If you ask executives of Dynamics ISVs, a substantial majority (nearly 60%) will tell you that the number-one resource that buyers rely on is trade shows. These ISVs back up that conviction with their money—they make trade shows their top budget priority.
But here’s where the disconnect comes into play: If you ask Dynamics users which vehicles they actually rely on to research solutions and make purchasing decisions, more than 60% will point to online sources. The most popular online resources, cited by 70% of respondents, are educational an strategy-focused webinars and recorded videos (training, industry insights, and product demos). Not far behind, at 60%, are white papers and informational brochures.
What about trade shows? Only 16% of users rely on trade shows as their top product research medium.
This disparity between users and ISVs is one of the most striking results to emerge from a recent survey carried out by MSDynamicsWorld (MSDW), in which 87 Dynamics users and 74 executives of ISVs were questioned about marketing activities in the Dynamics space.
Other disparities uncovered by the survey:
- Social media rank significantly higher with ISVs as a marketing priority than with users.
- Similarly, Google ads and SEO rank significantly higher with ISVs than with users.
- In contrast, users rely much more heavily on video as a top research priority than ISVs give it in their marketing plan.
- Third-party editorial web sites like MSDW are favored by users significantly more than ISV marketers realize.
It’s never a simple matter for sellers to get inside the heads of buyers. But it’s more essential than ever that they do, because failure to do so means wasting huge amounts of budget on unproductive activities….and allowing competitors a significant advantage.
For many ISVs, the survey indicates, improving productivity means focusing their marketing efforts on the real research preferences of users: white papers, webinars, and other videos that originate on well-read outlets like MSDW.
