If you think answering questions in online business Q&A sites like Business.com Answers isn’t worth your time, I’m going to try to change your mind. Opt out of online Q&A and you’re leaving money on the table, period.
First, consider these statistics from a recent report by search marketing agency Enquiro:
- 39 percent of people researching for a first-time B2B purchase say they will rely on word of mouth and the opinions of other business people
- More than half of business buyers talk to other people who use a product as either their first or second task in the purchase process
Bottom line: Word-of-mouth recommendations play a starring role in today’s business purchase process.
And how are people looking for this word-of-mouth input? In business-focused online Q&A sites. Consider this excerpt from a recent string from Business.com Answers, our B2B question-and-answer site:
Subject: Top email service providers for campaigns
Kelly (user): I am looking for the top ESPs (Email Service Providers) for sending tactical and operational emails. I am looking for an on-premise or hosted solution. Could you please let me know what you recommend?
Answer: I have used both Constant Contact and Streamsend to manage mass e-mail distribution. Both have worked very well. I preferred Streamsend due to their pricing structure (based on e-mails sent, not contacts in your database). – Jeff Arnold, Pocket-Promo.com
Answer: Infusionsoft also offers a great service. You can watch a demo on their site and they also offer a free trial service to see if they’re a fit for your business and your needs….I’ve just switched to them. – Anita Campbell, Small Biz Trends
Answer: Some email service providers are Constant Contact, Delivra, iContact and Yesmail. You may also want to look at Lyris, a powerful email marketing service. – Jim Alimena, BlumbergExcelsior
[ Read the full exchange about email service providers on Business.com Answers ]
See anything you like here? If you’re one of the companies mentioned, I bet you do. And once your company name is in the mix, it’s in your best interest to dive into the dialogue. This isn’t a hard sell opportunity, but rather a chance to thank the person who recommended you and jump into the conversation. With someone who clearly needs to buy a product or service that you sell.
You’d respond: Anita, thanks so much for throwing our name in the hat here – we really appreciate it! Kelly, we’ve been providing exactly the services you mentioned for more than a decade, and I’d be happy to talk with you about how other clients are using our services and whether we might be a good fit for you. Feel free to call me at 555-555-5555 or email me at myname@mycompany.com. Looking forward to talking with you!
Now imagine that you’re scanning incoming inquiries about your industry (you can do that automatically in just a few minutes a day on Business.com Answers using our Category Subscription feature) and a question like this comes in. The person who’s asking the question sounds like she’s pretty close to ready to buy, doesn’t she? That’s a live lead. You want to talk to her now, while she’s narrowing down her choices. And answering questions like this on Business.com Answers or other business Q&A sites is a direct way to open those lines of communication.
As a vendor, should you jump in and answer? Absolutely. But again, it’s about sharing information, not a hard sell. Try to help the person understand the issue in a way that makes you look smart and responsive, and you’ll be top of mind when it’s time for that person to evaluate purchase options.
You’d write: Kelly, as you’re putting together your list, I hope you’ll include us and give me a chance to show you our most recent offerings. I’m sure you’re thinking about how your email tool will integrate with your existing CRM solution, and we’ve worked with all the major players, so getting everything running smoothly and passing information back and forth should be straightforward. We know there are lots of great options to explore – if you need a hand making sense of all the possibilities and parameters, I’m happy to help, whether we end up working together or not. Here’s my contact information – don’t hesitate to get in touch.
The point is that people making B2B purchase decisions are looking for input in all kinds of places. In online Q&A forums like Business.com Answers, they’re asking very direct questions about very specific (and often imminent) product and service needs. Other users may recommend you, and that’s great: Peer recommendations carry a lot of weight. But there’s an effective way for you to be part of that conversation too.
At Business.com Answers, we get questions about everything related to starting and running a business. Everything. If you sell it – whether “it” is software, accounting services, replacement parts for tractors, restaurant equipment, SEO advice, office design consulting, or a thousand other products or services – someone out there is thinking about buying it and is asking about it online. And if someone’s asking, you should be answering.
Are you convinced yet?
Thats lovely stuff you have got here. Been searching for it all over. Great blog
Thanks Sherill – glad you found it useful!
Great post, Refreshing to see more content about social media and word of mouth selling. Hard selling online is a surefire way to make you, your business and your brand look desperate online.
People are in an information gathering frame of mind or even better a problem solving frame of mind when online so you need to interact with people depending on what “head space” they are in.
Pleople also like to receive information if different ways – some like reading up on things, some like quick fixes via audio and video.
So many people don’t get the word of mouth side of things and ram their offer down peoples throats at the fist glimmer of opportunity – that’s counter intuative to the way that human beings interact in a natural environment – so why do it online? We are all hardwired the same way whether we are online or offline – that’s just the way we are and how pshychology works.
Something that I have found really useful is to create 10 FAQs and answers and then 10 SAQs (should ask questions) and answers on video and post them across social media sites.
If you have a good product or service that gives value then educate the market about it this way and you also gain the opportunity to create credibility, trust, rapport and believability.
The internet and social medial is vast – the numbers are big. There will allways be enough people that need what you have got if you market your products effectivly online – no need for the hard sell – unless your an agressive dinosaur : )
Social media and video content is effectivly modern day word of mouth. I find making entertaining videos that get the message across at the same time is the best of both worlds.
Thanks again for the post – very refreshing.
How reassuring! Marketing for an exclusively B2B company can be a challenge. Add to that being solely a service provider with no tangible product. But I would venture to say that word of mouth is the best form of B2B marketing. Now to keep the words positive!
Great blog!
@Dan – great point about knowing your audience – it’s about understanding where the person is in his/her research process and addressing that specific need. When a question is more general, the person needs background to try to pinpoint his or her problem. When a question is specific to a product or service, as in the example above, the person is ready for more targeted information.
@Tami – agree that B2B marketing as a service provider can be challenging. On the other hand, I’d argue that you have even more of an opportunity to win people over by being smart, responsive and helpful in the online arena because it’s not likely to be as commoditized as a product sale.
We’d love feedback from both of you (and whoever else is reading this) on Business.com Answers – if you have a moment, come see us at http://answers.business.com/ and let us know what you think. One challenge I think about daily is: Are we really communicating the value of being here? How could we do that better? Any input would be most welcome.
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One of the challenges especially for SME/SMB is tapping into all that is happening on the web as there will be conversations about products and services going down all over the place that you can influence with the right approach and attitude.
Making use of integrated tools designed for this market will help these companies with less resources get more done.