Business Decision Makers Online

Transcription

1 Business Decision Makers Online Usage & Opinions of a Critical Online Audience

2 Methodology washingtonpost.com partnered with MORI Research and to understand how business decision makers (BDMs) use the Web An online survey was administered to 1,572 random visitors to washingtonpost.com MORI Research provided survey design and analysis services Using definition of a business decision maker, 573 respondents were screened out of the survey, leaving a complete sample of 999 individuals (Appendix i) washingtonpost.com s decision makers approximate the average online decision maker in terms of organization size, position, and purchasing influence (Appendix ii-iv) Data analysis performed and results compiled and washingtonpost.com 2

3 Key Findings The Internet is the most powerful advertising medium for reaching and influencing business decision makers The Internet is the dominant media vehicle consumed by business decision makers during the week and second only to TV on the weekend Increased Web usage by business decision makers has resulted in decreased consumption of Television, Newspapers, Magazines, and Radio programming Business decision makers use the Web for General News and Current Events far more than for any other reason 3

4 The Web is the Best Place to Reach Decision Makers When asked which media to include in an advertising campaign aimed at reaching them, over 60% of business decision makers recommended the Internet (Appendix v) Less than 40% of BDMs recommended using radio or television advertising to reach them % Definitely/Probably Include 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Internet Magazines Newspapers TV Radio 4

5 The Web is the Most Powerful Advertising Medium Online and advertising helps BDMs make purchasing decisions more often than advertising any other medium (Appendix vi & viii) An overwhelming majority of business decision makers view the Web as the best medium to find out about new products and companies (Appendix vii) 77% say the Web is the place to find out about new products and companies more than twice as many as the next highest medium According to a majority of BDMs, advertising on the Web gives products and services a more modern and up-to-date image than advertising on traditional media (Appendix vii) 5

6 Online Advertising Leads to Purchases 47% of business decision makers say that the Web has influenced them to make a purchase or obtain a service for their business (Appendix viii) Compare this to 35% for magazines, 24% for newspapers, and only 20% for television 50% % Influenced (past year) 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Internet Magazines Newspapers Television Radio None of these 6

7 Internet Dominates During the Workday 17% of business decision makers use the Web at least 5 hours per weekday (Appendix ix) Compare this to only 9% for Radio and 7% for TV An insignificant proportion of BDMs spend 5 or more hours reading newspapers or magazines on an average weekday 20% % using 5+ hrs. per weekday 16% 12% 8% 4% 0% Internet (excluding ) Radio TV Newspapers Magazines 7

8 Internet and Television Dominate On the Weekend 7% of business decision makers use the Web at least 5 hours per weekend day (Appendix x) 10% % using 5+ hrs. per weekend day 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% TV Internet (excluding ) Radio Newspapers Magazines 8

9 BDMs Expect Continued Increases in Web Usage 40% of business decision makers expect their Web usage to increase over the next 12 months (Appendix xi) Only 4% expect their Web usage to decrease over the next 12 months 60% Web usage (next 12 months) 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Increase significantly Increase somewhat No change Decrease somewhat Decrease significantly 9

10 Increased Web Usage Inversely Effects Other Media 55% of business decision makers have increased their Web usage over the past 12 months. As a result of this increased Web usage (Appendix xii): 50% have experienced a decrease in TV viewership 47% have experienced a decrease in Newspaper readership 45% have experienced a decrease in Magazine readership 18% have experienced a decrease in Radio listenership 10

11 Decisionmakers Read News Online Over 90% of business decision makers use the Web to read general news and/or current events (Appendix xiii) More than twice as many use the Web to read general news and current events than for any other reason Read general news/current events Read financial news/stock lisings Research possible business related purchases Purchase business related products and services Research competitive companies Other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 11

12 Appendix Sample Characteristics & Detailed Findings

13 Defining the Business Decision Maker The following question was used to define a business decision maker for the purposes of this survey: Do you, personally and directly, participate in or influence the decision to purchase any of the following for your company? (Click all that apply. If you click one or more categories inadvertently, you can correct the error by simply re-clicking on any incorrect categories.) ASPs/Internet Access Services/Website Hosting Services Computer Software/Hardware Human Resource Services employee (full & part time) recruitment, benefit packages, insurance Legal Services Office Supplies, including paper, pens, etc. Telephone Services (local and/or long distance), including Internet access lines such as T-1 lines Business Consulting Services - corporate strategy, product development, market research Financial Services - commercial banking, accounting, investments, investment banking IT Technology Consulting Services - software programming, IT development Marketing Services - advertising, media Telephone Equipment (land-based and/or cellular) Travel Services - airline, lodging, train and car reservations; meetings and convention services None of the above* * Respondents who indicated they do not participate or influence purchase decisions were screened out of the survey. i

14 Purchasing Influence washingtonpost.com s BDMs are more likely to approve the purchase of technology related products and services than online BDMs This may result from washingtonpost.com s high concentration of coastal residents, with over half of readers residing in the techcentric South Atlantic or Pacific census divisions washingtonpost.com BDMs are less likely to approve the purchase of office supplies than online BDMs Web Access/ Hosting Svcs. Business Consulting Svcs. Financial Svcs. HR Svcs. IT Tech Consulting Svcs. Mktg Svcs. Office Supplies Tele Equip. Tele Svcs. Travel Svcs. Online BDMs 24.0% 21.0% 20.0% 22.2% 20.1% 21.3% 56.9% 27.1% 28.2% 26.8% WP.com BDMs 29.7% 23.9% 20.0% 26.3% 27.9% 23.8% 47.6% 27.3% 30.6% 32.3% ii

