The Role of Content in Customer First Marketing2017CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

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Source: 2017 IDG Customer Engagement Research

Purpose and Methodology

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4Source: 2017 IDG Customer Engagement Research

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Informational Needs Shift During Purchase Process

Source: 2017 IDG Customer Engagement Research

Q. For each stage of the purchase process for major enterprise IT products and services, which of the following types of information or content do you rely on most?

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Familiarity Cuts Purchase Cycle in Half

Q. Considering major enterprise IT purchases, what is the average purchase cycle for a vendor with whom you are already familiar or have experience compared to the purchase cycle for an unfamiliar vendor?

Source: 2017 IDG Customer Engagement Research

Sales Enablement Critical to Success

Source: 2013-2017 IDG Customer Engagement Research

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

2013 2014 2016 2017

Highlyknowledgeable/able to answerquestionspromptly

Familiar withyour particularline of business

Well suitedto speak at yourlevel within theorganization

Contactsyou withinyour desiredtimeframe

Info. givenis specific towhere youare in thepurchase cycle

Knows basicinfo. aboutyou and yourorganization

77%

89%

76%

73%

69%67%

Exec. IT 90%IT Mgmt 92%IT Pro 81%Biz Mgmt 89%

Q. How do the following actions by a vendor impact the likelihood you will purchase a solution about which you have downloaded or consumed information?

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Continue the Conversation

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