Comments on: The ‘Yelp’ Factor in B2B

By: Jeff Swanson

Jeff Swanson — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:42:37 +0000

I agree that reviews are very important in the buying decision. I frequently use Yelp to find new spots in Chicago because I’ve lived here for less than a year.

But the question is - What are Yelp sites in the B2B world? Is there a site out there now that dominates as a review site for the B2B industry?

By: Fred Yee

Fred Yee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:11:47 +0000

Craig,
That’s a pretty good way to describe how social media/networking has added to the B2B marketing mix.

Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook all help bring communities together, and those communities are expert in their chosen groups.

To us, it’s a way to ’socially network’, even if the people are from all over the world, and can’t actually meet. They still can share advice, best practices, tools etc.

Yelp factor. Let’s make sure it get attributed to you! At least in B2B marketing.

By: Christa Tuttle

Christa Tuttle — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:57:42 +0000

Through market research, our firm has also consistently found that third party validation of a product or service carries a lot of weight when trying to sell to prospects. Leveraging client testimonials and measureable data on results achieved using the product or service, for example, is great supporting information to include in whitepapers, case studies, webcasts and podcasts. This type of information appeals to prospects to be less marketing speak and more of a true endorsement when in the voice of a client.

To add credibility to any marketing piece, interview your clients and get them to tell you – in quantifiable terms – how using their product or service has helped them improve productivity, streamline processes, save money, and increase revenue, etc. Are they 20% more productive than before? What tasks or duties is their staff able to do more of now that they weren’t before, and how has that helped the business and to serve their own customers? Outlining those measurable results will speak volumes to prospects to prove that not only can your product or service deliver, but that your company cares about delivering those results for clients.

By: Dennis Shiao

Dennis Shiao — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:42:50 +0000

I agree with your characterization of the Yelp factor. I think another social network that’s emerging for B-to-B is Twitter. I think IT purchasing decisions will increasingly be driven from in-network recommendations, like via Twitter. It’s nothing significant today, but I think it can become significant.