How Executives Engage: Connecting with Customers at Every Stage of the Relationship Lifecycle

How Executives Engage:
Connecting with Customers at Every Stage
ofthe Relationship Lifecycle
Julie Schwartz,Senior Vice President,Research and Thought Leadership,ITSMA
ABBREVIATED SUMMARY
ITSMA | November 2018
This abbreviated summary highlights some of the most significant
findings of ITSMA’s How Executives Engage Survey,2018.
A more in-depth analysis can be found in the full report
https://www.itsma.com/research/executives-engage-connecting-
customers-every-stage-relationship-lifecycle/

How Executives Engage: Connecting with CustomersatEvery Stageof theRelationship Lifecycle |Abbreviated Summary | November 2018| F030AS© 2018ITSMA. All rights reserved. www.itsma.com 2
Introduction
Technology-led business
transformation is creating new
opportunities and challenges
for B2B marketers.
The good news is that buyers
want our ideas and points of view
on how they can innovate and
thrive in the connected economy.
The main challenge is that the
bar for engagement keeps rising
as those same buyers tune out all
but the most relevant and
compelling approaches.
ITSMA’s 2018 How Executives
Engage study highlights a
number of both opportunities
and challenges for B2B
marketers trying to reach
potential buyers and influencers.
The study, which includes survey
data from more than 400 senior
business and IT executives, digs
deep into how executive-level
buyers connect with the
content, events, experts, and
programs that providers
promote to gain mindshare,
accelerate sales, and build
customer loyalty.
The main takeaway from the
study is that marketers need to
focus even more on both
personalization and a personal
touch in every aspect of target
audience engagement: More
focus on content and initiatives
tied to buyers’ specific
industries, roles, and unique
business challenges…provided
with an omnichannel approach
that lets buyers engage on their
own terms, their own time, and
with their most preferred
formats and channels.

Opportunity: Organizations are in
transition; buyers are looking for
new ideas, guidance, and help
Which of the
following
statements best
describes the
current state of
business
transformation at
your company?
% of respondents
(N=410)
Source: ITSMA, How Executives Engage Survey, 2018
24%
17%
29%
19%
11% Getting started
Testing and
learning
Investing
strategically
Changing
the culture
Transformed and
transforming
Challenge: You now have to sell your
solutions to a growing stable of decision
makers and influencers
Which of the following statements best describes your
organization’s attitude towards business transformation?
% of respondents (N=410)
3%
14%
21%
19%
22%
22%
…is primarily
an
opportunity
to improve
the customer
experience,
led by
marketing,
sales, and
customer
service
…is an integral
part of the
organization’s
strategy, led by
the C-suite
…is a revenue
growth
opportunity,
led by the
Chief
Innovation
Officer, R&D,
or business
development
…is primarily
a
technology
opportunity,
led by the
CIO and IT
department
...is a
financial/
cost
reduction
oppor-
tunity,
driven by
the CFO
Business transformation…
Our organization has not yet
formed an attitude toward
business transformation

Opportunity: Buyers give solution
providers good grades for content
that delivers valuable ideas
Challenge: Solution provider content
is not always easy to consume
65% 64%The solution provider
content gave valuable
guidance and
recommendations in
addition to information
The majority of
solution provider
content we found was
of excellent quality
The solution providers could have
done more to make the research
process easier for us
We were overwhelmed by
the volume of solution
provider content available
55%
43%
We struggled with the solution
provider content because it
was boring
52%
Note:%thatagreeorstronglyagree.(N=410)

Which one of these statements best describes the outcome
of the purchase process?
% of respondents
(N=291)
77%23%
We decided to
purchase from
the incumbent
solution provider
We decided to
purchase from a
solution provider
that we had not
previously
worked with
But it’s not a sure thing…do the math
Incumbents win 55% of the deals
Opportunity and challenge: Depending upon where you sit,
your glass can be either half empty or half full
Was at least one of the solution providers
you considered an incumbent?
% of respondents
(N=410)
Incumbents have an advantage
Yes
71%
No
29%

Your industry
Your organization’s unique
business issues
Your specific role/job function
(e.g., CIO, CMO,VP of Manufacturing,
Accountant, IT director)
Your region/country
Companies about the same size
as yours
B2B buyers value ideas that are personalized,
and therefore relevant and engaging
How important was it
that the solution
providers personalized
the information they
provided?
Mean rating
(N=410)
Note: Mean rating based on a 7-point
scale where 1=not at all important and
7=extremely important.
Source: ITSMA, How Executives Engage
Survey, 2018
5.4
5.3
4.9
4.8
4.8
Not at all
important
Mean rating Extremely
important

Marketing and sales have to communicate:
we know your industry,your business issues,and you
Source: ITSMA, How Executives Engage Survey, 2018 (N=410)
Solution provider
selection criteria:
Knowledge and
understanding
of our industry
Solution providers to proactively make
valuable recommendations to innovate
and/or improve our business processes
based on their knowledge
of our business
Say it is importantfor:
#1 68%

