People marketing: put your experts front and centre

Many of us in the sales and marketing game will define ourselves as B2B, as the products and services we sell are targeted at businesses. However, a business can’t physically have a conversation with another business - It’s the people within those businesses who interact.?

In this way, many B2B engagements are closer to P2P – person to person engagements. We all spend a lot of time thinking about our company brand and how we position our products and services in the marketplace, yet most of us know it’s our people who build valuable long term relationships with our clients.

Long term relationships are the name of the game because:

• it’s easier and more cost-effective to retain customers than to acquire new ones
• returning customers spend more and buy more often
• returning customers refer their own connections
• a 5% increase in customer retention can increase company revenue by 25-95%

For this reason, it makes perfect sense to put your people at the front centre of your company brand by investing a proportion of marketing budgets towards the promotion of the senior executives and experts in your business. How do you go about that? I’m glad you asked.

1.Identify your spokespeople

Many people mistakenly believe it should be the CEO or business owner who should best represent the business. While senior leaders are essential for driving company strategy, not every CEO or Managing Director is suited to being “the face” of the business.?

Being a spokesperson requires a certain level of enthusiasm for engaging with a wider audience and offering well-considered advice. Who do your customers turn to most often for answers in your business? It could be a salesperson, a delivery manager, or a technical expert. Find the people who already show a knack for engaging in conversations with customers about their challenges.

2. Optimise their LinkedIn profiles

Our online presence on LinkedIn is now an extended part of our company’s brand, whether we like it or not. However, the best profiles are able to build the bridge between an executive’s personal brand and the challenges their company solves.?

With a well-written bio, headline keywords featured content, and memberships/qualifications listed, you can create a bio that quickly demonstrates your personal expertise to anyone who clicks on it.

3. Share useful and engaging content

LinkedIn content is a subtle mixture but generally, people are using the platform to expand their network and find people who can help them in their career or business. Start by thinking about a problem your network might be facing, and develop some simple advice that addresses the issue.?

Think about the last piece of content you engaged with on LinkedIn. Was it funny, insightful, controversial, informative or all of the above? Everyone has something unique and valuable they can offer in terms of ideas, and content is the best way to demonstrate the experience, expertise, and personality of your spokesperson.

4. Find opportunities for organic connections

Your spokespeople aren’t then just a trojan horse for your sales pitch with every new connection they make. However, by engaging new connections through regular content sharing, and reaching out when they feel they share a common interest with one of their connections, your spokespeople can create organic connections that could be the beginning of a valuable long term business relationship.

The secret is patience – by looking for timely opportunities to add value to their network, your people can slowly become the personification of your company brand. At the same time, you can continue to promote your products and services across all of your company channels so your potential customers can research these when it suits them.?

Investments in people always provide great returns. While driving new revenue and brand loyalty, you’re also showing confidence and loyalty to your most valued team members. They’ll reward you by being the best asset to your sales and marketing team.

About the author:

As the Founder of SocialGen, I've helped hundreds of senior marketing, sales and subject matter experts significantly increase new and existing business revenue by finding ideal prospects on social networks, conducting necessary research, sourcing and distributing content, engaging in relevant dialogue, and converting connections into measurable revenue. To learn more about how your marketing department can enable your business development teams to directly increase revenue and profits into your organisation using social media, please send me an Inmail, or get in touch on 0422 800 001.