Social Media Marketing and B2B : A Conversation with Dell’s Richard Binhammer

A while back I asked Richard Binhammer to answer a few questions of mine on the topic of social media and business-to-business (B2B) marketing. I tried to keep the questions generic in an attempt to let him take his own direction with his answers and I think he did that extremely well.

Much of the talk surrounding social media marketing is focused on consumer marketing programs, and it seems that most people are not sure how social media may fit into their B2B marketing mix. I have left Richard’s answers as he sent them and will add my commentary at the end of the post.

What is your official title at Dell?

We have never really spent time figuring out a title.  Today I am a member of Dell’s Communities & Conversations team.  I spend most of my time listening, learning and engaging with bloggers who are interested in Dell.  I also support Dell’s overall involvement with social media through participating in communities like Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.  In some respects I am sort of a “beta-tester” of new social media tools/technologies for our business and connecting with customers, while also working across the businesses of Dell to support their own listening, learning and active online engagement.

So many people think that using social media for marketing and customer engagement is only for B2C companies how has Dell use social media in its marketing efforts to its B2B channels?

First, lets start where this really all begins – not with Dell, nor B2B, but with people.  We call it the connected era.   Approximately 500,000 people a day come online to find and share information as well as connect with each other. The way people connect and communicate is changing, and changing the world. There is becoming a truly globalized information technology infrastructure and those who build, run and use it are creating this new era….as well as using it.  In Dell’s situation, a manager of business Information Technology is as likely as a consumer to upload photos of their new Dell servers to Flickr or post an unboxing of their Blades on YouTube or pose a question on Twitter as a consumer is to post pictures of their new XPS One or Mini.

I often think of it this way.  People are both consumer and business.  We are multi-dimensional beings. I am reminded of this graphic by David Armano.  People are online seeking and sharing information from both a b2b and b2c perspective.  Hard to sometimes differentiate.

So what is Dell is doing?

·     We have a whole range of activities that are focused on listening, learning, as well as sharing and connecting with customers.  As I mentioned, we scour the blogs to listen learn and engage with bloggers.  We are on Twitter.

·     We have Dell blogs focused on our business customers interests and conversations with them have b2b focused blogs like Inside IT , Cloud Computing, a blog for our channel partners and one for Small Business.  We have a social media for small business primer on Facebook.

·      We launched a community site for those who consider themselves Digital Nomads. Their work or play space is less defined by four walls than the output of what they do.

·     Regeneration.org is all about what we can all do for sustainability and lots of that connects with our business customers.

·     Dell’s TechCenter is a vibrant community of IT Professionals, looking for solutions to their technical issues.

·     Youll find lots of news you can use and tech tip videos for the IT professional and small business person at StudioDell and YouTube
Do you think it is easier for B2B companies in the tech industry to reach customers using social media vs those in more traditional industries? If so why?

I do not think that.  Anyone can use social media and all kinds of customers are out there.

Do you have guidelines you follow when deciding to use social media in a B2B situation?

We have guidelines that guide all that we do in the social media circles. We ask that anyone be completely transparent that they work for Dell, whether it’s related to their use of Twitter (i.e. Richardatdell, Bruceericatdell, DellServerGeeks) or on their personal blogs. We allow anyone to blog but once they begin talking about topics related to Dell, we require that they disclose their affiliation with the company and that the views presented there are their own and not necessarily the same as Dell.

Should sales staff in B2B companies be trained how to use social media to aid in their sales efforts?

I do think you have to rethink how you communicate in social media.  This is not just another channel where messages get stuffed, nor can you push sales….social media is based on conversations, connections and value.  Often those same things underpin sales….just be careful and be smart and real.

Do you think using social media monitoring of consumer thoughts and reactions can cross over to help in traditional or nontraditional B2B marketing?

This comes back to my initial point that all corporate customers are also consumers, and many consumers also wear corporate IT hats. That’s the challenge of being a brand like Dell that spans both the consumer and the commercial spaces and presents new challenges for companies. But at the end of the day, each of us is a person. And we think and act like people. A portion of a brand’s value is the equity given to it by its people. So the more transparent and real that a person representing a brand is, the more powerful social media tools will be for that brand.

-end of interview-

My Reaction:

Richard’s main topic is one that I have always used when discussing this issue and it is well demonstrated by David’s graphic. People are not all work or all play, someone that is a member of a cycling social network could also be an executive at a distributing company. We all have many roles that we play each day.  Additionally social media impacts more than marketing, it also impacts, sales, customer, service, and human resources all of which are important functions to a company’s overall success.

I like Dell’s approach because they realize that it is important to give all of their customers a voice, while at the same time listening to them and providing education content and opportunities online. Lets be honest this approach isn’t new to social media it has always been a trait of successful companies, social media now gives companies the ability to connect with and listen to more people than ever before.

I really appreciate Richard taking the time to answer my questions and I hope you all gained some perspective when it comes to leveraging social media, I know I did. Thank you Richard!

Diagram Image by David Armano via Flickr.com

Richard Binhammer photo by (CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com, bub.blicio.us