Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Randy Perry

IDC VP Business Value

Strategy

http://www.idc.com

Tom Pisello

Alinean Chairman &

Founder

http://www.alinean.com

The Right Topics, Sources and Formats –

5 Ways to Drive Sales & Marketing Success

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Agenda

1) Latest IDC Research on Today’s IT Buyers

2) What the research reveals about Sales & Marketing

Success

3) Top 5 Tips for Sales & Marketing Success

4) Next Step Recommendations

2

W W W . I D C . C O M / G M S © 2011 IDC

Source and Relevancy Are Important!

3

Q. For your technology buying process, which of the following is more important to you? The

source of the information, the topic of information, or the format in which you receive the

information?

0 10 20 30 40 50

Format

Topic

Source

Distribution of a pool of 100 points

n=339

Source: e.g., Vendor , press, independent authority, peers

Topic: e.g., Vendor assessment, ROI data, industry trends, product functionality, case study, white paper you might read

Delivery format: e.g., a webcast you might listen to or a conference you might attend

W W W . I D C . C O M / G M S © 2011 IDC

Tip #1: The Right Source

4

Q. How valuable are each of the following sources of information in assisting you with your

information technology purchase decisions?

0 2 4 6 8 10

Journalists/Press/Media

Vendors

IT and Business Consultants

Independent Analysts/Researchers

Peers

Scale of 1 to 10

(1=“not at all valuable”; 10=“very valuable”.

All are strong –

a mix is best

Source: e.g., Vendor , press, independent authority, peers

Topic: e.g., Vendor assessment, ROI data, industry trends, product functionality, case study, white paper you might read

Delivery format: e.g., a webcast you might listen to or a conference you might attend

W W W . I D C . C O M / G M S © 2011 IDC

Tip #2: Relevant Vendor Content Is Valued

5

Q. As part of your pre-purchase IT product or solution-related activities, please indicate the

relative importance of the following on your decision-making process by using a pool of 100

points.

0 10 20 30 40

Other

Interaction with vendors' corporate executives (e.g., CEO, COO)

Interaction with sales representatives

Interaction with vendors' technical teams (e.g., engineers, CTO)

Consumption of vendor content*

Distribution of a pool of 100 points

n=339

* Vendor Content: e.g., Collateral, white papers, case studies, webcasts, product information, other information available on their

web site

W W W . I D C . C O M / G M S © 2011 IDC

Tip #3: Right Topic at Right Time

6

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

General

Education

Business Case

Developmen

Implementation

Scenarios

Shortlist

Creation

Final Decisions Post Purchase

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of R

esp

on

de

nts

Podcasts

(Downloadable)

Audio

(Listen Online)

Video

(View Online)

Webcast

(Participate Online)

Documents

(View Online)

Documents

(Downloadable)

Interactive Tools

(Calculators Etc.)

Interactive Games

(Competitions, Contests)

Format

Source: 2011

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Tip #3: Right Topic at Right Time

7

Source: Alinean

W W W . I D C . C O M / G M S © 2011 IDC

Tip #4: Right Delivery Medium

8

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Tip #5: Business Value Messaging Essential Bridges the Sales Effectiveness Divide

…Enhancing

your existing

Sales

Processes

Assessment Tools

ROI white papers

ROI Tools

Case studies

9

Show me

the value

90% of businesses require a

business case

81% expect their vendors to

supply the case; but…

85% doubt vendor claims

unless there is a 3rd party

Customer 3.0

Best solution

value to meet

your IT & business

objectives with

fastest ROI

Sales Rep 3.0

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC 10

Provides an objective assessment of specific IT investment

options to help buyers decide…

When to buy new technology

Which technology to buy

Standardized vs. Best of breed

Outsourcing

Prioritization of IT initiatives IT Convergence

Cloud

Big Data

Social Business

Green Technology

When Does Business Value Messaging Influence Technology Purchase Decisions

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC 12

Why Dynamic White Papers?

Infuse white papers with relevance, personalization and one to

one communication

Multiplies the value of a white paper – now it is valuable in both the

discovery phase and decision phase of the buying decision cycle

Pivot points make a white paper personalized and interactive

In addition to financial factors..

Industry, location, size, maturity, pain points etc. which

means…

Integrate with Lead Management systems such as Eloqua,

MarketFirst and Salesforce.com, collecting and passing key contact

and profile information on to your sales team

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC 13

Dynamic White Papers: How they work

1. Users read an abstract of the whitepaper online and click to

“Personalize the Whitepaper”

2. Users complete 5-10 personalization questions

3. Answers are used to customize the white paper industry or location-specific content, financial/ROI type variables,

benefit statements, and/or other dynamic analysis results

4. Users click the “Download” button and complete registration

to download their personalized White Paper

5. The “Return” access feature allows users to revisit their

White Paper at a later date and modify their input and as

needed

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC 14

Dynamic White Paper

Allow your customers and prospects to create their own

customized version of your IDC White Paper, tailored to their

inputs.

Ask a few questions up front…

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC 15

Dynamic White Paper

And turn this…

Into this!

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Top 5 Ways to Drive Sales & Marketing Success

1. Relevant Vendor Content is Highly Valued

2. Right Source

3. Right Topic and Timing

4. Right Medium

5. Business Value Messaging Essential

16

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Questions?

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Next Steps

http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com

Ask the ROI Guy FAQ

http://www.alinean.com/faq/

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId

=IDC_P6958

Oct-11 © 2011 IDC

Thank You!