Resellers have to be smart to stay in business. If channel partners make a mistake, it costs them time, resources, and sometimes customers. So, they filter what they hear from suppliers and mostly ignore the latest predictions from industry “experts.” Resellers have learned (the hard way) that not every Silicon Valley wave will crest and not every new technology will revolutionize the market.
Consequently, the channel is expressing some valid skepticism about social media. Even with the technology industry’s rich history of marketing hyperbole, social media stands out for the level of noise touting its impact on the market. So the natural reaction in the channel is to be suspicious – and cautious. This time, however, that natural wariness could be a big mistake.
Social Media, when used correctly and consistently, can and will provide valuable benefits to vendors, partners, and customers. Social Media builds product awareness, encourages collaboration, speeds communication, provides immediate feedback, and allows a level of customer intimacy that was beyond comprehension just a few years ago. All of these are powerful benefits that will eventually be bent to the task of improving customer satisfaction and channel sales productivity.
Before channel partners can experience any significant productivity gains, they are going to have to address their fears and inadequacies regarding next generation relationships. Here are the top ten reasons that resellers give for not jumping into the social media pool (based on interviews, emails, posts, and discussions with channel managers.)
1. Fear of Wasting Time – Resellers are busy. Can it really be productive to watch training videos on Yahoo, provide information to strangers on SlideShare, catch snippets of information about product problems on Twitter, or catch up with customers on LinkedIn?
2. No Leadership From Suppliers - Channels are ill equipped to figure it out themselves and are waiting for direction. Vendors initially went around their channels and connected directly with customers. (Now everyone is scrambling to get the channel plugged back into the conversation.)
3. Lack Of Reseller Marketing Capabilities - Social Media is much more than a marketing tool, but if a reseller doesn’t have a marketing strategy, it doesn’t help much to open a Twitter account and start sending random marketing messages to strangers.
4. Lack Of Reseller Management Sponsorship - If the company owner isn’t using LinkedIn and Twitter, then the employees are going to be reluctant to talk about that funny Cisco video on YouTube or something they saw on Facebook. Has your boss “Friended” you yet? Probably not.
5. Misperception That It’s Only For Kids - Very wrong. The average age on Twitter and Facebook is over 30 years old and both sites are rapidly becoming important hubs for B2B communications. Careers are now being made (and destroyed) online.
6. Focus On Short Term Goals - Building online relationships with customers takes some time and effort. Maybe it’s better to make a cold call and hope to get lucky and sell something this afternoon.
7. Perceived Lack of Value – This is all so new that there are no acceptable ROI models or case studies. So resellers keep doing what has provided good ROI in the past – like attending trade shows.
8. Fear of Exposing Customers – Social Media is open and intimate. Everything you can see, your competitors can also see. What if, gasp, your customers and competitors connect online? But what if you connect with their customers?
9. Fear of Looking Bad – By its nature, social media is personal. Many fear that blurring the line between their business and personal lives will diminish their effectiveness. Does it help your credibility if your biggest customer sees you dressed up in a dorky costume and doing the chicken dance with friends?
10. Fear of change – The only person who likes change is a wet baby. Change has to be forced sometimes, all too often in the face of disastrous events. Eventually “customer needs” are going to force resellers to work through social media – before or after business is lost.
Do you recognize yourself in any of the above? You are not alone. These kinds of discussions happening up and down the distribution chain. And they will continue for a while.
However, reseller skepticism will eventually pass as the rhetoric begins to die down and the channel starts building productive online relationships with their customers and suppliers. This will happen in 2010. It’s not going to be simple, easy, or without problems. Mistakes will be made; but in the end, resellers will do what they always do – learn, adapt, and move forward.
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