a techtarget global marketer services white paper ... · continued to invest in well-known industry...

Print/events down— Online research up

Vendor websites essential for IT research

Research Habits for International IT Buyers

Early stage follow-up preference— Online vs. Phone

Key takeaways More in this series

Demographics/ About TechTarget

Understanding and Influencing the International IT Buyer

A TechTarget Global Marketer Services White Paper

Part Two: Shifting behaviors in international buyer research and engagement

www.techtarget.com/

www.techtarget.com/







About TechTargetTechTarget has offices in the US, UK, France, Australia,

Singapore and China and serves the IT community

through its globally focused tech market specific websites,

featuring 70+ localized websites for over ten different

international countries in seven different languages.

With extensive Global Marketer Services and rich local

capabilities, we help global technology marketers get to

market faster in all the regions they care about most.

About the SurveyThe survey was fielded in 2012 in English and, where

appropriate, in local language. We garnered a statistically

significant set of results in the world’s most important

international markets: UK, France, Germany, Benelux,

Italy, India, China, Japan, ASEAN, and Australia/New

Zealand. Each country’s survey received a minimum

of 140 responses. In total, we collected 750 European

respondents and 1,100 APAC respondents.

To receive the full report data, contact Renee Cormier.

International online marketing contains no shortage

of conventional wisdom, some of which is true and

some of which is not. To shed some data-illuminated

light on how IT buyers actually behave—as opposed

to how we may think they behave—each year TechTarget

fields an International IT Buyer Profile Survey. The

goal: to help technology marketers better understand

the unique composition and research preferences of

IT buyers across 10 different geographies. The results

reinforce some commonly-held marketing beliefs and

debunk others. TechTarget publishes this research in

its presentation at Online ROI summits and in this

four-part white paper series from our Global Marketer

Services group.

Part one: Common attributes of international IT buyers

Click here to view this report

Part two: Shifting behaviors in international buyer research and engagementPart Two of the series looks at the basic questions of:

• In countries traditionally known as “print-friendly”

or “preferring face-to-face”, what is the trend in

using these venues and online for purchasing

research?

• What environments do IT buyers most prefer to

interact and engage with content, messaging, and

solutions information from vendors?

When developing your prospects into customers, what

follow-up methods are buyers most receptive to

(and by implication, where might your marketing and

sales approach be missing the boat)?

Part three: Translation, localization and content

preferences

Part four: Engaging international buyers by phone

Helping marketers understand research behavior and preferences of international IT buyers


www.techtarget.com/

mailto:rcormier%40techtarget.com?subject=Understanding%20and%20Influencing%20the%20International%20IT%20Buyer-Part%202

http://www.techtarget.com/downloads/research/TechTarget_Global_Buyer_Part1.pdf







% of buyers spending less time using face-to-face for IT research

% of buyers spending less time using print for IT research

UK

Italy

Fran

ce

German

y

BEN

ELUX

31%

47%

41%

32%

22%

Australia

China

India

ASE

AN

Japa

n

24%

24%

15%

24%

26%

UK

Italy

Fran

ce

German

y

BEN

ELUX

47%

44%

44%

45%

30%

Australia

China

India

ASE

AN

Japa

n

35%

33%

17%

40%

29%

Much of the conventional wisdom in media centers on

country biases towards print or face-to-face interactions.

Certainly these preferences exist between countries

based on the availability of the media. However, the

more interesting question for forward-looking marketers

is how is this behavior changing and how to get ahead of

competitors by adopting media to where the buyers are

going, not where they have been.

To understand this, we asked technology buyers

where they are devoting more and less of their IT buying

research time. In all countries the data points to a

DECLINE in time spent with print publications and events

as research venues. While trends for individual countries

are worth examining, it was clear that across Europe, buyers

are attending fewer events for research and China and

Japan are sticking with events more than other countries.

When asked where users are spending MORE time

for IT research, all countries noted an increase in online.

The increase in time spent researching online outpaces

face-to-face events or print increases by a 2:1 margin.

The largest increases come from France (47%) and

China (42%).

What does this mean for you?Shift in-country budgets to online Many in-country marketing teams have continued to invest in well-known industry events and print brands even as these entities role in buying research has steeply declined. Local providers without strong online properties reinforce this perception. However, this data shows the landscape is changing underneath them (as it did in the US in the past decade). To be more effective, even country budgets should shift towards online outlets to keep pace with IT buyer media consumption.

Equip local marketers with the right training and tools This movement requires serious effort in terms of training and tools for local marketers.

