Converting Technology Prospects into Buyers
Marilou BarsamSVP of Client & Corporate Marketing, TechTarget
Considerations for IT Marketers
• The Challenges
• Content Strategy - lots to think about
• Your prospects’ media consumption habits
• The Online Environment - realities
• Case Studies
• Profiling with Activity Intelligence for nurturing
insights
• Wrap-up
Content Strategy Checklist
• Is your copy theme, email promo and content
focused on the right topic and title?
• Are you using content/media types that work well
for converting prospects to leads?
• How does your approach benchmark against the
industry or your competitive set?
• Have you tailored your content’s focus to the
exact buying stage of the buyer?
Online - Prospects have different needs based on stage/interests
Expect broader response early stage and fewer responses from later stage
Individual leads can spend several months researching technology solutions and providers
Challenge is how to lead them from the top of the funnel to the bottom
MYSEARCH
KEYWORDS
MY MEDIA PREFERENCES
MY ENGAGEMENT
MY SOCIAL NETWORKING
MY LEVELOF
ACTIVITY
BUYING STAGE
MY ROLE
Multiple Considerations
• Role of target audience
• Topical focus - market maturity - market overlaps
• Mapping content/media to the prospect’s buying
stage
The importance of mapping to stages
Media Consumption Studies and Google/TechTarget Research
both tell you what buyers want and do in specific stages
Proof point: Aligning your content and SEO strategies to the IT buyer's purchase process pays off
Specific Search terms
Specific Search terms
Specific Search terms
Specific Search terms across all 3 stages
Keywords
Content Types
DecisionAwareness Consideration
Different media offer different levels of engagement based on prospect’s stage
• White papers/editorial guides – IT Problem
Definition Skimmers to underliners
highlighting specific issues/problems
• Webcasts/podcasts/video – Technical
Overview 5-45 min commitment-checking out
your solution within competitive landscape
• Trial offer - Solution Comparison – Ready to
check-out your solution real-time ready-to-
buy within 48 hours
• White papers/collateral - Vendor
comparisons or specs
Early stage
Late stage
Product-centric assets can return later stage leads with higher vendor interest
11%
5%
12%
6%
SingTel Selects Alcatel-Lucent as Strategic
Partner in IPTV Deployment
The Business Value of the Network Integrator
Protecting SharePoint with Double-Take for
Windows 5.0
Essential Guide To Storage Networking
Alcatel-LucentDouble-Take
Audience 50% more likely to opt-in for sales follow-up when responding to late stage assets
Question:Can we contact you?
Question:Will you take a test drive of
the software?
Product-centric assets also attract higher concentration of decision-makers
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ten Things You Need to
Know about Virtualization
Serious About High
Availability? Eliminate Storage-related Downtime,
Not Just Hardware Failures
DataCore Software: IDC on
Removing Storage-Related Barriers to Virtualization
Determine need
Evaluate
products/services
Recommend and
specify products/services
Implement
products/services
Decision maker
(Technical and/or Financial)
Content Analysis by Job Function
Different topics attract different roles
• ROI/TCO-themed white papers are top
performers on SearchCIO.com for senior or
LOB decision-makers
• “Tech how-to” content more effective with
line managers
Examples of successful role-focused content
• TCO of Dell, HP and IBM Blade
Solutions
• Sponsor: Dell
• Target audience:
SearchCIO.com community
• Results: Delivered 1.15%
response rate versus .70%
average – exceeded
benchmark by 64%!
Examples of successful role-focused content
• Configuring Sun Storage 7000
Unified Storage Systems for Oracle
Databases
• Sponsor: SUN Microsystems
• Target audience:
SearchStorage.com community
(managers/implementers)
• Results: Delivered 1.44%
response rate versus .% .79%
benchmark – exceeded
benchmark by 82%!
