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Study on the buyer profile in Asia Pacific. Review of the Budget, Authority, Need and purchase Timeframe (BANT) of the buying process. Where does online media is applicable?
Citation preview
© TechTarget
APAC Buyer Profile
Study 2013
Jon Panker, VP APAC
TechTarget is a global media company uniquely
positioned to help CDW drive better results
© TechTarget 2
About The Survey
3 © TechTarget
● Fielded April-May 2013
● Goal: To learn more about pre-purchase research habits
for:
- Understand the evolution of “BANT” over a sales cycle
● How do budgets/timelines evolve
● How is influence and decision-making set
- What changes are happening around use of different
venues and content for research
● Online vs. Events
● Impact of various marketing vehicles on decision making
- What works in terms of white papers in the process
● Content vs. brand affiliation
● Effective follow-up tactics
Respondent Demographics
4 © TechTarget
● Online survey
● Run across largest markets outside of North America with
statistically valid sample for:
- ANZ (147), India (269), China (234), ASEAN (194), Japan (214)
● Even mix by company size
- Roughly ½ from 500+ employee organizations
● More senior decision-making audience
- 60% IT manager+
- 30% IT specialists
- 10% line of business
© TechTarget
APAC Buyer Profile
Study
BANT is a moving target and can be a misleading way to
characterize the quality of a lead set
Budgets are not fixed from the outset and
mostly shift after research has progressed
© TechTarget 6
What does this
mean for you?
You can change
budget
expectations with
early researchers
Early on, budget is
a moving target –
Don’t take the initial
answer as the final
answer.
When did you set the initial budget parameters for the project?
17%
68%
5%
10%
11%
67%
8%
15%
18%
72%
10%
1%
13%
66%
9%
11%
16%
53%
12%
18%
Up front beforedoing anyresearch
After doingsome
preliminaryresearch into
the solution
After choosinga vendor
I do not know
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
From any initial estimate, a budget can change
significantly
© TechTarget 7
What does this
mean for you?
Don’t ignore leads
based on their
indicated budgets
(or company sizes)
because many
companies spend
more than they
originally planned
as they do research
and scope the
problem.
How would you characterize the development of the budget?
31%
48%
16%
5%
35%
24%
26%
15%
9%
62%
26%
3%
29%
41%
26%
4%
18%
28%
36%
18%
Spent morethan 20% overoriginal budget
Spent less than20% over
original budget
Spent less than20% under
original budget
Spent morethan 20%
under originalbudget
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Most purchase processes do not end in timeframe
expected (in both directions)
© TechTarget 8
What does this
mean for you?
Because purchasing
timelines are a
moving target, it is
hard to qualify leads
based on when they
say a project will
end
Look at a lead and
an account’s digital
footprint to see
when a purchase is
nearing.
In terms of the last project you were involved with (or projects
in general) are purchases made…
41%
10%
25%
4%
1%
20%
31%
16%
29%
4%
7%
13%
35%
12%
33%
6%
1%
15%
40%
27%
15%
4%
5%
11%
41%
22%
20%
2%
0%
15%
Within a pre-established timeline
More than 3 months later than originallyplanned
1-3 months later than originally planned
1-3 months faster than originally planned
More than 3 months faster than originallyplanned
We did not/typically do not set a timeline
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
The single-decision-maker scenario is rare
© TechTarget 9
What does this
mean for you?
Common
perceptions that
decisions are
hierarchical are
wrong.
Purchasing is done
in team.
Aim to identify and
influence all
buyers – every
participant you don’t
know is an
opportunity for a
competitor
In that last purchase you made, was the final vendor decision
based on…
22%
78%
14%
86%
25%
75%
10%
90%
16%
84%
One person's opinion The input of multiple people involvedin the research
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Technology specialists can kill a deal
© TechTarget 10
What does this
mean for you?
Specialists know
their technology
best and wield
more power than
you may have
thought.
Persona-based
Marketing: It is
important to have
content and media
designed
specifically for
in-the-trenches IT.
If your technology specialists (i.e. storage, security or
networking experts) feel negatively about a technology vendor
or its products, do they have the ability to veto making a
purchase from that particular provider?
63%
29%
7%
49%
42%
8%
25%
6%
51%
37%
12%
14%
5%
Often
On rare occassions
Never
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
69%
82%
Leads are more apt to share BANT data with
you after they have done significant research
© TechTarget 11
What does this
mean for you?
Attempting to collect
BANT data early in
the research process
presents pitfalls
Time your
telemarketing activity
to coincide with
when a lead is
further downstream
Are you likely to share with a technology vendor accurate
details about your company's purchasing plans, budgets and
your role in the buying process? (Select all that apply.)
