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the pr
stimulus
package for IT innovators
A white paper for innovators who market IT products and services to business decision-makers.
A Hurricane of Economic Winds
In past decades, the U.S. economy generally would turn up or down with the deliberate momentum of an ocean liner. In the new economy of the 21st century, markets bounce with the capriciousness of a Jet Ski. Within just a few months, America has fallen into an unusually harsh and complex downturn that has wiped out promising signs of economic progress. At the same time, businesses and consumers are sharply focused on developing clean technology as a way of diverting the forces that are blamed for generating some of these winds — reliance on foreign sources of oil to power our nation, gas-guzzling automobiles, global warming, and global competition among manufacturers and service providers.
In fact, Gartner has not had one client stop all of their projects. Insight into this phenomenon may be gleaned from a July 28, 2008, report in InformationWeek Research & Reports, which at first look may not seem to offer much hope to those who market to business decision-makers. The publication surveyed 600 business technology executives and found that 28 percent expect their companies’ IT spending to remain the same through 2008 compared with 2007, 33 percent expect it to rise and 39 percent expect to cut budgets — many significantly. Those cuts, however, are not being made at the expense of customer satisfaction. According to InformationWeek, “Of those being asked to scale back IT spending, less than a quarter (23%) say they’re cutting, or have cut, ‘customer-
This document requires Adobe Reader version 6.0.1 or facing’ projects. Forty-five percent are cutting ones that aren’t Demand is relentless for technologies like wind power, solar later. To view this document, please download Adobe customer-facing.” arrays, biomass fuels, hydropower, green transportation and Reader from: http://www.adobe.com/
more energy-efficient appliances; as well as the application competitive in meeting the challenges they confront. This next revolution in technology will require companies to invest substantially in IT products and services now and for many years to come, if they expect to survive and grow. Yet, according to a June 2008 Gartner research report on “The Recession and How IT Leaders Should Deal With It,” 23 percent of CIOs surveyed in March 2008 actually had their IT budgets reduced, and only 15 percent had them increased. Most remained unchanged. Gartner analyst Ken McGee recently told Airfoil Public Relations that the budgets for CIOs over the past seven years have increased a meager average of 3 percent annually. This means that, while we need technology more than ever to address our economic problems, we are not increasing the technology resources available to IT departments. IT is being asked by top management to cut costs, but paradoxically to keep important technology projects moving forward. McGee noted that companies are not abandoning IT growth. “The current recession is predicated on strange activity,” he observed. “Clients are not stopping projects altogether in response to the downturn.” 2 Companies clearly want to cut IT costs and still grow their of information technology to help companies become more businesses and improve customer relationships. So CIOs, IT managers, procurement managers and others who drive the demand for IT systems today are revisiting their priorities to determine which projects need the most attention and likely will yield the most return from customer engagement. Purchasers of IT services and products have become less confident in their perspective on the economy, realizing that numerous elements are buffeting the market place, and they are looking for someone they can trust and depend on to help focus their purchasing decisions. In this respect, the opportunities for IT innovators to solidify and deepen customer relationships have never been greater.
The Task Ahead for Innovators
Developers of IT solutions, resellers, IT consultants and others attempting to overcome the budget restrictions among corporate customers need to focus their marketing efforts as sharply as the budget-watchers focus on their bottom line. According to Airfoil Public Relations Senior Vice President Eric Kushner, to be successful, IT innovators must persuade prospective customers that each solution being recommended:
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PR, IT, and the GDP: Using public relations strategies to support
IT marketing
in a down economy.
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Eventually the down economy will turn back up; and, unless the organization has
kept pace with IT developments,
itThis document requires Adobe Reader version 6.0.1 or could emerge at a later. To view this disadvantage against considerabledocument, please download Adobe competitors Reader from: http://www.adobe.com/ who maintained their IT expansion.
