Social Buying Meeting Social Selling: How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience

Social Buying Meets Social Selling:How Trusted Networks Improve the

Purchase ExperienceAlys Woodward

Research Director, IDC European Software

© IDC Visit us at IDC.com and follow us on Twitter: @IDC

SOCIAL BUYING is….

Leveraging professional

networks for buying support to

increase confidence in

decision-making.

2

About the Research

Survey conducted in February 2014

760 respondents from 8 countries

257 EMEA respondents (75 FR, 79 NL,

103 UK)

Titles ranged from C-level executives to

individual contributors

Business and technical decision-makers

© IDC Visit us at IDC.com and follow us on Twitter: @IDC 3


Who are the social

buyers?

@kathleenschaub


The most senior B2B buyers use social

media for their purchase process

84%

16%

C-Level/VP Executives

Yes

No75%

25%

Entire Sample

Source: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014

For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257, UK n=103

5

The most influential B2B buyers use

social mediaThe average B2B buyer who uses

social media for buying support…

is more senior

has a bigger budget

makes more frequent purchases

has a greater span of buying control

…than a buyer who does not use

social media



For all respondents, n=760

6

Active social buyers are found

in all global regions


Q. Have you ever used social media, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or online professional communities to assist in any way with your

company purchasing decisions?



83% 77%66%

17% 23%34%

0

20

40

60

80

100

North America(US, Canada)

EMEA(UK, France, Netherlands)

AP(Australia, NZ, Singapore)

(%)

No

Yes

UK 80%


Why do B2B buyers use

social media?

@kathleenschaub

Complex decisions are

fraught with risk


Buyers place great trust in their

professional networks


I prefer to work with vendors that have been

recommended to me by someone I know76%

73%

65%

Q. Please rate your agreement with each of the following statements.

I prefer to work with sales professionals that

have been referred to me by someone I know

My network of colleagues, friends, and

acquaintances is critical for reference

checkingSource: IDC Social Buying Study, February 2014







73%

68%







For all respondents, n=760, EMEA n=257






76%

70%








Social media make it

easier to reach your

trusted professional

network.

13© IDC Visit us at IDC.com and follow us on Twitter: @IDC

How did social media improve your

purchase decision?


We felt more confidentthat we had the information to make our decision

We felt more comfortablewith the expertise and credibility of our vendor

We had more satisfactory optionsavailable to us

55%

54%

46%




purchase decision?





52%

51%

47%




purchase decision?





56%

55%

55%



Non-social media purchasers would

use it - if their peers were on it


33%

27%24% 24%

22% 21%

16%

Q. Which of the following would enable you to consider using social media for company purchasing decisions in the future?

(Asked of non-social media users)

If more of my peers

were actively using

social media

If I had more

time

If I had more

authority in

deciding which

vendors

If my purchasing

decisions were

more complex

Peers Time Authority Need Comfort Money

Just

won’t

If I was more

comfortable using

social media

I would not

consider using

social media to

support my

purchasing

decisions

If my purchasing

decisions were

more expensive






35% 35%

22%27%

20%

25%

17%


(Asked of non-social media users)

If more of my peers

were actively using

social media

If I had more

time

If I had more

authority in

deciding which

vendors

If my purchasing

decisions were

more complex

Peers Time Authority Need Comfort Money

Just

won’t

If I was more

comfortable using

social media

I would not

consider using

social media to

support my

purchasing

decisions

If my purchasing

decisions were

more expensive






52%

33%

29% 24%

10%


(Asked of non-social media users. UK respondents)

If more of my peers

were actively using

social media

If I had more

time

If I had more

authority in

deciding which

vendors

Peers Time Authority

29%

If my purchasing

decisions were

more complex

Need Money

Just

won’t

33%

Comfort

If I was more

comfortable using

social media

I would not

consider using

social media to

support my

purchasing

decisions

If my purchasing

decisions were

more expensive

Authority

29%



Huh?

Who cares?YES!!

The Buyer’s Journey

Exploration Evaluation Purchase

20

@kathleenschaub

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=rk6yJhOKkTqf2M&tbnid=6wfl89QzXxyE2M:&ved=&url=http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/walking-bridge&ei=M2YaUvuTJ6WuigKtnIHgCw&bvm=bv.51156542,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNF_zyrZPabSgWHnrz88OwVEf9a4BQ&ust=1377548212163860

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=rk6yJhOKkTqf2M&tbnid=6wfl89QzXxyE2M:&ved=&url=http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/walking-bridge&ei=M2YaUvuTJ6WuigKtnIHgCw&bvm=bv.51156542,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNF_zyrZPabSgWHnrz88OwVEf9a4BQ&ust=1377548212163860

When stakes are the highest, professional

social networks are the #1 preferred resource.


Information Resource (Partial List)

Exploration

Stage Rank

Evaluation

Stage Rank

Purchase

Stage Rank

Industry-specific Media 1 2 6

Third-party expert recommendations 4 1 2

Professional social networks (e.g. LinkedIn) 8 4 1

Internet Search 2 3 10

Microblogs (e.g. Twitter) 3 13 5

General Word-of-Mouth 5 8 8

Q. For each stage of the purchase process, please rate the value of the following resources.



When stakes are the highest, professional

social networks are the #1 preferred resource.


Information Resource (Partial List)

Exploration

Stage Rank

Evaluation

Stage Rank

Purchase

Stage Rank

Industry-specific Media 2 6 8

Third-party expert recommendations 3 1 3

Professional social networks (e.g. LinkedIn) 9 3 1

Internet Search 5 4 11

Microblogs (e.g. Twitter) 1 11 5

General Word-of-Mouth 7 9 6

Q. For each stage of the purchase process, please rate the value of the following resources.




Future Outlook

23


How do we reach

social buyers?

Reaching Social Buyers


Build Social

Proximity



Build Social

Proximity

Build Social

Presence



Build Social

Proximity

Build Social

Presence

Build Social

Capital


Alys WoodwardResearch Director,

IDC European Software

[email protected]

@alyswoodward

Kathleen SchaubVice President,

IDC CMO Advisory Service

[email protected]

@kathleenschaub

Social Buying Meeting Social Selling: How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience

Sales

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