Market/product maturity impacts content strategyMature
• Backup market – Top white papers
• IT Managers Speak Out on Switching from Symantec to
CommVault
• Beyond Backup: Disk2Disk Storage Comes of Age
• Enterprise Grade "No Compromise" Backup
• Disk-Based Backup & Recovery: Making Sense
of Options
• Simplify Storage: High Perf Disk-Based Backup
• Strategy: Segment and compare
• Content focus: Comparative-technical in natureSearchStorage.com WP Performance
Market/product maturity impacts content strategyEmerging• Cloud Computing - Top white papers
• The Building Blocks for Private Cloud: Automation,
Virtualization, and Cloud Service Management
• Cloud Computing - What is its Potential Value for Your
Company?
• A Practical Guide to Cloud Computing Security
• E-Guide: Understanding Cloud Computing Benefits,
Planning and Networking
• Strategy: Getting Started, Business Benefits, Basic
Cloud Security
• Content focus: Educational, How-toSearchCloudComputing.com WP Performance – Q1-10
Next question: Is your topical focus aligned?
1. Automate Virtualization in Your Data
Center
2. Rethinking Server Virtualization:
Breaking Performance and
Manageability Barriers
3. Reduce Costs and Gain Control of Your
Virtualized Infrastructure with
Consolidated Management
4. 11 Questions Every CIO Should Ask
Their IT Manager
5. Leading Virtualization 2.0: How Intel is
driving virtualization beyond
consolidation into a solution for
maximizing business agility within the
enterprise
6. Data Center Virtualization and
Efficiency: Server, Network and
Storage Perspective
7. PlateSpin Recon: Virtual Capacity
Management and Consolidation
Planning
8. Intel® Xeon® Processor 5500 Series -
An Intelligent Approach to IT
Challenges Build for Today
Most Downloaded Vendor Content
1. Server Virtualization Hardware,
Software and Services
2. Blade server trends and advice
3. Data center Linux
4. Sun Solaris Unix and Sparc server
platforms
5. Windows Server Virtualization and
Microsoft Hyper-V
6. P2V, V2V and V2P migration
7. Rack mount server and x86 hardware
8. Virtualized clusters and high-
performance computing
Most Popular Editorial Content
1. The Great Virtualization Dilemma of
the Next Decade: What You Need to
Know
2. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of Dell,
HP, and IBM Blade Solutions
3. Reduce Your Server Footprint with
SQL Server 2008
4. Out-of-box Comparison Between Dell,
HP, and IBM Blade Servers
5. Optimizing the Datacenter for Cost
and Efficiency
6. Blade Server Performance and Power
Consumption Comparisons
7. Simplifying UNIX Migration
8. Create Fault-Tolerant SQL Server
2008 Installations
Sponsor’s Top Content
Sponsor’s ratio of virtualization to storage contentnot aligned to industry
Does your content reflect the buzz in social communities?
Top ITKE Topics –
Last 30 Days
Top ITKE Topics –
Overall
Tracking topical activity over time 6 months to identify research and purchase trends
One lead - many intersecting interests - many opportunities
Lead Profile
• EMEA
• Government
• Over 50,000 employees
• IT budget over $50 million
• Extremely Engaged decision
maker
Realities of the Tech Industry
• Classic challenges never seem to change
between sales and marketing
• Increased lead generation focus driven by
recession hardships but no automated
processes to help you accelerate ROI
• Inside and outside sales require you work
closely with them - lots of hand holding
Early 90s 2005 200820022000 2003
Online landscape is always evolving: Recession has had its effects….
Search/SyndicationAd Impressions
Email Open Rates
Page ViewsEyeballs
Server log files
Lead GuaranteesDemand Generation,
Reporting
ROI MetricsSEM, CPX,CTR, CPA,CPC, CPM
Content StrategyDemographic Analysis
Lead ManagementServices and Scoring
New MetricsSocial Media
Web 2.0New Media
Syndication enhancement
Profiling Interaction, Landing Page Registrants
Late 90s 2009-2010
Lead GenerationPriority Returns
Trial Social Media
Analysis of Lead’s Behavior
? ??
US
UK
The sales and marketing chasm still exists when it comes to leads
Research has shown
that about 80% of leads
marketers generate end up
getting lost, ignored or
discarded.