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1. is truly mission critical, that it is vital to keeping the company from faltering; 2. will reduce operating costs, freeing up scarcer resources for projects that expand the organization’s capabilities while attracting and/or helping to retain consumers; or 3. increases revenue, driving top-line growth for the company. The innovator needs to make the case for these benefits directly when marketing to CIOs, other IT managers, purchasing and procurement managers, or business owners. The IT provider, however, also can help the CIO make his or her case to top management regarding the importance of the IT solution to the organization. “Some companies are trying to expand IT without sufficient
will provide communications support for the innovators’ own marketing efforts and for gaining the confidence of CIOs in the value of the provider’s communications assistance. PR strategies also will be extremely beneficial to: • CIOs as they communicate their needs to management • IT managers who must communicate throughout the organization regarding changes and benefits to IT systems • Procurement managers as they seek input from others who have purchased a particular solution and work to present their recommendations to company leadership • HR managers who make decisions on technology related to benefits administration, training and recruiting • Others in the organization who employ technology
Reader version 6.0.1 or strategically later. To explained. “When that view this document, please mind that PR generally offers much more credibility than dire impact on the business,” Kushner Keep in download Adobe Reader from: http://www.adobe.com/ because public relations seeks comment from third happens, fingers begin turning to the CIO. The CIO, therefore, advertising
carries the burden of informing top management of the potential negative impacts of not funding crucial new initiatives.” Eventually the down economy will turn back up; and, unless the organization has kept pace with IT developments, it could emerge at a considerable disadvantage against competitors who maintained their IT expansion. Gartner’s McGee pointed out that the CIO or IT manager has a responsibility to draft a statement of consequences that outlines what may happen if investment in a particular area is overlooked, lest the chairman exclaims, “You never told me this would happen.” To develop the persuasive document or presentation to top management, the CIO may want to rely heavily on trusted suppliers, who can enunciate the business case for preserving and extending IT initiatives and the benefits to the organization of the proposed solution. This persuasion process, based on facts, trends and outlooks, resides at the core of the public relations discipline. To make their case directly to their customer’s management, as well as to support the CIO in delivering an effective argument for continued IT investment, IT innovators should assemble and employ an array of public relations techniques. Public relations strategies and methodologies parties, such as reporters, bloggers and other satisfied customers. While advertisers may spend thousands or even millions of dollars communicating their products’ benefits to consumers, a viral public relations campaign and/or widely distributed news story can reach more prospects at a fraction of the cost.
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PR Strategies in Difficult Times
Foremost in any communication strategy is a thorough understanding of the rapidly changing currents in today’s marketplace. Every day — often several times a day — new factors emerge that impact the economy and that also can shape your communications effort. These may include: • Reports from other businesses in your customer’s or your own economic sector • Pronouncements from the Federal Reserve Board, the Treasury Department, the Labor Department, the White House, political candidates and other sources that influence market trends • Announcements from technology developers regarding products and services targeted to addressing current business conditions 5
• Announcements from your customer’s competitors, which can support your arguments for adopting new technology • Announcements from your own competitors that may shed light on sales opportunities within your marketplace Most business executives and IT innovators simply do not have the time to follow all the shifts in the market and the trends that erupt ever more frequently today. A public relations professional, however, devotes a tremendous amount of his or her time to doing just that. Public relations agencies monitor the news almost constantly so that their work reflects current circumstances and their clients’ messaging fits into current news developments, making it attractive to reporters. IT innovators need a partner who will understand current
can help a CIO define the specific revenue and cost savings benefits within a proposed IT solution, as well as its criticality to the organization.”
