You probably think of instant messenger (IM) as an informal communications channel mainly used by teenagers – and you would be correct to do so. But despite limitations, a growing number of B2B marketers are finding innovative and effective ways to use it.
The story so far
IM began in the mid-1990s. Since then, a succession of additional functions have been added: the ability to send files and photos, offline messaging, the introduction of icons, group chat, webcams and interactive features such as games.
Use fell in 2008 with the surge of interest in social networks, but as those networks integrated IM so use grew once more. Nielsen Online reports that in March 2009, 6.49 million people in the UK used an instant messenger application while at work, spending an average of four hours and nine minutes on the application.
This is clearly a significant audience and so it is no surprise that B2B marketers are increasingly interested in the medium. Yet how useful can it be for B2B marketing? After all, while there are no figures to prove it, anecdotal evidence suggests that most of those six million plus users are young and few are business buyers.
Furthermore, there are inherent challenges involved in marketing on IM, as Tim Gibbon, director of media consultancy Elemental, points out. “IM is a personal communication method, and is closer in nature to a telephone call or text conversation than it is to email. Because IM offers users a real-time conversation, any marketing and advertising needs to be carefully considered and non-intrusive.”
He goes on to add that finding suitable data can also be a challenge: “Unlike, say, email marketing, you can’t just buy a list of IM identities, send them a carefully constructed marketing message and hope for the best. It will backfire and possibly do damage to your brand reputation.”
IM as a communications channel
However, despite these obstacles, B2B marketers are using it. The most popular use is as an internal communications tool. Toby Brown, account director at PR agency Buffalo Communications, says: “One of the best uses I have seen for IM is as an aid to internal communication. Many companies are now using the service as an always-on alternative to internal calls and running between desks. This is particularly effective in medium-sized businesses where people are disparately located but still need to exchange information regularly.”
Other B2B marketers are using IM as a communications channel with their clients. Ashley Spooner, group account director at digital agency Cheeze DMG, says, “Our account managers use IM pretty extensively. Clients like it because they know their account managers are always online and they can get a more rapid answer than they might with email. Account managers like it because it doesn’t put them on the spot in the same way that a phone call can. We wouldn’t use it for confidential or sensitive discussions, but for day-to-day practical interaction it’s great.”
IM as a sales aid
At the Technology for Marketing show in March 2009, Michelle Soper-Dyer, marketing manager at data cleansing and address correction company DQ Global, encountered WhosOn for the first time. It is an instant messenger and website tracking system rolled into one, and Soper-Dyer was sufficiently impressed to sign up for a free month’s trial.
“Whenever I’m on a website, if I can’t find what I’m looking for, I leave and probably go to a competitor’s site,” she explains. “However, if there’s the option to quickly message the company and get directed to what I want, I’ll take it. So, I wanted to offer that to our customers and prospects.”
She continues: “It’s worked brilliantly. We get a few enquiries a day through it, and are using the automatic language translation feature to chat to customers all over the globe. It’s difficult to gauge the return we’re getting, but the application only costs a couple of hundred pounds and so I’m sure it’s paid for itself.”
As well as allowing DG Global to react to customer requests in this way, WhosOn also allows them to proactively see where a visitor is looking and approach them. “Doing this can take up a lot of time,” cautions Soper-Dyer. “It’s a full-time job in itself, and that’s something we’ll look into.”
IM as a lead generation tool
Cisco has taken IM a step further. It has used the application for more than two years, and finds it most useful for targeting small-to-medium sized businesses (SMB). The system uses website behavioural and timing analysis to proactively invite targeted SMB visitors to engage in a chat with an agent. Also, visitors to the site can choose to initiate a chat through a dynamic link on selected web pages that is displayed when an agent is available.
Zoe Sands, Internet marketing manager for Europe, reports that chat and lead volumes have been increasing month-on-month for Cisco. She says: “On average, 13 per cent of chats turn into leads. That is a fantastic result if you are comparing it to other online conversion metrics. Also, a high percentage of those leads convert into sales.”
She adds: “Cisco has made significant investment in this programme, but we are more than satisfied with these results. Our cost-per-acquisition through this channel is relatively low compared to other lead generation channels. Online chat is now outstripping inbound email and phone calls to our call centre.”
She continues: “At the moment chat online is cheaper and more efficient than telemarketing because agents can simultaneously take three chats at any one time and many visitors have indicated that if chat was not available they would not have contacted Cisco. Chat has opened up new opportunities for Cisco.”
Cisco is now looking at three-way chats. So, if a customer says they need to buy within 24 hours, Cisco can transfer the chat to an appropriate channel partner, and ensure this happens. Sands concludes: “We will be doing more and more marketing through chat online.”
Getting it right
For those who do decide to look more closely into the potential of IM, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at IT security and control firm Sophos, has this warning: “These applications can be very addictive, and you might find that your staff are spending a lot of time chatting to their friends rather than marketing or selling your products and services. You need to monitor this closely.”
He continues: “These types of applications can also pose a security nightmare for systems administrators. By allowing employees unlimited access to messenger clients – like Skype or MSN for example – businesses run the risk of opening up their corporate networks to attack. Bandwidth concerns should also be considered. An application like Skype, for example, can eat up large portions of an organisation’s bandwidth, and let’s not forget the danger of data leakage by uncontrolled instant messenger with the external world if these applications aren’t monitored sufficiently.”
Looking ahead
Gibbon at Elemental believes that the next big development with IM will be mobile. “[Chat] has been available via mobile for some time, but with the development of handsets and lower Internet costs from networks, mobile instant messaging is going to grow exponentially. With devices such as Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 with their always-on Internet connection and full QWERTY keyboards, today’s handsets provide a much better user experience.”
Regardless of whether or not mobile messaging does take off in this way we can expect to see increased use of IM by B2B marketers. This will be driven partly by the development of automated systems such as that deployed to such good effect by Cisco, and partly by the arrival of Generation Y in buying and marketing roles. Those who look into the possibilities now will be well-placed to benefit in the years ahead.