2%
11%
7%
49%
62%
10%
22%
22%
41%
52%
19%
14%
21%
38%
55%
11%
16%
18%
46%
46%
4%
8%
8%
59%
36%
When a media/tele-marketing/analystcompany places a call to me before I've
downloaded any content
When a vendor places a call to me
When I download a vendor's whitepapersor other content
When I reach out to a vendor during theshort-listing process
Not until I am ready to make the purchaseand directly engage a vendor
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Key Takeaways: BANT and Data Collection
Strategies
12 © TechTarget
● Companies’ budgets and timelines for IT purchases are
seldom fixed. They are subject to significant sways as
researchers learn more about potential solutions.
● The decision-making team is large and subject to outside
influence.
- Purchasing authority is not centralized with an individual
- Specialists hold veto power
● Accurate BANT data is hard to collect regardless of how
you pursue it (by phone or online).
- Researchers are incredibly reluctant to be honest with
telemarketers (yours or a media company’s) before they
have started collecting information
© TechTarget
APAC Buyer Profile
Study
Maintaining an effective media mix that includes online is
essential to influencing IT buyers
ITDMs use events to work with existing vendors
or those they are already engaging with
© TechTarget 14
What does this
mean for you?
Events you host are
a good way to
engage your
installed base
Events are not an
effective way to
generate new
prospects
Think about the last face-to-face event you attended that a
technology vendor hosted. Was it a vendor you…
55%
30%
14%
41%
41%
18%
64%
29%
7%
49%
33%
18%
47%
38%
15%
Previously did business with or whosetechnology you currently use
Were familiar with but had neverpurchased from
Did not know before being invited to theevent
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
While important, few buyers make purchasing
decisions based solely on attending an event
© TechTarget 15
What does this
mean for you?
Events are an
important part of
the media mix but
should not be the
only – or even the
primary –
marketing activity
undertaken.
Have you ever made a major technology purchase based
solely on attending a face-to-face event without doing any
additional research to help support your decision?
11%
89%
28%
72%
30%
70%
19%
81%
7%
93%
Yes No
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
ITDMs commonly establish their short-lists
solely from online research
© TechTarget 16
What does this
mean for you?
Failure to push your
content online will
result in missed
pipeline
opportunities.
In your recent technology purchases how often have you
created a vendor short-list almost exclusively doing online
research?
39%
42%
18%
31%
55%
14%
23%
57%
20%
35%
45%
20%
7%
31%
62%
Often
Sometimes
Never
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
ANZ: What sources/venues impact your
purchasing
© TechTarget 17
What does this
mean for you?
Your installed base
is your best tool for
reference and add-
on revenue
When making a technology purchase, please rank the
following information sources in terms of how heavily they
influence your final vendor decision from 1=most significant
impact to 6=least impact.
45%
3%
6%
15%
14%
10%
11%
29%
18%
20%
7%
14%
10%
29%
28%
21%
2%
10%
5%
20%
22%
17%
8%
24%
17%
9%
14%
14%
14%
25%
8%
9%
6%
9%
52%
10%
Existing vendorrelationships
Online research
Face-to-face events
Peerrecommendations
Social media
Analyst firms
1 2 3 4 5 6ANZ
India: Online information carries a bit more
influence than events
© TechTarget 18
What does this
mean for you?
Your installed base
is your best tool for
reference and add-
on revenue
In a traditional
events focused
market, online is
now carrying a bit
more weight in
impacting
technology
decisions.
When making a technology purchase, please rank the
following information sources in terms of how heavily they
influence your final vendor decision from 1=most significant
impact to 6=least impact.
42%
15%
11%
10%
11%
7%
16%
26%
22%
18%
4%
12%
11%
19%
23%
21%
9%
14%
10%
18%
19%
28%
9%
12%
9%
11%
16%
14%
25%
22%
9%
9%
5%
5%
36%
29%
Existing vendorrelationships
Online research
Face-to-face events
Peerrecommendations
Social media
Analyst firms
1 2 3 4 5 6India
China: Online has caught up with events to be a
heavy influencer of buying decisions
© TechTarget 19
What does this
mean for you?
Your installed base
is your best tool for
reference and add-
on revenue
Widely viewed as
the least mature
APAC media
market, online is
virtually even with
events in terms of
impact.
When making a technology purchase, please rank the
following information sources in terms of how heavily they
influence your final vendor decision from 1=most significant
impact to 6=least impact.
52%
6%
11%
7%
13%
9%
12%
26%
22%
13%
8%
18%
9%
22%
27%
22%
10%
7%
6%
20%
20%
28%
6%
20%
7%
19%
11%
18%
19%
22%
11%
6%
6%
9%
41%
22%
Existing vendorrelationships
Online research
Face-to-face events
Peerrecommendations
Social media
Analyst firms
1 2 3 4 5 6China
ASEAN: Online now slightly outpaces events in
terms of affecting what technology is bought
© TechTarget 20
What does this
mean for you?
