digital habits in b2b it: 10 tips for marketers
DESCRIPTION
In August 2010 Softchoice surveyed over 5,000 of our customers to understand how they use digital media to perform their jobs. 1,444 individuals responded to our call for help, from over 1,200 distinct companies across North America. We divide this report into 4 areas of interest: 1. Big browser research (What happens at the desktop) 2. The mobile experience (Smart phone usage) 3. The email experience (What happens in the inbox) 4. The social experience (Social media adoption)TRANSCRIPT
Answering Your Technology Needs.
Digital habits in B2B IT10 tips for Marketers
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
23%
16%
8%
42%
11%
3%5%6%
7%
8%71%
About this reportSoftchoice provides technology solutions to thousands of organizations across North America. We combine the efficiency of a national IT supplier with the touch and technical expertise of a local solutions provider.
With the digital media landscape changing so quickly, we started making assumptions about how our customers wanted to use these tools.
When we couldn’t find any research that focused specifically on B2B IT, we did it ourselves. In August 2010 we surveyed over 5,000 of our customers to understand how they use digital media to perform their jobs.
Over 1,400 people responded to our survey from across North America. The research is now helping us connect more effectively with our customers, and we thought other organizations may benefit from our work - particularly businesses looking to leverage digital media when marketing to B2B IT professionals.
We divide this report into 4 areas of interest:1. Big browser research (What happens at the desktop)2. The mobile experience (Smart phone usage)3. The email experience (What happens in the inbox) 4. The social experience (Social media adoption)
7%12%
34%
47%
Respondent highlights:
• 1,444 individual responses from over 1,200 companies• 50% USA / 50% Canada• 47% individual contributors• 71% work in IT
Individual Contributor (IC)Manager (MGR)Director (DIR)Executive (EXEC)
Role type:
ITProcurementOperationsOtherAdministrativeFinance
Department:
SMB (50-150)Mid-Market (151-2,000)Upper Mid-Market (2,000-5,000)Enterprise (5,000+)Unknown
Organization size: (PC count)
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
Report summary
Almost half of respondents specified online forums, communities and blogs as ‘the most useful’ sources of information.
Almost 50 percent of respondents specify online forums, communities and blogs as ‘the most useful’ sources of information with 25 percent preferring traditional IT media.
IT research companies, vendor and VAR and Service provider websites comprised the remaining 27 percent.
Take-away:Be community-minded.
Beyond corporate websites and blogs, B2B IT marketers should consider how best to engage their prospects.
Do you have a presence in the places where clients are discussing issues or seeking information? How are you leveraging your own subject matter experts to add to conversations in the blogosphere? Answering questions like these is critical to bolstering your visibility online.
With the digital media landscape changing so quickly, we wanted to understand how best to focus our digital marketing activities. The key finding seems to be that as B2B IT marketers, we need to think hard about how and where IT decision makers consume content to make buying decisions.
SMBs were more likely to have access and use social media & video for research compared to larger enterprises.
Small and medium-size organizations are more likely to have access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and to use video for research and learning compared to larger enterprises. Similarly, Directors and Executives are more likely to have access to social media compared to Managers and Individual Contributors.
Take-away:Never assume access is ubiquitous.
Access and use of digital media varies significantly by organization size and role-type. Think about your audience.
If you’re looking to appeal to people in the SMB space, or senior level decision makers, you have a number of avenues to promote your message. But this might not necessarily be the case for large enterprise organizations.
Research on the go is a go. Blackberrys and iPhones are playing an increasingly important role in IT decision-making.
Forty three percent of respondents said they have researched an IT solution from their smart phone, and almost one in five say they do so frequently. This is especially true for Directors and Executives. Forty two percent of recipients indicated they use a Blackberry, with 17 percent indicating they use an iPhone to do their job.
Take-away:How is your business addressing mobile?
Optimizing email messages for mobile devices is key. Also, if you aren’t already, look at your website metrics to determine how people are viewing your digital properties.
If you can identify key areas where mobile views are significant, consider creating optimized versions that focus on those areas.
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
Tip #1: Become community-minded
Big browser research.In this section:When searching for an IT solution using a desktop browser, what are the most useful sources of information, and the best ways to learn?
> 1 in 4 primarily rely on IT communities for research> 1 in 5 primarily rely on industry blogs
Tip #2: Cater to learning preferences
Tip #3: Experiment with video
6%4%
33%
45%
12%
FrequentlyOccasionallyRarelyNever - I don't care toNever - IT policy prohibits video
4%9%
14%
21% 25%
27% User Forums/CommunitiesIT MediaIT BlogsIT Research CompaniesVendors WebsitesVARs & Service Provider websites
Q: What are your most useful sources of information? Q: How often do you watch video
related to your job?
> 57% of respondents regularly watch work-related video> 64% of Directors regularly watch work-related video
> Online guides/eBooks are within top three for every role type> IT Blogs are most popular amongst ICs within SMB & Mid-sized companies
2%5%5%6%
8%
8%
8%10%
16%
14%
17%IT Media ArticlesOnline Guides & eBooksWebinars/Pre-recorded DemosForums/CommunitiesWhitepapersBlog PostsIT Research ResourcesVideosAudio/PodcastsCase StudiesPowerPoint
Q: What are your preferred ways of learning?
