Effective Content Marketing and Outreach Strategies for Engaging the APAC Technology Buyer. Jon Panker VP APAC, TechTarget

Transcription

1 Effective Content Marketing and Outreach Strategies for Engaging the APAC Technology Buyer Jon Panker VP APAC, TechTarget

2 2013 Media Consumption Survey Fielded September 2013 Now Conducted Online Run Globally - SEA: ANZ: India: China (fielded in Simplified Chinese): NA: 364 Demos: - Job title: 1/3 management; 1/5 LOB - ½ 1,000+ company size - Represent major vertical markets All play a role in technology purchases at their company Goal: Better understand the technology buying process TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 2

3 3 Characteristics of Today s Technology Buying Process Collaborative Content driven Compressed TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 3

4 Buyers in APAC are collaborative

5 Technology buying is done in teams How many people are typically involved in the technology research and purchasing process at your organization? What does this mean for you? 6 3 Stockpile content Persona-based marketing Identify and influence the full buying team More than 10 Implications for IT manager+ campaigns TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 5

6 The size of the technology buying team increases at large organizations How many people are typically involved in the technology research and purchasing process at your organization? More than 10 More than 1000 employees More than 10 Less than 1000 employees TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 6

7 Cross-border collaboration is quite common Are there team members involved in the technology research and purchasing process that are located in different geographies? What does this mean for you? Value of crossgeo campaigns 61% % 51% 49% 39% 44% 4 Consistent messaging, themes and content Yes 2 No Need to connect the dots on lead follow-up TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 7

8 Geos work together on a variety of different projects How often are teams members in different geographies involved in the technology research and purchasing process? 67% 42% 52% 45% 52% 45% 49% 33% 34% 34% 6% 3% 2% 6% Always Only for large-scale technology projects/roll-outs Other TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 8

9 Buyers are heavy content consumers

10 Heavy content consumption occurs prior to shortlisting During your technology research process, how many pieces of IT-related content do you download/view in order to make your vendor short-list? 5 What does this mean for you? Need to invest heavily in content Must always be on 25% More than 10 Reuse US content liberally Look to publishers to fill content gaps TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 10

11 Buyers are not just reading your content I prefer to download/view IT-related content that is created by a(n)? 83% 82% 83% 74% 73% Two-thirds of Chinese researchers require more in-language content. 21% 13% 13% 13% 1 12% 6% 4% 8% 5% Independent third-party (nonvendor affiliated) expert Technology vendor Both independent third-party experts and technology vendors. TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 11

12 Buyers access a variety of content across all markets Which of the following types of content do you never use? 5 25% What does this mean for you? Continue to produce content in a variety of formats Focus more attention on the message than the content vehicle TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 12

13 Invest in content that is highly technical and comparative When conducting research related to my IT project, I prefer to download/view content that. Compares technology vendors and their solutions Features expert Q&A's Showcases step-by-step tips and tutorials on implementation based on global best practices Highlights the value the product/solutions brings to other parts of the business Focuses on the technical details and functionality information of the product 25% 5 75% TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 13

14 Ideal webcast is on-demand and 30 minutes or less Do you have a preference for live or ondemand webcasts/webinars? What is your preferred length of a webcast/webinar? Live On-demand No preference Less than 10 min 10 to 20 min 21 to 30 min 31 to 40 min More than 40 min TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 14

15 Online videos should be relatively brief; no consensus on production value What is the best length for an IT-related online video? If an IT-related online video is helpful in your research, how important is the production, special effects, etc.? Less than 5 min 6 to 10 min 11 to 15 min 16 to 20 min More than 20 min Very important. Not very The video needs important. If the to be well content is produced. valuable, I will view it. It depends on the topic/content of the video. TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 15

16 Technology purchases are researched on technical platforms Which of the following information sources do you never use? 5 25% TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 16

17 Buying and research cycles are compressed

18 If anything, research is accelerated Is your technology purchase timeframe shorter or longer compared to three years ago? 32% 42% 51% 43% 37% 54% 38% 28% 48% 51% 2 21% 14% 1 12% Shorter Longer The timeframe has remained the same TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 18

19 Internet, improved internal processes are speeding up the research process Why is your purchase timeframe shorter than it was three years ago? Information is readily available online More documents and research are provided on the internet rather than years back. India Better access to technology research information. ASEAN Better availability of information to make decisions with these days. ANZ Influence of internet. - ANZ Information is easier to access, and comes quicker. North America 技 术 方 案 更 新 的 比 较 快. China Internet helps a lot. - India Better defined purchasing processes We have instituted new processes to streamline the selection and decision making process. ANZ I ve empowered the ICT team to be involved with all purchasing from the beginning problem identification phase. - ANZ We have a very good vendor evaluation system in place and team is more effective identifying suitable providers. - India Researchers are now given better exposure to the requirements of the management and have a better more direct platform to present their ideas. ASEAN 队 友 更 有 效 地 协 同 工 作 ) China TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 19

20 Buyers need a baseline of information before engaging with you In which stage of the research and purchasing process are you most receptive to engaging (phone, , or live conversation) with a technology vendor to discuss your IT project? What does this mean for you? 5 25% Early stage Middle stage Late stage Any stage Need to influence earlystage researchers at the point of research Classify content by buying stage and use it to determine when to reach out TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 20

21 Prospects will already know a lot about your capabilities before interacting with you Before your first conversation with a technology vendor's sales rep, which of the following would you prefer to know about the vendor and their product? What does this mean for you? 10 You will be interacting with educated prospects 5 The cost of the product The effective ways to adopt/implement the product The benefits that the product brings to all parts of the organization The competitors of the vendor If you don t make this information available, you enable others to define you and your offerings TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 21

22 First contact with prospects needs to be meaningful In your opinion, the first conversation you have with a technology vendor's sale rep is most effective when the sales rep has knowledge of. What does this mean for you? 10 5 Ensure inside sales can speak to the issues customers want to discuss The content types you have downloaded from the vendor How their product/solution compares to other vendors that you may be considering Your other colleagues who are involved in the IT project The current products your organization currently has installed How your organization can effectively adopt/implement the vendor's product/solution Be careful about who speaks directly to prospects on your behalf, especially third parties TechTarget, 2013 Media Consumption Report 22

23 Final thoughts How to respond to: Collaborative Buying Teams: Create content with personas in mind Reconsider job title filters on demand gen activities Content-driven Buyers: Use global content, sponsor independent content Widely market content in an always-on fashion Compressed Research/Buying Cycles: Influence early stage-buyers Let content cues dictate when you engage more directly TechTarget, 2012 Media Consumption Report 23