

Usingsoc.med.asa

toolindaytodaywork

MikeRowland

USA

20thMay,.2010

Skype

CEO

ImpactInteractions

B2Bsocialmediaand

onlinecommunities

ScotMcKee

UnitedKingdom

27thMay,2010

Skype

ManagingDirector

Birddog

B2Bmarketingand

branding,socialmedia

3.2.2 IllustrativecasestudiesInordertotriangulatethefindingsfromtheexpertinterviewscasestudieswas

chosenasamethodtoillustratepointsfromtheinterviews.Thethreeselectedcase

hasagreatvarietyintermsofwhatwasdone,howandwhy.Itisdifficulttofind

goodcasestudiesonB2Bsocialmedia,againduetothenoveltyofthefield.

Onlysecondarysourceswereusedfortheillustrativecasestudies,buttherewere

fewsourcesfortwoofthecases.ThisresultedinadeepercoverageoftheShipServ

casewhilsttheShipServcasestudyismoreindepth.Coloplastisbaseduponone

academiccasestudy,andCelebrityCruisesarebasedupononecasestudy

presentation.Theselectedstudiesareaheterogenicgroupofcases,chosendueto

theirthreedifferentusagesofsocialmedia.WhilstColoplastdevelopsacommunity,

ShipServuseacomprehensivecontentmarketingstrategy,whereasCelebrityCruises

UKonlyfocusonconnectingandbuildingrelationshipswiththeiragentsthrough

Twitter.Allprovidesthreedifferentperspectivesonhowsocialmediacouldbe

utilisedtobuildthebrand.


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Acrosscasestudywasconductedonthethreecasesinordertohighlightsimilarities

anddifferencesthroughanexplanationbuildingapproach.Yin(1994,p.110)argues

theapproachisoftenutilisedasapartofahypothesisgeneratingprocessusedfor

exploratorycasestudies,anditsgoalisnottoconcludebutdevelopideasforfurther

study.

Boththeempiricalfindingsfromthecasestudiesandtheinterviewswerediscussed,

andcomparisonwasdrawnbetweenthemaswellasagainstrelevanttheory.The

casestudieswerealsousedtoillustratethefindingsfromtheinterviews,inorderto

achieveanunderstandingofhowpeopleinrealworldorganisationsusesocial

media.

3.3 ReliabilityandvalidityReliabilityandvalidityareimportantcriteriainassessingthequalityoftheresearch

regardlessofwhetheritisqualitativeorquantitativestudies.Forqualitativestudies

thecriticismisthatgeneralisationtoalargerpopulationfromaverysmallsampleis

impossible.Whilstthisistrueitishoweverpossibletogeneralisetheory(Bryman,

2008,pp.3912).Ithasbeensuggestedthatreliabilityandvalidityinqualitative

studiesisbettersuitedastrustworthinessandauthenticity(Bryman,2008,pp.377

80).Trustworthinessismadeupoffourcriteria;credibility,transferability,

dependabilityandconformability.

Thecredibilityfortheinterviewsisproventhroughtriangulationtowardsthecases,

andinthediscussionchapterbyreachingresonancewithexistingonlineliteratureon

thetopic,i.e.blogs,quasiscientificwhitepapersandopinionpieces.Inorderto

determinethecredibilityoftheliteratureavailableonthetopicaqualitative

assessmenthasbeenmadebasedupontheauthorsstatuswithregardstothetopic,

e.g.ifitisablogpostbylookingatthenumberofcommentsanddiscussionsaround

thetopic,orifitisanagencywhitepaperthereputationofthecompanyisreviewed.

Severalsurveysarealsoconductedandwheneverstudiesarecitedtheiroriginis

mentioned.Themethodofthedifferentsurveysavailablehasalsobeenreviewed

beforebeingused.

Intermsoftheillustrativecasestudiesthecredibilityvaries.ShipServistriangulated

aroundmultiplesourcesandverifiedthefindingsbyapproachingtheirchief

marketingofficerwiththecasestudyinordertogetfeedbackonifthecasestudy

presentstheireffortsinacorrectway.InthecaseofColoplastthemainsourceused

wasanacademicpaperonwebenhancedcommunities(Andersen,2004),andthe

casestudywasrewrittentofitasocialmediabrandingcontextusingthedata

presentedinthestudy.Theacademicnatureofthestudydoeshoweverimplicate

thatithasbeenthroughareviewprocessandaqualitycontrol.Onlyafewmore

sourceshavebeenusedtotriangulatethefindings.InthecaseofCelebrityCruises

UKonlyonesourceisused,apresentationgivenbyoneofthepeoplefromthe

marketingagencycreatingthesocialmediainitiative,andalsosuffersfromalackof

thestrategiccontext.Theselimitationsarehoweverrelatedtothelackofavailable


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studiesonsuccessfulB2Bsocialmedia.DuringtheresearchprocesstheShipServcase

studywaspublishedtheauthorsblogtogetfeedback,anditspreadthroughsocial

mediabeingpickedupbyapopularB2Bbloganddistributedthroughthesocial

spacewhichsupporttheargumentoffewavailablecasestudies1.

