APAC Buyer Profile - Study TechTarget (Sept 2013)

© TechTarget

APAC Buyer Profile

Study 2013

Jon Panker, VP APAC

TechTarget is a global media company uniquely

positioned to help CDW drive better results

© TechTarget 2

About The Survey

3 © TechTarget

● Fielded April-May 2013

● Goal: To learn more about pre-purchase research habits

for:

- Understand the evolution of “BANT” over a sales cycle

● How do budgets/timelines evolve

● How is influence and decision-making set

- What changes are happening around use of different

venues and content for research

● Online vs. Events

● Impact of various marketing vehicles on decision making

- What works in terms of white papers in the process

● Content vs. brand affiliation

● Effective follow-up tactics

Respondent Demographics

4 © TechTarget

● Online survey

● Run across largest markets outside of North America with

statistically valid sample for:

- ANZ (147), India (269), China (234), ASEAN (194), Japan (214)

● Even mix by company size

- Roughly ½ from 500+ employee organizations

● More senior decision-making audience

- 60% IT manager+

- 30% IT specialists

- 10% line of business

© TechTarget

APAC Buyer Profile

Study

BANT is a moving target and can be a misleading way to

characterize the quality of a lead set

Budgets are not fixed from the outset and

mostly shift after research has progressed

© TechTarget 6

What does this

mean for you?

You can change

budget

expectations with

early researchers

Early on, budget is

a moving target –

Don’t take the initial

answer as the final

answer.

When did you set the initial budget parameters for the project?

17%

68%

5%

10%

11%

67%

8%

15%

18%

72%

10%

1%

13%

66%

9%

11%

16%

53%

12%

18%

Up front beforedoing anyresearch

After doingsome

preliminaryresearch into

the solution

After choosinga vendor

I do not know

ANZ India China ASEAN Japan

From any initial estimate, a budget can change

significantly

© TechTarget 7

What does this

mean for you?

Don’t ignore leads

based on their

indicated budgets

(or company sizes)

because many

companies spend

more than they

originally planned

as they do research

and scope the

problem.

How would you characterize the development of the budget?

31%

48%

16%

5%

35%

24%

26%

15%

9%

62%

26%

3%

29%

41%

26%

4%

18%

28%

36%

18%

Spent morethan 20% overoriginal budget

Spent less than20% over

original budget

Spent less than20% under

original budget

Spent morethan 20%

under originalbudget


Most purchase processes do not end in timeframe

expected (in both directions)

© TechTarget 8

What does this

mean for you?

Because purchasing

timelines are a

moving target, it is

hard to qualify leads

based on when they

say a project will

end

Look at a lead and

an account’s digital

footprint to see

when a purchase is

nearing.

In terms of the last project you were involved with (or projects

in general) are purchases made…

41%

10%

25%

4%

1%

20%

31%

16%

29%

4%

7%

13%

35%

12%

33%

6%

1%

15%

40%

27%

15%

4%

5%

11%

41%

22%

20%

2%

0%

15%

Within a pre-established timeline

More than 3 months later than originallyplanned

1-3 months later than originally planned

1-3 months faster than originally planned

More than 3 months faster than originallyplanned

We did not/typically do not set a timeline


The single-decision-maker scenario is rare

© TechTarget 9

What does this

mean for you?

Common

perceptions that

decisions are

hierarchical are

wrong.

Purchasing is done

in team.

Aim to identify and

influence all

buyers – every

participant you don’t

know is an

opportunity for a

competitor

In that last purchase you made, was the final vendor decision

based on…

22%

78%

14%

86%

25%

75%

10%

90%

16%

84%

One person's opinion The input of multiple people involvedin the research


Technology specialists can kill a deal

© TechTarget 10

What does this

mean for you?

Specialists know

their technology

best and wield

more power than

you may have

thought.

Persona-based

Marketing: It is

important to have

content and media

designed

specifically for

in-the-trenches IT.

If your technology specialists (i.e. storage, security or

networking experts) feel negatively about a technology vendor

or its products, do they have the ability to veto making a

purchase from that particular provider?

63%

29%

7%

49%

42%

8%

25%

6%

51%

37%

12%

14%

5%

Often

On rare occassions

Never


69%

82%

Leads are more apt to share BANT data with

you after they have done significant research

© TechTarget 11

What does this

mean for you?

Attempting to collect

BANT data early in

the research process

presents pitfalls

Time your

telemarketing activity

to coincide with

when a lead is

further downstream

Are you likely to share with a technology vendor accurate

details about your company's purchasing plans, budgets and

your role in the buying process? (Select all that apply.)

