Chronicle by Olivier Godest, Consultant on Digital Strategies / Social Media at Brainsonic

After taking the time to settle into my role as Director of Marketing Communications (and still sometimes work), I have realized that the dynamism of Social Communications Media could (and should) be applied to more divisions within a company. Which other department could be the next target of choice: How about Sales Management to help optimize sales?

Here are 5 reasons to become active social networks to improve your sales:
1. More Business efficiency
To my knowledge, the subject has not been treated in France, but across the Atlantic some studies show that businesses using social networks generate, on average, more business than its non-connected counterparts:

– According to Forbes, online shopping between 2010 and 2012 were 23% more efficient than their non-connected counterparts:
– Another study by the Aberdeen Group seems to suggest the same conclusions; sales teams using social networks are more efficient than sales teams not using social networks.

2. Save time and therefore money
Beyond the generation of new business, significant cost reductions can be put forward. Transitioning from the old “classic” sales model to new « connected » models, business teams may discover:

– A decrease in the time spent making « cold calls », which are often useless and even painful for their prospects, and instead increase time spent responding to targeted online conversations
– A decrease in the time spent on product demonstrations to clients, which are often futile due to ignorance of their clients’ needs and therefore less travel and avoiding often costly trips
– A decrease in the time required to qualify new prospects by accessing easily available and valuable information on the Internet

3. Avoid losing business opportunities
Also according to Forbes, not less than 71% of leads generated via the internet are wasted by businesses today. Why? Because of the short response time required, and the low reactivity on behalf of businesses.
Connected sales teams, using the right networks and incorporating effective listening tools would reduce this loss rate by enabling a quicker response time, and responding more precisely to the inquiries and needs of clients.
This is definitely a more efficient and effective approach than the traditional « cold calling »!

4. Increase customer satisfaction
Derived from the concept of Social Selling, we then arrive at Social Buying: according to the research results of Social Media Attitude 2013, 63% of French Internet users are active on at least one social network, and 74% go online at least once a day. We are talking about a new channel of influence for purchasing decisions: 38% say and take into account the views or remarks on social networks before buying.

Considering this new context, it can be the sales teams that also participate in the work of customer relationship management through platforms such as Twitter or LinkedIn for example.

On the other hand, handling complaints or addressing needs directly expressed by your current clients on social networks is a great opportunity for your sales teams to take action. What your representatives respond, how they respond (on the same social network?), and how quickly they respond will have an impact on the end result (particularly if you know this client already).
If you are not vigilant, or do not react … no one can prevent your competitors from taking the opportunity!

5. Position yourself as an expert
Simple question: would you buy your new camera on the advice of an experienced expert or a lambda seller?
Personally I would prefer the expert, but the question is often whether the person in front of us is actually a real one! Social networks allow the individual(s)/entity to lay the groundwork for this type of positioning, by implementing small, simple, but effective actions on consistent basis. (I will return to this point in a future post).

You’ve probably already looked someone up via a search engine, before having met or exchanged a tweet with him or her. These user journey “fact” is the reason (at least in part) why you would be required to publish on social networks; to allow you to position yourself as an expert by adding value to your own personal digital profile to complement your (new) partner content. If you already have an account on LinkedIn and Twitter and you type your name into a search engine, do not be surprised to see these two accounts within the top results. This can obviously have a tremendous impact on not only your positioning but on your company’s visibility.

Give it a shot!

Read the original article published in LesEchos Journal Online Community (in French).