Content essentials for technology buying teams

Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
Key takeaways
Contact us
2013/2014 TechTarget Media Consumption Research Brief
Content essentials for technology
buying teams worldwide
How buyers are dictating content marketing and sales strategies globally
APAC
Edition
A
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B
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vs
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vs
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vs
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A
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Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
Key takeaways
Contact us
Content essentials for technology buying teams worldwide
Identifying the needs and demands of
APAC technology decision makers for
effective content marketing
Just like those in North America, Europe and Latin
America, IT departments in APAC are tasked with
the responsibility of conducting research, evaluating
vendors and selecting the solution that will best satisfy
their organization’s needs. While the region has always
been seen as a face-to-face culture when it comes to
business engagements, technology buying teams have
become more reliant on digital content and media,
including white papers, case studies and online videos,
to effectively compare vendors and gain information on
the solutions that best solve their technology problems.
As buyers arm themselves with the right tools and
information to make more educated decisions, buy
cycles are rapidly accelerating across the APAC region,
and both local and global marketers need to make sure
their content marketing strategy is keeping pace with
the needs of these well-informed buyers.
About the study
Content essentials for technology buying teams
worldwide aims to provide marketers with a complete
understanding of how technology buying teams from
different regions of the world consume content and
expect to engage with technology vendors during the
research and purchasing process.
This research brief features the data and openended responses collected from technology buyers in
Australia and New Zealand, Association of Southeast
Asia Nations (ASEAN), China, India and Japan.
Each highlight from the study includes in-depth and
suggested best practices for marketers to leverage in
their future strategies.
This research brief is the APAC edition of the global
report presenting aggregate results for technology
buyers in North America, EMEA, APAC and Latin
America. Download the global report.
Highlights from this study include:
• Technology buying teams frequently include a variety
of titles and geographically dispersed members.
• The project research and decision making process
is moving rapidly for both established and emerging
markets.
• The need for both vendor and third-party content
for a complete perspective.
• The variety of media types required to move
through the buy cycle.
• The influence of face-to-face events among APAC
technology buyers.
• The information that technology buyers and
vendors need to know about each other prior to
engagement.
This research brief does not include every question that
was asked in our survey. To receive the full report data,
please contact the TechTarget Market Research Team.
TechTarget’s Media Consumption Report
Published annually since 2008, TechTarget’s Media
Consumption Report is recognized as an authoritative
resource for examining global content marketing trends
and investigating the research and purchase behaviors
of technology buyers. Past reports can be found at
www.techtarget.com/research.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
Key takeaways
Contact us
Study demographics
ANZ
ASEAN
China
India
Japan
Regional breakdown
Regional breakdown
Company size
Company size
Company size
Australia: 78%
Singapore: 29%
Small: 20%
Small: 16%
Small: 21%
New Zealand: 22%
Malaysia: 27%
Midsize: 24%
Midsize: 40%
Midsize: 35%
Philippines: 24%
Large: 56%
Large: 44%
Large: 44%
Indonesia: 11%
Company size
Small: 36%
Midsize: 25%
Company size
Large: 29%
Small: 18%
IT Management: Midsize: 31%
Senior IT Management: 20%
Senior IT Management: 11%
Senior IT Management: 2%
Large: 61%
Senior Non-IT
Management: Senior Non-IT
Management: Industries
Job titles
Job titles
IT Staff: 19%
IT Management: 21%
Job titles
Senior IT Management: 7%
IT Staff: Senior Non-IT
Management: 7%
Industries
IT Staff: 46%
9%
IT Staff: 16%
IT Staff: 36%
IT Management: 22%
IT Management: 23%
4%
Industries
28%
Financial: 11%
Education: 7%
Senior IT Management: 10%
Manufacturing: 11%
Financial: 5%
Senior Non-IT
Management: Telecommunications: 7%
Government: 4%
Government: 5%
Manufacturing: 3%
Total respondents 203
Total respondents 276
IT Management: 5%
10%
Education: 10%
Industries
Government: 9%
Financial: 15%
Telecommunications: 7%
Education: 10%
Manufacturing: 10%
168
11%
Job titles
18%
Financial: Total respondents Job titles
Government: 6%
Total respondents 133
Industries
Manufacturing: 13%
Retail/Wholesale: 10%
Telecommunications: 4%
Publishing/Media: 3%
Total respondents 137
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
APAC technology buying teams expand internationally
in most countries
The responsibility of researching and comparing
technology vendors and solutions that will best satisfy
the needs of an organization is not assigned to a
single person. Various members of the IT organization
consider themselves to be decision-makers, influencers,
or implementers and collectively, determine the most
appropriate solution for their technology needs. In AsiaPacific countries, most technology buying teams consist
of 5 or more members. In ASEAN and India specifically,
many teams consist of 10+ members.