2%

11%

7%

49%

62%

10%

22%

22%

41%

52%

19%

14%

21%

38%

55%

11%

16%

18%

46%

46%

4%

8%

8%

59%

36%

When a media/tele-marketing/analystcompany places a call to me before I've

downloaded any content

When a vendor places a call to me

When I download a vendor's whitepapersor other content

When I reach out to a vendor during theshort-listing process

Not until I am ready to make the purchaseand directly engage a vendor


Key Takeaways: BANT and Data Collection

Strategies

12 © TechTarget

● Companies’ budgets and timelines for IT purchases are

seldom fixed. They are subject to significant sways as

researchers learn more about potential solutions.

● The decision-making team is large and subject to outside

influence.

- Purchasing authority is not centralized with an individual

- Specialists hold veto power

● Accurate BANT data is hard to collect regardless of how

you pursue it (by phone or online).

- Researchers are incredibly reluctant to be honest with

telemarketers (yours or a media company’s) before they

have started collecting information

© TechTarget

APAC Buyer Profile

Study

Maintaining an effective media mix that includes online is

essential to influencing IT buyers

ITDMs use events to work with existing vendors

or those they are already engaging with

© TechTarget 14

What does this

mean for you?

Events you host are

a good way to

engage your

installed base

Events are not an

effective way to

generate new

prospects

Think about the last face-to-face event you attended that a

technology vendor hosted. Was it a vendor you…

55%

30%

14%

41%

41%

18%

64%

29%

7%

49%

33%

18%

47%

38%

15%

Previously did business with or whosetechnology you currently use

Were familiar with but had neverpurchased from

Did not know before being invited to theevent


While important, few buyers make purchasing

decisions based solely on attending an event

© TechTarget 15

What does this

mean for you?

Events are an

important part of

the media mix but

should not be the

only – or even the

primary –

marketing activity

undertaken.

Have you ever made a major technology purchase based

solely on attending a face-to-face event without doing any

additional research to help support your decision?

11%

89%

28%

72%

30%

70%

19%

81%

7%

93%

Yes No


ITDMs commonly establish their short-lists

solely from online research

© TechTarget 16

What does this

mean for you?

Failure to push your

content online will

result in missed

pipeline

opportunities.

In your recent technology purchases how often have you

created a vendor short-list almost exclusively doing online

research?

39%

42%

18%

31%

55%

14%

23%

57%

20%

35%

45%

20%

7%

31%

62%

Often

Sometimes

Never


ANZ: What sources/venues impact your

purchasing

© TechTarget 17

What does this

mean for you?

Your installed base

is your best tool for

reference and add-

on revenue

When making a technology purchase, please rank the

following information sources in terms of how heavily they

influence your final vendor decision from 1=most significant

impact to 6=least impact.

45%

3%

6%

15%

14%

10%

11%

29%

18%

20%

7%

14%

10%

29%

28%

21%

2%

10%

5%

20%

22%

17%

8%

24%

17%

9%

14%

14%

14%

25%

8%

9%

6%

9%

52%

10%

Existing vendorrelationships

Online research

Face-to-face events

Peerrecommendations

Social media

Analyst firms

1 2 3 4 5 6ANZ

India: Online information carries a bit more

influence than events

© TechTarget 18

What does this

mean for you?

Your installed base


reference and add-

on revenue

In a traditional

events focused

market, online is

now carrying a bit

more weight in

impacting

technology

decisions.





42%

15%

11%

10%

11%

7%

16%

26%

22%

18%

4%

12%

11%

19%

23%

21%

9%

14%

10%

18%

19%

28%

9%

12%

9%

11%

16%

14%

25%

22%

9%

9%

5%

5%

36%

29%


Online research

Face-to-face events

Peerrecommendations

Social media

Analyst firms

1 2 3 4 5 6India

China: Online has caught up with events to be a

heavy influencer of buying decisions

© TechTarget 19

What does this

mean for you?

Your installed base


reference and add-

on revenue

Widely viewed as

the least mature

APAC media

market, online is

virtually even with

events in terms of

impact.





52%

6%

11%

7%

13%

9%

12%

26%

22%

13%

8%

18%

9%

22%

27%

22%

10%

7%

6%

20%

20%

28%

6%

20%

7%

19%

11%

18%

19%

22%

11%

6%

6%

9%

41%

22%


Online research

Face-to-face events

Peerrecommendations

Social media

Analyst firms

1 2 3 4 5 6China

ASEAN: Online now slightly outpaces events in

terms of affecting what technology is bought

© TechTarget 20

What does this

mean for you?

