At last week’s TechTarget ROI Summit in San Francisco, Marilou Barsam, SVP of Client Consulting and Corporate Marketing at TechTarget, shared the results of a Spring 2010 survey of what TechTarget calls the “hyper-active researcher.”  Key findings from the 1,700+ survey responses were that these buyers spend the majority of their research time online and nearly 33% are planning 4-6 IT projects within the next year. On the panel during her session was the CIO of a financial services firm. This individual represents the persona of the “hyper-active researcher” and shared with a packed room of B2B marketers how he approaches his role and prefers to interact with vendors.

This CIO is always on the lookout for the next solution to move his company forward. During a typical day he:

  • receives 600-700 emails
  • visits several technology-related websites, bookmarking sites of interest
  • uses Twitter to become aware of new technologies and solutions
  • reads articles by journalists or analysts as well as blogs by peers
  • files content based on immediate projects or future needs
  • watches short videos, especially product demos
  • may attend a trade show as he likes to see products and demos in person

His buying process:

  1. Conduct research to become somewhat of an expert on the technology and solutions available
  2. Start looking at vendors, comparing the strength of the companies along with product features
  3. Talk to vendors
  4. Watch vendor demonstrations to make head-to-head product comparisons
  5. Compile a short list of vendors and do more due-diligence. He uses online communities and his personal network to receive validation from peers.
  6. Makes a vendor recommendation to his management team

When does he want to hear from a vendor?
Not in the early part of the buying cycle. He will reach out when ready. But if you do approach him, use email once or twice before calling.  Educate him, don’t sell and don’t be a nag. White papers should be technical discussions not product pitches. Provide product comparisons to help him make the right decision. If you don’t, your competition will.

Three key takeaways:

  1. Content is king. Be found when the “hyper-active researcher” is looking for information. Publishing keyword-rich educational content on your own website as well as media sites such as TechTarget increases the chance of your company and solution making it to the short list.
  2. Leverage video for product demos and customer testimonials.
  3. Participate in trade shows and industry conferences to get face time with these influential buyers.

Thanks to TechTarget for the excellent research and informative panel presentation.