Inside the mind of the CIO EVIDENCE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS. INFORM. MONITOR. MEASURE. SUCCEED
Contents Foreword
3
A challenging role “See me for who I am” “Let me do what I’m good at” “I love innovation” “My role is strategic: but I need the space to think”
4 5 6 7 8
The communications implications
9
Products AND reputation Utilise IT decision-makers’ focus on innovation Leverage trust Focused communications
10 13 13 16
Specific actions for communications professionals
18
About the survey Penn Schoen Berland conducted a survey of 300 IT decision-makers in the UK, France, Germany and Italy between 25th and 28th July 2012. IT decision-makers were defined as CIOs, IT Directors or IT managers with significant purchasing authority (primary or shared) in medium (50-300 people) or large-sized (over 300 people) businesses.
Foreword
3
For many of us who manage corporate communications in the technology sphere, reaching and influencing the CIO is a key objective. Much has been written about the changing nature of the role, but comparatively little about the men and women who fill it. Yet, their personal engagement with products and brands is a key factor in the success of communications and marketing activities. How do they regard their role, the attitudes of those around them to it, and how do they want their role to develop? With this in mind, we commissioned research with the aim of getting into the mind of the CIO. Undertaken in four European markets (UK, Germany, France and Italy) it identifies common themes and insights of relevance to communications professionals, as well as local differences. The study revealed a number of traits that characterise today’s CIO: 1
CIOs’ roles encompass a wide spectrum of responsibilities which present diverse challenges and pressures in their jobs;
2 They battle stereotypes which they feel underestimate their value; 3 They want to engender collaborative decisions, but are keen to retain overall control of IT decision-making;
4 They are motivated by innovation, but are practical in outlook; 5 Finally, they are increasingly assuming, and would like to assume more, strategic responsibility in their organisations.
Perhaps most importantly for communications professionals, the study also reveals how CIOs make decisions when looking to select IT partners. It focuses on the best means to reach and influence him or her in IT decision-making. It asks what do they read or watch to get information and is it actually influential? How far, if at all, do they trust technology vendors? How far do they use social media to inform the decision-making process? How important is CSR and corporate PR vs traditional technology PR ? In undertaking this, we had a clear goal in mind. We wanted it to help us form evidence-based conclusions as to the best way to structure a truly effective communications campaign and provide us with actionable and insightful advice on reaching the CIO.
Chris Cartwright Chair, Technology Practice, Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle East and Africa chris.cartwright@bm.com
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A challenging role The role of the CIO is multi-faceted and complex, and, while many find this exciting, it presents a number of challenges. Broad yet specific, ‘geeky’ yet central to business strategy, focused on quick fixes but with an eye on the bigger picture, the CIO is asked to accomplish many different things and is pulled in many different directions: uu To reduce IT spending alongside increased
demands from colleagues to ‘bring their own device’ and the expectation of immediate on-the-spot problem solving
uu To minimise risk while being asked to find
innovative, new (and cost-effective) solutions to IT problems.
They are highly trained IT professionals and yet, with the growth of new technology, ‘almost everyone is an IT expert these days’. CIOs inhabit a challenging world that can be frustrating and stressful. Our research explores what IT decision-makers would like the rest of us to know about how they work and think.
5
“See me for who I am” Stereotypical attitudes to technology experts remain prevalent. Our research shows a significant divergence between the day-to-day
experience of the IT decision-maker role and the image held by non-IT colleagues and the wider world.
ITDMs are people first What I think I do…
What my friends think I do…
What my parents think I do…
Keep the wheels turning - the glue holding the company together
Very little - a lazy geek in front of a computer
Fix all of technology - a computer genius
What my boss thinks I do…
What other staff think I do…
Be everywhere at once – their right-hand man
Play games until I’m called to the rescue when things go wrong
The image of the IT decision-maker is a strange hybrid. On the one hand, our respondents are viewed as a super-human rescue service and on the other hand, as an obstructive and intrusive barrier to getting things done. 60 per cent of IT decision-makers agree that colleagues believe they can work miracles by retrieving
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un-backed-up data, but 37 per cent believe colleagues think they solve problems by pushing control-alt-delete and over a quarter think their peers believe they spy on their emails. Being seen as service-providing ‘geeks’ is a perception that CIOs would actively like to dispel.