•Your organization will need to ensure that local marketing teams understand pros/cons and best practices of online marketing. It is likely they’ve had little online experience.

•These teams may have fewer translated assets to work with and are probably not sure of what English language assets they CAN use. Clarifying the full list of assets that are available and pointing out that English assets can be useful in non-English countries are good first steps.

•As teams get further, they need to recognize not all online leads are sales ready and they need at least a simple system for nurturing online prospects (e.g. email recommendations for additional assets).

Print, events decline in favor of online research

International IT buyers spending less time using print and face-to-face events for IT researchThere has been a significant decline in print and face-to-face event usage over last 2-3 years in the majority of countries across EMEA and APAC


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Hot Warm Cold

Spending more time...

IT vendor websites

Email communications

Phone communications

Face-to-face meetings

UK

31%

18%

11%

14%

IT

46%

30%

17%

20%

FR

28%

21%

16%

24%

DE

32%

21%

9%

23%

BEN

29%

23%

11%

17%

ANZ

35%

25%

17%

20%

IN

39%

35%

29%

31%

China

53%

42%

46%

45%

ASEAN

29%

30%

25%

24%

JP

30%

19%

11%

13%

The first section of this research showcases how buyers

engage with media, but how do they want to engage with

solution providers? While the conclusions in this section

are not radical, they fly in the face of the international

sales culture of making phone calls to those high up in

organizations. If this research proves anything, it is that

international IT buyers want their communications from

vendors to come in a very different way.

When it comes to getting content and researching

solutions from vendors, buyers are increasingly turning

to vendor websites to obtain this essential information.

Across all countries, vendor websites are the #1 focus

for buyers with between 28% and 53% reporting an

increase in time spent researching on solution providers’

sites during the purchase process.

With preferences for face-to-face or other forms of

contact with vendors, marketers should look more closely

at the data country-by-country, as it varies. For example,

in China, buyers are increasing the time spent interacting

with vendors in all communication areas. Meanwhile,

UK and Japanese buyers are sharply decreasing the time

spent on all activities beyond vendor site interactions.

What does this mean for you?IT vendors must acknowledge that buyers have now assumed control of the buying process. According to the most recent TechTarget Media Consumption report, less than ¼ of buyers in EMEA and less than half of buyers in APAC indicated that they require sales interaction prior to creating vendor short-lists.

Make sure your website is equipped to help buyers make decisions With potential prospects finding information, researching solutions, and short-listing partners with little to no contact with you, managing a user’s experience with your own website is more important than ever before. Marketers must ensure their websites are equipped to meet the needs of buyers across the globe and know that this is a place IT buyers will come to in order to learn product specifics to help them make their decision.

Localized website content is a must Make sure the answers to their questions are easy to find or you risk losing opportunities to capture and cultivate prospective customers. Vendors should also make international iterations of the site accessible and ensure local content is produced and highlighted.

Vendor websites becoming more essential for IT buyer research

IT buyers across all regions want to engage vendors on their sitesThey increasingly use vendor websites to research solutions, download content, and interact with vendors. Other engagement preferences vary by country.


www.techtarget.com/

http://www.techtarget.com/downloads/research/MediaConsumption-12-2012.pdf







Change in receptivity to a phone call from 2011 to 2012

APAC

-43%

-9%

Preference for follow-up in Awareness stage

VS.

Email

71%

73%

Phone

12%

11%

Preference for follow-upin Consideration stage

VS.

Email

32%

27%

Phone

25%

29%

EMEA

Buyer’s preferences for interacting with IT vendors

change throughout the buy cycle. Email and online

interactions are overwhelmingly the preferred method

during the early stages of their research across all

regions, but taper off as the preferred method as the

user advances through the buy cycle, particularly in

APAC. Buyers are not receptive phone follow-up in

early stages of the cycle. In fact, the majority of buyers

in both EMEA and APAC only indicate a preference for

phone calls in the Awareness stage between 5%–19%

of the time. Chinese buyers (23%) have the highest

threshold for early stage calls, while Japanese buyers

(3%) have almost no tolerance for early stage calls at all.

Survey respondents indicated that outbound calls

to IT buyers must be timed just right to be effective;

phone receptivity peaks during the ‘shortlisting’ phase

of the research process and buyers prefer a mix of

online and phone follow-up as they get closer to a final

decision.

What does this mean for you?Online campaigns featuring awareness level content—introducing the IT issue at hand and outlining the landscape of options—is a must. This is where users begin their IT purchase journey and having your message there for them, along with content that speaks to users in this stage of the buy cycle is critical.