Brian Carroll, CEO, InTouch
Examples of how this plays out…
• UK marketers perspective
• Dependent on inside sales and getting them to
follow-up in timely way - no automated processes
• Sales treats follow-up with leads as if they were all
in the same boat (regardless of publisher, driving
asset, timeframe to purchase)
• When reps do follow-up they don’t refer to the
online asset/topic that attracted the lead in the first
place (lack of context for prospect)
Examples of how this plays out…
• UK sales perspective
• Sales determines opportunity leads and marketers
don’t continue the “digital” conversation with
nurturing tactics in timely way
• Most engaged or qualified leads are not prioritized
and flagged for urgency
9/29/08
Received First Glance webcast promo from SearchSoftwareQuality.com
2/29/08 to 4/9/08
Prospect contacted by sales and nurtured through decision stage
ReturnTo
Nurturing
Nurturing Begins
The “closed loop” is not really closed?
Banner/TechTarget Marketer Study
Executive Summary
• Although UK marketers recognize importance
of “quality of lead” reality is that costs per
lead and generating volume is high priority
What drives the optimisation of your demand generation budget?
3%
35%
60%
The speed at which a particular channel can deliver results i.e. within
the quarter
The quantity of leads delivered by a communications channel/programme
The quality of leads delivered by a communications channel/programme
Banner/TechTarget Marketer Study
When running demand generation programmes, which of the metrics below do you use to benchmark your campaign?
13
16
17
19
22
24
CPSAL
CPS
CPO
MQL
CPC
CPL
Banner/TechTarget Marketer Study
Are you able to measure the quality of leads coming from different communications channels as well as the number of leads?
36%
64%
Also measure quality
Measure quantity of leads
Banner/TechTarget Marketer Study
How two UK marketers respond to this and execute on their campaigns…
• Content considerations
• Back end organization for follow-though
• Quality vs. Quantity issues
• Nurturing strategies
Converting Technology Prospects into Buyers
3PAR UK
Marketer Panelist
Sue GullonEMEA Marketing Programs Manager3PAR
Content Strategy for 3PAR UK Campaign
• Expert Content Sponsorships
• Storage Systems & Storage Management Track: Thin
Provisioning: Keys for Using it to Your Best Advantage
(awareness stage)
• Cloud Storage Explained Tech Report (awareness stage)
• 3PAR Vendor White Paper Syndication
• Analyst Report: Thin Provisioning Storage Strategies
(awareness stage)
• Major Considerations for Deploying a Thinly Provisioned
Storage Solution (consideration stage)
• 3PAR Utility Storage Pays Off Big For Travel Giant
Priceline.com (decision stage)
Content Strategy for 3PAR UK campaign
• Re-messaging with relevant vendor content
• Careerbuilder Positioned for Global Expansion Thanks to
3PAR Utility Storage (decision stage)
• IDC Product Flash: 3PAR Launches F-Class InServ Storage
Servers (decision stage)
Prospect activities determine lead prioritization and nurturing strategy
IT Manager
Energy / Utility Company
10,000 – 24,999 employees
Technical Decision Maker
3PAR White Paper
11 Vendor Interactions
9 Editorial Pageviews
2 List Sign-ups
1 Peer-to-Peer 3PAR
Sponsored Expert eGuide
Performance metrics and benchmarks
• Leads fed into Sales Force/Engage B2B (Silverpop)
• Inside sales notified – added to priority calling list
• Leads from events and on line activity called immediately
• Cold/Old leads - Go into a nurturing process
• Leads are scored and prioritised by Engage B2B
• Rely on activity intelligence to set calling list priorities
• Focus accounts, frequency of downloads, show visits,
website visit (intelligence provided by system)
Performance metrics and benchmarks
• Look at how many are converting into TQLs
• Inside sales team has a weekly/monthly target of leads
that have converted to meetings
• Have a weekly meeting to review # of leads that are
converting from each campaign running with a partner
• Average conversion 3-5 TQLs per week
11/9/2009Viewed: “Major Considerations for Deploying a Thinly Provisioned Storage Solution”