6
Chart 1
Being seen as service-providing ‘geeks’ is a perception that IT decision-makers would like to dispel — Q: Which of the following do you agree with? (per cent Yes) My colleagues….
think I prevent them from using the tools and devices they would like to use
35
40
33
think I solve most IT problems by using control-alt-delete, or restarting the computer
43
35
39
28
think I’m a geek
46
15
41 41
think I spend my time policing their browsing to see if they use pornography
25
27 29
think I spy on their emails at work
19 20
France
Germany
Italy
45
41
32 33
UK
“Let me do what I’m good at” In another contradiction to the stereotype, the majority of IT decision-makers not only regularly involve others in the decision-making process, but actively want more input from colleagues. In the UK for example, 64 per cent want more input from other departments (with 32 per cent wanting a lot more input and the other 32 per cent wanting a little more input).
However, this has to be managed well. Increased pressure from others in the business for particular devices or brands while being under pressure to manage costs and improve security can create a major headache.
7
“I love innovation” This is a group that is passionate about technology and innovation. They actively seek to stay ahead of new developments and are keen to try new services and devices as early as possible. 75 per cent feel that innovation is central to their organisation’s business strategy reported by CIOs in UK, Germany and Italy, although by only 58 per cent in France and 67 per cent see themselves as the primary source of innovation in their organisations.
But this is a savvy group: innovation without real purpose is shunned. The delicate balance between adapting to new technologies and the need to maintain effective and efficient systems can be seen in their attitudes to the dual trends of social media and ‘bring your own device (BYOD). Facebook is almost universally decried as the biggest waste of time, and 23 per cent of IT decisionmakers would not support nor encourage use of personal devices in the workplace.
Despite being sometimes seen as forces of conservatism, over three-quarters agree that “IT departments work best when they embrace new ideas and breakthroughs in technology”.
Innovation is highly valued — Q: Which is closest to your view?
Chart 2
IT departments work best when they embrace new ideas and breakthroughs in technology
IT departments work best when they work with similar types of products that are proven to work well and they are familiar with
72
28
France 75
25
Germany 79
21
ITALY 76 UK
24
8
“My role is strategic: but I need the space to think” CIOs have a wide range of responsibilities across the business, with more and more departments wanting to engage them. This includes human resources who increasingly see IT devices and services as a way to attract and retain talent and marketing teams keen to capitalise on their expertise in new media.
IT is seen as central to business strategy
— Q: How central is your IT department to the company’s business strategy?
Chart 3
Not at all central Not very central Somewhat central Very central
A significant proportion of IT decision-makers see it as part of their role to create business opportunities. Three quarters think that the IT department is central to their company’s business strategy – rising to 79 per cent in the UK. This is a trend that we expect to see grow in other markets.
1 13 27
7
20
14
19
41
48
20 France
52
21
Germany
55
38
24
ITALY
Many IT decision-makers either already do or aspire to sit at the boardroom table – particularly the most senior and experienced. They are confident taking on tough business responsibilities and view IT as integral to the success of the business. Yet others are bogged down by the broad spectrum of their role and the limitations that this poses. They cannot do everything. As one of our CIOs put it, they would prefer to be seen ‘as a business stakeholder’: a role that has influence upon strategy but as one of many stakeholders rather than having ultimate responsibility.
UK
IT decision-makers can get overloaded with information. They keep up to date on industry trends and issues, using a range of sources and channels. Almost all agree that they can access everything they want to know about their professional area of interest. The key challenge is therefore how to cut through: amid information saturation, how can we ensure that communications are effective?
The communications implications IT decision-makers are clearly telling us that they are deeply engaged in the media and consuming information from a wide range of sources on an almost continuous basis. Traditional media, including TV, radio, newspapers and trade publications are all regarded as primary sources of news with the power of the search engine in directing people to relevant information firmly established.
9
49 per cent listed search engines and newspapers as sources of information used as part of their work. Newspaper websites (42 per cent), trade media (41 per cent), TV news (40 per cent), Facebook (32 per cent) and the BBC website (32 per cent) all featured strongly as sources of information for business decisions.
Traditional sources of news are trusted more than social media — Q: Which ones do you trust the most?
