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Debunking The Myth:

The CIO of SMBHow do tech marketers pinpoint true decision makers in SMB?By understanding what denes an SMB and whos really calling the shots.

www.spiceworks.com/marketing

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For tech marketers, its an all too familiar story: Youre facedwith a staggering number of companies in the SMB space

and the daunting task of reaching every last one of them. Asa result, your company often goes to great lengths to ensure

theyre targeting SMBs.

There appears to be a common misstep in how companies havebeen carrying out their marketing approach: They assume that

reaching out to the CIOs of SMBs will do the trick. Sure, there are

a few exceptions, but when all is said and done, there are just notenough CIOs of SMBs to warrant spending time and resources on

a lengthy marketing campaign.

DEBUNKING THE MYTH: THE CIO OF SMB 1

$

What actually is an SMB? And who

manages their $800B annual IT wallet?

Since no two companies targeting SMBs dene them in the same

way, lets clear the air with a simple denition: SMBs are companies

having fewer than 1,000 employees. Simple as that! Spiceworks,

home to 2M IT pros, has a rm grasp on what that gure meanswhen it comes to purchasing power.

This leads us to a few global stats:

These 7Mare the IT decision makers who are purchasing tech for

SMB-size organizations. This means that IT decision makers manage

purchasing for over 197Memployees inside of 18Mcompaniesworldwide. Thats an estimated $800 billionyearly spent on IT and

some serious buying clout.

Where to begin? Wrapping your brain around the scale of the SMB

market is a great starting place for tackling your new marketinggame plan. So rst things rst: lets level set on what we mean by

organization size.

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DEBUNKING THE MYTH: THE CIO OF SMB2

The Home Offi ce Market

(1 to 10 employees)

Starring: Your Friendly Neighbor, Fred

At the lower end of the SMB market, we typically nd 1 to 10 employeesoften referred to as small offi ce/home offi ce (aka SOHO). These folks

tend to purchase products from mass retail outlets (Best Buy/Walmart)

or online retail stores (Dell.com/Amazon.com) and then often seek outhelp from IT-savvy friends or family members to set up and sometimes

maintain their computers/networks (Thanks, Fred!). MSPs and IT serviceproviders are playing in this space too and are providing expertise for a

number of companies just this size. These smallest-of-the-small usually

set a budget based on some driving event, such as a new employee orupgrading obsolete equipment at the last possible moment.

The S of the SMB Market

(10 to 250 employees)

Starring: The MSP & The IT Generalist

Picture your small neighborhood insurance offi ce or vet clinic. Theseare the typical small businesses that make up a large part of the

workforce around the globe, and where actual IT budgets (albeit small

ones!) start to take shape. Because they lack the buying power of largecompanies, theyre extra careful about the dollars they spend. Dont

look for a large IT department here these organizations usually only

employ between 1 to 5 full-time IT pros. Not surprisingly, MSPs andVARs play a large role in this segment by complementing technology

infrastructures or even running all of IT for them. That also goes for

purchasing. As a large number of products and services are acquiredthrough VARs/channel vendors, they trust these partners and have

cultivated very strong relationships with them.

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DEBUNKING THE MYTH: THE CIO OF SMB 3

The Large SMB Market

(501 to 1,000 employees)Starring: The VP of IT

The SMB bulls-eye: The fewest number of companies boasting thelargest IT budgets with IT organizations ranging from 5 to 20 people.

A VP of IT is not uncommon here but, as is the case in the medium

space, these VPs are known for getting their hands dirty alongsidetheir staff as they help put out IT res within their organization.

SMBs in this space are using VARs and DMRs almost exclusively andthis is where we start to see solution-driven IT deployments. These

IT departments have larger-scale needs that may require on-sitecontractors and special employees who set up/deploy systems and

move on to another large company opportunity.

The M of the SMB Market(250 to 500 employees)

Starring: The IT Guru

As smaller companies evolve into bigger players in their industry,they nd themselves working harder to compete in the medium

business space. With an average, rather sizable IT budget of over

$1M annually, these SMBs have staffed up with an IT departmentof 3 to 10 employees and sometimes even a VP of IT. They purchase

large amounts, if not all, of their products through VARs and DMRs. Byestablishing trust in these partners and building mutually benecial

relationships with them they are perfectly at ease asking their VAR repswhat products/brands they should purchase and they usually runwith those recommendations. It goes without saying: Trust is priceless

in the IT world (almost as priceless as understanding who the real IT

decision makers are).