Outbound calling strategies should focus on contacting leads after there has been some downstage indicators—after the lead has engaged with your content multiple times or has downloaded a later stage asset for example. This will yield better results from your telemarketing teams and serve the user’s desire to speak to someone once they have conducted a little of their own research to understand the scope of the issues they are facing.

Buyers favor online follow-up vs. phone calls early in buy cycle

IT buyers not answering the callBuyers mainly prefer online communication from vendors, especially earlier in the buy cycle. Receptivity to phone follow-up has declined dramatically in most markets.

Early stage follow-up preference—Online vs. phone

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What does this mean for you?Understanding and acknowledging that buyer-seller interactions are moving more and more online will help you develop a more informed framework and create deeper engagement with your international content marketing programs. For continued success and better synergies with your regional teams, it is imperative to pay close attention to localization as it relates to your website and content, as well as marketing and follow-up tactics.

Key Takeaways

Buyers doing majority of purchase research online

Over the past two years, usage of online as a preferred

research “place” for IT purchases has grown, while

the use of print and events has generally declined.

Distribution of marketing budgets should fit this

transition.

Face-to-face communication preferences vary by country

Not every market has abandoned face-to-face contact

at the same rate. In places like China, facilitating face-

to-face contact remains important but should be right-

sized to match buyers’ quick movement to the Web.

Buyers want to engage vendors on their sites

Vendor websites are the preferred platform for

interacting with technology providers. Content must

be available and easy to find for all regions.

Buyers have low threshold for phone follow-up in early stages

Be mindful of when to call your prospects. Online

follow-up is preferred early in the buy cycle while

receptivity to phone follow-up is very low. Phone

follow-up becomes more effective when prospects

are in later stages and have already engaged with

your online messaging and content.

Buyers doing majority of purchase research online

Key takeaways

www.techtarget.com/







Part four provides insight into telemarketing and the

effectiveness of phone-based offerings, answering the

following questions:

• When, if ever, are researchers receptive to receiving

phone calls from IT vendors?

• How does the willingness to field a call vary based

on a user’s research stage or country?

• How accurate is the data telemarketers collect

about a company’s purchasing timeline and budget?

Part one of the series—Common attributes of

international IT buyers—focuses on who you are

marketing to. The research provides a profile of the

International IT Buyer by addressing the following

questions that have implications for your go-to-market

strategies:

• Do international buyers have specialized or more

general roles within their companies?

• Is there a “single buyer” at each organization that

you should aim to reach?

• How many projects does each buyer and buying

team research in any given quarter?

• What role does the IT manager play in conducting

pre-purchasing research on the Web?

Part three addresses the types of content that resonate

best from market to market, answering the following

questions:

• How important is localized content? Does its

importance differ by market?

• How critical is translated content, especially in

countries where many researchers are comfortable

with English?

• How much progress can marketers make

repurposing English language content for

international campaigns?

• Which content assets do users find most valuable:

whitepapers, case studies, trial downloads?

More in this series

More in this series

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Company size EMEA APAC

< 100 38% 28%

100 to 1,000 26% 36%

> 1,000 36% 36%

Job title EMEA APAC

IT management (manager IS/IT) 16% 17%

Consultant/systems integrator 14% 6%

IT staff 11% 15%

Project management 7% 5%

Senior IT management 6% 6%(CIO/CTO/VP/director)

Systems management/ 6% 7%administration

Programmer/developer 6% 9%

Network management/ 5% 8%administration

Architect 4% 3%

Senior non-IT management 3% 2%(CEO,CFO,VP,director)

Analyst 3% 5%

Application manager 2% 2%

Database administrator 2% 3%

Privacy officer 1% 0%

Telecommunications manager 1% 0%

Other 14% 11%

About TechTarget

TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) is the online intersection

of serious technology buyers, targeted technical content

and technology providers worldwide. Our extensive

network of online and social media, powered by

TechTarget’s Activity Intelligence™ platform, redefines

how technology marketers view and engage technology

buyers based on their active projects, specific technical

priorities and business needs. With more than 100

technology-specific websites and a wide selection of

custom branding and lead generation solutions,

TechTarget delivers unparalleled reach, innovative

opportunities, and extensive Global Marketer Services

to drive technology marketing success around the world.

TechTarget has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Boston,

Cincinnati, London, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore

and Sydney.

To learn how you can engage with serious technology

buyers worldwide, visit techtarget.com and follow us

@TechTarget.

To recieve the full report data, contact Renee Cormier.

Global study demographics


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