Recently, I was speaking to a group of CEOs in California about using social media for business. The host introduced me to
thesomewhat skeptical audience by suggesting that whether their companies sold B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B (business-to-business), or B2G (business-to-government), indeed, they all sold B2I (as in to “individuals”).
It’s a brilliant observation and an acronym that I intend to use regularly from now on. Recall the old sales adage that “People buy from people.” It’s especially true for B2B companies. What “social” allows us to do (on LinkedIn, by writing a blog, by using Google+ Circles, etc.) is turn our companies back into the people that are the organizations.
In fact, maybe it’s not so much B2I as it is I2I (individual-to-individual) just like in the olden days (when it actually had to be a different kind of eye-to-eye). Yet, social allows us to connect with far more prospects than we ever could back then. These new tools are more efficient and more effective for today’s communication challenges.
Remember when you had to learn to use a fax machine, a pager, or email. It’s like that – a communications continuum. If you’ve not yet taken advantage of these new tools, start by reframing your thinking: Social media and social networking are powerful people connectors for your B2I business.