1/25/2010Viewed: “What’s Inside Internal Storage Clouds”
3PAR User Influence -Multi-touch user• Young & Rubicam• Analyst• Media/Advertising• Recommends and specifies products/ services• Engaged with 3 3PAR assets over 3 months
10/7/2009Visited 3PAR at IP ExpoAttended Reference Case Study Presentation
11/10/2009Viewed: “Storage Explained: Cloud Storage Defined”
$$Deal Won Product Purchased in France
Converting Technology Prospects into Buyers
Data Domain
Marketer Panelist
Susanna GresswellMarketing DirectorBRS division of EMC
Content Strategy for Data Domain Campaign
• NB: Speaking from a Data Domain perspective
• Content included White papers, Webcasts, Presentation
Downloads, Case studies, chosen based upon:
• Consistency with the US where appropriate –
appear global
• Relevance to the market – locally based case
studies
Content Strategy for Data Domain Campaign
• Different types of content selected based upon Buyer’s
Journey
• Awareness stage expert eGuide addressing an
issue/opportunity: eGuide: Less is more: The real value
of data deduplication and virtualization for your business
• Consideration stage solution oriented vendor webcast:
Webcast: Solutions for Today's Data Protection and
Disaster Recovery Challenges
• Decision stage comparison/review oriented case study:
Case Study: Lloyd's TSB Corporate Markets
MQL SQL
Recognizing multiple entry points of the buyer’s journey
1Unaware
4Looking for
a Solution
2Interest
Established
3Acknowledged
Problem
MarketingSales
5Evaluating
Solutions
6Customer Loyalty
UNIX/Storage Administrator
Financial/Banking industry
10,000–24,999 employees
Technical Decision Maker
Defining prospect interest level with Activity Intelligence
Backup School 2009
Webcast: Data Deduplication and
Disk-to-Disk Backup Systems
Managing Backup and Archive Data with Data Domain and
Symantec NetBackup (NBU) Integration
The Importance of Operational Simplicity in Selecting D2D Data Protection Solutions
102 Vendor
Interactions
96 Editorial
Pageviews
13 List Sign-ups
Backup and Recovery for Microsoft Exchange
Server
4Peer-to-
Peer
Reseller Event
DD Newsletter
DD Nurture
VMWorld2009
DD Newsletter
EmediaSurvey
GoogleSearch
DD Nurture
DD Newsletter
£
“Implementing Data Domain forour local backups and disasterrecovery has enabled Britanniato continue to be a model ofcompliance. We are now able toensure immediate delivery of dataoffsite, exceeding FSA requirementsand dramatically enhancing ourbusiness continuity capabilities inthe process.”
Dylan MathiasUnix and Storage ManagerBritannia Building Society
Warm
Warmer
Warmest
Hot
eNL (Newsletters)/eDM email
WS-WC (Webcasts)
OL (Online Content Syndication)
WS-WP (Website white paper downloads)
PS (Google Adwords)
TS (Gartner, SNW, DRJ)
OL-VTS
TS Trade Shows (SD, VMWorld, EMC, Vision)
PS-GOOG-Brand
FE (Field events, especially VMware)
SEM (Seminars – driven by DD)
RTS (Regional Trade Shows)
Meeting
Yield
+++
+
Note: This is just a guide to prioritizing campaign and lead source types. Some specific leads and campaign topics turn into meetings more quickly.
Lead Nomenclature – key in tracking for marketing and inside sales
OL-TT-WP-DPS-Q108-GB-EMEA
Campaign Type
Insertion Vendor
Offer Type
Track Date
Abbreviated Offer Title
Campaign NameThe Campaign Name is extremely important when naming since everything within it will have the same name with the exception of campaigns that are tracked quarter to quarter. In the case below we need to work within the confines of SFDC and name all campaigns that continue quarter to quarter. The Q1 identifier tells the quarter this campaign was capturing leads. The Lead Source provides the year in which it was created.
Campaign Type Insertion Vendor Offer Type Offer Title Track Date
The Campaign Type is
important to track where
our dollars are being
spent and the ROI.
This abbreviation
represents the vendor
which we are advertising
with (TT). Please check a
predetermined vendor
code is in use.
Offers come in a multitude
of flavors; WP, WC, PC,
CS, and LR.
Acronym form to give a
very brief name description
of the offer (WP / WC / PC
/ CS / LR). These can be
referenced from Web Site
(WS) campaigns.
