Over the last few years, ITSMA’s How Buyers Consume information research has uncovered important buyer trends that have changed the face of marketing. Today, buyer behavior is being driven by a relentless need for knowledge given disruptive technology change. Despite the conventional wisdom, ITSMA’s research shows that buyers can’t learn everything digitally; they need to interact with people. And the people they most want to interact with are subject matter experts. The good news for ITSMA members is that solution providers have become the experts that buyers rely on. The relationships between buyers, solution provider sales people, and SMEs are very important. Success hinges on marketing’s ability to join forces with SMEs and sales to bring content and thought leadership to the buyers. Read this report to find out how Marketing can: • Create the right balance in the marketing mix to reach both B2B Social and Traditional buyers • Create the right balance in the marketing mix to reach business, finance, and IT executives • Facilitate access to subject matter experts and their knowledge • Help sales become subject matter experts in their own right ITSMA, in partnership with CFO, conducted the 2013 version of its acclaimed How Customers Choose research with 438 buyers of large, complex IT solutions across seven countries. Specifically, the study answers questions such as: • What are the most important criteria used to select solution providers? • What content do buyers view on solution provider websites? • How are buyers using social media during the purchase process? • When creating a short list of providers, what sources of information do they use? • Who takes the lead role during the different stages of the buying process? • What are buyers’ preferences for maintaining relationships post purchase? Study Methodology In Fall 2013, ITSMA, in partnership with CFO, conducted a web survey of 438 business, finance, and IT executives from companies that purchase business or technology solutions for individual contracts over $500,000. These respondents represented larger enterprises, with 55% having $1 billion or more in annual revenue from seven different countries: US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, India, and Brazil. Respondents were interviewed in the following vertical markets: Manufacturing, Financial Services, Communications and Media, Public Sector, Healthcare, Energy/Utilities/Oil/Mining/Gas

1. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
How Buyers Consume:
Content, Knowledge, and Wisdom
Results from the ITSMA/CFO
How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013
Abbreviated Summary
Julie Schwartz
Senior Vice President, Research and
Thought Leadership, ITSMA
Dianne Kim
Research Associate, ITSMA
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2. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Abbreviated
Summary
According to ITSMA’s “How Buyers
Consume Information Survey,”
your buyers want three things:
Note: This abbreviated summary highlights some of the
significant findings from How Buyers Consume: Content,
Knowledge, and Wisdom, results from the ITSMA How
B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013.
A more in-depth analysis can be found in the full report.
Insights
Expertise
Your customers buy the big stuff: long-term
commitments for high-stakes bundles of complex,
expensive, and customized tech services. They’re
the minority of buyers who spend the majority of the
cash. And because they’re always changing, the way
you sell to them needs to change too.
Human contact
Flawed assumptions about what your buyers want
can cost you millions of dollars.
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3. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Buyers work hard
for insights
In an age of technological disruption,
buyers have become students again
The desire to learn has driven the biggest
changes in buyer behavior over the last ten years.
And those changes, in turn, have led to a
revolution in marketing.
In the course of your job, how often do you spend time getting
a better understanding of the application of technology
solutions to business problems?
% of B2B Social Buyers (N=218)
46
In an age of technology-led disruption, everyone is
a student again. That includes buyers, especially
B2B social buyers—the young executives with
clout who find social media to be useful during
the purchase process. Buyers are hungry for new
knowledge. Their futures depend on it. And they
are carefully evaluating your organization as a
source of knowledge.
37
13
3
1
Daily
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3
Weekly
Monthly
Rarely
As needed
Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

4. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Buyers crave
person-to-person contact
Early in the buying process, digital
sources of information are not the only
source of information—people matter!
We all connect through the threads of email,
social media, and the web. But those links could
also be seen as walls separating us from genuine
relationships.
When you are keeping up with the industry and learning
about technology solutions, how do you tend to distribute
your time among the various sources of information?
Mean % of Time (N=427)
Offline
21%
We connect emotionally with our eyes, our
ears, and our sense of touch. It’s not easy to
connect emotionally to customers through a
screen and keyboard. Connections don’t occur
through a search engine. They occur when we look
across a table and see another person.
With solution providers
or outside experts
People-based
sources = 45%
You need digital and social channels. But you also
need person-to-person connections. Digital
alone won’t make the sale. The buying process
may begin on Google, but it ends with a person.
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Online
34%
22%
23%
With peers
Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

5. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
When making high-stakes
purchase decisions,
buyers listen to people,
especially the experts
Most buyers feel they have adequate
access to SMEs, but there is room for
improvement
Buyers want to get personal—but not just with
anyone. According to buyers, subject matter
experts (SMEs) supply the most credible
information during the buying process. But there’s a
problem: not enough SMEs to go around.
Poor We have extremely limited
access to subject matter experts
Fair We have access to the subject
matter experts sporadically
During the sales process, how would you describe your
organization’s access to the solution provider’s subject
matter experts? % of Respondents (N=427)
1
16
55
29
Fewer than three in ten buyers agree with the
statement “We have as much access to the subject
matter experts as we need—they are available and
responsive.” The rest want more time with SMEs or
feel that their access to SMEs is sporadic or
extremely limited. That’s why salespeople need to
step up their game.
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5
Good The subject matter experts are
available and responsive, but it would
be better if we could spend more time
with them
Excellent We have as much access
to the subject matter experts as we
need—they are available and
responsive
Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

6. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Sales people are much
more than order takers
Buyers recognize that salespeople
provide significant value during the
purchase process
Buyers already welcome smart salespeople.
Salespeople have the time, motivation, knowledge,
experience, and social skills to interact with buyers
one-to-one. It is time to start expecting salespeople to
step up and become SMEs as well.
76%
Seller
 Provide product or service
information
 Help navigate among alternative
solutions
 Help build the business case
Conduit
Thought
Leader
satisfaction
of B2B buyers report
with their most recent sales experiences
 Put buyer in touch with SMEs
 Provide references
 Provide insights on technology
trends
 Provide insights on business
trends
 Challenge thinking
 Educate on opportunities in
changing the status quo
One of the top
drivers of satisfaction
during the sales
experience is a
knowledgeable
and experienced
sales team
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Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

7. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
The role of sales and
marketing is education
 The people buyers most want to talk to are
your SMEs
 You need to find ways to scale your SMEs
– Make them more accessible online
– Augment SME ranks by enabling the sales force
Buyer behavior is being driven by a relentless need
for knowledge given disruptive technology change.
The sales and marketing partnership
is really a triumvirate
Buyers can’t learn everything digitally; they need to
interact with people.
 Digital marketing does not standalone
 Online, offline, and people-based
interactions need to be
seamlessly integrated:
think
Marketing
omnichannel
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Sales
SMEs
7
Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

8. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Study
Methodology
Countries
Represented
Germany
10%
France
10%
What is your company’s
primary business?
20
5
9
Approximately, what is your company’s annual revenue
(or operating budget if government)? % of Respondents
9
(N=438)
10
24
18
$100–
249M
$250–
499M
23
13
10
$500–
999M
$1–
4.9B
$5–
9.9B
23
$10B or
more
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United
Kingdom
15%
% of Respondents (N=438)
Annual Revenue of Organizations
Represented
14
United
States
37%
Australia
10%
% of Respondents
(N=438)
In Fall 2013, ITSMA, in partnership with CFO, conducted a
web survey of 438 business, finance, and IT executives from
companies that purchase technology–based solutions for
individual contracts over $500,000. These respondents
represented larger enterprises, with 55% having $1 billion or
more in annual revenue from seven different countries: US,
UK, France, Germany, Australia, India, and Brazil.
22
Brazil
India 9%
9%
8
Other
Other includes: retail/wholesale, transportation,
business services, travel and hospitality,
aerospace/defense
Energy/Utilities/Oil/Mining/Gas
Healthcare (payer, provider, and benefits)
Government/Non-Profit/Public Sector
Communications (telecom, media,
entertainment)
Financial Services (banking, insurance,
investments, etc.)
Manufacturing (consumer/industrial,
process/discrete)
Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

9. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Respondent
Characteristics
Job Role
Are you an IT, finance,
or business professional?
Finance
23%
% of Respondents (N=438)
Purchase Involvement
How would you characterize your involvement in your
organization’s purchases of major technology solutions
for individual contracts over $500,000?
Business
34%
% of Respondents (N=438)
I have budget and/or
final sign-off authority
IT
43%
Job Title
Decision maker
Which of the following most
closely describes your job title?
65
% of Respondents (N=438)
44
I research potential providers for Evaluator
inclusion on the short list/
34
I evaluate the providers on the
short list and select the best solution
18
I provide input to help Influencer
the evaluators and
34
decision makers
13
Manager
Note: Multiple responses allowed.
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11
14
Director/ Controller/
VP/
Assistant Treasurer Senior VP/
VP
Head
C-level/
Pres./
General
Manager
Source: ITSMA/CFO, How B2B Buyers Consume Information Survey, 2013

10. ITSMA/CFO Survey | 2013 How B2B Buyers Consume Information
Table of Contents for How Buyers Consume:
Content, Knowledge, and Wisdom,
Results from the ITSMA How B2B Buyers
Consume Information Survey, 2013
Executive Summary
Implications for B2B Marketers
Detailed Findings
Respondent Demographics
The Purchase Process
Stage 1. Epiphany
Stage 2. Awareness
Stages 3 and 4. Interest and Confidence
Stage 5. Loyalty
The Sales Experience
Slide
3
24
34
34
52
66
80
121
134
140
For More Information
Julie Schwartz
Senior Vice President
Research and Thought Leadership
ITSMA
Email: jschwartz@itsma.com
Phone: +1-781-862-8500, Ext. 112
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