Peter Burris on B2B Innovation at Forrester Marketing Forum

 

Peter Burris, Principal Analyst, Research Director, Forrester Research

“Innovation is a social act… It’s something that we do together. It’s the process, ultimately, of inspiring people to change.”

“Tweetamus ergo sumus”

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B@B tech buyers double # of content creators compared to US consumers.

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IBM: adding social media across spectrum got 10% registration uplift, saved $100K, big bump in lead capture and conversion rates

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PLOT:

Persona: Develop customer needs through social interactions

Location

Option

Test

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Recommendation:

• Position marketing as a resource that B2B customers can use to drive better business outcomes

Question: Who’s best to lead building communities?

Peter: Marketing has to accept a new role. Cites example where marketer at Serena took over customer service, and then engineering. That made a product possible.

Q: How do you ensure authenticity?

Peter: Don’t get caught up in paying bloggers. What info do your customers need to be successful? All of your customers encounter problems. If you want to remain authentic, provide value to your customers that truly helps them solve their problems.