Social Media Use Continues to Expand Communications Channels
How Big Is the IT Market?
IT decision makers’ reach is extensive. 43% of U.S. IT decision makers work outside IT, 15 million U.S. IT decision makers, $820B in U.S. IT spending
Acquiring New Customers Can Be Costly
The channel needs to find ways to reduce new customer acquisition costs. Acquiring a new customer is 5 times more costly than up-selling an existing one.
Social Media Use
Usage is already almost ubiquitous. 2012: 85%, 2013: 95%
Top Reasons for Using Social Media
Usage as a vehicle to communicate with vendors has already reached 37%. 58% learn from trustworthy peers, 49% access a broader network, 40% quickly find information, 37% relevant context to connect with vendors
Usage of Social Media at Each Decision-Making Stage
Social media is making an impact across the sales funnel. awareness: 79%, plan: 74%, determine scope: 73%, implement: 70%, select: 68%
Attitude Toward Vendors
The opportunity to engage customers has never been greater. 68% open to connecting with vendors via social media, 76% ready to have a conversation with a vendor
Top Reasons for Not Connecting with Vendors
Channel partners tend to have more credibility than vendors. don’t want to receive a lot of marketing material, don’t believe they would provide credible information, aren’t thought of as leaders in their product area, don’t believe they’d provid relevant information, talk too much about themselves
The Real Channel Sales Challenge
On average, only three vendors make the short list. 92% purchased from vendor that made their short list, only one in six bought from a new vendor