Chart 4 Newspapers
44 45
30 TV news
33
25
36
43
28 29 50
Newspaper websites 31
22 13
19
Radio
12
24 17 16 21
8 16
Blogs
7
Other social media
8 7
Other
3 1
21 21
9
9
20
19 18
11
UK
40
29 BBC website
Germany
35
24
France
Italy 33
Search engines
48
36
39
10
In terms of trusted news sources, traditional media still rule with newspapers and TV news at the top of the tree. However, levels of trust in social media are also rising with approximately one in five trusting Twitter across the UK, France and Italy – almost the same levels of trust for radio in those countries. In the context of a world of contested communications, where many competing voices are jostling for air time amid unprecedented volume and range of information sources, being present, compelling and consistent across all of these channels is imperative. Over-reliance on any one channel, either for awareness or influence, may lead to being blindsided by conversations, opinions and decisions conveyed via another. In addition to this requirement to monitor and engage with the full range of communications channels on an ongoing basis, IT decision-makers also told us three things that have significant implications for the content and the channels we select to reach them:
1
They want to hear about products – but that the reputation of the organisations behind them is almost as important;
2 That innovation, quality and value are key considerations; 3 Finally, they trust and use ‘owned’ media as well as both traditional and social media channels; This insight suggests three take-aways for communicators; 1
We need to balance our stories between product information and communicating reputation beyond those products; 2 We need to ensure our innovation messages are clearly and frequently repeated; 3 We should not underestimate the impact of our owned channels in persuading decision-makers;
Products AND reputation In these times of austerity, and considering what CIOs have told us of their roles, a focus on product information is not surprising. A number of commentators have suggested that increasingly in a downturn consumers see right through transparent ‘positioning’ and focus on what matters to them: the quality of products .
This survey supports this and as communicators we need to remember the value of clear, concise and persuasive product messaging and provide clear articulation of real benefits (rather than hype).
Quality and reputation are the key criteria when choosing a provider
— Q: Overall, how likely are each of the following to influence you in deciding which company to purchase IT products and services from? (per cent Very likely)
Chart 5
Quality of products
69
55
Brand reputation
56
47
59
52 55
61
40
57
47
After sales care
47
51 51
Track record of innovation 39
Treatment of suppliers
47
45 40
Ease and convenience of purchase
45 44 45
43
50
32
39 38
CSR and citizenship
31 31
Leadership and management team
Mailings and other direct communication
28 29 32
Word-of-mouth
32 24
Colleagues’ views Advertising
29 28
23
22
Profits and executive remuneration 20
39
37
36 37
31 31 32 32
Social media and blogs
35
36 35
28 29
33 31 29 27 32
25 28
49 47
32 33
Relationships with representatives
47
44
36
Financial strength and performance
47
45
43 43
Familiarity with the products & services
59
44
53
Germany Italy
59 67
Value for money
Pricing of products and services
France
65
51
UK
11
12
However, getting this right is really just the entry-level today. IT decision-makers tell us that the reputation of an organisation is one of the key factors they take into consideration when they make purchase decisions. It rates more highly than any other factor other than the quality of products.
When asked to weigh the importance of an organisation against the personal relationships built up with individuals from that company, the results are evenly balanced with a slight favouring of reputation in the UK and Italy, with only German IT decision-makers saying that personal relationships are more important.
Reputation is very important in deciding who to purchase from — Q: Which is closest to your view?
Chart 6
The reputation of a company is the most important thing when deciding who to purchase from
The existing relationship I have with a company’s representative is the most important thing when deciding who to purchase from
52
48
France 47
53
Germany 63
37
ITALY 53
47
UK
The insight that reputation is a key decision driver suggests that technology communicators need to really focus on what drives their own reputation and builds the brand. But what should they focus on? What drives reputation or what are the qualities of a market leader, according to IT decision-makers?
Our respondents tell us that the ingredients for these reputation-building campaigns are not celebrity CEO profiles, CSR campaigns or even transparent reporting etc but a constant focus on what matters to them: Innovation, Quality, Reliability.