The Importance of Research
Research is another public relations technique that is vital to effective marketing communications. Studying the attitudes, trends and preferences of business customers and/ or consumers enables IT marketers to understand the current economic landscape clearly. “Research removes the haze that surrounds anecdotal or individual experiences to provide a more certain foundation for marketing efforts based on broader and deeper intelligence,”
This document requires Adobesaid Airfoil Research Director Jennifer Becker. “Through Reader version 6.0.1 or trends and be able to convincingly relate how the innovator’s later.the economy — how it will To view this document, please download Adobe predict upcoming shifts in solution fits into developments in research, IT innovators can better Reader from: http://www.adobe.com/ help the target companies weather the hurricane. Equipped market preferences. Concurrently, the CIO or other purchaser
with a thorough understanding of the landscape, with perspectives that are both broad and deep, the innovator can make a much more successful case to the customer, helping the customer persuade top management, when necessary. “The market message is changing nearly every day,” said Airfoil Public Relations Senior Vice President Tracey Parry. “Just look at how presidential candidates have revised their messages daily with every fluctuation in the electoral marketplace. That means the points you make in your marketing materials and the way you talk to prospects may need to change, as well. At Airfoil, this constant honing and updating of client messaging is a foundation for all our communications efforts.” A professional communicator also can help uncover the most important and differentiating benefits of a solution and create messaging to communicate them effectively in any venue — marketing materials, in-person presentations, conversations, media interviews and other forms of communication. “An agency like Airfoil can help define and position the individual elements of your solution so that they relate to current pain points, trends and economic shifts,” said Sue Barnes, general manager of Airfoil’s Silicon Valley office. “Similarly, we 6 can use research to benchmark the company’s IT plans — from e-commerce to green production to data integration — against the IT progress being made by competitors.” Such research helps the marketer cut through the clutter outside the prospect’s door and step inside by identifying the issues that are most important currently to the potential purchaser and that individual’s audience.
Developing Thought Leadership
Airfoil’s Parry also urges that IT innovators consider a “thought leadership” campaign that can enable them to win the confidence of their marketplace in a time of unprecedented flux. Thought leadership involves communication activities not directly designed to market a product or service but rather to establish or elevate the credentials of an executive so that he or she is perceived as a trusted advisor. “Thought leadership can elevate your position in relation to competitors and can help you change your prospect’s purchasing strategy in your favor, when necessary,” Parry said. Having read about and heard from an insightful IT
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“Thought leadership
can elevate your position in relation to competitors, and can help you change your prospect’s purchasing strategy in your favor, when necessary.”
7
Never underestimate the
power of networking
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through social media, and use the collective power of these collegial thought leaders to your advantage.
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innovator will significantly increase the comfort level of the CIO when choosing an IT partner.” Parry offers six ways that a product or service developer can increase thought leadership and, thereby, sales success: 1. Leverage the current economic environment with a prepared point of view that can be incorporated into multiple venues. Offer your own analysis of the causes or likely outcomes of economic trends (research can help here) or even simply your analysis of common threads you are hearing from your customers. 2. Call on your PR agency to help you author bylined articles and op-ed pieces that the agency can place in the trade publications and local media that your target prospects read.
Linking to Social Media
Especially as an IT provider, it’s important to embrace social media for public relations potential. CIO prospects, for instance, very likely have their own blogs, as well as a favorite set of blogs related to their interests. Commenting on these blogs, linking to the posts, and writing thought-leadership posts for one’s own corporate blog, can relatively quickly build bridges to a CIO’s network and community. Moreover, word of mouth is the most powerful of all motivators, and being an active blog participant is a crucial way to generate favorable comments from influential online “mavens” — trusted experts and product samplers. Blogs also can be a very effective research resource, as they
This document requires Adobe Reader version 6.0.1 or mirror the market and the thoughts of its decision-makers and later. To view this document, please download Adobe 3. Your PR agency can develop speaker submissions customers. Opinions gathered in the blogosphere can provide Reader from: relevant trade that seek to position you as a speaker at http://www.adobe.com/
unparalleled insight into the pain points and advantages of targeted prospects. The power of networking through social media, and the collective power of these collegial thought leaders, cannot be underestimated. To demonstrate the value of networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo and others, Airfoil posted shows and conferences attended by your prospects. 4. Testimonials and case studies are essential for IT marketers. Your PR firm can help you gather the information and draft these communications — which can be posted on your Web site as well as printed for distribution. 5. With your agency, you can develop submissions for industry awards that will help provide additional credentials to support your position as an industry leader. For example, following an award submission, Airfoil was named 2008 Technology Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report, a PR industry journal. This designation now appears in all e-mail signatures, marketing materials, Web sites and presentations as an emblem of thought leadership. 6. Work with your PR agency to reach out to industry analysts who issue reports about your business sector that others use for guidance in their decision-making. Your agency will encourage key analysts to mention you and your company in these reports, providing a powerful boost to the credibility of your organization and to you as an industry leader.