15 Organization Size washingtonpost.com s BDMs roughly approximate the average online BDMs in terms of organization size Both washingtonpost.com BDMs and online BDMs tend to work in either small or large organizations Less than 20% of online BDMs work in organizations with individuals < Online BDMs 26.5% 6.4% 6.3% 5.4% 11.5% 5.0% 4.5% 31.7% WP.com BDMs 27.1% 6.7% 5.9% 4.8% 13.2% 5.7% 4.9% 31.6% iii

16 Job Industry washingtonpost.com s BDMs are more likely to work in Computers and Technical industries than online BDMs This may result from washingtonpost.com s high concentration of coastal residents, with over half of readers residing in the techcentric South Atlantic or Pacific census divisions washingtonpost.com s BDMs are less likely to work in Retail or Labor industries than online BDMs Arts/Ent/ B'casting/ Publishing Auto/ Aero Computer Software/ Prog Labor/ Trade Edu Finance/ Banking Medical/ Health Care Gov t Manufacturing /Operations Retail/ Wholesale Telecom Online BDMs 3.0% 2.8% 3.1% 7.0% 7.2% 4.2% 7.4% 13.3% 5.5% 5.1% 2.0% WP.com BDMs 6.0% 2.0% 11.5% 1.8% 9.0% 4.2% 5.3% 11.5% 4.6% 2.7% 5.3% iv

17 If you were planning an advertising campaign to reach a business decision maker like yourself, which of the following media would you include? Internet TV Radio Newspapers Magazines Definitely include 36% 20% 12% 21% 25% Probably include 25% 13% 19% 26% 30% Might or might not include 14% 15% 18% 19% 14% Probably not include 6% 12% 13% 7% 6% Definitely not include 5% 16% 14% 8% 6% Don't know/refused 7% 8% 8% 7% 8% v

18 Please select the media you think apply to each of the following statements. You may choose as many or as few as you wish. Is where I prefer to find out about new products Has advertising I notice at work Has advertising that helps me decide what to buy Has advertising that is relevant to me Has advertising I remember for a long time Internet TV Radio Newspapers Magazines None of these Don't know/refused 65% 11% 6% 25% 35% 7% 3% 45% 3% 8% 18% 17% 30% 6% 40% 20% 14% 41% 38% 20% 4% 40% 35% 30% 54% 46% 13% 3% 17% 43% 18% 15% 22% 25% 6% vi

19 Please give your personal impressions about the nature of advertising you see on each of the following media. For each statement, please select the media you think apply. Where to receive information about products Where modern and up-to-date companies advertise Has advertising that is rich in information Has innovative advertising Has interesting advertising Where traditional companies advertise Internet TV Radio Newspapers Magazines None of these Don't know/refused 77% 7% 6% 23% 32% 4% 4% 72% 53% 28% 31% 58% 2% 5% 47% 8% 5% 29% 42% 15% 5% 43% 50% 13% 8% 23% 11% 8% 30% 54% 21% 16% 38% 13% 6% 20% 78% 49% 68% 58% 1% 5% vii

20 In the past year, which media s advertising has influenced you to make a purchase or obtain a service for your business? Frequency Percent Internet % Magazines % Newspapers % Television % Radio % None of these % viii

21 Thinking about an AVERAGE WEEKDAY, how much time do you spend with each of the following media? Internet Newspapers Magazines (excluding ) Radio TV < 15 minutes 24% 38% 3% 12% 7% minutes 30% 27% 10% 18% 10% minutes 23% 13% 21% 19% 19% 1-2 hours 10% 6% 24% 19% 27% 2-3 hours 3% 2% 15% 8% 17% 3-5 hours 1% 0% 9% 6% 8% > 5 hours 1% 1% 17% 9% 7% None 6% 6% 0% 4% 4% ix

22 Thinking about an AVERAGE WEEKEND DAY, how much time do you spend with each of the following media? Internet Newspapers Magazines (excluding ) Radio TV < 15 minutes 16% 29% 9% 21% 6% minutes 23% 25% 16% 20% 7% minutes 27% 17% 18% 14% 14% 1-2 hours 18% 10% 19% 12% 23% 2-3 hours 4% 3% 13% 8% 22% 3-5 hours 1% 1% 7% 6% 13% > 5 hours 1% 0% 7% 4% 8% None 7% 7% 5% 7% 4% x

23 Thinking about the NEXT 12 MONTHS, do you expect the frequency with which you use the Internet to: Frequency Percent Increase significantly 58 6% Increase somewhat % No change % Decrease somewhat 30 3% Decrease significantly 5 1% Don't know/refused 12 1% xi

24 As a result of your increased Internet use, how has your use of the following media changed? Watching TV: Frequency Percent Increased significantly 5 1% Increased somewhat 20 4% No change % Decreased somewhat % Decreased significantly % Don't know/refused 2 0% Reading Newspapers: Frequency Percent Increased significantly 10 2% Increased somewhat 36 7% No change % Decreased somewhat % Decreased significantly % Don't know/refused 2 0% Reading Magazines: Frequency Percent Increased significantly 6 1% Increased somewhat 29 5% No change % Decreased somewhat % Decreased significantly 91 17% Don't know/refused 4 1% Listening to the Radio: Frequency Percent Increased significantly 20 4% Increased somewhat 37 7% No change % Decreased somewhat 65 12% Decreased significantly 31 6% Don't know/refused 4 1% xii

25 Excluding , how do you use the Internet during the workday? Frequency Percent Reading general news/current events % Reading financial news/stock lisings % Researching possible business related purchases % Purchasing business related products and services % Researching competitive companies % Other % None of the above 22 2% xiii