live webcast: rethink the tech buyer's journey

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Rethink the

Tech Buyer’s Journey

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Hello!  Kelly Kyer  Global Lead - Technology Vertical Marketing  LinkedIn

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Housekeeping…

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Rethink the

Tech Buyer’s Journey 1.  The Tech Buying Committee

•  Why does it matter •  Why does it exist •  Who is it

2.  Why and how should you use content to reach and unify your buying committee •  Multiple functions •  Common goals

3.  Content is not just about lead generation… •  Think beyond the sale •  Align with your sales and post-sales teams

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Rethink the

Tech Buyer’s Journey 1.  The Tech Buying Committee

•  Why does it matter •  Why does it exist •  Who is it

2.  Why and how should you use content to reach and unify your buying committee •  Multiple functions •  Common goals

3.  Content is not just about lead generation… •  Think beyond the sale •  Align with your sales and post-sales teams

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A huge shift is under way. Boundaries are blurring in many dimensions — not just between IT leaders and their business colleagues... IT strategy and business strategy are no longer

separate; they have become inseparable.

 Why the Tech Committee matters?

Source: Accenture Technology Vision 2014; http://www.accenture.com/microsites/ittechnology-trends-2014/Pages/tech-vision-report.aspx

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ITDM Multiple titles with: •  Budget •  Purchase authority •  Influence

Operations Finance Sales Marketing HR

The Tech Buying Committee: Then

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The Tech Buying Committee: Now

Operations Finance Sales Marketing ITDM HR

Now all possess budget, purchase authority, and influence in tech buying

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Technology decision making is beyond the senior IT department

78%

of the Technology buying Committee works outside of IT

30% 61%

are individual contributors or managers

control part or all of the IT Budget

LinkedIn, Nurturing the IT Committee Research 2014: In which department do you work? In which of the following stages of IT decision-making are you currently involved?

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10+ million global LinkedIn members who influence IT

decisions across departments and seniorities

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Growing 1.25x

faster than general member growth

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 We surveyed 3,800+ technology decision-makers globally

But, who are they?

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Hardware Software & Services

We looked at technology buyers in 2 ways.

Six Stages of Technology Buying*

Spec/Fund Vendor Choice Implement Manage Renew Identify Needs

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4-6 months 4-6 months 4-6 months 4-6 months 4-6 months 1-2 months

12 months+ time involved in all stages of buying across hardware and software & services

Source: Andy Bartels, Forrester, “Understanding Shifting Technology Acquisition Patterns,” February 2014

And we looked at their ENTIRE journey

The Buying Cycle: It’s long, but well worth the trip

45% 52%

59%

51%

62%

50%

Needs Specs/Funding Vendor Choice Implementation Management Renewal

15 15

4+ functions (% among buyers participating in each stage)

4+ functional groups can be involved at each stage.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

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2

3

4

5

6

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On average, 5.4 people are involved in today’s B2B purchase decisions.

 SOURCE: CEB/Motista 2013 B2B Brand Survey

Number of Group Members

Chance of Purchase

It’s Important because Group size matters

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

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2

3

4

5

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Which means there’s only a 30-50% chance of purchase

Number of Group Members

Chance of Purchase 17  SOURCE: CEB/Motista 2013 B2B Brand Survey

It’s Important because Group size matters

So who’s our tech buying committee?

Engineering Operations

IT

Business Development

Purchasing

Support

Sales

Finance

Project Management

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IT 1 1 Engineering 1 1 Operations 1 1 Prog. and Proj. Mngmnt 1 2 Finance 1 2 Bus. Development 3 2 Support 2 3 Accounting 3 - Marketing - 2 Purchasing 3 - Sales - 2 Research 3 - Consulting/Ext. Consultant - 3

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Hardware Software & Services

The buying committee is a complex group...

 * Each function’s’ importance was ranked across four measures: 1) perceived leadership in six stages of buying; 2) likelihood of being cross-functional partner to a leading role; 3) propensity to be a formal decision maker; and 4) perceived influence on vendor opinion among those involved in Vendor Choice. Gartner source: http://my.gartner.com/portal/server.pt%3Fopen%3D512%26objID%3D202%26mode%3D2%26PageID%3D5553%26ref%3Dwebinar-rss%26resId%3D1871515

Extremely Important 1 VeryImportant 2 Important 3 Importance to the decision process*

IT 1 1 Engineering 1 1 Operations 1 1 Prog. and Proj. Mngmnt 1 2 Finance 1 2 Bus. Development 3 2 Support 2 3 Accounting 3 - Marketing - 2 Purchasing 3 - Sales - 2 Research 3 - Consulting/Ext. Consultant - 3

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Hardware Software & Services

…in some surprising, often non-technical, functions.