Buyers spend nearly as much time offline
as they do online
Interest. Narrowing the
field/selecting the shortlist
Awareness. Researching
solutions and providers
Epiphany. Keeping up with
industry/business trends
During the different phases of the purchase process, approximately what percentage of the time did you spend
online vs. offline? Mean % of time (N=410)
53%
47%
53%
47%
Online
(internet search/
webinars/social media)
Offline
(print publications,
in-person events, meetings,
discussions with peers/
colleagues, etc.)
49%51%

Yes
89%
No
11%
Solution provider innovation/briefing center visits
provide valuable high-touch experiences
Note: Does not include respondents
that answered “Not applicable.”
Source: ITSMA, How Executives
Engage Survey, 2018
Did you visit a solution provider
innovation/briefing center during
the purchase process or
post purchase?
% of respondents
(N=410)
rate their most
recent visit as
valuable
Impact of the visit:
• Improved impression
• Stronger relationship
• Better understanding of
latest trends and
developments
No change:
• Length of purchase process
77%

HP uses deep insight-led
personalization to turn
cold, dead, and hostile
accounts into revenue
growth
Results
• 18 months after launch,77% of
the cold,dead,and hostile
accounts engaged with HP
either online or in person
• HPmarketing proved thatthey
could change perceptions and
forge new relationships with
highly personalized sales and
marketing
Cognizant engages
business executives with
highly-targeted thought
leadership
Results
• The disciplined approach to
executive engagement has
produced measurable results in
the marketplace,including
winning mindshare and building
relationships with key executives
and dozens ofnew
opportunities
• Thethree-pronged approach
has now become the model to
roll out across othervertical and
horizontal business marketing
teams
Adobe uses role-based
marketing and its own
executives to engage
C-suite clients
with more
personalized
and
personal
marketing
Results
• Increased engagementwith
senior executives attargeted
accounts
• Established Adobe’s credibility
bycommunicating its vision
executive-to-executive
• Brought newvalueto Adobe
business partners and analysts
byfeaturing their content
EY combines centrally
developed campaign
assets with high-touch,
personal field execution
Results
• Significantly improved
engagement rates (e.g.,call-to-
action responses,time on page,
social media sharing) with
minimal investment
• Extremely low cost per lead.
Generated 18 qualified leads
• EYcampaign content hits home:
Average time spent on webpage
is 2.06 minutes
• Successful pilot is nowthe
blueprintforfuture campaigns

How to create experiences
that are both personalized
and personal
• Build a big window. Look outside and seek
insight
• Do your own research. Dig deep and know your
buyers in the context of your solutions
• Let buyers have it their way. Make it easier for
buyers to consume your content with integrated,
multichannel marketing and sales programs
• Leverage, but don’t rely on technology.
Experiment with and invest in personalization
technology enhanced by human judgement
• Balance online and offline. Complement digital
marketing with high-touch personal experiences

ITSMA’s 2018
How B2B
Executives
Engage Survey
Web-based survey
Survey invitations were emailed
during September 2018
Senior IT and business decision
makers/influencers for solution
purchases with a value of $500K
or more
410
Thank you to our
study sponsors
Business
50%
IT
50%
Job role
Are you an IT
or business
professional?
$250-
999M
30%
$1B or
More
70%
Size of company
Approximatelywhatis
yourcompany’sannual
revenue(oroperating
budgetifgovernment)?
Country/
region
In which
country/
region are
you located?
Benelux10%
Nordics10%
Germany10%
France10%
UK11%
US49%
Primary business
What is your company’s primary business?
Financial Services (banking, insurance, investments, etc.) 15%
Manufacturing (industrial, process, automotive) 15%
Communications (telecom, media, entertainment) 12%
Government/Non-Profit/Public Sector 12%
Healthcare and Life Sciences (healthcare delivery,
biotechnology, medical technology, and pharmaceuticals)
12%
Energy/Utilities/Oil/Mining/Gas 12%
Consumer Goods and Retail (food and beverage, home and
personal care, consumer electronics, consumer durables, apparel)
11%
Other 10%
% of respondents (N=410)

Want to learn more?
For more information
Here’s what is included in the full study:
Julie Schwartz
SeniorVice President
Research and ThoughtLeadership
ITSMA
jschwartz@itsma.com
+1 781 862 8500,x112
The report is available for no additional fee to current ITSMA
members and for sale at non-member price to all others.
https://www.itsma.com/research/executives-engage-connecting-
customers-every-stage-relationship-lifecycle/
Slide
Executive summary 3
Methodology and respondent demographics 44
Detailed findings 52
Crosstabs 83
By solution type 83
By job role 122
By title 156
By size of company 190
By country 224
By industry 263

How Executives Engage: Connecting with Customers at Every Stage of the Relationship Lifecycle

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from ITSMA

More from ITSMA (10)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

How Executives Engage: Connecting with Customers at Every Stage of the Relationship Lifecycle