As buying teams in APAC grow in size, they also
are expanding and including members from different
geographies. The majority of technology buying teams
in Australia/New Zealand, ASEAN, China and India
include members from different geographies for many
of the organization’s large-scale projects and roll-outs.
A major exception is in Japan where buying teams often
include more than 8 centrally located members, with
few members in other regions.
Technology buying teams are expanding beyond Asia-Pacific
Other than Japan, the majority of technology purchases in APAC are made by members from different geographies
60
%
Vendor
engagement
Key takeaways
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What does this mean for you?
The demand for content is coming from all
directions, customize it accordingly
With more than 5 members of an
organization involved in the process of
researching and comparing vendors, the
need for information is greater than it has
ever been before. Similar to the rest of the
world, APAC buying teams include members
with various titles, roles, and have different
preferences when it comes for technologyrelated content. You will need to produce
various content assets that speak to each
persona and member.
Global organizations have global decisionmakers
If all of your prospects from a single account
are sourced from one location, you may be
missing a significant piece of the decisionmaking puzzle. Before passing leads to
sales, look closely at the account and see if
they have multiple locations. If so, you will
want to identify the decision-makers in those
locations so you can pass along complete,
well-informed decision-making teams for the
most effective follow-up.
Multi-regional content efforts must include
consistent messaging to be effective
To maximize influence with multi-regional
buying teams, it is key to maintain consistent
messaging and themes as you expand
content and marketing efforts to different
regions. Also, be sure to localize content as
needed to better engage in-country buyers.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
73% of technology buyers in Australia/New Zealand
are making their purchase decision in 6 months or
less, while 40% of Chinese and 55% of Indian buyers
are completing their buy cycles in 3 or less months. In
Japan and ASEAN, decisions are made slightly longer
than the other regions but still within the accelerated
time frames.
APAC buyers are accelerating their buy cycles
ANZ, Chinese and Indian buyers are making technology purchases in 6 months or less
Awareness
Consideration
Decision
ANZ
ASEAN
China
India
70
40+%
%
off IIndian
ndian an
and Chinese
research processes are
3 months or less
Japan
6 months
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What does this mean for you?
The technology buy cycles in APAC have accelerated and are
on pace with those in North American and EMEA
In more mature IT markets such as North America and
EMEA, the standard amount of time it takes technology
buying teams to effectively build a solution landscape,
identify the key vendors and build a short-list is 6
months or less from identifying the original technology
problem. Because information is more readily available
online across APAC for buyers to conduct their research
without engaging with vendors, buying teams in this
region are now making purchase decisions at the same
accelerate pace as EMEA and North American buyers.
Key takeaways
Guide your prospects with content,
not sales reps
Increasing their use of online sources of
information such as vendor and publisher
websites, technology buying teams are able
to acquire the insight and details necessary
to conduct their research without engaging
with sales representatives. The research
and purchasing process is fueled by the
content that buyers consume to get a better
understanding of what solutions best satisfy
their needs and will gauge how receptive
they are to engaging with vendors. Be sure
your follow-up strategy provides multiple
content assets and useful information to
allow your prospects move through the buy
cycle.
Nurture APAC prospects at same rate
as those in North America and EMEA
It is time to stop generally labeling the
APAC market as emerging or marketing to
technology buyers in this region differently
than those in North America and Europe.