Your installed base


reference and add-

on revenue

In a traditional

events focused

market, online is

now carrying a bit

more weight in

impacting

technology

decisions.





52%

11%

7%

5%

8%

13%

15%

23%

17%

21%

6%

14%

2%

25%

29%

22%

8%

10%

5%

23%

22%

28%

7%

12%

9%

10%

12%

17%

18%

28%

12%

4%

7%

3%

50%

20%


Online research

Face-to-face events

Peerrecommendations

Social media

Analyst firms

1 2 3 4 5 6ASEAN

Japan: IT buyers are now relying more on the

Web to make smarter buying decisions

© TechTarget 21

What does this

mean for you?

Your installed base is

your best tool for

reference and add-on

revenue

In a traditional events

focused market,

online now trumps

events in impacting

technology decisions.





52%

15%

2%

12%

7%

9%

15%

26%

20%

21%

6%

11%

5%

20%

32%

23%

2%

18%

7%

26%

19%

19%

9%

19%

6%

7%

17%

17%

20%

31%

14%

4%

9%

6%

54%

11%


Online research

Face-to-face events

Peerrecommendations

Social media

Analyst firms

1 2 3 4 5 6Japan

Heavy online activity occurs prior to making a

purchase

© TechTarget 22

What does this

mean for you?

You must make

your assets readily

available.

Stockpile as much

content as

possible and look

to publishers to fill

the gaps through

editorial content

sponsorships.

Before making a major technology purchase, how many online

content items (whitepapers, webinars, case studies) do you

typically download?

8%

16%

71%

3%

3%

9%

27%

55%

4%

4%

9%

25%

52%

6%

8%

10%

12%

66%

5%

6%

9%

9%

60%

12%

10%

More than 10

6-10

2-5

1

None


Before making a tech purchase, buyers will

access a wide variety of information sources

© TechTarget 23

What does this

mean for you?

The variety of

interactions that

take place prior to a

purchase speaks to

the need for

maintaining a

proper media mix.

Which of the following did you and the members of the buying

team do before making your most recent purchase? (Select all

that apply)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Met face to face with the vendor

Spoke on the phone with the vendor

Visited the vendor's website

Did a Google search for the vendorson the short-list

Downloaded a whitepaper from thevendor

Attended a face-to-face event to meetwith the vendor

Discussed the vendor with my peers

Visited the vendor's social mediapages/subscribed to their feeds

None of these


Don’t discount the importance of

Consultants/SIs in the research process

© TechTarget 24

What does this

mean for you?

Rethink your

marketing strategy

to include

consultants as

viable prospects in

a lead gen

campaign.

Generally speaking, do Consulting firms, Individual

Consultants, Systems Integrators have any impact on the

specific products/solutions/vendors you may choose to use?

67%

33%

78%

22%

90%

10%

81%

19%

48% 52%

Yes No


While typically not final decision-makers,

consultants are key influencers

© TechTarget 25

What role do Consulting firms/Individual Consultants/Systems

Integrators play in some of the large technology projects your

company has undertaken? (Select all that apply)

-10% 10% 30% 50%

Determine need for specificproducts/vendors/solutions

Specify/recommend specificproducts/vendors/solutions

Make final decision onproducts/vendors/solutions

Implement and deployproducts/solutions

Plan and design the project

We never enlist help fromconsultants/systems integrators for

technology projects


Key Takeaways: Maintaining a Proper Media

Mix to Influence IT Buyers

26 © TechTarget

● While face-to-face conferences and seminars are good

ways to connect with buyers, people who show up at your

events are usually existing customers or those who are

already familiar with you and your solutions.

- Events are not a good way to identify new prospects.

● Events are one venue for influencing buyers, but they are

seldom buyers’ only place for gathering pre-purchase

information.

- It is common for short-listing to occur exclusively based on online

research.

- Many traditional events markets have seen buyers gravitate to

online as a more trusted information source

● Heavy online activity occurs prior to final purchasing

decisions.

© TechTarget

APAC Buyer Profile

Study

Whitepapers may lack sizzle, but they are effective at

influencing technology buyers

ITDMs use white papers as essential tools in

support of IT purchases

© TechTarget 28

What does this

mean for you?

In most cases,

whitepapers are

read in order to

support a

technology

purchase.

Marketers may feel

whitepapers are a

bit stale, but they

remain effective.

Think about the last technology whitepaper that you decided to

download. Which of the following most closely resembles the

main reason you chose to view the content?

