Meet Today’s Social Customer
Socially savvy consumers—B2C and B2B—are reinventing the purchase process.
Today these customers are the early adopters, but much sooner than most business leaders think, these social customers' approach to buying will be commonplace— especially for considered purchases like automobiles, electronics, financial products, software, travel, even services like consulting.
Here's how the process often goes: A B2B social customer (in this actual case Brent Leary, partner at CRM Essentials) decided to purchase a new, professional-grade video camera. He determined what key features would meet his needs; then the hunt began. The first stop was Facebook and Twitter to ask associates what cameras they recommend. Using hash tags, Leary was able to extend his reach beyond his network to video enthusiasts. Armed with several recommendations he headed to search engines and manufacturers' sites to gather details about several products, as well as to publication websites that provide in-depth reviews. But the search didn't end there. After narrowing down the selection to a few choices, Leary visited an online community for video enthusiasts that he learned about through his earlier social networking to get recommendations and insight on those cameras. From there he narrowed the choice to one camera and visited an online community comprised solely of users of that camera. Members not only provided feedback on the camera, but also recommended places to purchase it and reminded Leary to come back post-purchase for advice on using his new video camera. Confident in his selection, he made the purchase with no hesitation—and no postpurchase buyers' remorse.