Transferabilityisgoodconsideringthestudyisexplorative;theempiricaldatasetis

smallbuttheintervieweesarespeakingaboutageneralareainordertoprovide

insightsintohowexpertsperceivebestpracticeB2Bsocialmediausage,inorderto

presentideasonhowsocialmediacanbemanagedinaB2Bbrandingcontext.Dueto

thelimitednumberofintervieweestheirnamesarenotmadeanonymous,asthe

transferabilityoftheempiricalfindingsreliesupontheknowledgeofthe

interviewees.Byhavingtransparencyitaddressesgeneralisation,thekeyissuewith

qualitativeresearch,thatthereadersthemselvescandecidetheexpertscredibility.

Replicationisdifficultingeneralforqualitativestudies.Theinterviewtranscriptsare

readilyavailable,aswellasfieldnotesfromseminars.Eventhoughtheauthorhasa

profoundinterestinthesocialweb,thetransparencyoftheresearchobjects,aswell

asstrictlyobjectivedescriptionsoftheempiricalfindingswhichareseparatedfrom

thediscussiondoesgoalongwaytoprovetheconfirmabilityofthestudy.

1BusinessGrow.com:http://businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/afascinatinghardcoreb2b

socialmediasuccess/


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Chapter4:EmpiricalfindingsChapterthreedescribedthemethodologyofthestudyandhowthedatawas

collected.Thischapterpresentstheempiricalfindingsfromthefourinterviewsand

threecasestudies.Theinterviewsareconductedwithprofessionalscomingfrom

differentpointofviews.Whilsttheinterviewsaresynthesisedbasedupontopics,the

illustrativecasestudiesaredescribedseparately.ThethreecasestudiesshowB2B

companieshaveutilisedsocialmediaindifferentwaystoenhancetheirbrand.

Interviews

Thegroupofintervieweesconsistedoffourpeoplewhoworkwithsocialmediaona

dailybasisandcouldprovidefourdifferentperspectivesonsocialmediaintheB2B

environmentandtheB2Bbrand.Theinterviewsaresynthesisedtogetherbasedon

threetopics;theresearchquestionandthetwosubquestions.

JeffMcCarthy,specialistindigitalandsportsmarketing,ManchesterMetropolitanUniversityBusinessSchool

SteveLamb,TechnologyPRManager,MicrosoftUK ScotMcKee,ManagingDirector,Birddog(B2Bmarketingagency) MikeRowland,CEO,ImpactInteractions(B2Bsocialmediaagency)

Casestudies

Thesethreeillustrativecasestudiesarebasedonsecondarysourcesandwere

selected

to

show

three

different

ways

social

media

was

used

to

support

the

brand.

Coloplast:Buildingacommunityforstomacarenurses ShipServ:Usingsocialmediaasbeaconstodrivepeopletothesite,inorder

touseautomatedCRMtoolstoqualifyvisitorsasleads

CelebrityCruisesUK:UtilisedTwittertoconnect,engageandsupporttheirtravelagents.


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4.1 Interviews:TheexpertsFourindepthinterviewshavebeenconductedinordertogainathorough

understandingonthetopic.Theintervieweesarecomingfromfourdifferent

perspectives,whomallhavebackgroundandknowledgeaboutsocialmediaandB2B;

anacademicfromabusinessuniversity,andpractitionersfromaB2Bmarketing

agency,aB2Bsocialmediaagency,andonePRmanagerfromalargecorporation.

Thefindingsaredividedintermsofthedifferentresearchquestiontopics:

WhatimplicationsdosocialmediahaveonB2Bbrandmanagement? WhatopportunitiesandthreatsdoesaB2Bbrandfaceinthesocialmedia

space?

HowshouldaB2Bcompanyenterthesocialmediaspaceinordertobuildthebrand?

