2Source: Accenture Technology Vision 2014; http://www.accenture.com/microsites/ittechnology-trends-2014/Pages/tech-vision-report.aspx
A huge shift is under way. Boundaries are blurring in many dimensions — not just between IT leaders and their business colleagues... IT strategy and business strategy are no longer
separate; they have become inseparable.
Why the Tech Committee matters?
3
ITDMMultiple titles with:• Budget• Purchase authority• Influence
OperationsFinanceSalesMarketing HR
Who was the Tech Committee?
4
Who is the Tech Committee?
OperationsFinanceSalesMarketing ITDM HR
Now all possess budget, purchase authority, and influence in tech buying
5
Buying decisions are made by a broader group than IT
95% of the Tech Committee use social networks for business
More likely to engage with vendors on LinkedIn than other networks
Understanding the Tech Committee on Social
6Source: Gartner analyst Laura McLellan , VP Research, Gartner; http://my.gartner.com/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=202&mode=2&PageID=5553&resId=1871515&ref=Webinar-Calendar
By 2017 the CMO will spend more on IT than the CIO
Why the Tech Committee matters?
We build
relationships between brands and the world’s
professionals to make them both more successful.
88
EARNEDTrust + Credibility
m u s t b e
APAC, N=565
9
We surveyed over 2,300 Tech Committee members globally
But how do you earn TRUST with the Tech Committee?
* LOCAL LANGUAGE / LinkedIn Survey and Internal Data: Q2 2014
Germany, N=203France*, N=202
The Netherlands, N=204Canada, N=152US, N=404
UK, N=204
BRAZIL*, N=155
Australia, N=104
India, N=202Hong Kong, N=155Singapore, N=104
MIDDLE EAST
Saudi Arabia, N=155UAE, N=154
N. AMERICA EMEA
APAC
10
The Growing Tech CommitteeWho are they and how do you engage them?
The Power of Education without BiasIf you’re talking about yourself, you’re doing it wrong
The Expertise You Don’t Know You HaveThe definition of an expert is broader than you think
Nurture, don’t Disrupt Gating content too early and too often is counter-productive
Overview
The GrowingTech Committee
12
The Tech Committee: rapidly growing and influential
10+ millionglobal LinkedIn members who influence Tech decisions across departments and seniorities
Growing 1.25x faster than general
member growth
13
1.7M+ Tech Committee members in APAC
2x as active on desktop in the feed than members1
2x as active in groups than members1
25% more active on mobile than members1
1LinkedIn Internal Data – 4/1/2014 through 4/30/2014
And what type of IT products and services does your company plan to acquire in the next 12 months?
58%
48%
37%
32%
42%
90% in Market
25%9 in 10 are in market for an IT solution in the next 12 months
Top IT products and services the Tech Committee are in-market for:
15How frequently do you visit each of the following sources to get IT related news and information?
They’re hungry for IT news and information on social
Visit Google+Visit Facebook Visit TwitterVisit LinkedIn
46%58% 35%81%
89% use social media for IT News and Information each month
16
% content from each source very or extremely trustworthyAPAC: They trust content on LinkedIn more than any other source
How frequently do you visit each of the following sources to get IT related news and information? How trustworthy do you feel the content you see from each of the below sources is?
Visitation │ High Medium Low
54%
44%
37%
32% 31% 30%
23%
16%
The Power of Education without Bias
of the Tech Committee require education to sustain or make a change to their IT ecosystem
83%
18How significant is the role education plays in the following types of decisions undertaken by your organization?
19
More likely to consider an IT vendor who educates me through
each stage of the decision process
61%Educating throughout the purchase funnel makes generating leads more effective
20
Education with broad-themed, non branded content is preferred
47%
50%
52%Most interested in non-branded / non-sales focused content
More likely to consider an IT vendor who publishes content about my industry and topics of interest
More favorable toward an IT vendor who publishes content about my industry and topics of interest
21
Start with content about general industry topics, prioritized for your audience
Author or promote expert content on the direction and use of your industry’s products
Promote branded user reviews and case studies to drive consideration and selection of your company
1
3
2
Three types of education
22
Top types of information sought in each stage of IT decision-making process:
Earn more interest with a variety of content
* Based on 2013 comScore IT Committee Research. Global data.
AWARENESS SCOPE PLAN SELECT IMPLEMENT
IT industry news / strategy info
Best practices, how-to’s, checklists
Product / solution demo / software trial
Diagnostic / assessment tools
1
3
2
3
The Expertise You Don’t Know You Have
24
Not necessarily on title or connections
APAC: Expertise is based on references from others
4%
9%
13%
13%
21%
39%
52%
54%
73%References from coworkers and other professionals in their field
Has a (on average) 8.3 years of experience
Published author or presenter in their field
Manages a team
Third Party scores (Klout, Kred, PeerIndex, etc.)
Has a Master's Degree or higher
Is a vice president or more senior
Has 500 or more connections on LinkedIn
Other (Please specify)
When you think of a technology subject matter expert (SME), what is the first thing that comes to mind?Below you see some additional qualities a subject matter expert may have. Please select all the attributes below that are required to be a technology SME.
% Who Believe Each Statement Defines an Expert
Expertise can help drive the bottom line
35%Are more likely to buy from vendors who have experts
publishing on LinkedIn
Experts
26
Utilize the expertise in your organization to earn trustOn the world’s largest professional publishing platform
Nurture, don’t Disrupt
of those surveyed provide fake information when they complete a
lead capture form
52%
28A Lead Capture for is a technique used by companies to collect contact information, usually when someone downloads a piece of information the company has published or a webinar they have held. Is the information you provide on Lead Capture forms truthful?
How many of you have had Mickey Mouse download your
content?
29
are less likely to consider a vendor who
gates the FIRST piece of content
33%
Gating content too early or too often decreases consideration
65%
are less likely to consider a vendor who
gates ALL content
IT Committee Members actively looking for an enterprise IT Solution (in-market)
30
Nurturing leads through content is vital because most are not ready to talk to sales
of content before they are ready to talk to a sales rep.
5 pieces
The average IT Committee member needs to
consume
31
Earn trust with broad-based content that goes beyond your brand’s self-interests
Focus on educating prospective customers in the short-term to generate higher quality leads in the long-run
Leverage your employees and company specialists as experts
Incorporate an “always on” content strategy with a variety of content – gated and un-gated
Marketer Implications