Buyers in many of the Asia-Pacific markets
are conducting their research the same way,
and at the same rate, as those in the more
established markets. If you are running
a worldwide campaign, make sure your
nurturing streams are similar. Buyers in
every region are leveraging online sources
of information and content to guide through
the buy cycle quickly; make sure you are
keeping pace with every one of them.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Content
Contence
dependence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
buyers in APAC consume content that is created
by both third-party experts and vendors as each
provide the information required to gain a complete
perspective of what solutions are currently available
to buyers. Third-party content is viewed as a good
source when buyers are seeking unbiased opinions on
the current solution landscape and vendor content for
pricing and implementation details.
While there is a strong affinity for vendor content among Japanese buyers, many APAC
buying teams are guided by a consumption of third-party and vendor-produced content
Third-party content
Vendor content
Solution
landscape
vs
.
A
B
Technical
details
Unbiased
comparisons
Solution
features
Implementation
tutorials
66
%
of buyers require
4+ pieces of content
to build short-list.
Half of those requiring 8+
Key takeaways
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What does this mean for you?
APAC buyers leverage content from both third-parties
and vendors to gain a complete perspective of solutions
In order for technology buying teams to effectively
identify the right solution and vendor for their
organization, each member seeks out multiple pieces
of content to conduct their research. For 66% of buying
teams in APAC, each member requires 4 or more
pieces of content in order to effectively build a vendor
short-list for the organization. 28% of buyers in India
and 23% of buyers in China require 10 or more pieces
of content.
While 40% of Japanese buyers prefer to consume
vendor-produced content, the majority of technology
Vendor
engagement
Pricing
information
Create content that fills the gap left
by third-party content
Third-party content can provide very useful
information for APAC buyers to conduct
research and evaluate vendors but it does
not provide all the information required
to make a well-informed decision. Vendor
content is very useful for buyers because it
can provide technical, implementation, and
cost information not featured in third-party
content. Be sure to develop content that
provides and emphasizes this information
as buyers move through the buy cycle.
Leverage more vendor content for
Japanese buyers
Similar to the other regions in APAC,
Japanese buyers each consume a minimum
of 4 pieces of content to build their shortlists. However, they have a higher preference
towards vendor-produced content than
any other region. When targeting Japanese
buyers, be sure to increase your portfolio
and develop a wide variety of content pieces
and themes for all members of the buying
team.
Use third-party content to your advantage
Knowing that IT buyers view third-party
content to research solutions and evaluate
vendors can work to your advantage.
Increase your chances of making buyer
short-lists and associate your brand with
trusted third-party expertise by sponsoring
these highly valued content types.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
the process of evaluating vendors. For buyers in ANZ,
ASEAN and India, vendor comparisons are considered
to be most effective here, where webcasts are preferred
among Chinese buyers and trial downloads for buyers
in Japan. Infographics are also found effective in the
middle stages for Chinese and Indian buying teams.
In the final stage, trial downloads are effective for
buyers in ANZ, China and Japan to build their shortlist and make a purchase decision. ASEAN and Indian
buyers prefer to leverage vendor comparisons during
this stage.
All APAC buyers consume product literature, white papers, and case studies throughout the buy cycle
Some countries have different preferences for media types based on stage
Consideration
White
papers
Case
studies
Product
literature
Online
videos
White
papers
Case
studies
Product
literature
Trial
downloads
Case
studies
Product
literature
A
.
White
papers
Decision
vs
Awareness
Contact us
What does this mean for you?
APAC buyers consume a variety of media types
in different stages of the buy cycle
Similar to the rest of the world, APAC buyers find
product literature, white papers, and case studies to be
the most effective media types in all stages of the buy
cycle. However, there are media types that are found to
be most effective in certain stages of the process.
In the early stage, when buying teams have just
identified a technology problem and are looking to
understand the current marketplace, buyers in every
region of APAC find online videos to be among the
most effective media types.
