social it-purchasing-spiceworks-webinar-slides

Social IT Purchasing

Reaching IT Buyers Where They Work

February 27, 2013

Welcome!

Kim Celestre Senior Analyst, Forrester Research

Philip Moya IT Manager, San Antonio Kidney Disease Center

Adam Weinroth Executive Director, Product Marketing, Spiceworks

@kcelestre

@philipmjr

@aweinroth

#SWwebinar

What you may have already heard…

“IT purchasing is going social!”

“Social networks are the ultimate place to reach IT buyers!” “YOU need to get social with��

IT decision makers!”

“Making social engagement a part of your IT marketing plan will make customers and money fall from

the sky!”

Today’s Agenda & Purpose:

1.  Latest data and thinking from Forrester

2.  A practical framework

3.  An IT pros-eye-view

4.  Examples of vendor success

We’re not here to tell you that.

IT IT

Why listen?

Application

Community

Content

IT

IT Professionals IT Marketers

IT

IT IT IT

IT IT

IT IT

IT IT IT IT

IT IT IT

1,500 Tech Vendors

2.4 Million IT Decision Makers

Philip

Making Leaders Successful Every Day

The Network Effect: How Communities Influence Your Buyers

Kim Celestre, Senior Analyst February 27, 2013

© 2012 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Today’s Agenda

"   Your socially active tech buyers "   All networks are not created equal "   Focus on what is relevant

8

YOUR SOCIALLY ACTIVE TECH BUYERS They love communities!

9


The Social Technographics® ladder

Source: January 4, 2012, “Global Social Media Adoption In 2011” Forrester report

2009 B2B tech buyers (biz purposes)*

2010 B2B tech buyers (biz purposes)†

2011 B2B tech buyers (biz purposes)‡

2012 B2B tech buyers (biz purposes)§

27% 33% 32% 41%

— 21% 17% 27%

37% 45% 46% 50%

29% 41% 36% 41%

29% 46% 44% 45%

69% 79% 80% 75%

23% 12% 14% 19%

*Source: North American And European B2B Social Technographics® Online Survey, Q4 2008 †Source: North American And European B2B Social Technographics Online Survey, Q1 2010 ‡Source: Q1 2011 US And European B2B Social Technographics Online Survey For Business Technology Buyers, §Source: Forrester Tech Marketing Navigator, Q1 2011

Base: 793 to 1,217 BT decision-makers at firms with 100 or more employees in the US and Western Europe §Base: 6,308 BT decision-makers at firms with 100 or more employees in the US and EMEA

Business Technology Buyers Shift To More Active Behaviors

For business purposes


Buyers frequently visit communities



71% visit vendor communities multiple

times per month.

Source: Q1 2013 US And Western Europe B2B Community Marketing Online Survey



71% visit vendor communities multiple

times per month. 73% visit non-vendor communities multiple

times per month.



Buyers search for information during the Discovery stage

6%

8%

9%

22%

26%

30%

66%

Rate, vote on others' comments that pertain to my business challenge

Share or retweet content I found in the online community to other social networks or communities

Give a solution: Post content (blog, presentations, video) about my business challenge

Ask a question: Post my problem or business challenge to the online community's discussion

Consume content created by my peers or colleagues

Consume content created by a vendor or official representative of a vendor

Search for information using the search functionality of the community

“What are the top two things you do in an online community during the Research a problem/Discover new approaches stages of your business

problem-solving process?”


Base: 184 B2B tech decision makers (US and Western Europe)


Buyers consume content during the Explore and Purchase stages

8%

9%

15%

15%

27%

28%

30%

Share or retweet content I found in the online community to other social networks

Give a solution: Post content (blog, presentations, video) about my business


Ask a question: Post my problem or business challenge to the online community's




“What are the top two things you do in an online community during the Select a vendor/Purchase a solution stages of your

business problem-solving process?”

Base: 184 B2B tech decision-makers (US and Western Europe)



Buyers comment, post and share during the Engagement stage


24%

11%

13%

17%

20%

21%

24%

27%

I don't use online communities for this stage

Share or retween content I found in the online community to other social networks or


Give a solution: Post content (blog, presentations, video) about my business



Ask a question: Post my problem or business challenge to the online community's discussion


“What are the top two things you do in an online community during the Implement a solution/Get support stages of your business

problem-solving process?”



Buyers seek relevant and quality conversations

8%

10%

12%

14%

20%

21%

21%

22%

23%

31%

34%

38%

To build my personal brand

It's one of my job responsibilities

Size of the community

Age or duration of the community

Ability to link with others in the community

Breadth of participation; the diversity of views expressed

The technical features of the community

Content that is shared within the community (e.g., whitepapers, infographics, etc.)