Your installed base
is your best tool for
reference and add-
on revenue
In a traditional
events focused
market, online is
now carrying a bit
more weight in
impacting
technology
decisions.
When making a technology purchase, please rank the
following information sources in terms of how heavily they
influence your final vendor decision from 1=most significant
impact to 6=least impact.
52%
11%
7%
5%
8%
13%
15%
23%
17%
21%
6%
14%
2%
25%
29%
22%
8%
10%
5%
23%
22%
28%
7%
12%
9%
10%
12%
17%
18%
28%
12%
4%
7%
3%
50%
20%
Existing vendorrelationships
Online research
Face-to-face events
Peerrecommendations
Social media
Analyst firms
1 2 3 4 5 6ASEAN
Japan: IT buyers are now relying more on the
Web to make smarter buying decisions
© TechTarget 21
What does this
mean for you?
Your installed base is
your best tool for
reference and add-on
revenue
In a traditional events
focused market,
online now trumps
events in impacting
technology decisions.
When making a technology purchase, please rank the
following information sources in terms of how heavily they
influence your final vendor decision from 1=most significant
impact to 6=least impact.
52%
15%
2%
12%
7%
9%
15%
26%
20%
21%
6%
11%
5%
20%
32%
23%
2%
18%
7%
26%
19%
19%
9%
19%
6%
7%
17%
17%
20%
31%
14%
4%
9%
6%
54%
11%
Existing vendorrelationships
Online research
Face-to-face events
Peerrecommendations
Social media
Analyst firms
1 2 3 4 5 6Japan
Heavy online activity occurs prior to making a
purchase
© TechTarget 22
What does this
mean for you?
You must make
your assets readily
available.
Stockpile as much
content as
possible and look
to publishers to fill
the gaps through
editorial content
sponsorships.
Before making a major technology purchase, how many online
content items (whitepapers, webinars, case studies) do you
typically download?
8%
16%
71%
3%
3%
9%
27%
55%
4%
4%
9%
25%
52%
6%
8%
10%
12%
66%
5%
6%
9%
9%
60%
12%
10%
More than 10
6-10
2-5
1
None
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Before making a tech purchase, buyers will
access a wide variety of information sources
© TechTarget 23
What does this
mean for you?
The variety of
interactions that
take place prior to a
purchase speaks to
the need for
maintaining a
proper media mix.
Which of the following did you and the members of the buying
team do before making your most recent purchase? (Select all
that apply)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Met face to face with the vendor
Spoke on the phone with the vendor
Visited the vendor's website
Did a Google search for the vendorson the short-list
Downloaded a whitepaper from thevendor
Attended a face-to-face event to meetwith the vendor
Discussed the vendor with my peers
Visited the vendor's social mediapages/subscribed to their feeds
None of these
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Don’t discount the importance of
Consultants/SIs in the research process
© TechTarget 24
What does this
mean for you?
Rethink your
marketing strategy
to include
consultants as
viable prospects in
a lead gen
campaign.
Generally speaking, do Consulting firms, Individual
Consultants, Systems Integrators have any impact on the
specific products/solutions/vendors you may choose to use?
67%
33%
78%
22%
90%
10%
81%
19%
48% 52%
Yes No
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
While typically not final decision-makers,
consultants are key influencers
© TechTarget 25
What role do Consulting firms/Individual Consultants/Systems
Integrators play in some of the large technology projects your
company has undertaken? (Select all that apply)
-10% 10% 30% 50%
Determine need for specificproducts/vendors/solutions
Specify/recommend specificproducts/vendors/solutions
Make final decision onproducts/vendors/solutions
Implement and deployproducts/solutions
Plan and design the project
We never enlist help fromconsultants/systems integrators for
technology projects
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Key Takeaways: Maintaining a Proper Media
Mix to Influence IT Buyers
26 © TechTarget
● While face-to-face conferences and seminars are good
ways to connect with buyers, people who show up at your
events are usually existing customers or those who are
already familiar with you and your solutions.
- Events are not a good way to identify new prospects.
● Events are one venue for influencing buyers, but they are
seldom buyers’ only place for gathering pre-purchase
information.
- It is common for short-listing to occur exclusively based on online
research.
- Many traditional events markets have seen buyers gravitate to
online as a more trusted information source
● Heavy online activity occurs prior to final purchasing
decisions.
© TechTarget
APAC Buyer Profile
Study
Whitepapers may lack sizzle, but they are effective at
influencing technology buyers
ITDMs use white papers as essential tools in
support of IT purchases
© TechTarget 28
What does this
mean for you?