Jeff

McCarthy

(UK)

is

a

specialist

in

digital

sports

marketing

at

the

Manchester

MetropolitanUniversityBusinessSchool(business.mmu.ac.uk,2010).McCarthyhas

runhisownbusinesssinceApril2003focusingondigitalpublishing,andhehasover

15yearsofexperienceinecommerce,mcommerce,interactiveanddirect

marketingbothinB2B,B2Candthepublicsector.McCarthyisnowinvolvedin

studyingsocialnetworksitesandtheirimpactonrelationshipmarketing.

SteveLamb(UK)isTechnologyPRmanageratMicrosoftintheUKandisaspeaker

onthetopic.Lambusesocialmediaasatooltoreachpeople,eventhoughheis

measuredontraditionalmediametrics.WhilsthehasworkedasaPRmanagerthe

last

two

years,

he

had

a

four

year

stint

as

an

evangelist

for

Microsofts

products.

Workingasanevangelisthestartedusingsocialmediabybloggingwhichachieved

halfamillionhitsfromahundredthousanduniqueuserseachmonth.

ScotMcKee(UK)isManagingDirectorandowneroftheLondonbasedB2B

marketingagencyBirddog.Hehasworkedwithmarketinghisentirecareerandhas

ledglobalbrandstrategiesinB2Borganisationsofallsizes.Aswellasbeingknownas

acontroversialspeaker,hehaswrittenthebookCreativeB2BBranding(no,really)

(McKee,2010).McKeewasareluctantsocialmediaconvert,butoncehelearnedthe

potentialandtheimpactithadonB2Bmarketing,herealisedBirddoghadtopursue

digital

marketing

strategies

in

order

to

stay

competitive.

MikeRowland(US)istheCEOandfounderofImpactInteractions,anAmerican

consultingbusinesssolelyfocusingononlinecommunitiesandsocialmediaforB2B.

HegraduatedwithanMBAinmarketingandconsumerbehaviourpretheInternet,

buttheInternetearlycaughthisinterest.HejoinedParticipate.com,aleadingonline

communitymanagementcompany,andhelpedamongstothersSAP,Ciscoand

MercuryInteractive(lateracquiredbyHP)launchtheirfirstonlinecommunities.

Participate.commadealotofthesamemistakesasothercompaniesthroughoutthe

dotcombubble,butRowlandrealisedthepotentialforinteractiveservices,features

and

support

for

B2B

organisations,

and

formed

Impact

Interactions

in

2003.


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4.2 Interviews:Whatimplicationsdosocialmediahaveonbusinesstobusinessbrandmanagement?

Thischapteraddressissuesdirectlyrelatedtotheoverallresearchquestion,whilst

thetwofollowingchaptersaddressthetwosubquestions.Keyissuesaretheimpact

ofsocialmediaonB2Bmarketingandbranding,whattypeofB2Bcompaniessocial

mediaareappropriatefor,aswellashowsocialmediainitiativesshouldbemanaged

andcontrolledatagenerallevel.

4.2.1 ImpactonB2BmarketingandbrandingAllofthefourintervieweesperceivedsocialmediatobeveryimportanttoday,and

evenmoreimportantinthefuture,forbusinesstobusinesscompaniesduetothe

immensegrowthinsocialmediausage.

Inordertobeheardnow,youhavetobeonline,andyouhaveto

beengaginginsocialmedia.(...)Everyonewillhavetobeinvolved.

Theworldhasdecidedthatthisishowtheywanttocommunicate.

ScotMcKee

Whilstsocialmediadoesnotchangehowbusinessesdobusiness,itisanewbutvery

importantcommunicationschannelwhichwillprovetobeasignificantchangeinthe

market.Peopledonotneedtoengagewithpushmarketinganymore,andwithsocial

mediapeoplehavethepossibilitytoswitchoff.Ratherthanhavingtoengagewith

pushmarketing,peoplecanusethefacilitiesofthesocialspacestoasktheironline

friendsforinformation.Friendsarenotnecessarilypeopletheyknow,butpeople

whotheytrustonline.Throughaskingquestionsone.g.TwitterorLinkedInpeople

canfindinformationthattheybelievetobemoreindependent,morereliableand

moretrustworthyinordertoshapetheirperceptionsofabrandtheyareinterested

in.ThisprovidesanewchallengeforB2Bmarketers.

Brandsnowhavetomanagetheirreputationandconversationsin

amuchwiderenvironmentinordertoinfluencedifferentpeopleon

theway.

