Spiceworks, a professional network for IT, announced Tuesday the results of a new survey examining technology marketers’ priorities, barriers to success, and their “complicated” relationship with the IT buyers they’re trying to engage and help.
While technology marketers and buyers are aligned in some cases, the report “Tech Marketers are from Mars, IT Pros are from Venus” found clear disconnects in terms of the content they use and channels they leverage.
For instance, less than one-third of IT buyer respondents said they trust content on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, and only 25 percent said they use these social networks to learn about products and services.
“Technology buyers want to be approached by brands in ways that are going to help them do their jobs – in the right place, with the right content, at the right time,” said Sanjay Castelino, VP of Marketing at Spiceworks. “The study shows it’s time for marketers to focus on acing the basics by being clearer when it comes to technical details, pricing, and how IT buyers’ peers are benefitting from their solutions. Lastly, while it’s tempting to focus on short term results, it’s important to invest in building the lasting relationships with IT buyers that lead to brand advocacy and peer recommendations.”
Disconnects between marketers and IT buyers reveal areas where marketers can improve the customer experience.
More than 450 IT buyers were surveyed to understand the content they use most often during the decision making process, the report summary reads. Ninety-nine percent said they use product reviews, followed by technical spec sheets at 95 percent, IT articles at 93 percent, and free product trials at 90 percent.
While 80 percent of marketers produce IT articles, it was the only clear area of alignment between what marketers produce and what IT professionals use most. Only 58 percent of marketers make free product trials a priority, 73 percent produce technical spec sheets, and 60 percent prioritize product reviews, the piece of content nearly all IT buyers use.
“Let’s face it – IT buyers’ relationship with technology brands is complicated,” said Mark Miller, IT manager at Clayton Bank. “We rely on technology brands to create amazing products and services that help us solve tough challenges. However, too often, technology brands forget IT professionals aren’t leads in a database. We’re technical experts interested in creating lasting, win-win relationships with brands that help us both succeed.”
