Using Twitter for B2B

I recently attended the LIFT Summit in Atlanta and heard a lot of good speakers from the social arena. One of the things I took from this meeting was a better understanding of the uses of Twitter for B2B companies. Some of the better uses of Twitter for B2B are:

Recruitment: Use of Twitter for recruitment is a definite possibility for corporate employers. Both in prospecting and in research of candidates' activities online.

Customer Service: Communicate with your followers/customers about things like service outages, updates, new offerings and assorted customer service issues.

Partnerships: Find potential partners for your business on Twitter. Oftentimes they are Tweeting about complimentary, non-competitive services and products they offer and the best thing about this is that, if they target the same market that you do, then potential partnerships can be on the table by reaching out to them.

Marketing: Getting your brand out there to be seen is of vital importance and Twitter is one more way to do so. Make sure your messages are valuable to your followers, not just "cool" to you as the marketer.

Monitoring: Being able to keep an ear to the streets on what your clients are saying about you is very valuable if you monitor this activity closely. You don't have to have a Twitter account to find out what's being said about your company.

Contact me: sburkey@solarvelocity.com or 404.395.0597 if you want to explore the uses of Twitter for your B2B company. Scott

Guys in my network

Some people in my network have great companies that are worth considering if you need their services and you want to work with somebody that I stand behind both professionally and personally:

Jeff Tuggle owns IQ Intelliquest - www.iqintelliquest.com - Graphics and printing company in Atlanta that has a HUGE amount of experience. Great guys and terrific service!

Sanders McConnell - www.myhsarewards.com - Tie your debit/credit card to his servcie (it's free!) to help fund your health savings account when you make purchases. Purchases made through the enormous vendor mall on his site get you even more points on your account!

Chris Clarke - www.wstyler.com - screening and sizing media for pharma, bio, chemical and screen-printing equipment. Chris is a great guy that will work with you to understand your business needs and find the right solution.

What are your employees saying about you?

Business owners, managers, bosses. Just a quick observation.

Last night I was at a local business that I love. Great customer service. Friendly people. Clean environment. They go the extra mile to take care of you even though you are not spending a LOT of money with them. I asked one of the guys working there, "These people pretty good to work for?" His response was, without even turning to look at me, "No. Terrible place to work. Boss is a jerk. He just fakes being friendly with the customers but he's terrible to all of us. We're afraid of him and need the job so we fake smile at all of you (customers) too. You didn't here that from me."

Wow. What are your employees saying about your company when you are not around? I'm in the business of telling people how great my company is, as a matter of fact. I'm in sales. I don't always feel like my boss is great or the pay is great or that everything is where it should be. But....I don't slam my boss in front of customers. To me it's just not right. But, for somebody to do that, when they have really nothing to gain, only the potential of losing their job, that's pretty discouraging.

I wonder what your employees are saying about your company. Oh sure, there will always be "those ones" that have bad stuff to say regardless of how you treat them. However, keep in mind that impression your employees give of you with customers is very, very important to your business. I lost some respect for my "local favorite place" last night.

Good List - Bad List

I'm just looking to vent. And praise. Here are some of the businesses that I am disappointed in and here are some I love.

I'm disappointed in:
- Conyers Nissan (terrible customer relations, quit biting the hands that are feeding you guys)
- RaceTrac Petroleum - gas stations

I love:
+ Chick Fil A (what a wonderful company from front to back)
+ All Air - Great company with terrific service and integrity - www.allairinc.com
+ MyHSARewards.com - Sanders and Rob (founders) are on to something big here. Check them out.
+ Kaiteurcoffeehouse.com - Moose (the owner) and his wife are wonderful people that run a terrific business in Conyers, Ga.

So here is my beef. (with some companies) When you are snotty, rude, demeaning and discourteous to sales people, vendors, employment candidates and, in any instance, customers you are really hurting your business. That job candidate you are demeaning to is a person that can put out some bad press about your company in your community. Think about it. That vendor that you treat like garbage, he knows a lot of your clients and prospects and can have a real impact on your business. Here is an example:

RaceTrac Petroleum is a successful chain of gasoline retail convenience stores. But it's common knowledge in Atlanta amongst vendors and job candidates that they are a huge waste of time to try to do business with or to try to get a job at their corporate offices. They meet with you....they bring you in 5 times to talk to 20 people.....they ask for a long list of "things" from you.....then.....they never call you again. Job seekers. Vendors. All of them. They constantly put out RFP's and never choose a vendor. They interview dozens of people all of the time and never follow up to even show the courtesy of letting the job candidate know if they got the job or not. I've dealt with them on both accounts. I haven't bought gas from them, as a result of their poor business practices, in over 6 years now. I tell everyone I know not to buy from them. Pitiful.

Chick Fil A, on the other hand, I will go out of my way to patronize because they are polite, courteous and ethical from top to bottom. Front to back. Very nice and very professional both in their corporate offices and in their stores. Love them.



If you want to be on my list. (either one) ha Let me know at sburkey1@gmail.com