Breakout: Video usage by role type & size of organization
0
18
35
53
70
IC MGR DIR EXEC
425246
43
18121311
0
18
35
53
70
SMB MM UMM ENT
413945
51
816
1214
By Role By Business Size
Frequently Occasionally
> Executives represent the largest group who frequently watch video> SMB represents the biggest audience of regular video watchers
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
Tip #4: Support research-on-the-go
The mobile experience.In this section:How are individuals and organizations leveraging smart phones for mobile browsing and reading marketing email?
> 60% of smart phone owners use their device for IT research> 55% of Executives and Directors research IT on their mobile device
Tip #6: Optimize your email for mobile
Tip #5: Determine your mobile strategy
> 42% of respondents use Blackberrys, 17% use iPhones> iPhone users are twice as likely to frequently browse mobile sites
> 40% of Executives/Directors read marketing emails on their phone> Executives/Directors are twice as likely than Managers and ICs to
frequently read marketing emails on their phones
Q: How often do you read marketing email on your mobile device?
39%
28%
23%
11%
FrequentlyOccasionallyRarelyNever
Q: Have you ever researched anIT solution from your smart phone?40%
60% YesNo
Q: How often do you visit websites from your mobile device?26%
25% 28%
21%
FrequentlyOccasionallyRarelyNever
0
25
50
75
100
IC MGR DIR EXEC
46445658
54564442
0
25
50
75
100
SMB MM UMM ENT
65565246
354448
54
By Role By Business Size
Breakout: mobile research by role type & organization size
Yes No
> The more senior the role, the more likely phones will be used for research> The smaller the organization, the more likely phones will be used for research
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
Tip #7: Don’t waste time on trivial things
The email experience.In this section:What makes a marketing email worth reading? What do people really think, and how can we improve the value of what we send?
> 38% of respondents indicated that relevance to their job or current project is the deciding factor when deciding to read a marketing email
Q: What makes a marketing email worth reading?9%
4%5%6%
10%
29%
38% RelevanceMessageLearningTimelinessOffersNothing/SpamOther
Tip #8: Solicit feedback
This wordle shows the most common terms from over 1,400 unique answers. {What really makes a marketing email worth reading?
“You have about 2 sentences to catch my attention.”
“I enjoy reading articles from those that have applied their topic in the
field and is not product biased.”
“If it's a new feature or version of something i've purchased in the past.”
“I already receive too many e-mails. If I am interested in a product, I will
research it myself.”
“Only when it proposes to solve a problem currently on my plate.”
“Being direct. What are you selling, and what is in it for me.”
“I am more interested in technologies than specific products.”
Asking for candid feedback from your constituents can yield some powerful insights. When answering why people read marketing emails, these were seven of our favourite responses:
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
Tip #9: Don’t assume access is ubiquitous
The social experience.In this section:Is your organization a have or have not?How available are social networking platforms within organizations? Who’s most likely to use them?
> 65% of respondents have some access to social media sites
Tip #10: Grasp the opportunity social presents
Q: Does your organization give you access to social networking sites?
> 1 in 4 respondents already follow an IT brand via social media> 17% of respondents use Facebook for business
34%
28%
37% Yes - unlimited accessYes - limited accessNo
0
25
50
75
100
IC MGR DIR EXEC
1736
2729 64
4639
30
0
25
50
75
100
SMB MM UMM ENT
3421
2929
2129
4847
By Role By Business Size
Breakout: access by role type & organization size
Yes - unlimited access Yes - limited access No
> Executives and Directors have the highest level of access (>80%)> The larger the business the more likely access is restricted
Q: Do you follow an IT brand via Twitter or Facebook?
74%
26%
YesNo
0
25
50
75
100
IC MGR DIR EXEC
67727774
33282326
0
25
50
75
100
SMB MM UMM ENT
78727666
222824
34
By Role By Business Size
Breakout: social following by role type & organization size
Yes No
> Executives and Directors follow the most IT Brands> The smaller the business the more likely users are using social media
© 2010 Softchoice Corporation twitter.com/softchoice | www.softchoice.com | [email protected]
Additional resourcesThis report represents the summary of our findings. If you have specific questions or would like to see the data represented differently, please let us know. We would be happy to help!
Joel MaransManager, Design & Delivery
[email protected]/schnitzelboy
Ways to connect with the authors:
Jonathan AlgeMarketing Automation Lead
[email protected]/the_mensch
Phone: 1-800-268-7638A live, knowledgeable response every time.
Ways to connect with Softchoice:
Web: http://blogs.softchoice.comhttp://twitter.com/softchoicehttp://www.softchoice.com
In person: We have over 40+ locations acrossNorth America. Find a local office here >>
Eric GardinerManager, Corporate Communications
[email protected]/e_gardiner
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