A recent study by Forrester Research of technology decision- makers shows vendors where to look for prospective buyers.
1. Develop a vertical marketing strategy to target specific market segments since each segment has a unique set of economic challenges and IT priorities.
Industries such as manufacturing and retail, and consumer- service segments such as health care will show above-average spending. In contrast, the utilities and financial-services industries, which face regulatory scrutiny and slimmer margins are cutting back or being very judicious on what they are spending on IT.
2. Identify the Technologies in Demand
The two hot growth technologies right now are application software and storage. For both categories, 34 percent of companies will increase their spending over last year, according to Forrester Research (www.forrester.com).
Look for potential consulting and training opportunities as companies shift towards more internal development and customization work.
Both enterprise-application software spending and the demand for CRM should increase over past years. As for technologies that will enjoy a definite demand, disaster-recovery and business-continuity products and services this year will both be high on the list.
Another sure winner will be business-intelligence and data analysis software used for data mining, analytics and reporting. Finally, for those of you involved in the sales of enterprise application integration (EAI) products, Forrester says you should see an increase, with more than one-third of IT executives expecting to buy integration software this year.
3. Line up with the Customer's Priorities.
Many IT models are being re-thought and rebuilt after recent economic disasters in the corporate world. Customer relationships are becoming increasingly more valuable as is the need to design an optimal customer experience both online and face to face.
It is important to know that IT organizations have moved heavily towards a centralized decision making model and now a large number of line executives need to be identified rather than just upper management since more and more they are getting involved in IT direction-setting. This means you need to learn how to quickly and easily navigate the large corporate labyrinths today's organizations have created.
Most business-unit executives see their IT shop's top objective as decreasing expenses which has a direct effect on the bottom line. Yet a large percentage of these executives also believe customer acquisition and retention should also be top priorities for IT since revenues are a major driver of a successful company.
Other areas of concern for IT executives include:
* Disconnected IT systems
* Poor project performance
* Meeting business goals
* Ensuring vendors' delivery capabilities
The bottom line is that IT solutions today need to show a direct relation to decreasing expenses and/or increasing revenues. Everything else will remain a lower priority.
This article was adapted from the April 28, 2003 edition of VARBUSINESS Magazine article entitled: "Enterprise Spending: Three Steps to Finding Enterprise IT Spending Opportunities." The article was written by Tom Pohlmann, a research director at Forrester Research (www.forrester.com)." Tom Pohlmann can be reached by sending <mailto:TPohlmann@forrester.com>. I encourage you to visit Forrester Research (www.forrester.com) where you will find additional useful spending trend information.
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Enterprise Spending: Clinching the Deal
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DECISION MAKERS
The person responsible for making/influencing technology product purchase or service decisions when a solution provider engages with the enterprise.
52% IT Manager
42% CIO
21% IT Staff
20% CTO
20% Line of Business/Business Unit Manager
16% CFO/Finance Executive
11% CEO/President/Owner
10% Purchasing/Procurement Manager
Source: VARBusiness' 2003 State of Enterprise Spending study
How many of these types of buyers/stakeholders have you identified in your enterprise wide selling opportunities?
MEASURING UP
What enterprise executives look for when selecting an outside IT solution provider.
39% Technical Expertise
16% Cost
14% Strategic Business Expertise
9% Creative Expertise
8% Scope of Offerings
6% Implementation Time
4% Market Awareness
2% Staff Size
Source: VARBusiness' 2003 State of Enterprise Spending study
What are your company’s strength’s and are they documented?
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