a question on the Public Relations and Technology sections of LinkedIn, asking, “What have you found to be the most successful techniques for marketing IT services to CIOs during a down economy?” Within just a couple hours, we received many thoughtful responses from people we had never met, and others continued to reach our inbox over ensuing days. Here’s a sampling of the advice that came our way: “Firstly, everything must be framed in the context of an ROI. Few ‘buy’ decisions are made these days without clear justification for what the expected return will be (though it’s always best to be able to demonstrate quantifiable cost savings or increased revenue, any return, even increased productivity or reduced delays, must be articulated). Secondly, most CIOs operate in collaboration these days with other C-level stakeholders, particularly 9
CFOs and Heads of the Business Units (main mission end users). If you can also work through them and get their input/buy-in, you’ll be in a stronger position to present your services in terms of an ‘enterprise-wide’ solution.” – Brynley Lee, Associate, Strategic Services at CUSTOMatrix, Los Angeles area “ In the post 9/11 downturn, I was VP of marketing for a tech firm. One thing that worked: breaking up products/ projects/services into smaller, more digestible chunks, so the company can afford to tackle them. Making a very strong ROI case showing your company can take out hard costs, and topping that off with a robust reference sell approach, should yield results.”
Conclusion
Providers of IT products and services can prosper during a down economy by partnering with a public relations agency to use PR strategies for a competitive advantage. By communicating return on investment — in terms of dollars, market standing, productivity, speed to market or other criteria — IT innovators can capture the attention of prospective buyers. Make the case for the need to advance the company’s IT infrastructure today to gain leadership when the economy improves. Learn the benefits of using PR techniques in place of paid advertising as a more cost-efficient way to communicate with your target audience, especially during slow economic
This document Marketing Adobe Reader version 6.0.1 or times when conserving marketing budget assumes a new – Gail Nelson, Senior Vice President, requires at later. To view this document, please download Adobe online resources — from your level of importance. Use BurellesLuce, New York City. Reader from: http://www.adobe.com/ blog and Web site to social networking sites — to own “Those that don’t strengthen their systems are the ones
enhance professional confidence in your knowledge and expertise, and build respect for your thought leadership. By being as innovative in marketing your products and services as you are in developing them, your IT sales can thrive despite rugged economic conditions.
that will most likely go to the wall. To avoid that, focus on the value added to help them through the downturn — all reinforced by great referrals strategies and excellent case studies, plus testimonials, sector-led niche marketing and PR, on and offline, plus very sound sales people. – Penny Haywood Calder, PR consultant, Edinburgh, U.K. “Focus on the time- and cost-saving elements as well as the increased productivity or performance. Nowadays, security sells as well. Being secure and having controls in place to be secure sells to clients, partners and prospects. Virtualization is a no-brainer for everybody, saving resources and energy and returning increased flexibility and management.” – Martijn Van Halen, CTO at Payvision, Amsterdam, The Netherlands In a tough market, companies will need to look for new, more magnetic ways to communicate and extend their networks, beyond normal sales techniques. Social media are a cost-free and effective method for gathering information and reaching new audiences. 10
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By being as innovative in marketing your products and services as you are in developing them, your IT sales can despite rugged economic conditions.
thrive
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