In most cases,
whitepapers are
read in order to
support a
technology
purchase.
Marketers may feel
whitepapers are a
bit stale, but they
remain effective.
Think about the last technology whitepaper that you decided to
download. Which of the following most closely resembles the
main reason you chose to view the content?
22%
23%
42%
10%
3%
36%
22%
31%
7%
4%
35%
26%
30%
7%
3%
36%
18%
28%
10%
9%
16%
24%
35%
16%
9%
To gather information on atechnology purchase my
company had planned
To build a business casefor an unapproved
technology purchase or…
To learn more abouttrends in the market, even
if I didn't have an actual…
I read the whitepaper forfun/general education
I have not downloaded awhitepaper in the last 12
months
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Across all markets, 80%+
say whitepapers are
“useful” to supporting a
technology purchase.
Smart follow-up strategies will expose buyers
to additional content
© TechTarget 29
What does this
mean for you?
The best tactical
follow-up is to offer
more content,
specifically emailing
them multiple links
or pointing them to
a resource page
with multiple assets.
After you have downloaded a vendor's whitepaper if that
vendor were to send you a follow-up email, what type of
content would you most prefer it contain?
13%
29%
42%
7%
9%
12%
30%
19%
24%
15%
16%
26%
36%
9%
12%
21%
22%
18%
22%
18%
9%
15%
30%
14%
32%
A direct link to a single relevantwhitepaper
Multiple direct links to various whitepapershosted on the vendor's website
A link to a resource page hosting multiplerelevant whitepapers on the vendor's
website
A link to a product spec sheet
A link to a case study
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Majorities in each market
say their preferred vendor
follow-up is an email
pointing them to more
content.
Content-based nurturing is important to
establishing a relationship
© TechTarget 30
What does this
mean for you?
Following up a
single download
with telemarketing
activity is
ineffective.
Nurture before
contacting by
phone. Multiple
asset downloads
creates more
receptivity to calls.
When researching a technology purchase, how many
whitepapers from a particular vendor would you typically read
before you'd feel comfortable receiving a phone call directly
from that vendor?
7%
50%
11%
9%
24%
9%
53%
23%
11%
5%
11%
45%
27%
11%
7%
1%
61%
14%
11%
13%
10%
29%
11%
3%
47%
1
2-3
4-5
More than 5
I never want to receive a phone call
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
For whitepapers, relevancy and context trumps
vendor familiarity
© TechTarget 31
What does this
mean for you?
Even if you are not
well known, a
relevant
whitepaper will get
you noticed
Whitepapers are a
good way to
generate new
prospects.
When deciding whether to download a whitepaper, which of the
following is more important?
8%
92%
20%
80%
33%
67%
21%
79%
11%
89%
The paper was written or sponsoredby a vendor I already know
The paper is relevant to a project Iam working on
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
80% have downloaded a whitepaper from an
unknown vendor with relevant content
© TechTarget 32
What does this
mean for you?
Prospects not
familiar with you are
more apt to
download your
whitepapers than to
attend your events
Have you ever downloaded a whitepaper from a vendor you
weren't familiar with because the topic was relevant to a
project you are working on?
96%
4%
82%
18%
86%
14%
86%
14%
81%
19%
Yes No
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Earlier in the study we
learned that less than 20%
attend events hosted by
vendors they are unfamiliar
with.
If your content is not available, users will opt
for someone else’s
© TechTarget 33
What does this
mean for you?
Make it easy for
users to access
your content.
If your content is not
readily available,
the prospect will
likely turn to
material from
another provider.
If it is not easy to find whitepapers from a vendor you are
interested in, which of the following would you most likely do?
(Select all that apply)
66%
34%
43%
32%
3%
50%
47%
49%
36%
6%
46%
45%
46%
42%
28%
67%
34%
38%
56%
5%
64%
13%
31%
29%
0%
Download similarwhitepapers from another
vendor
Call your preferred vendorto ask for a whitepaper
Email your preferredvendor to ask for a
whitepaper
Contact yourreseller/technology partner
to request the preferred…
Contact the vendor to askfor a white paper
ANZ India China ASEAN Japan
Key Takeaways: Extracting Value From
Whitepapers
34 © TechTarget
● Almost everyone downloads whitepapers prior to making
a technology purchase.
- Whitepapers are widely seen as “useful.”
● Whitepapers are the best way to identify new prospects,
including those who might not already be familiar with
your company or its solutions.
● Content-based nurturing softens prospects so they’re
ready to take a phone call.
- Nearly all require 2+ downloads before they are comfortable
talking to a telemarketing rep.
● In determining what to download, content relevance
trumps vendor familiarity.
- Your content is more important than your brand.
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