ScotMcKee

Whatsocialmediaallowsyoutodoisnotonlymovebeyondfrom

whoyouknowtowhoyoudontknowandthatstheeffectofthe

networkbutitalsoallowsyoutomeasureitandspeedthe

transactiontime,andspeedupthetimeforbuildinginfluence,

versusthemoretraditionalmethods.

MikeRowland

Ithinktheyverecognisedthattheresaplatformwhichallows

themtocommunicatewiththeiraudienceinamoreinformal

manner.

JeffMcCarthy


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McKeeaddedthatsocialmediaisanecessitytoremaincompetitive,andRowland

agreedbystatingthatcompanieswhodoesnotappreciatetheongoing

conversationsinsocialmediaspaceaboutabrandisadinosaur,andwillultimately

enduplosingbusinesstocompetitorswhoarewillingtoengageandbuild

relationshipsonline.

Noneoftheintervieweesthoughtthatsocialmediawouldreplacetraditional

marketingmethods,butratherprovideanaddeddimensionbyengagingwithpeople

andbrandsonaonetoonebasisandbydoingthatgivingthebrandadifferent

toneofvoiceandapersonality,asMcKeecoinedit.Theintervieweesalsoagreed

thatsocialmedianeedstobeuseddifferentfromtraditionalmedia.

Youdontstopgoingtotradeshows,youdontstopdoingdirect

mail,youdontstopdoingdemandmanagementthroughcall

centresetc,justbecauseyoureusingsocialmedia.WhenIthinkof

howthisfitsintothemarketingmix,thisisanothersetoftools

albeitamuchmoreefficientandeasiertomeasuretoolthan

perhapssomeotheradvertisingormarketingefforts.

MikeRowland

Whatwehavewithsocialmediaisanotherlayer,andIthinkthatif

youapproachitasanotherlayerratherthantryingtoreshapesocial

mediaintoatraditionalformat,thenyoureinamuchbetterplace

totakeadvantageofsocialmediaandthebenefitsitcandeliver.

ScotMcKee

Traditionalmarketingassumesagroupofpeopleareinterestedin

itsproductanditshoutsatthem.Ithinksocialmediaisself

moderatinginmanyrespects.

SteveLamb

Democratisingthebusiness

Buildingtwowayrelationshipsandhavingconversationswasathemethroughoutall

ofthefourinterviews.Animportantpointwashowsocialmediawouldinfluencethe

relationshipbetweenthecompanyanditsusers,usingsocialmediatolistento

customersandhowtheycanultimatelyhelpthecompanyimprove.

Youwanttobuildrelationshipswithyourclients,whereyoucan

discussthingsontheirtimeandontheirterms.

MikeRowland

Lambspecificallyspokeofhowcustomerscanengageandinfluencetheproduct

developmentteamdirectly;presocialmediatheinputcustomerscouldgivedirectly

tomajorcorporationswerequitelimitedunlesstheywereveryseniororverylarge

organisationswithlargeaccounts.Thisischangedwithsocialmediawherethe

audiencewillgettheopportunitytoprovidefeedbacktothecompany.Lambput

forwardanexampleregardinganewlegislationintheUK,thedigitaleconomybill,


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wherepeopleonTwitterduringthedebateintheChamberhadadiscussionabout

thenewlegislationwithsomeoftheMPs;randompeopleontheInternethadan

opportunitytoinfluencepeoplewithinthepoliticalprocessbasedpurelyon

arguments.Thesameprinciplecouldbeappliedtoe.g.productdevelopment.

Socialmediaabsolutelychangeitaroundsothatindividuals(...)

canstillgettheirvoiceheard.(...)Itsthedemocraticwaythatsocial

mediaenablespeopletohaveavoiceregardlessoftheirfinancial

influenceorstatus,andisoneofthebestthingsaboutsocialmedia.

SteveLamb

Socialmediahasmadethemarketershavingtobealotmore

awareofthefactthatcustomersdowanttogettheiropinionsback

totheorganisation.

JeffMcCarthy

B2Bsocialmediagoingforward

Socialmediaisaverynewfield,andasB2Bcompaniestraditionallyareslowmovers

inadaptingnewtechnologiesthisalsoholdstrueforsocialmedia.Theinterviewees

agreedthatB2BcompaniesaretryingtopositionsocialmediawithintheB2B

environment,bothintermsofmarketersandcompaniesbecomingawareofthe

potentialaswellasunderstandingthedynamicsofthesocialmediaenvironment.

