1 Summary of 2012 SMPS National Technology Survey (n=319) RESPONDENT BACKGROUND 1. Firm s Primary Business Function: 29% Engineering 16% Architecture 14% Construction/Construction Management 6% Architecture/Engineering/Planning 5% Architecture/Engineering 5% Consulting 25% Other 2. Role in Firm: 28% Manager 20% Coordinator 15% Director 11% Chief Marketing Officer 9% Owner/Principal/President/Partner 17% Other 3. Where do you spend most of your time: 51% Marketing 35% Both Disciplines Equally 14% Business Development 4. Firm Size (based on FTEs in all offices): 40% Fewer than 50 23% 100-499 20% 500+ 16% 50-99
2 DESKTOP PUBLISHING 5. Which graphics/desktop publishing technologies are you using now? 85% Microsoft Office 79% Adobe Creative Suites (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) 63% Photoshop 61% InDesign 20% Microsoft Publisher 16% Dreamweaver 14% Flash 14% Google Sketchup CRM 6. Which CRM technologies are you using now? 35% Deltek Vision 20% Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet 15% None 13% Other 9% Cosential Enterprise 9% Microsoft Access 7. Do you plan to purchase a CRM in 2012? 61% No 21% Not sure 9% Yes 9% Upgrade to newer version of current system PHOTOS 8. Which photo technologies do you use now? 43% In-house stock photos 38% istock 23% Flickr 23% None 11% Getty 11% Shutterstock
3 SOCIAL MEDIA 9. Which social media technologies does your firm use now? 78% LinkedIn 53% Facebook 46% Twitter 29% Blogs 26% YouTube 15% None 10. How much time per week do you spend on social media for your firm? 58% 1-5 hours 36% 0 hours 4% 6-10 hours 11. Has the time you spend on social media increased in the last year? 50% Yes 26% No 25% I don t participate in social media for my firm 12. If you participate in social media for your firm, how do you measure ROI? Almost half of respondents are not measuring ROI. For the firms that are measuring ROI, the most popular responses were: Google analytics/web traffic, Facebook analytics, followers, visits, likes, responses/comments, leads/referrals for work, retweets, mentions, name recognition/brand awareness, recruitment, event attendance, and relationship building/strengthening. 13. Does your firm have a social media policy? 64% No 36% Yes 14. What apps are you using now that help you do your job better (and you can t live without)? Top responses included: none, Adobe, Office, LinkedIn, Evernote, Drop Box, Google Maps, Tweet Deck, Hoot Suite. 15. Do you purchase any of the following forms of online advertising related to social media? 20% Google ads 11% LinkedIn ads 4% Facebook ads 66% Other: Top response was none, followed by considering Google ads, online industry banner ads, print ads, Constant Contact, local ads that are project specific, and newspapers/magazines.
4 COLLABORATION 16. Which of these collaboration/file-sharing technologies are you using now (please check all that apply)? 43% BIM 39% Dropbox 35% Sharepoint 24% Google Docs 15% None 15% Other: Top responses included FTP, You Send It, and Sharefile 9% Evernote 17. What cloud-based collaboration tools are you using? 43% Other: Top responses were none, Google Docs, Sharepoint, and Egnyte 2 24% Basecamp 21% Box 7% Central Desktop 2% Smart Sheet PRESENTATION 18. Which of these presentation technologies are you using now (please check all that apply)? 97% PowerPoint 18% Prezi 8% Apple Keynote 4% Other: Top responses were InDesign, Interactive PDF, and old-fashioned printed boards 2% None TECHNOLOGY 19. Which of these handheld technologies are you using now (please check all that apply)? 66% iphone 40% ipad 35% Blackberry 34% Android 8% Kindle 7% Other Smartphone 5% None 4% Netbook 4% Other: Responses were other tablets and Nook
5 20. Name one technology product that every firm should have (something you use regularly that has improved your worklife). Top responses: Smartphone, iphone, ipad, Adobe CS products 21. What technology products do you plan to purchase this year? Top responses: ipad, None, CRM, Adobe, and iphone 22. If budget were no object, what one new tool/technology would you want this year? Top responses: ipad, CRM, Adobe 23. What new technology are you using that you think is unique to your industry, firm, or location? Top responses: Prezi, Adobe, Hubspot, Rivet, and Salesforce.com 24. Does your firm have a technology line item in the marketing budget/development budget? 82% No 18% Yes 25. If yes, what is included in that line item? Top responses: Software, computers, printer/scanner/copier, ipad, and smartphones 26. What is your 2012 technology budget? Top responses: Unknown, do not have one/na. Other responses ranged from $0 to $1.5 M. WEB SITE/CMS 27. Is your firm transitioning from a traditional HTML Web site to a content management system (CMS) Web site? 36% Yes 32% No 32% Don t know 28. If yes, to which CMS are you transitioning? 43% Wordpress 43% Other: Top responses were custom/proprietary, no answer, don t know, Concrete, Expression Engine, Modx, Hubspot 6% Joomla 5% Drupal 2% Squarespace
6 29. Is your firm s Web site designed/optimized for mobile devices? 45% No 32% Yes 23% Don t know METRICS 30. What marketing metrics are you currently tracking? 56% Win-to-loss ratio 50% Client satisfaction 46% Marketing expenditures 40% Internet: Hits/visits/page views 39% Revenue 30% CRM: Sales funnel/pipeline 29% Internet: Click-through rate 27% CRM: Sales potential forecast 26% Proposal cost vs. revenue generated 24% Referrals 24% Social media: hits/visits/page views 20% PR: media mentions 31. How do you measure the results of your marketing campaigns? Top responses: Client satisfaction, responses from clients, we don t, click thrus, hits/opens, whether or not we get the job, number of new leads, analytics software, # of new clients, and win/loss rate. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 32. What technology is important to your business development efforts? Top responses: CRM, Smartphone, Deltek, Cosential, LinkedIn, ipad, Internet, email, and iphone VIDEO 33. Do you use video to market your firm? 63% No 37% Yes 34. If yes, how do you incorporate video into your marketing efforts? Top responses: Internal/external presentations, Youtube, Web site, interviews, social media, emails, and Vimeo
7 35. What metrics do you measure in regards to video? 45% Comments 34% Starts 26% Completes 26% Other: Top responses were none or don t know 21% Number of referrals 18% Ad clicks COMMITTEE WORK 36. Several types of technology support a firm s marketing efforts. Which is most important to your firm? 37% Technology to promote our services 33% Technology to innovate our services 30% Technology to deliver/collaborate our services 37. Please choose up to 5 technology topics you would like to see the National Technology Committee address in support of your work as a professional services marketer/business developer: 56% Communication tools 56% Customer relationship management systems 53% Collaboration tools 51% Presentation software 51% Social media 47% Market research 42% Graphic design 35% Web site design 26% Desktop publishing 17% Imaging tools 38. Please provide any comments/suggestions regarding technology that you would like to share with the SMPS National Technology Committee. Provide more solutions for a Mac environment Demonstrate how firms are using technology to creatively make presentations to clients Bring in experts who can help us upgrade our usage of technology Provide recommendations on worthwhile technological expenditures Explain how to use social media to generate more revenue, win clients, generate positive press CRM selection assistance/information Technology workshops at National conference Ask the A/E/C client base what technologies they use and value? What do they want their consultants to use? Market research, BIM, CRM and integration of the three Trends CRM best practices How to teach technical staff to use technology How do small firms without staff or budget handle technology issues? Address the topic of technology by firm size