Volume of activity; frequency of posts and comments

Expertise of participants; their demonstrated thought-leadership

Relevancy of topics discussed by the community

Quality of the discussion; the relevance of the comments

“Which of the following factors most influence your decision to join or participate in an online community independent of any single vendor

activity for business purposes?”



ALL NETWORKS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL You need to choose the right approach

19


Community Scrabble

20

Source: Wordle


Forrester’s Community Strategy Matrix

Influ

ence

Brand

Promoter

Owner

Member

Sponsor

High

High Low

Low

Source: “CLICK: A Design Framework For B2B Online Communities”, a Forrester report


Forrester’s Community Strategy Matrix

Influ

ence

Brand

Promoter

Owner

Member

Sponsor

High

High Low

Low

“Off Domain”

Source: “CLICK: A Design Framework For B2B Online Communities”, a Forrester report


The many flavors of social networks

Public Social Network



Professional Social Network


Source: Spiceworks


Professional Vertical Network

THE GOLDEN RULE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS Focus on what is relevant

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Focus on what is relevant

§  Understand why professionals participate in social networks

§  Be present in professional social networks where you can drive positive business outcomes

§  Choose relevant content, knowledge experts and tools that helps members reach their objectives

§  Remember that professionals value high quality discussions, volume of activity and ability to connect with others

QUESTIONS?

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Thank you Kim Celestre +1 650.581.3810 [email protected] Twitter: @kcelestre

Engage beyond this event: Community: http://forr.com/CommunityTM Blog: http://forr.com/BlogTM

Funnels are Fun.

Let’s get specific with IT.

That’s right. Purchasing is in the middle.

Sharing

Figuring out basic technology need, goals and timing

Evaluating and determining

vendor/product, seats and financial

commitment

Licensing/procurement, financing and

services

Deploying, monitoring and

managing solution

Paying it forward with advice, insights, tips,

warnings

Managing Purchasing Deciding Researching

“What are the security risks?”

“Which vendor offers the best

support?”

“Which reseller should I use?”

“How can I configure for

multiple offices?”

Example questions at each stage…

“Could others use my workaround

script?”

Let’s get specific with IT.

And Sharing isn’t just one stage. It impacts ALL stages.

Product Ratings & Reviews

Peer Discussions

Expert Content

IT Groups

Sharing Managing Purchasing Deciding Researching

So… Social is influential and pervasive in every step of the IT decision making process.

Can I just advertise there?

Yes! (if you don’t care about engagement and outcomes)

The vendor opportunity

Sharing

Tech expertise, transparency and info not on website

Tech expertise and connections to your “A team”

Planning tools and dealer/reseller

information

Product news, tips, best practices and customer curiosity

Amplification of helpful solutions

from IT pros

Managing Purchasing Deciding Researching

Social contributions IT pros value from vendors:

BEING RESPONSIVE

Unleash Your Technical Expertise Build street cred with technical how-tos and very specific suggestions.

87,902 Followers

Offer Resources

Works well with…

•  KB Articles

•  Whitepapers

•  Corporate Blogs

•  Planning Tools

•  How-Tos and Videos

Share the content you’ve already created.

1,220 Followers

163,732 Followers

Amplify Others’ Solutions Help customers help each other and showcase your advocates.

58,550 Followers

75,409 Followers

Be a Connector Get them faster access to the people that can help.

1,446 Followers

146,826 Followers

•  Real engagement with actual people

•  Helping one helps many •  Social interactions aren’t

sales, but they support sales •  Ads are great for promoting

products, themes and messages – but social engagement and content win them over

What ties all these examples together?

Top 5 Marketing Tactics Preferred by Spiceworks IT Pros

1.  Helpful, authentic participation

2.  Online advertising for specific product/promotion

3.  A well-managed Vendor Page

4.  Sponsored app features

5.  Brand/product content

How can I start?

1 Find out what IT pros are saying about you and your competitors. http://www.spiceworks.com/marketing/dashboard/

How can I start?

2 Establish your presence with a FREE Spiceworks Vendor Page. http://www.spiceworks.com/advertise/pages/

How can I start?

3 Get in touch with us. http://www.spiceworks.com/marketing/

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIPS SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

MARKET INSIGHTS CONTENT SOLUTIONS

[email protected]

And one more thing…

Hear from even more IT decision makers like Philip!

IN PALO ALTO TODAY! Wednesday, February 27 5:30pm to 7:30pm Pampa’s 529 Alma Street Palo Alto, CA 94301

RSVP! http://www.spiceworks.com/events/unplugged/

Thank You!

Questions?