Case Study on recent technology market research work done for IBM.

1. www.vansonbourne.com
case.study
Let’s talk the facts please!
“We needed to clarify our thinking and to understand the business challenges facing our customers. We
knew some of the areas receiving particular attention from the IT buyers in the insurance community but
we didn’t know which, in 2010, were going to have the highest priority. We chose to again work with Vanson
Bourne to guarantee we were getting the facts from the people that mattered – both the IT decision makers
and the customer-facing executives responsible for business operations.”
Richard Spong,
Worldwide Financial Markets Industry Marketing Leader, Industry Solutions, IBM Software Group
Establish the reality
In a rush to say the right things to the market, to stake a
claim as “expert in the field of.....” or to throw a sufficient
number of leads to sales, it would be all too easy to by-pass
the need for market intelligence. Not so at IBM. This Vanson
Bourne customer opted to do things properly when
determining the key themes for its marketing activities to
customers and prospects in its insurance sector target
market.
IBM decided to undertake primary research to more closely
look at the challenges facing insurers when dealing with
moving data across their enterprises and their business
communities.
Research Solution: Media Relations, Demand Generation
Research Scope: 100 IT and business executives; 6 countries
1 | Vanson Bourne - IBM
Research Methodology: Telephone interviews

2. Richard Spong,
IBM Worldwide Financial Markets Industry Marketing Leader, explained as follows:
“There were two objectives to this study. The first and most important was to validate existing assumptions
and information about our insurance market. We needed to establish some reality around the key aspects
of business data usage and integration in European and North American insurance business operations.
We wanted to know the relative importance of the various issues, challenges, risks and priorities facing
insurers and how this changed by insurance line of business and by country. With this understanding, we
could make marketing decisions and investments in the most appropriate place. The second objective was
to turn this valuable data into strong marketing communications assets to provide back to our insurance
community and to ultimately enable sales.”
With better and broader data
However, IBM knew that it would not be easy to secure the
views and opinions of both IT decision makers as well as
line of business executives in insurance firms and to do this
across several countries and across a number of different
insurance product lines. This would mean first finding and
then addressing the relevant individuals working within
this specialist market with very clear and focused
questions. Willemijn Steegenga, Manager, Media & Analyst
Relations, EMEA for IBM, who had already worked with
Vanson Bourne in support of PR thought leadership
initiatives for the company, quickly connected Richard to
Vanson Bourne.
“I needed to achieve an accurate view from a sufficient
number of responses to give IBM definitive feedback. We had
already conducted a number of engagements with Vanson
Bourne and have a very good working relationship with them.
I decided that I would get better and broader data from them
and excellent support”.
Further discussions with Vanson Bourne led to a single,
well structured questionnaire for both sets of respondents.
Particular attention was paid to remove uncertainty from
those questions, and to clarify IT terminology, ensuring
business respondents could reply accurately and fully.
Vanson Bourne confirmed that it could access the target
audience and tightly monitor the research scope to
achieve the business objectives. A telephone survey
methodology was advised as the best approach to secure
the outcomes required.
Research Solution: Media Relations, Demand Generation
Research Scope: 100 IT and business executives; 6 countries
2 | Vanson Bourne - IBM
Research Methodology: Telephone interviews

3. Made ready for sales
Within 6 weeks the project was completed and IBM
was able to delve into a comprehensive set of data
perspectives illustrating how the behaviour, focus and
priority of insurance firms differed between the European
and North American regions. With the study complete, the
results and implications of the results were then compiled
into two regional whitepapers ready for a focused media
relations campaign and for supporting the sales process.
Press releases pinpointed the key findings from the research
and directed journalists to the reports and generated good
media coverage. Study data supported webinars and
presentations made to analysts, customers and prospects
as well as those made internally to sales teams.
“We have a significant investment in sales enablement in IBM
as we have widely distributed sales people working in different
vertical industries. We have to give them the right tools to do
their job properly and that means being able to talk about the
market that they are operating in as well as the specific
proposition on the table. This study enabled us to talk facts.”
With a registration process in place for access to the
whitepapers on the website, IBM has also been able to
gather intelligence from its customers and prospects in the
insurance community, enabling field marketing to conduct
further lead nurturing before transferring more qualified
leads to sales colleagues.
To share significant insights
Overall with such a clear emphasis on the value of market
intelligence to guide its decisions on marketing activities
and investments, IBM has been able to create a strong
platform for brand awareness and more importantly for
sales enablement within its target insurance community.
“This study with Vanson Bourne has generated significant
insights, clearly illustrating that some leading insurers are
enabling efficiencies and improving customer experience by
using technology to integrate data and present it where it can
support operational value, whilst many other insurers appear
to lag in recognising and achieving these benefits. This is
absolutely the market intelligence we sought and can now
share with our customers and prospects.”
About IBM
IBM helps companies optimise and transform their Business Collaboration Network to accelerate revenues and reduce costs. IBM
provides more than 18,000 customers worldwide applications and integration solutions to connect, communicate and collaborate
inside and outside their enterprise. More information can be found at www.ibm.com
About Vanson Bourne
Vanson Bourne is an independent and specialist market research provider for the global technology sector. We have a demonstrable
track record of helping our clients better understand and communicate more effectively in their target markets, providing market
research with real statistical rigour. Our expertise in sampling, design and assured project management combine with informed
data insights and market context to deliver highly effective technology marketing. More information can be found at
www.vansonbourne.com
Research Solution: Media Relations, Demand Generation
Research Scope: 100 IT and business executives; 6 countries
3 | Vanson Bourne - IBM
Research Methodology: Telephone interviews