 * Each function’s’ importance was ranked across four measures: 1) perceived leadership in six stages of buying; 2) likelihood of being cross-functional partner to a leading role; 3) propensity to be a formal decision maker; and 4) perceived influence on vendor opinion among those involved in Vendor Choice. Gartner source: http://my.gartner.com/portal/server.pt%3Fopen%3D512%26objID%3D202%26mode%3D2%26PageID%3D5553%26ref%3Dwebinar-rss%26resId%3D1871515

Extremely Important 1 VeryImportant 2 Important 3 Importance to the decision process*

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Rethink the

Tech Buyer’s Journey 1.  The Tech Buying Committee

•  Why does it matter •  Why does it exist •  Who is it

2.  Why and how should you use content to reach and unify your buying committee •  Multiple functions •  Common goals

3.  Content is not just about lead generation… •  Think beyond the sale •  Align with your sales and post-sales teams

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Discussed technology solution/vendor with…

1%

13%

22%

45%

51%

70%

Others

Friends/family

Thought leaders

Colleagues not directly involved in process

Technology users (e.g., via usage stats, surveys)

Professional peers

Who’s helping buyers navigate their journey?

discuss technology solution/vendor with an outside party

86% 86%

buyers look outside the buying committee for opinions

8 in 10

 2 to 4  distinct pieces of content at  each stage of the purchase journey

Content consumption happens at every stage.

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So, what motivates this diverse group of decision-makers?

Proj. Mgmt. Finance Accounting

Top Factors Driving Willingness to Engage with Sales

IT Engineering Bus. Dev. Operations Purchasing Sales Support

Bases: N=32-598, recent technology buyers (last 3 months) in key functions In general, how important are the following factors in your willingness to engage with sales professionals and other employees of [technology type] vendors? 24

Subject Matter Expertise

Consultation/Education/Tools

Business Model

Costs/Business Impact

User Adoption

Know/Trust Product /Service

Tier 1 audiences Tier 2 audiences

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Top reasons vendors make the short list:

Bases: Technology decision process participants (last 3 months) in 11+ person companies across 11 major markets who shortlisted a company that is “new” (i.e., their company never worked with it)

Subject Matter Expert-Consultation

Features-Functionality

Cost-Price-Terms

Quality-Reliability

References-Trust

 The best way to build customer consensus isn’t to do a better job of connecting individual customer stakeholders to the supplier but

to more effectively connect customer stakeholders to one another.

26 https://hbr.org/2015/03/making-the-consensus-sale

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 Top types of information sought in each stage of IT decision-making process

Identify Needs Spec/Fund Vendor Choice Implement Manage Renew

IT industry news / strategy info 1

Product / solution demo / software trial 3

Best practices, how-to’s, checklists 2

Earn more interest with a variety of content

Diagnostic / assessment tools 4

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Start with content about general industry topics, prioritized for your audience

Author or promote expert content on the direction and use of your industry’s products

Promote branded user reviews and case studies to drive consideration and selection of your company

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3

2

Three types of education

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Rethink the

Tech Buyer’s Journey 1.  The Tech Buying Committee

•  Why does it matter •  Why does it exist •  Who is it

2.  Why and how should you use content to reach and unify your buying committee •  Multiple functions •  Common goals

3.  Content is not just about lead generation… •  Think beyond the sale •  Align with your sales and post-sales teams

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The technology space is more competitive than ever.

21%

Hardware

31%

Software & Services

(% who shortlisted a “new” vendor)

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Hours spent researching at each stage – Last 3 Months

Know when and where content engagement is most critical.

 Base: N=583-631 recent technology buyers in 11+ person companies across 11 major markets – participating in each stage

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16

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16

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Needs Specs Vendors Implementing Managing renewing

Top Resources Used •  Vendor website •  Blogs, forums, boards •  Technology media •  Social Media •  Webinars

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40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Needs Specs/Funding Vendor Choice Implementation Management Renewal

Hardware for End Users

Software & Services

Engaged Directly with Vendors – Last 3 Months (% among buyers recently participating in each stage)

Engagement is constant throughout the journey…

 Bases: Technology decision participants (last 3 months) in 11+ person companies across 11 major markets in each market who recently participated in each stage  Hardware for End Users n=140-173, Software for End Users n=163-199, Data Center Hardware n=142-162, Data Center Software n=132-167

12 months+

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40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Needs Specs/Funding Vendor Choice Implementation Management Renewal

Hardware for End Users

Software & Services

Engaged Directly with Vendors – Last 3 Months (% among buyers recently participating in each stage)

…and there are peak times pre- and post-sale.

