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Symbiosis in its biological sense is the mutual existence of two separate and dissimilar organisms in a particular environment which as a metaphor for business is ideal in explaining the relationship that many companies have in dealing with their online and offline business dealings.

With particular reference to business to business SME’s (though product based consumer faced companies share some similarities) the focus of an entire business is quantifiable in that business processes at least have the potential of being positioned in a schematic that will aid in the success of a sale. For example a meeting with a key decision maker in a company will either continue the sales cycle or hamper it. Body language, tone of voice, expression, positive affirmation etc. may lead you to conclude the success or failure of that particular activity, however the point is, that the process is very much based on activity and reciprocity and that each activity if concluded well will result in a quantifiable return on investment.

The difficulty in developing a business to business strategy online is that there is no quantifiable return on investment and no direct process whereby you can measure the success of an online activity. Objectives can be set, such as wanting x amounts of email enquiries or number of visits to a web page but one of the crucial components of B2B process monitoring is evidently non-existent ie. Direct contact with the prospect.

In business to business models, the aim of the game is to focus. Streamlining sales processes to the shortest possible cycle means seeing as few people as possible thereby keeping the fewest chains in which the cycle can be broken. In contrast, online activity is a means in which you converse with as wider audience as possible in the chance of identifying with potential prospects. In addition to this you cannot engage with prospects in order to see whether your message has been understood or whether they identify with it. It is no wonder then that many SME’s see their web presence as peripheral to their offline business needs.

Creating Effective Symbiosis

The business sector isn’t well known for being innovators in new technology and the fact that many company websites are still formatted as 90’s brochure sites, while online technology increases at an exponential rate and newer methods of social media marketing mean newer and greater contact with more people, speaks volumes for the attitudes of many companies.

While many see the creation and upkeep of a website as a ‘lead’ generation tool (which it is quite capable of being), the reality is that this attitude will ultimately form a negative impression on business owners if and when large volumes of orders don’t flood into the company inbox.

As with many other technological aids, websites are still considered, maybe as a remnant of the dot.com boom, as a self sufficient cash inducer. Suffice to say, this is not so. Online activity requires as much, if not more, dedication and hard work to refine and succeed then normal offline activity. Moreover, websites aren’t self sufficient entities, nor should they be considered as such.

The key to creating effective symbiosis of online and offline market presence is entirely that, symbiotic or intertwined. On the outset, the intention of online activity should be to support the offline branding, marketing and other offline strategies. If in the process of your business dealings you are saying a particular thing then that should be reflected in collateral online that backs up your offline intentions. Positive affirmation of your message will result in clarity and trust. Why should you do this if you can’t see a quantifiable return? Because, yes, your business process may not be geared towards one to many market channelling but one thing is certain, your prospects buying process involves using the internet and if they are serious about buying they will look at you and your competition online. When a client puts pen to paper to sign that all important contract how much of a percentage of that may be down to your online market presence? 5%. 10%. You may not be able to quantify it but it does play a part and ignoring that will inevitably hurt your business potential.