Chart 7
Innovation and high quality products makes a market leader — Q: Thinking about these market leaders, what do you think makes them leaders? (All markets)
Utilise IT decision-makers’ focus on innovation Innovation is the constant theme of commentary from IT decision-makers. They not only see it as fundamental to their role, and to the success of their own organisations, but as the defining characteristic of those companies that they see as leaders. We know that it motivates them and it provides an excellent opportunity to present information and opinion in a way that will resonate.
Reiterate your innovation messages frequently, but perhaps even more effectively, create opportunities for CIOs to witness and participate in innovation; between a third and a half of IT decision-makers tell us that being able to try products is very important to them, and similar numbers see events as important opportunities to satisfy their curiosity and find out more about new products.
Leverage trust Previous research has shown that technology companies are trusted more than companies in any other sector. Our recent Global Brand Index showed technology companies in a very good light, with the strongest reputation as a sector, according to interviews with 40,000 consumers in 6 countries. Our respondents in this survey, IT decision-makers, support this finding, with between 40 and 70 per cent claiming to trust IT vendors a lot with more than 9 in 10 trusting a little or a lot.
This suggests that those communicating on behalf of technology firms can be more direct in their messaging and the channels they choose to use.
13
14
Technology companies are strongly trusted — Q: How far do you trust what technology companies say?
Chart 8
Distrust a lot Distrust a little
1 5
1 7
7
1 5
45
51
24
46
48
41
69
47
Trust a little Trust a lot
France
Germany
ITALY
What does this mean in practice? Our research illustrates the importance of utilising all available channels, including owned media such as corporate websites and social media to reach their audiences. CIOs tell us that they trust, and are influenced by, corporate websites almost as much as trade press and in fact, more than articles in the business press.
The research also indicates that IT vendors should leverage their own social media properties more effectively as they are becoming more important in the decision-making process, with 70 per cent of IT decision-makers citing social media as very or somewhat valuable.
Social media is crucial in decision-making... — Q: How valuable, if at all, is social media in helping
Chart 9
Not at all
UK
you to make purchase decisions?
9
7
19
24
3
8 20
32
Not very Somewhat Very
40
32
France
41
28
Germany
37 41
36 24
ITALY
UK
Of these social media properties, YouTube is identified as vital in the decision-making process. One in three IT decision-makers tell us that they use YouTube as part of their purchase decisionmaking process. This, combined with the use of corporate websites noted above, suggests that video is a powerful tool that should be leveraged. The content that they like to see as video includes the full range of communications content, from
information on technical developments (referred to on YouTube by 39 per cent of ITDMs), to reference projects and corporate news (30 per cent). Producing quality videos as a way of conveying and controlling messages, either on the corporate site, or via YouTube is certainly something that technology brands should be investigating.
YouTube vendor videos have a lot of influence — Q: Which of the following have had influence on purchase decisions you have made for your company?
Chart 10
YouTube videos from vendors
33 32
Tweets by CEOs
32
21
13
29
Facebook posts by CEOs
25
16
23
18 17 17 16
Tweets by CIOs
Tweets by engineers or technical experts
24 25
16 17 18
Blogs by CIOs
15
Blogs by CEOs
13
Tweets by journalists
20
22
19 15
26 19
9
Blogs by engineers or technical experts
17
16
20
17
12
23
13
Facebook posts by CIOs
15
9
Independent blogs
17
14 13
9
13
21
12 13 12 14
Facebook posts by journalists
Blogs by journalists
9
Facebook posts by engineers or technical experts 7
20 11 11 11 11 12
France 37 37
Germany Italy UK
15
16
However, a cautionary note should be made: recent research and the experience of many in the sector suggest that many communications directors are fighting to retain control of these channels as marketing, customer service and sales parts of the organisation, as well as dedicated ‘digital and social’ functions are exerting their influence. If using owned media to reach the CIO is as vital as our data suggests, communications professionals need to exercise far more control in this space.
We must assume that websites and social media properties will be viewed by customers and prospects and that this content will contribute to the overall impact, impression and reputation of an organisation. Ensuring alignment, as a minimum, between these channels is emerging as a key role for communications professionals. Ideally communications teams need to reassert control to use these channels effectively to influence purchasing audiences.
