What Sources Do IT Execs Trust?

3 08 2009

Where to IT Executives look for brand information when looking to make a technology decision?  There is an interesting survey done by PJA, and advertising and marketing agency, in late 2007.  PJA IT Social Media Index results.

Which Sources are Most Trusted

First, PJA found that when asked what sources of information they trust the most (ranked either #1 or #2 most trusted), IT executives chose:

  • 47% chose User-generated content (blogs, discussion groups, online communities, wikis)
  • 44% chose Vendor Web sites
  • 41% chose Trade magazines and editorial Web sites
  • 36% chose paid analyst research

Source:  MarketingCharts

A couple of observations

  • It’s interesting that UGM/CGM has surpassed the professional opinions of editorials and paid industry analysts.
  • It’s also interesting that vendor Web sites are still one of the most trusted sources of information.  Vendors should take this trust seriously.  Once lost, it can be difficult to impossible to regain.

What’s Missing Here

It seems odd that the advice of professional friends and peers is not on this list.  Most other surveys of this type suggest that advice of peers is the most trusted and  influential source of all.  In fact, the survey results go on to say that:

  • IT Decision Makers and Influencers spent the most time online per week with: Discussion Groups, Peer-to-Peer Networks, and Profiles/Social Networks (over things like blogs, wikis, podcasts)
  • More than half of IT Decision Makers and Influencers consider it important or valuable to reach out beyond personal contact to peers.

I’m guessing that the advice of peers and professional contacts was considered a separate category for some reason in the methodology of this survey.

Conclusions

  • The word of professional peers and industry contacts is very important in IT decision-making.
  • UGM/CGM has surpassed the traditional media (at least according to this survey).
  • Vendor sites are still trusted.  This makes it all the more important to keep the discussion factual and honest with minimal spin.

As always, it is important to “trust but verify.”  Check with your customers and customer prospects.  What do they trust?  What do they spend their time reading?


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Categories : Enterprise Marketing, Social Media Marketing

Who Are Your Customers Listening To?

21 07 2009

When your customers look to make a buying a decision, where do they go for their information on your product? Your Web site or somewhere else? There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that many of these information searches start with Google. So what sources are your customers using?

The 2009 Nielsen Global Media Survey summary published by NetworkWorld reported that:

  • 90% of Internet consumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know.

  • 70% of Internet consumers trust consumer opinions posted online.

  • 70% of Internet consumers also trusted brand Web sites.

This is good news and bad news for professionals who are marketing and selling technology products and services to enterprises.

Things are not as bad as some other articles would have you believe. Consumer Generated Media (CGM) is not the only source that customers trust anymore. The survey above is of all Internet consumers. It is reasonable to assume that enterprise technology consumers will be somewhat more conservative than the general population. This means that they have not discarded brand Web sites. The challenge for enterprise marketeers, is to win and keep their customers trust. That requires a marketing commitment to truthfulness, openness, and fact-based information.

The other inescapable trend here is that your customers are also look at other sources of information before they make a decision. It’s a clear case of “trust but verify” out there and nobody is more trusted than respected peers who have direct experience with the same technology and products. As early as 2004 Forrester Research reported that “Recommendations from other Consumers” was the most trusted form of advertising.

Download the full Nielsen Report including the Forrester Research survey results.

This presents yet another challenge for enterprise marketing professionals: How do you find out what information sources your customers and prospective customers are using and trusting?

Five Ways to Find Out Who Your Customers Are Listening To:

  1. Ask them every time you have a customer meeting or customer call.

  2. Ask them when you interact in online customer forums.

  3. Ask them every time you have a customer council. You do have customer councils don’t you?

  4. Ask them in an online survey. Two rules: a) Keep to a few very short questions , b) Give them an incentive to want to participate (opt-in)

  5. Travel to live events, conferences, trade shows, and forums and ask the attendees what information sources they trust

Suggestion: Track your results and keep a separate count for Current Customers and Prospective Customers. If there is a difference between the two groups, that will be critical to the success of your marketing plans.

Aside from knowing who your customers are and what their business problems are, this is probably the next most important thing a marketing professional can know.


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Categories : Enterprise Marketing, Marketing Plan, Social Media Marketing


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