The date format is a
QuarterYR format (Q108)
Country
Region
What happens to a lead?
• All leads feed into tele-prospecting – measured and
paid on meetings
• Marketing runs a nurturing programme
• Monthly eDM programme
• Monthly Newsletter programme
• Measuring performance
• Total respondents –quality vs. quantity issues
• Net New Leads (NNL)
• Net New Meeting (NNM)
• Cost Per Meeting (CPM)
Lead to meeting conversion time greatly accelerated due to outbound online marketing
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
< 30 days 1 month 2 months 3 months 4 months 5 months 6 months 7 months 10 months 11 months 12 months 24 months
Q407
Q108
Q208
Marketing Dashboard
Lessons Learnt
• Volume doesn’t always equal value – it depends on your
goals
• However – only time and volume can determine performance
• Be clear on goals – Net New vs. Total Respondents would
deliver very different plans through the quarter
• Align content appropriately to the target audience
• Make sure you are getting ALL the information you need from
the lead
• Make sure you have the structure in place to follow-up:
nurturing and tracking is key
5 Tips for Inside Sales: Best ways to get conversion from lead to meeting or sale
1. Give inside sales detailed background on the lead’s
origin-it’s all about context
2. Use the type, topic, and title of the “media asset”
effectively
3. Using the lead’s actual activity to inform the
conversation
4. Over communicate to sales so they know what’s
going on
5. Optimize sales and marketing efforts with lead
nurturing
The Role of Profiling in the Nurturing Process
• The view Susanna and Sue just gave you is an
internal one focused on their program
• What you don’t see the leads doing is as
important as what you see them doing
• TechTarget has worked hard to have a full
360 degree view of your leads…
Average lead consumes 20-30 content assets in 60 days
New Concept: The “Hyper-active Lead”
Hot projects and their need for topically relevant content drive the most “Hyper-active” leads revealing them as valuable prospects
Virtualization Compliance Data Center Security
Now, you can have a different view of your prospects’ activity
on our network
Here’s how the view has evolved
OLD WAY: Point in TimeUsed to depend on traditional information
gathering
NEW WAY: Real TimeNow learn from the richer view
of a user’s current activity
Now it’s about your prospects, their projects and how ready to buy they are:
• Recent activity with our content, your content, and
your competitors’ content – not their stated interests
at registration
• These are best indicator of the current projects of the
serious IT buyer
Now it’s about your prospects, their projects and how ready to buy they are:
• In last six months we’ve catalogued over 15 million
activities on our users across all of their daily interactions
with us:
• Searches done on TechTarget and Google
• Emails they’ve clicked on
• Website pages they’ve viewed (editorial they’ve read)
• White Papers, Webcasts, Podcasts… they’ve downloaded
• Specific Newsletters and topics they’ve requested updates on
• Events they’ve applied for
• Peer-to-peer interactions with social media
Example of topically based emailFrom: SearchDataCenter.com [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 10:39 AM
To: Barsam, Marilou
Subject: Top Research for Marilou Barsam - May 03, 2010
KnowledgeAlert
May 03, 2010
New white papers, case studies, webcasts and product information on the topics you have chosen
Greetings Marilou,
Cloud Computing
Virtual Software Development Appliances
Sponsored by IBM
This ekit provides information, webcasts, and analyst reviews that provide an overview, definitions, and
the pros and cons related to each solution. It also features Presto Virtual Software Development
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Cloud Financials Come of Age
Sponsored by Intacct Corporation
This paper discusses how cloud financial solutions provides a much needed benefit for small to midsize
companies. Continue reading to discover the many benefits cloud financial solutions can have for your
company.
SaaS User Provisioning: Automating User Lifecycle Management for Cloud Applications
Sponsored by Conformity
This white paper focuses on the unique characteristics of the SaaS business model, the convergence of
enterprise business process and on-demand environments, and the resulting requirements IT teams must
internalize.
Successful Private Clouds: Proven Best Practices & Case Studies
Sponsored by Surgient
During this webcast featuring Brian Wilson, Vice President of Services and Support at Surgient, he'll
discuss the key IT business challenges in private clouds, ideal use cases for a private cloud
implementation, best practices for implementing a private cloud, and case studies of successful
enterprise private cloud deployments with metrics.
