Coming up next week in Orlando is the AMA’s big annual conference “M.planet.” It is really positive to see that despite the economy they are expecting to see, at last count, over 600 attendees. This year’s conference is labeled “Navigating the New Marketplace,” with an emphasis on the hyper-networked new world. While I’m down there, I’ll be looking to confirm a couple of key findings I’ve observed as the B2B world transitions to new social media: First – as expected -  B2B organizations are investing in social media, but mainly at the user level (as opposed to the business executive or operational level) and second, B2B leaders are continuing to invest in engaging relationships with their customer executives. 

One of the key sessions I’m planning to attend is “Successful Customer Engagement Strategies in B2B Markets” by Abbie Griffin from the University of Utah. I’m really interested to learn Abbie’s perspectives about how B2B organizations are building customer strategies given the economic realities coupled with disruptive technologies.  The B2B world deals with loyalty, account retention, account expansion, and the voice of the customer in a different manner than B2C - especially with the complexity of the buying organization.  I’m anxious to hear how customer relationship strategies are evolving to deal with the realities of today, and compare and contrast to what I’m seeing in the market and with our clients.

If you’re planning to attend M.planet this year, be sure to connect with me and look for Karen Penney and Michelle Mikula in the Geehan Group booth!

-          Rob Urbanowicz