22%

23%

42%

10%

3%

36%

22%

31%

7%

4%

35%

26%

30%

7%

3%

36%

18%

28%

10%

9%

16%

24%

35%

16%

9%

To gather information on atechnology purchase my

company had planned

To build a business casefor an unapproved

technology purchase or…

To learn more abouttrends in the market, even

if I didn't have an actual…

I read the whitepaper forfun/general education

I have not downloaded awhitepaper in the last 12

months


Across all markets, 80%+

say whitepapers are

“useful” to supporting a

technology purchase.

Smart follow-up strategies will expose buyers

to additional content

© TechTarget 29

What does this

mean for you?

The best tactical

follow-up is to offer

more content,

specifically emailing

them multiple links

or pointing them to

a resource page

with multiple assets.

After you have downloaded a vendor's whitepaper if that

vendor were to send you a follow-up email, what type of

content would you most prefer it contain?

13%

29%

42%

7%

9%

12%

30%

19%

24%

15%

16%

26%

36%

9%

12%

21%

22%

18%

22%

18%

9%

15%

30%

14%

32%

A direct link to a single relevantwhitepaper

Multiple direct links to various whitepapershosted on the vendor's website

A link to a resource page hosting multiplerelevant whitepapers on the vendor's

website

A link to a product spec sheet

A link to a case study


Majorities in each market

say their preferred vendor

follow-up is an email

pointing them to more

content.

Content-based nurturing is important to

establishing a relationship

© TechTarget 30

What does this

mean for you?

Following up a

single download

with telemarketing

activity is

ineffective.

Nurture before

contacting by

phone. Multiple

asset downloads

creates more

receptivity to calls.

When researching a technology purchase, how many

whitepapers from a particular vendor would you typically read

before you'd feel comfortable receiving a phone call directly

from that vendor?

7%

50%

11%

9%

24%

9%

53%

23%

11%

5%

11%

45%

27%

11%

7%

1%

61%

14%

11%

13%

10%

29%

11%

3%

47%

1

2-3

4-5

More than 5

I never want to receive a phone call


For whitepapers, relevancy and context trumps

vendor familiarity

© TechTarget 31

What does this

mean for you?

Even if you are not

well known, a

relevant

whitepaper will get

you noticed

Whitepapers are a

good way to

generate new

prospects.

When deciding whether to download a whitepaper, which of the

following is more important?

8%

92%

20%

80%

33%

67%

21%

79%

11%

89%

The paper was written or sponsoredby a vendor I already know

The paper is relevant to a project Iam working on


80% have downloaded a whitepaper from an

unknown vendor with relevant content

© TechTarget 32

What does this

mean for you?

Prospects not

familiar with you are

more apt to

download your

whitepapers than to

attend your events

Have you ever downloaded a whitepaper from a vendor you

weren't familiar with because the topic was relevant to a

project you are working on?

96%

4%

82%

18%

86%

14%

86%

14%

81%

19%

Yes No


Earlier in the study we

learned that less than 20%

attend events hosted by

vendors they are unfamiliar

with.

If your content is not available, users will opt

for someone else’s

© TechTarget 33

What does this

mean for you?

Make it easy for

users to access

your content.

If your content is not

readily available,

the prospect will

likely turn to

material from

another provider.

If it is not easy to find whitepapers from a vendor you are

interested in, which of the following would you most likely do?

(Select all that apply)

66%

34%

43%

32%

3%

50%

47%

49%

36%

6%

46%

45%

46%

42%

28%

67%

34%

38%

56%

5%

64%

13%

31%

29%

0%

Download similarwhitepapers from another

vendor

Call your preferred vendorto ask for a whitepaper

Email your preferredvendor to ask for a

whitepaper

Contact yourreseller/technology partner

to request the preferred…

Contact the vendor to askfor a white paper


Key Takeaways: Extracting Value From

Whitepapers

34 © TechTarget

● Almost everyone downloads whitepapers prior to making

a technology purchase.

- Whitepapers are widely seen as “useful.”

● Whitepapers are the best way to identify new prospects,

including those who might not already be familiar with

your company or its solutions.

● Content-based nurturing softens prospects so they’re

ready to take a phone call.

- Nearly all require 2+ downloads before they are comfortable

talking to a telemarketing rep.

● In determining what to download, content relevance

trumps vendor familiarity.

- Your content is more important than your brand.

APAC Buyer Profile - Study TechTarget (Sept 2013)

Business

Transcript of APAC Buyer Profile - Study TechTarget (Sept 2013)