“ACTIVITY INTELLIGENCE” Methodology
Day 1
2 Vendor White Papers
Day 1
Technical Article
Day 2
Vendor Data Sheet
Day 2
2 Vendor White Papers
Days 2
Editorial Article
Day 4
Expert eZine
Day 7
Vendor Podcast
Day 7
Sponsored 3PAR White Paper
Day 8-9
2 Vendor White Papers
Day 9
VendorPodcast
Day 10
Expert eZine
Days 13
VendorWebcast
Day 13-14
3 AnalystWhite Papers
Day 13-15
6 Vendor White Papers
Day 15
Vendor Product Sheet
Day 16
2 VendorWhite Papers
Day 16
Vendor Cast Study
Day 16-20
3 Vendor Webcasts
Day 28
Sponsored
3PAR eGuide
Days 1-7: DEVELOPMENT content Days 8-13: MANAGEABILITY content Days 13 on: DECISION content
• IT Management • Company size:
10,000 to 24,999
• IT budget: $25
million to $49
million
• Role in
purchasing:
Technical Decision
Maker
• Activity: Took over
23+ additional
activities
3PAR Lead’s Consumption Path
IT Manager at Energy/Utility Company
Defining the interest levelof Data Domain lead withActivity Intelligence
• In-campaign Activities
Backup School 2009
editorial
Webcast: Data Deduplication and
Disk-to-Disk Backup Systems
Managing Backup and Archive Data with Data Domain
and Symantec NetBackup (NBU)
Integration
The Importance of Operational Simplicity in
Selecting D2D Data Protection
Solutions
Backup and Recovery for
Microsoft Exchange Server
5 pieces of Data Domain
content over 4 campaigns
• Activities outside Data
Domain campaign*
Total Vendor Interactions 102
Total Editorial Pageviews 96
Total List Sign-ups 13
Total Peer-to-Peer 4
Total Activity = 215
*Lead Activities across TechTarget network in addition to activities with Data Domain campaign
UNIX/Storage Administrator
Financial/Banking industry
10,000–24,999 employees
Technical Decision Maker
Total respondents interactions within four Data Domain campaigns
• 1,221 unique UK respondents had an average
of 2 interactions with Data Domain content
• 20% (246) of the 1221 UK respondents
viewed between 2-6 pieces of Data Domain
content sponsored within 2009 campaigns
• 5% (67) had above average interactions
Activity Intelligence – out of campaign
• Data Domain UK prospects are also actively seeking
additional information around deduplication, backup
and disaster recovery
• 97% of the 1,221 unique UK leads generated in 2009
campaigns took additional actions around
deduplication, backup and disaster recovery
* Timeframe consists of activity 60 days before and after program
Activity Intelligence – out of campaign
• These 1,184 respondents took over 71,652 actions
across these topics averaging 60 actions per lead
• 28,725 interactions with content from multiple vendors
• Viewed 32,044 editorial articles on a number of different
websites
• Opted-in for 5,981 list sign-ups
• Took 4,801 peer-to-peer actions
• Signed up for 101 conferences and virtual events
* Timeframe consists of activity 60 days before and after program
Selecting a Converted Lead Example
• 5% of UK respondents exhibited above average activity
both within the campaign and outside of the campaign
• 4-6+ interactions with Data Domain content
• 60+ actions outside of the Data Domain UK
campaign
• Benchmark is between 20-30+ actions
• These 5% would be flagged for “urgent” follow-up
Key Takeaways
• Various online assets are consumed throughout the
purchase process. Marketers need diverse “content
portfolios” that cover all buying stages.
• In end stages, especially in recessionary times when IT
buyers resources are constrained, marketers should
increase focus on product literature, trial downloads,
and comparison case studies or spec sheets.
Key Takeaways
• Conversion to download is the first step. Conversion to
a meeting may require continued nurturing tactics and
a shared game plan between marketing and inside
sales
• Examine lead’s overall activity and engagement levels
to determine best approach to follow-up from
marketing or inside sales - All leads have potential