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4.9 Collaborative Commerce 125

within LinkedIn; for example, for problem-solving. B2B 2014, IBM had over 300,000 employees registered on
participants need to look into social networking as part of LinkedIn; Microsoft had approximately 134,000 as of
their overall EC strategy, otherwise they may miss an oppor- early 2014. In addition, some sites feature company pro-
tunity to reach the B2B audience and differentiate themselves files, with comments by employees and customers.
from the competition.
By the end of 2013, social networking was playing a Success Stories
much more important role in B2B. Both small and large
businesses are using social networks quite successfully to BtoB’s Interactive Marketing Guide (available periodically
find and retain new business. Other applications include: at btobonline.com; now part of AdAge) provides examples
of successful B2B implementation (e.g., look for Cisco
• Several companies globally use social networks for vari- Systems, Arketi Group, and Hewlett Packard Co.).
ous networking functions. For case studies, read Simply Zesty’s eBook titled
• Some businesses have found new customers via social “50 Brilliant Social Media B2B Case Studies” (available for
networks. purchase at simplyzesty.com/Blog/Article/June-2011/50-
• Some companies include social networking activity to both Brilliant-Social-Media-B2B-Case-Studies).
acquire and retain customers in the marketing budget.

The main uses of social networks are keeping in contact The Future of B2B Social Networking
with business contacts; meeting with special interest groups;
learning useful business intelligence; and organizing, man- Marketing users are developing social media and search
aging, and connecting with customer groups. tools. Products such as Google’s OpenSocial may increase
For some interesting applications and tips, see Monty interest in social networking.
(2015). Businesses must embrace social networking in order to
Social media use among B2B marketers is already very better understand their customers and business partners.
high. However, many do not calculate the return on invest-
ment for social media. In 2013, Twitter and LinkedIn were
the most-used social networks in B2B. By 2016, LinkedIn SECTION 4.8 REVIEW QUESTIONS
and Facebook were at the top.

1. List some of the opportunities for corporations to use
Using Twitter in B2B
social networking in B2B EC.
2. What are some of the benefits of social networking for
Twitter is used extensively in B2C mainly as a communica- B2B EC?
tion tool for customer service advertising campaigns, cus-
3. List some Web 2.0 social software for B2B applications.
tomer engagement platforms, CRM, and market research. 4. Describe some of the applications of B2B in social net-
Similar uses are evidenced in B2B. The applications include
works.
the monitoring of conversations for identifying business 5. Discuss the strategies for B2B social networking.
opportunities, enabling small businesses to engage with
6. Define e-communities in B2B.
potential customers, making contacts with potential custom-
ers, and customers discovering potential suppliers.

4.9 COLLABORATIVE COMMERCE
Examples of Other Activities of B2B Social
Networks Collaborative commerce is an e-commerce technology that
can be used to improve collaboration within and among
The following are examples of some social network-oriented organizations, frequently in supply chain relationships.
B2B activities:
• Location-based services. These may provide opportuni- Essentials of Collaborative Commerce
ties for B2B.
• Corporate profiles on social networks. LinkedIn and Collaborative commerce (c-commerce) refers to electronic
Facebook include substantial information on companies support for business collaboration. It enables companies to col-
and their individual employees. In fact, employee profiles laboratively plan, design, develop, manage, and research prod-
can be part of a company’s brand. For example, as early as ucts, services, and innovative business processes, including EC