During the middle stages, buying teams have begun
Key takeaways
B
Vendor
comparisons
Media is only as good as the information
it provides
While IT buyers have preferences towards
specific media types based on their stage
of the buy cycle, the type of media is only
effective if the information that it features is
relevant to their research. Be sure that any
media type you use provides the insight and
details IT buyers want and require; or they
will turn to other vendors that provide it.
Leverage streaming media and visual
assets to quickly broadcast message
Online videos, webcasts, infographics and
blogs are effective ways to engage APAC
prospects quickly while you are producing
detailed content such as white papers and
case studies; just be sure to keep them brief
and relevant. Most APAC buyers consume
webcasts, preferably on-demand, that are
30 minutes or less and online videos under
15 minutes in length. Japanese buyers prefer
webcasts be shorter than 20 minutes and
videos to be less than 10 minutes.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
is useful in all stages of the buy cycle, but is seen as
most effective during the middle stages. For Indian
and ANZ buyers, face-to-face events are most effective
during the late stages when compared to other sources
of information. 63% of Japanese buyers find face-to-face
events to be the most effective source of information in
early stages of the buy cycle.
Face-to-face events are effective across APAC
In the different APAC regions, the level of effectiveness and time of use varies
Hot
Warm
Key takeaways
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What does this mean for you?
Buyers across APAC leverage face-to-face events
during different stages of the buy cycle
Online information sources such as search engines and
IT-related publisher websites; as well as the consumption
of media types like webcasts and videos has allowed
technology buyers to effectively move through the buy
cycle. Even with this growing trend, there continues to
be a demand for face-to-face events for buyers across
Asia-Pacific. However, the level of effectiveness and the
stage in which these topically-aligned events are utilized
varies among the different APAC regions.
For ASEAN, as well as Chinese buyers, the valuable
information provided during a topically-focused event
Vendor
engagement
Cold
Stages of the buy cycle
ANZ
India
China
ASEAN
Japan
Late
21%
24%
23%
21%
3%
Middle
26%
29%
36%
35%
24%
Early
28%
22%
22%
29%
63%
Sponsor topically-align events to engage
the right prospects in APAC
Face-to-face events are a great way to
present your brand and message to
prospects, as long as it topically relevant.
Identify events that are most aligned to
your brand, and present your solution
to an active, highly-engaged audience of
technology buyers and their team members.
Understand the buy cycle stage of face-toface event attendees and plan follow-up
strategy accordingly
Buyers in different regions of APAC attend
face-to-face events at different stages of
the buy cycle. Therefore, there are different
follow-up strategies when contacting the
attendees from your sponsored event. For
buyers in Japan, they are most likely in the
early stage or entering the middle stages
of the buy cycles after attending so followup with relevant content and not sales
representatives. For Indian and ANZ buyers,
attending an event may indicate that the
buyer is in the late stage and therefore, may
be more receptive to sales follow-up.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
buyers want to know the cost of the product prior to
engagement.
Just as buyers seek out information on vendors
prior their first engagement, they also expect vendors
to have information on them as well. ANZ, ASEAN and
Japanese buyers believe the most effective discussions
occur when the sales reps can provide insight on
effective adoption and implementation methods.
For Chinese and Indian buyers, the most effective
engagements are those that present competitive
differentiators.
APAC buyers expect vendors to understand their needs and interests prior to engagement
A. Competitive
differentiation
Success stories
of adoption methods
Benefits of
your product
Cost of your
product
Key takeaways
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What does this mean for you?
APAC buyers demand well-timed engagements
with well-informed vendors
With the wealth of information readily available online,
buyers have the ability to dictate when they would like to
discuss their technology needs, as well as the topics of
the conversation with vendors.
Similar to the rest of the world, buyers in all APAC
regions are most receptive to engaging with sales reps
from technology vendors once they have obtained
some information about the vendor and their solution.
While ANZ, ASEAN, Chinese and Indian buyers prefer
to understand the benefits that the vendor’s solution
brings to all parts of the organization, most Japanese
Vendor
engagement
B. Products that are
C. Effective methods
of implementation
currently installed
A
B
C
Develop content with themes that will
influence buyers
Before engaging with any sales reps, buyers
want enough information about you and
your solution, so make sure you provide it.
