There is an odd juxtaposition currently at play in the marketing industry. On the one hand, it is clear that IT professionals are wielding greater influence over significant purchasing decisions within their organisations. At the same time, it has become evident that many vendors are coming up short with regards to effectively engaging this increasingly powerful community. A

As a result, both marketers and IT pros are missing out on what has the potential to be a mutually beneficial relationship. There are several key steps that marketers should follow in order to avoid falling onto the blacklists of those they are approaching and they are all centred around one overriding principle. Marketers cannot afford to perpetuate a ‘them and us’ mentality, instead, they must make every effort to become completely immersed in the communities that they want to reach.

Give the people what they want

The first priority for marketers must be to match their content with what their target audience wants to read. This may sound simple, but there is currently a significant disconnect between the two. When researching a new product, IT professionals want technical details more than anything else. They need to know immediately whether a product or service will meet their technical specifications and seamlessly integrate within their existing environment.

In fact, Spiceworks research shows that while 90% of IT pros find technical product specs useful, only 51% of marketers include them in their content, which makes it difficult for IT buyers to find the information they need. To avoid this scenario, marketers must tap into the expertise of their colleagues outside of their immediate department. Opening up the content to the developers and product specialists within a company can help elevate marketing collateral so that it resonates with IT buyers. This is a simple step but absolutely critical in delivering value because we know IT buyers will not spend their time rifling through pages of content that lack technical details, no matter how well it is written.

Meeting the IT pro on their own turf

Not only is it important for B2B marketers to create more detailed content relating to their products, it’s also essential to learn how to reach IT pros through the right channels. There has to be more recognition that the way IT buyers consume content is significantly different to business leaders.

For instance, before an IT buyer makes a purchasing decision, they typically spend much more time researching the product and gathering information via webinars, product reviews, online forums, and vendor websites. However, these channels aren’t always a priority for tech marketers. Instead, 87 percent of marketers are promoting their products via social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, even though only 25 percent of IT buyers are tuning into these channels when learning about new products. Ultimately, marketers will see a much bigger return if they put a greater emphasis on the channels IT pros are flocking to during the buying process.

Peer power

Fine tuning the content and channels you use to reach IT buyers should be priority number one, but another critical step in getting through to IT pros is giving a voice to their peers who can help influence the decision making process. IT pros are tasked with investing significant sums of money in new products and services that must directly improve business operations. Consequently, when making these decisions, buyers need to have the utmost confidence that the technology they’re purchasing is the right fit for their business. This is where their fellow IT professionals come in.

We know that 99% of IT buyers use product reviews during the decision-making process, but only 60% of marketers make them a priority. If marketing teams enable a product review functionality on their website or leverage third-party sites to invite more customer reviews, they can begin to generate advocacy for their products that is critical during the buying journey. Many worry about the risk of negative feedback, but providing real information from real people can be one of the most powerful tools in closing a deal.

Time for action

Regardless of your sector, technology is quickly becoming a key part of every business and as a result, the IT professional’s purchase influence is becoming integral to the decision making process. Brands that fail to recognise and take action against the shortfall of IT knowledge in their marketing department will likely see their prospects flock to competitors that provide what they’re looking for.

 

By John Webb, EMEA general manager at Spiceworks

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