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DEBUNKING THE MYTH: THE CIO OF SMB4

Home Offi ce Small Medium Large Large Enterprise

Owners, Offi ceManagers

Sys/NetworkAdmin, IT

Director

Sys/NetworkAdmin, IT

Director

Sys/NetworkAdmin, IT

Director, VP of IT,Team Leaders

CIO, VP of IT, ITDirector

People who keep the

business running.

Typically not IT-savvy.

Often the only IT

pro on staff. Highly

knowledgeable

and inuential in

purchasing.

Often one of very

few IT staff. Highly

knowledgeable

and inuential in

purchasing.

One of many IT

pros on staff with

inuence on large

purchases and

actively engaged in

tech solutions for

company.

Often hard-to-reach,

with gatekeepers

preventing sales

contact. Passes

off review and

consideration of

technology to junior

staff .

The Enterprise Market(Over 1,000 employees)

Starring: The CIO

This is where the big dogs play, and theyre easy to track down andnetwork with. Sadly, this is where most IT vendors focus their efforts,

leaving the IT pros of true SMBs largely ignored. No love for the little

guy! Yeah, the CIO is here (as is the CISO, CTO, etc.), but then these arenot SMBs by any measure. Not surprisingly, tech vendors work directly

with these heavy hitters to purchase products, negotiate price, servicelevels, etc.

A breakdown...

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DEBUNKING THE MYTH: THE CIO OF SMB 5

Whats a tech marketer to

do now?

Even as IT organizations grow (in staff andresponsibilities) the decision makers are

downstream where youd like your brand to be.Yes, the CEO, COO and sometimes the CIO are the

ones who write the check, but dont forget: While

the regular guys and gals in the IT department maynot have the power to say yes, they most certainly

do have the power to say no and are usually the

ones who shape the purchase discussion. Heres

what not to do: Focus on the CIO as the onlydecision maker and watch your sales plummet.

Worry not theres an easy x: Just pay attention

to the large number of voices and inuencers inthese IT departments when marketing and selling

tech products, services and solutions. Voila: tech

marketing at its nest! Through IT communities,tech conferences, and informative newsletters you

can connect with these key players, speak to the

C-Level suite, and make your marketing and salesefforts get more done.

What is a CIO? I am the IT guyfor our 250 person law rm inFlorida. Me and 2 other guysdecide what to buy.

- Kevin C., IT Pro

Most of us ARE decisionmakers or at least TELLthe decision makers what todecide. Thats how itworks here.

- Paul C., IT Pro

Marketing to the C-Suite isthe move of someone whoknows their product isntany good.

- Scott M., IT Pro

I think what so many vendorsfail to realize is that while I, asan IT professional, am not thedecision maker, I have twovery important roles: decisioninuencer and gatekeeper.If a vendor doesnt convince

me, they dont make it to thedecision maker and [I] canmake or break most IT decisions.

- Justin D., IT Pro

From the Spiceworks Community

IT decision makers sound off

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Whats my next move?

Were glad you asked! The next step is simple: Show ITpros who are in the trenches of their IT departmentsthat your company truly values the little guy. Because,

lets face it, they can make a tremendous impact on howsuccessful you are in the SMB space.

We see it over and over again: Tech marketers focus theirefforts on the big sh and bypass potential prospects

who actually call the purchasing shots. Frankly, the CIOs

of SMBs are few and far between. Should you comeupon a rare one, chances are theyll be heavily inuenced

by (or defer to) the IT staffers you just overlooked. Andyour competitor, who might know better, may just snagthe deal for themselves (ouch!).

Glossary

SMB- Small and Medium Size Businesses:Businesses with 1 to 1000 employees.

VAR- Value Added Reseller: Vendor of ITproducts that provides additional services,

sometimes complementary and often built

into contracts for larger purchases.

DMR- Direct Market Reseller: Also known asan e-tailer, is a company that sells directly to

businesses without operating a storefront of

any kind.

MSP - Managed Service Provider: Providesdelivery and management of network-

based services, applications, and equipment

to businesses.

CIO- Chief Information Offi cer:The person, typically in an enterprise,

responsible for the information

technology and computer systems that

support enterprise goals; also known as the

Chief Information Services Offi cer (CISO)

Visit us at spiceworks.com/marketing to learn more and understand how to optimize your IT marketing with IT buyers.

Spiceworks, as an IT management app and

a community of over 2M IT professionals,

provides a unique view, insight and path to

reaching more than 25% of the worlds SMBs.

Ready to talk to the true IT decision makers? Get

in touch with us at spiceworks.com/marketing

and well make sure youre quickly engaging withover 2M IT pros.