 Bases: Technology decision participants (last 3 months) in 11+ person companies across 11 major markets in each market who recently participated in each stage  Hardware for End Users n=140-173, Software for End Users n=163-199, Data Center Hardware n=142-162, Data Center Software n=132-167

12 months+

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Salesperson reached out Attended event…by vendor Spoke/emailed with support Professional peer...referred me I submitted my contact information I reached out to sales

Interactions across all tech buyers

Spec/Fund Vendor Choice Implement Manage Renew Identify Needs

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Salesperson reached out Attended event…by vendor Spoke/emailed with support Professional peer...referred me I submitted my contact information I reached out to sales

Support, Sales and Peers are the top three sources of interaction at every stage.

Spec/Fund Vendor Choice Implement Manage Renew Identify Needs

67%

36 36 LinkedIn, Nurturing the IT Committee Research 2014: How significant is the role education plays in the following types of decisions undertaken by your organization?

More likely to consider an IT vendor who educates me through each stage of the decision process

Educating throughout the purchase funnel makes generating leads more effective

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Technology buyers engage intensively throughout the process. Top Relevant Topics Engaged on LlinkedIn, 3 Mos Prior

cloud computing data center

business analysis active directory

itil xss

pricing hadoop

amazon ec2 asp.net

computer security vmware

solution architecture databases

internationalization scalability

offshore operations vulnerability automation

pci dss business requirements

etl vdi sla iam Solr

user experience cloud computing

agile methodologies data warehousing predictive analytics information security

security data integration

symmetrix amazon ec2

xss data center

vsphere hp-ux

scalability hadoop

websphere mq sql injection load testing databases

cyber warfare emv

rational performance tester consulting

performance appraisal

cloud computing amazon ec2

vmware performance testing

sun information security

x.509 project management

windows 7 data center

emv open source software

xml scalability

eai omniscript

jquery microsoft sql server

it service management abap

test automation jboss application server java enterprise edition

mobile computing operating systems

db2

outsourcing supplier development

data center personnel management

cloud computing sun

defects computer security

websphere mq google technologies

open source software mobile payments

xss nfc

data warehousing performance appraisal

future trends cyber warfare

business process scalability

oa framework hall

iso 9000 sql injection

it outsourcing healthcare information

technology db2

temenos t24

cloud computing business analysis

amazon ec2 vmware

ad networks mobile payments

negotiation project management

scalability l-1

vulnerability zfs

defects richfaces

ios development websphere portal

consulting java enterprise edition

telemedicine abap swt xss

iso 9000 eai junit

pim-dm requirements analysis

tomcat ide

cloud computing vmware

websphere mq outsourcing sql injection

financial services data center query tree

emv sun var

scalability eai

user research offshore operations

infrastructure business analysis

virtualization payment gateways

databases mobile applications

service level agreements app-v esb

mobile platforms future trends

sqoop

Spec/Fund Vendor Choice Implement Manage Renew Identify Needs

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78%

38 LinkedIn, Nurturing the IT Committee Research 2014: How significant is the role education plays in the following types of decisions undertaken by your organization?

of the Tech Committee require education to sustain or make a change to their ecosystem

But educational content is critical throughout the technology lifecycle.

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Like (353) Comment (33)

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EARNED Trust + Credibility

m u s t b e

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Rethink the

Tech Buyer’s Journey 1.  The Tech Buying Committee

•  Why does it matter •  Why does it exist •  Who is it

2.  Why and how you should use content to reach and unify your buying committee •  Multiple functions •  Common goals

3.  Content is not just about lead generation… •  Think beyond the sale •  Align with your sales and post-sales teams

Broaden your targeting to include more functions. The more people who know about your brand, the

more likely you are to make it to the short list.

Craft content that extols the cross-functional benefits of your products and services. Unify your buying

committee. The brands that do this win.

Make sure your content strategy continues with your customers post-sale – they want to hear from you

throughout their entire purchase journey.

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Want more details? To learn more about the technology buying committee research, download the complete Beneath the Surface eBook.

To learn more about how to build and execute a stellar content marketing plan, download The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Content Marketing.

Thank you