Social Marketing to the Business Customer

Corporate policies govern behavior, but individuals have considerable latitude to make decisions, even if they sometimes cross lines of authority.

As this Penril modem ad from an early 1980s issue of Computerworld demonstrates (Figure P.1), the limitations of traditional, intrusion-based advertising sometimes forced B2B marketers to use extreme tactics to attract attention.

FOREWORD
If you’re reading this book, you are probably interested in understanding how social marketing can enhance your brand, grow your business, and increase customer loyalty. The authors of this book make the important point that B2B relationships are defined by value, and social marketing has the power to dramatically increase the value that companies can provide to their customers.
Dell is, at our core, a B2B company and has been since Michael founded Dell in 1984 when he started out selling computers to businesses and universities. He had an idea that direct relationships with customers would allow more people access to technology so they could reach their full potential, and that is still very much a guiding principle for us today. Today, sales to commercial and public customers account for approximately 80 percent of revenue—and there’s nothing more direct than using the input we get from social media to help our customers solve their most complex challenges.