six secrets to selling to smbs
DESCRIPTION
2010 SMB technology purchasing survey resultsTRANSCRIPT
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