CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

2016
Generating Relationships over Leads
with marketing and sales alignment

Purpose and Methodology

1
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

3
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

Product Information the Most Relied Upon Overall

2014

Product testing/reviews/opinions
Product demo/product literature
Technology news
How-to content/information
Case studies
Vendor presentations
Analyst research
Feature article about technologies
Peer presentations
Feature article about trends, strategies, management
Interviews with technology experts
Discussions in forums/online communities/social media
ROI tool, calculator, or other assessment tool
Third-party market research
Buyer's guides
Opinion columns
Vendor directories

83%
83%
77%
74%
74%
73%
73%
69%
68%
66%
66%
65%
65%
65%
64%
57%
52%

87%

83%

81%

71%

75%

73%

76%

75%

70%

10

70%

13

65%

11

68%

12

68%

14

63%

15

56%

Q. For each stage of the purchase process for major enterprise IT products and services, which of the following types of information or content
do you rely on most? (Net any stage, not involved excluded)

4
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

Valuable Content Encourages Additional Research

72%

Research product
Visit vendor web site or contact
vendor for more information

68%

Forward the content to

friends or colleagues

49%
48%

Participate in a product demo

Register to receive related
content, if applicable

46%

Add vendor to your short list

or consideration set

45%
37%

Purchase product

Search the vendor

via social sites
Link to the content in a blog
post or a post on a social network
Comment on the content

29%
22%
21%

EXEC IT

IT MGMT

IT PRO

BIZ MGMT

74%

78%

69%

60%

70%

72%

60%

65%

50%

57%

43%

47%

51%

50%

40%

40%

49%

46%

34%

46%

49%

38%

36%

42%

44%

28%

25%

25%

32%

25%

23%

27%

25%

18%

21%

17%

21%

25%

19%

16%

Q. Which of the following actions have you taken in the last three months as a result of finding content from a vendor that is valuable/helpful?

5
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

Lack of Credible Information is a Challenge

Not at all
challenging 2%

Extremely
challenging 4%

Not very
challenging

18%

26%

Very
challenging

50%
Somewhat
challenging

Too much marketing hype/empty

buzzwords

51%

Lack of truly independent, unbiased

information

50%

Information is too general

37%

Hesitant to download because I don't

want the sales follow-up

36%

Too time consuming to figure out if

source is reliable, trustworthy

33%

Incomplete or inconsistent technical info

31%

Lack of relevant information

20%

Q. Generally speaking, how challenging do you feel it is to locate enough high-quality, trusted information on major enterprise IT products and
services to make an informed purchase decision with which you are comfortable? AND Q. What makes it challenging to find enough highquality, trusted information on major enterprise IT products and services?

6
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

What Drives Registration is Changing over Time

Access to content that can help me make more informed buying decisions
Access to research-based content
Opportunity to win giveaways
Access to content from respected thought leaders or industry experts
Access to recent, exclusive content I cant get anywhere else
Recommendation from a friend or colleague

19%

Ability to store or download content

Opportunity to save money

25%

Access to virtual events

The ability to network with peers

Opportunity to receive relevant, targeted offers
Access to videos

19%

16%
14%
15%

38%
41%
36%
34%
36%
33%

47%

30%

25%
25%

13%

Access to infographics
Association with a well-known media brand or journalist

23%
26%

14%

Association with a well-known brand or company

Access to personalized information/content

39%
39%

28%

53%
48%
50%
54%

24%
22%
20%

20%
19%

2016
2014

Q. What generally drives your interest in registering to access information, content, events or tools? AND Q. Have you registered online (i.e.,
provided your name, title, address, email, etc.) to receive information (white papers, case studies, webinars, product specifications/pricing,
product demos and the like) related to a specific enterprise technology solution in the past 6 months?

7
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

Lead Nurturing is Imperative

Additional information on the specific

content topic for which you registered

62%

Demonstrated awareness of/

knowledge of your business/industry

45%

General Information regarding

vendor products/software

43%

Information on upcoming
vendor events

36%
32%

Short introduction to the company

Sales representative contact list
An invitation to set up an in-person meeting
Sales pitch regarding the specific
content/topic I registered for

22%
20%
16%

EXEC
IT

MIDLEVE
L IT

IT
PRO

BIZ
MGM
T

62%

64%

60%

67%

48%

45%

36%

46%

43%

42%

46%

44%

38%

37%

36%

24%

31%

26%

31%

42%

24%

23%

18%

14%

23%

14%

17%

12%

17%

14%

16%

11%

Q. After registering for a piece of content you will typically receive a follow-up communication from the sponsoring
vendor. In order for that communication to be most useful to you, what information should it include?

8
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

Video Product Reviews Essential During Many Stages

Determine business
need

Determine technical
requirements

Evaluate products/
services

Recommend and
select vendors

Sell
internally

Approve/
Authorize

(NET) ANY

72%

77%

84%

68%

45%

41%

Tech news reports/Live

coverage of news events

30%

26%

33%

24%

10%

12%

Industry research tech analyst reports

30%

33%

40%

24%

11%

13%

Webcasts/Web shows

29%

30%

41%

23%

11%

11%

Interviews with industry experts

28%

26%

35%

24%

10%

12%

First-look product overviews

25%

22%

36%

17%

8%

8%

In-depth product reviews

24%

37%

50%

30%

13%

16%

Interactive video

24%

34%

41%

22%

12%

11%

How-to videos

22%

38%

47%

22%

12%

12%

Q. Which of the following types of technology-related video content are you likely to watch at each stage of the purchase process for major
enterprise IT products and services?

10
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

11

Regional Events Seeing a Rise in Event Interest

Regional events

National events
Trade shows/Events where
I have the opportunity
to interact with vendors
Roundtable style events
Events with attendees
at my title level or above
Events with attendees
at all title levels
Increasing

Neither
increasing nor
decreasing

24%

42%

17%

36%

25%
19%

14%
17%

46%
35%

27%
20%

21%

15%
12%

45%
47%

Decreasing

31%

14%

34%
11%
15%

17%
18%

I never attend
this type of
event

Q. How frequently do you attend the following types of industry or job related events?

12
Source: 2016 IDG Enterprise Customer Engagement Research

Continue the Conversation

To receive a pdf of this study, or for more information, please contact: Sue
Yanovitch, VP, Marketing at IDG Enterprise syanovitch@idgenterprise.com

To get results from IDG Enterprise research when it happens,

or any other news, follow us on Twitter: @IDGEnterprise
ADDITIONAL WAYS TO STAY ON TOP OF INFORMATION FROM IDG ENTERPRISE:
Sign up to receive our monthly marketing
newsletter at www.idgenterprise.com/newsletter
Visit us on LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/company/idg-enterprise

13