Mike Pilarz

While the case studies you've probably read ten times by now from B2C brands like Comcast, Zappos, Dell and others deserve the accolades they've received, it's time B2B had its day in the sun, and "Social Marketing to the Business Customer" delivers.  I heard Paul Gillin's excellent presentation at NewComm Forum last April on the role of social media in B2B communications, and have had this book in my Amazon queue ever since. He co-authored it with Eric Schwartzman, whose podcast, "On the Record...Online" I've enjoyed for a while now.

The case studies alone make this book worth picking up, but it goes much further than that, walking you through the process of designing, executing and measuring a B2B communications program that takes advantage of the social web. But here's the message I really appreciated: throughout the book, the authors stress that social media may not be appropriate for every business or every communications program and that it's simply another tool at our disposal. 

If I had to nitpick, I would've traded a few of the case studies for a little more depth in the others, as some of them are merely a few sentences. 

Although I own a Kindle, I went with the print version of this book and am glad I did, as I can't remember the last time I took so many notes and made so many highlights in a book.

This book will make you a sharper B2B communicator. I highly recommend it.