ivy worldwide - six secrets to selling to smb
TRANSCRIPT
The Six Secrets to Selling to SMBs
Ivy Worldwide SMB technologypurchasing survey results
August 2010
Search still rules
• Like consumers, search engines are SMB technology buyers’ primary resource for product/service discovery
SMB Secrets: #1
49%
35% 34%
54% 52%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Which resources do you rely on for making business purchases?*
Search engines
Review sites
Blogs/forums
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
product/service discovery
• With search results in hand, SMBs lean heavily on word-of-mouth referral
• Chief resources for word-of-mouth referral are blogs and forums (34%) and third-party reviews (35%)
0%
10%
20%
First choice Second Third Fourth
Blogs/forums
Traditonal media
Twitter/ Facebook
Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
*Respondents able to submit multiple selections
Third-party endorsement guides decision-making
• Getting found in search engine results merely builds the
SMB Secrets: #2
Price/TCO
Support15%
Vendor9%
What considerations weigh most heavily when making purchasing
decisions for your business ?
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
results merely builds the consideration set
• Price/TCO important, as always
• Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) base their purchasing decisions on products or services that have utility in both business and personal contexts
Price/TCO33%
Positive Referral
25%
Dual-utility18%
Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
Social for SMB isn’t what you think it is
• Surprisingly, traditional media (9%) and Twitter/Facebook
SMB Secrets: #3
34%29%
23%
9%5%10%
20%
30%
40%
Which resource do you rely on most for product information?
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
(9%) and Twitter/Facebook (5%) are minimal factors in purchasing decisions
• Many suggest these resources lack the detail and timeliness necessary for making such decisions
5%
0%
10%
Blogs/forums Search engines
Review sites Traditonal media
Twitter/ Facebook
Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
Business = personal = business
• SMBs act like value-conscious consumers when buying technology…
SMB Secrets: #4
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
technology…
• Akin to consumer technology buyers in that price (33%) and third-party referral (25%) strongly influence their decisions
• Setting them apart is preference for meeting business/personal dual-use potential
Microsoft19%
HP17%
Which companies are effective in marketing to you as an SMB purchaser?*
Room for improvement? That’s putting it lightly…
• Most large companies miss the mark when marketing to SMBs
SMB Secrets: #5
*Unaided response
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
Dell14%
Lenovo9%IBM
5%Apple
3%
No preference3%
Other30%
Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
mark when marketing to SMBs
o Slightly more than 75% of SMBs feel they’re not effectively marketed to by the companies that target them
• Only one software company was named in unaided responses
Brick and mortar is busted
• 70% tend to purchase online
• Preference for tailored service:
SMB Secrets: #6
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
• Preference for tailored service:Retailers (17%) and resellers (14%) are preferred for support and convenience
• Exceptions to online preference are desire for hands-on experience or need for especially quick acquisition
• 95% have annual operating revenues of US$2M or less
• 80% deliver services; 20% products• 53% have been in operation for 3
years or fewer• 54% work at home or otherwise
Respondent overview
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
• 54% work at home or otherwise virtually, while 40% work on-site*
• 1 in 5 operate in multiple languages, including English
• Respondents operate globally*: N. America (57%), Europe/Asia (27% ea.), S. America (7%), Africa (4%)
• Average 12 FTEs and 3 or fewer contractors
*Responses do not total 100% due to ability to submit multiple selections
• Ivy Worldwide surveyed SMB owners and purchasers worldwide
• Over 1000 responses were collected and analyzed for relevance to SMB purchase decision-makers
Methodology
©2010 Ivy Worldwide
• Of those, 602 qualifying responses were then analyzed regarding SMB purchasing habits
• More than 96% of respondents have direct input into or final purchasing decision-making responsibility