Focused communications Outside of owned media, what are the trusted sources of information that truly inform purchasing decisions? Within the traditional media, technology and trade media are the most influential, followed by articles in sector specific press. Both are seen as more influential than the national media to IT decisions, an interesting finding given the focus placed by many IT vendors on communicating with the national press. This would indicate that successful communications programmes
should perhaps be made up of targeted sub campaigns looking at the trade media, the vertical market media, analysts and speaker opportunities. Industry analysts and conferences are seen as equally influential, according to our findings, which suggests IT vendors’ PR teams should place more emphasis on targeting the right speaker opportunities and placing speakers there.
17
Influences vary by market but specialised publications, websites and shows are strongly used — Q: Of the sources below, how influential is each in your purchasing
Chart 11
decision? ( per cent Very)
Articles in tech/trade publications
32
35
23
36
24
33
34
Direct from vendor
34
Search engine
25
31
20
34
SI or consultant 23
29
27
20
Blogs
TV
34 27
19
28 21
15
23 25
17 16
23 22
15 16 16
15
Advertising 13 11 12
32
25
20
16
37
29
17
Articles in national newspapers
37
29
20
Colleagues’ opinions
33
28
Conferences and trade shows
Radio
39
29
28
17 25
15 22
Germany Italy
36
28
Industry analysts
France 43
Websites on corporate information
Articles in business/ sector specific publications
39
35
28
UK
18
Specific actions for communications professionals The mesage from IT decision-makers is that there are some simple steps that can have significant impact on the efficacy of communications campaigns designed to support sales efforts. Our audience is practised at using a wide range of media and influence channels to inform themselves of product and supplier information, and is comfortable in accessing that information as and when they need it. The balance and function of the channels used changes with each stage of the process. Five key steps to reaching the CIO:
1. Brand and Reputation is important After quality of products, our respondents said reputation and brand is the most influential criteria in their purchasing decision. This is encouraging news for communicators, but also points to the critical need for technology vendors to spend more time and effort working out what they stand for, what their mission, purpose, values and messages are, and what makes them different, because it really does make a difference to the IT decision-maker.
2. Innovation is the defining characteristic of market leadership When we asked what defined a market leader, innovation came out as the defining characteristic. Although many factors contribute to enhancing brand and reputation, our evidence suggests that if you want to build reputation enhancing programmes that will actually resonate with IT decision-makers, they should focus on innovation as a key theme.
3. Products, Quality, Value IT decision-makers are most influenced by the quality of products, reputation and value for money. Placing these three factors at the heart of a campaign may seem like a back to basics approach, but our research suggests its effectiveness.
4. Make better use of owned media The role of owned media is often overlooked, but the responses of those decision-makers that we spoke to highlight its importance to them. It is interesting that, perhaps due to the levels of trust noted above and in other surveys, company websites are seen as a key source of information. At a time when many different departments and agencies are claiming ownership of these channels, communications directors need to take more interest in the content of their websites, which are second or third point of call for our audience across Europe, and ensure that they are not only currently and frequently updated, but also genuinely engaging for the audience; the CIO we spoke to said liked product demos and reviews, technical data, product news etc. The same could be said to be true of social media. Our research suggests that many IT vendors may be missing out on a significant channel of influence - YouTube. Producing quality videos as a way of conveying and controlling messages, either on the corporate site, or via YouTube is certainly something that technology brands should be investigating.
5. The Five Key Communications Channels Focus communications on the five key communications channels IT decision-makers pay most attention to and are influenced by‌ the corporate website, using video; technology and trade media; sector specific press; industry analysts and industry conferences.
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About Burson-Marsteller Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.eu), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and programme execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 73 offices and 83 affiliate offices, operating in 108 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.
About Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) Penn, Schoen and Berland is a global research-based consultancy that specialises in messaging and communications strategy for blue-chip political and corporate clients. We have over 30 years of experience in leveraging unique insights about consumer opinion to provide clients with a competitive advantage – what we call Winning KnowledgeTM. PSB executes polling and message testing services for Fortune 100 corporations and has helped elect more than 30 presidents and prime ministers around the world. More information is available at www.psbresearch.com.
Burson-Marsteller EMEA 37 Square de Mee没s B-1000 Brussels T. + 32 2 743 66 11 www.burson-marsteller.eu
Jeremy Galbraith CEO, Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle-East & Africa T. + 32 2 743 66 11 jeremy.galbraith@bm.com