Thecommonconceptionisthatsocialmediaisaverynewfield,andatthemoment

thereisalotoftestingandfailingasbusinessandmarketersarelookingathowone

bestcanutilisesocialmediafortheirspecificobjectives.Itwassuggestedthatwhen

morecompaniesandmarketersunderstandsocialmediaanditspotential,their

objectiveswillstarttoevolveandstrategywillstarttodevelop.

Ithinkthattheresanuneasyrelationshipbetweenthetwo

[traditionalandsocialmedia],butthatsmainlythecorporate

brandscomingtotermswithsocialmedia.(...)Thatspurelya

functionoftraditionalmarketingpeoplestrugglingtounderstand

howtoadoptandimplementsocialmediapolicy.Oncetheydothat

(...),Ithinkwellseeprogress.Atthemomenttheresalotoftrial

anderror.

ScotMcKee

Wearereally,Idontwanttosaywereatthebeginning,butwere

notevenatthemiddleyetofthenumberofcompaniesadoptingand

usingsocialmediathatcould.Whenyouthinkaboutthebenefits

thatitprovidesintermsofspreadingyourmessageout,intermsof

allowingyourmessagetobereadandunderstoodbypotential

customersontheirtermsinsteadofwhenyouwantthemto;when

youlookatthenetworkimpact,andthenyouputitagainstthetotal

costsofsocialmediaandusingtools,theefficiencyofB2Bsocial

mediacouldbetremendous,ifyoudoitproperly.

MikeRowland


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36

Iwouldsuggestthatsocialmediaskills,goingforward,shouldbea

coreexpectationofpeopleworkinginmarketing,B2Borconsumer.

(...)Thatdoesntmeanpeoplehavetoengageinit,buttheyhaveto

beawareofitandunderstandit.

SteveLamb

4.2.2 SocialmediaisnotappropriateforallB2BcompaniesAllthefourintervieweeswereclearonthatanyB2Bcompanyshouldhaveasocial

mediastrategy,butthatthelevelofengagementvariesdependinguponneeds,their

industry,andtheirobjectives.Socialmediaisbettersuitedforsomecompaniesthan

forothers,eveniftheyareinthesameindustry.Forsomecompaniesjustmonitoring

andlisteningtowhatpeoplearesayingaboutabrand,aproductoranindustryis

enough,whilstforothersitthebestwayutilisesocialmediaistobuildanentire

community.

Idontthinksocialmediashouldbeusedforeverything.

SteveLamb

Ithinkallcompaniesshouldbeinvolvedinsocialmedia.But

findingtherightlevelofengagement,therightchannelandsoonis

verydifferentfromcompanytocompany.

ScotMcKee

Thedifferencebetweensocialmediausedfromacorporatepointofview,compared

toindividualswithinthecorporationusingsocialmediawasalsohighlighted;

employeesmightusesocialmediaasatoolforbuildingtheirpersonalprofessional

network,stayingupdatedondevelopmentswithintheirindustryortrade,utilising

theirnetworkforgettinghelptomoreefficientproblemsolving,gettingtipson

purchasingandsoon,asameanstoultimatelyenhancetheirownproductivity

withouteverthinkingabouttheirowninvolvementintermsofalargerobjectiveor

strategy.Fromacorporatepointofviewitissomethingcompletelydifferent;before

enteringthesocialmediaspaceacompanyshouldhaveanobjectiveforwhatitseeks

outtoachieve,ratherthanjustgoingalongforthesakeofmetoo.Itisadifference

betweenhavingaconversationwithacorporatesocialmediaaccount,andtalkingto

otherpeoplewithinacorporation.

Whetherornotcompaniesdecidetoengageinsocialmediatherewasanagreement

thatultimatelyitcomesdowntothebusinessmodel,theculture,theindustryand

theaudience.Insomecasesyoudonotwanttoallowyouremployeesrepresent

yourbrandonline,astheyarelesslikelytorepresentitinaccordancewithhowthe

companywantstheirbrandtobeperceived.

Ifyourbusinessemployspeoplefortheleastpossiblemoneyfor

jobsthattheydontenjoyandarenotpassionateabout...(...)You

knowtherearepeoplewiththatbusinessmodel,somecommodities

forexamplearelikethat,maybesomefastfoodoutletsarelikethat,


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somemanufacturingmaybelikethat.Ifthatsthecasethendont

encouragethosepeopletorepresentyourbrandonsocialmedia

becausetheyareunlikelytorepresentittheywayyoudwish.Its

aboutbeingrealistic.

SteveLamb

4.2.3 ControlIfacompanydecidestoestablishapresenceinthesocialmediasphere,akey

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