B2B firms failing on social media

Business to business firms are wasting millions on social media strategies that do not fully exploit the opportunities the channel offers, according to a report.

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Almost half of B2B companies are not measuring return on investment or using only basic qualitative measures, according to a PwC study.

The study claims despite investment of up to $1.85m (£1.18m) on social media from some of those polled, the majority appear to have “limited strategies” that fail to exploit sales opportunities.

Less than 12% of organisations surveyed have full time social media teams in place, the study found.

Sean Mahdi, director in PwC’s digital transformation group, says that B2B firms need to look at consumer facing companies, which are using social media more effectively, and profitably.

He adds: “Social media is changing the way people work, shop, receive service and relate to one another.

“Businesses also need to change the way they engage with customers, whose trust is increasingly invested in their peers, rather than in the brands with which they interact. Business audience and buyers are people influenced by the same forces that influence retail consumers. In fact, they are those consumers.”

Social media has been criticised for being unaccountable.

See Marketing Week feature about B2B marketing strategy

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