Your content, in any format, must nurture
prospects with the technical information,
implementation insights and comparative
information IT buyers prefer to know in
preparation for their first engagement with
sales. Without providing this information,
your sales teams’ engagement attempts will
fail and opportunities will be lost.
Identify when prospects are ready to
engage with sales
Monitoring the information your prospects
are consuming can alert you to when they
are ready for sales engagement. If a prospect
has consumed content assets that feature
comparative insights, technical details or cost
information, they will be most receptive to
sales engagement.
Equip your sales teams with the information
required for effective engagements
The first engagement between your sales rep
and the buying team must be as productive
as possible. Make sure your sales teams have
the full profile of the buying team and their
specific interests. Information about the
other vendors they may be considering and
recent success stories will help sales make
the most out of the opportunity.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
Key takeaways
Contact us
Key takeaways
Maximizing the impact of content marketing
and sales strategies across Asia-Pacific
Technology buying trends in APAC are in line with
North America and EMEA
The issues that technology buyers face, as well as
the need to conduct research and evaluate vendors
through content that is readily available online, is a
global trend. IT organizations in APAC, Latin America,
North America, and Europe all rely on the relevant
content that is available to them through various
online information sources to make a well-informed
technology purchase decision.
Produce content for all members of large,
geographically-dispersed buying teams
Across all regions of APAC, technology purchase
decisions are being made by multiple members of the
IT organization. In ASEAN and India, teams involved
in the process of identifying the right vendor to meet
their technology needs can exceed 10 members. While
buying teams in Japan most often reside in their own
country, the majority of APAC buying teams include
members located in different geographies. Because
of this, marketers must evaluate their prospecting
and nurturing strategies to ensure they are influencing
the decisions of all members involved in the decisionmaking process and identifying those members that
may be conducting research in other territories.
Buy cycles in APAC have caught up to those in North
America and EMEA
For buyers in ANZ, ASEAN, China and India, the
amount of time for technology buying teams require
to fully understand the nature of their technology
problem, research possible solutions and vendors and
build their vendor short-lists is 6 months or less. Now
APAC buying teams are accelerating through the buy
cycle at the same rate of the more established markets.
Marketers need to ensure they are continuously
influencing these decisions through the use of content
as guide for buying teams during the process.
Content quality is more important than source or
media format for APAC buyers
Constantly seeking relevant content to make wellinformed decisions, APAC buyers are not concerned
with the source of the content and the media format
in which it is presented. Buyers will consume content
that is produced by both third-parties and technology
vendors as long as the information it provides is
relevant and helpful in the research process. APAC
buyers are also willing consume a variety of media,
from detailed white papers to casual blogs and videos,
so marketers must leverage all media types to ensure
their message is constantly presented to all buyers as
they move through the buy cycle.
Face-to-face events are effective information sources
for APAC buyers, but the stage varies
There continues to be a need to attend face-toface events that are contextually-relevant for buyers
across APAC in different stages of the buy cycle. For
marketers, be sure to leverage these events as a way
to get in front of buyers across the APAC region. In
different regions across APAC, attending a face-to-face
event gives a different indication in which stage of the
buy cycle they are in and what the appropriate followup strategy should be.
Identify when prospects are ready to engage and
what the focus of the discussion should be
With much of their research conducted independently
and without many conversations directly with vendors,
buyers expect their first engagement—whether it’s
by phone, email, or face-to-face—to be as productive
as possible. Your sales reps need to research
each prospect thoroughly and understand the
implementation and adoption methods that they would
need to consider if selecting your solution as well as
who are the other vendors they are considering to have
an effective, successful engagement.
Content essentials
Global study
demographics
Team-driven
research approach
Independent
research process
Contence
dependence
Media type
preferences
Face-to-face
events
Vendor
engagement
Key takeaways
Contact us
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We did not include every question and response
from our study in this report. For the purposes of
this report, we have focused on the most important
takeaways. However, we can share the full report data
upon request. To read the global report, click here or
visit www.techtarget.com/resources.
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