On average, 95 per cent of IT professionals rely on forums or targeted communities when justifying a business purchase, while only 60 per cent of technology marketers use these channels to reach their prospects, according to Spicework’s new How to win friends and influence IT Pros report.
The survey also showed that nearly 90 per cent of technology marketers utilise mainstream social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to build brand awareness and promote their offerings. However, only 16 per cent of IT professionals use these networks to research new products or services.
However, tech marketers are getting it right when it comes to content. The research revealed that webinars are used by 79 per cent of IT professionals when researching new purchases, videos by 76 per cent and whitepapers by 69 per cent. Meanwhile, 85 per cent of marketers surveyed said they were investing in whitepapers, 78 per cent in video and 70 per cent in webinars.
Lead generation was the top priority for 66 per cent of technology marketers followed by sales conversion (45 per cent) and brand awareness (42 per cent). When asked to select the barriers to achieving campaign priorities, 43 per cent of respondents cited budget constraints, 35 per cent said audience targeting was a challenge, and 33 per cent reported an insufficient quantity of leads.
Sanjay Castelino, VP of marketing at Spiceworks, commented on the findings: “Technology buyers want to be approached in an authentic way, yet we’re seeing investments in automated forms of marketing that, when executed poorly, significantly diminish the opportunity for a real, human-to-human relationship between the marketer and customer.
“Technology marketers have an opportunity to rethink ‘assembly line marketing’ strategies and double-down on an engagement model that humanises their brand, its employees and solutions.”
