Taking a Servant Attitude to B2B Social Media Engagement

I invited David Geer, a technology writer, journalist and editor, to write a post for us today about the approach to take to B2B social media engagement.

Over to you, David…

A good servant is comfortable putting the needs of others first. Is this how you position your business when engaging other businesses through social media?

When applying a servant attitude to B2B social media engagement, businesses must brand themselves in such a way that their entire identity, their entire voice says, “We are HERE TO SERVE YOU”. The core to any business is its people. Like people, businesses respond to a thorough, empathetic understanding of what their needs are and how to meet them.

To understand the needs of the business, study the business. To learn how to communicate that knowledge in an empathetic and other-centered way, find a good role model and strive to be like that business or that business’s communicators.

B2B Idol

Many young people who watch American Idol want to see and hear a rising star separate from the pack to become the singer they wish they could be. They are looking for a role model, someone to strive to mirror on their way to achieving their own success.

To find your B2B Idol, simply look to the business on social media that understands and relates to your business and its needs the most. Examine their social media content. What is it about their posts that you respond to as a potential business client? Perhaps the posts are more personal and less corporate in their language.

Perhaps the business knows and speaks your language, the keywords and terms of your industry. Do they express how you feel about a critical pain point? Do they invite you to participate in an open-ended, no-strings conversation? Do they reserve discussion of their solution until it comes up naturally in the conversation?

Elements of Social Media Content That Demonstrate a Servant Attitude

When a business reaches out to you with a servant attitude, social media content will already begin to serve your business in some manner. You should feel heard, understood, welcomed and comforted. The content should be all about you. The writer should express an intimate knowledge of your business and its needs.

A business with a servant attitude will make it clear they want to listen, empathize and respond as they engage you in a conversation via social media. They will build that conversation and grow a relationship, staying that course regardless of your purchasing decisions because the relationship is everything. Serving you is everything.

Because they are interested in serving you, they may sell to you as a by-product of the relationship. The moment the sale becomes more important than the relationship, the aura, the atmosphere that makes sales possible disappears.

Successful Social Media with a Servant Heart

American Express OPEN’s Facebook page engages small businesses with a number of opportunities that demonstrate that American Express OPEN is interested and listening. With links to pages such as “Share Your Story”, where small businesses can tell their success stories, and discussions about important topics such as the cost of product, the charge card company is creating an atmosphere for learning and sharing about how to grow a business.

The result is not only a service to small business customers but also a conversation that reveals business customer needs that American Express OPEN can help to meet.

Course of Action/Next Steps

To build B2B social media communications with a servant attitude, start by:

A. Listening to B2B customers through a number of avenues including their website, media releases and social media

B. Formulating an understanding of their critical pain points

C. Clarifying keywords and phrases to use in a discussion of pain points

D. Continuing to listen as you begin to engage customers

Thanks David!

David Geer understands what your enterprise wants to say and how to say it. Get to know David through http://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddgeer.

Author

Lucy Nixon

Website

Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye