Streamed live on 23rd July 2014
Many viewers ask us at Business Connections Live about Business Development in a Connected World. On this edition, we talk to Jim McLaughlin of Axiall about how these new phemomena are changing the ways companies segment their marketplace, identify and target their prospects, create and disseminate their messages, engage with prospects and interact with prospects and customers
This is Business Connections Live Programme 45 Broadcast 23rd July 2014
Business Development in a Connected World
The impact of the Internet on all aspects of business has been profound and transformative. From Social Media to Search Engine Optimisation to Big Data we’re all familiar with the headlines, but have we stopped to think about how they are affecting the way we do business and, in particular, develop our businesses?
If you are in sales and are not using social media correctly to develop qualified business relationships, you are missing the boat.
Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Google+ were developed to encourage user to user interaction. Sales in business is being social, these platforms are essential tools to a sales professional.
What you need to know:
- Companies can access huge amounts of information about their marketplace
- With limited resources it’s hard for sellers to make sense of all the available information
- Prospective buyers are also drowning in a sea of information and reluctant to receive more
- Marketers have to provide information that delivers value and can be accessed at the cost of minimum time and effort
- Social media enables engagement, but in a B2B environment seldom drives sales
- Sellers need to consider how they can use a mix of traditional and new channels to communicate with their marketplace
As traditional methods of marketing to customers like advertising or direct mail become less and less effective, businesses are turning to social mediums to connect in positive ways with consumers and the people who influence them. The key to social media success is to not get hung up on the tools and technology but to focus on how you can use them more effectively to:
- increase the visibility of your personal brand and that of your business
- build and cultivate your personal and professional networks
- develop and grow relationships with customers and influencers
- engage in real-time two-way interaction with people, including answering queries
- publish and distribute original content that demonstrates your expertise
- share curated links to relevant information that adds value to the lives of your customers
- communicate with your community of followers, advocates and supporters
- ultimately generate new leads and boost sales for your business.
You need to be acutely aware just how social media has fundamentally changed the way we are connecting, communicating and collaborating as individuals, and therefore society as a whole.
Axiall Ltd is a business development company in the b2b space. They specialise in lead generation and market research – that means helping their customers:
a) to create and deliver lead generation programmes that find new customers
b) to use market research to help their customers understand what’s happening in their marketplace and what their customers think of them
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Business Connections Live Programme 45 – Business Development in a Connected World
This is the Business Connections Live Business Channel On YouTube Business Connections Live Programme 45. Broadcast 23rd July 2014
