Business Audience Deep Dive: BDMs and IWs Insights

Business Audiences
Deep Dive
August 2010

Contents
 Purpose of this document
 The bigger picture (audience, segments, verticals)
 Business audience deep-dive on:
BDMs IWs

− Who are they? − Who are they
− Their responsibilities − Segmentation
− Challenges they face − How they work
− Sources of information − What they use
− Products they choose − Products
− Their attitude towards Microsoft − Insights
− Insights and communications − Opportunities

 Final thoughts

Your hosts today

Raj Misra Benedicte Philippe-Domin
Senior Strategist Training & Readiness Global Lead
(Seattle) (Paris)

Purpose of this document

To equip you with in-depth
knowledge about
Microsoft‟s business
audiences, being BDMs
and IWs, and how to best
connect with them.

Why do we care about business audiences?

Technical audiences MANAGE Business audiences USE technology
technology o Productivity increase
o Security o Improved client service
o Reliability o Mobile capabilities
o Disaster recovery o Storage / recovery
o Workload minimization
“People want to save everything they have which “Exchange makes us way more productive, it is
creates storage problems” business critical”

“Only about 1% of our email isn‟t Spam, so we “We use it because it is works with my mobile
need good protection” phone really well plus the shared calendars are
going to be very important”

With democratization of technology, end users and business audiences
are playing a more important role

The
bigger
picture
A u di e n ce s vis-à-
vis S e g m e n t s v i s -
à-vis V e r t i c a l s

Microsoft Segmentation Approach

VERTICALS

What are the specific industry
traits must we address?

AUDIENCES
(BDM, IW, IT PRO, DEVELOPERS…)

Who is our audience, what
SEGMENTS are the insights and best ways
(Enterprise, Partners…) communication points?
Which segment are we talking to?

SMSG Marketing Matrix
SEGMENTS
EPG SMS&P
Public
Enterprise Education Depth Breadth Partners
Sector

BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS (BDM)

A
IT DECISION MAKERS (ITDM)
U
D

Marketing
Audience
I ITI IMPLEMENTOR (ITI)
E
N DEVELOPERS
C
E
DESIGNERS
S

INFORMATION WORKERS (IW)

Segment
Marketing

Commercial audiences mapping
Function Leaders

CxO
VP Sales CMO COO VP R&D Other
ITDM : CIO CFO (Finance)
(Sales) (Marketing) (Operations) (R&D)
VP HR (HR)
BDMs

Business Apps / LOB CIO
Infrastructure & delivery

Supply Chain Management

Research & Development

Training & Development
Product Management
RM / Digital Marketing
Executives
Function

Architecture / CTO

Customer Service
Administration

eCommerce
Procurement
Accounting

Advertising

Recruiting
Planning
Treasury

Logistics

Benefits
Development

Legal

Sales

PR
Security

IT I
Other EU / IW
Desig Develo
IT ners pers

Technical audiences (TAGM) Business audiences
CxO CEO, CTO, CIO, CMO etc.
ITDMs IT Decision Makers
Business Decision Makers
IT Implementer BDM-TI Technology Influence
ITI
IT generalist, IT specialists BDM non-TI Business Decision Makers
Other IT Non - Technology Influencers
(desktop support, infra
support, LOB specialist) EU / IW End Users / Information Workers

Let’s talk
about BDMs
first

Who are they? Responsibilities Making decisions Challenges Source of info Products Attitude to MSFT Insights & comm

What titles they carry
What job do they do?

What
responsibility do
they carry ?

What is the decision
making process
like at different BDM
levels?
What challenges
come with the job?
To excel at their job,
where do they go for
information?
What products
are relevant to
them?
When considering
Microsoft, what is
their attitude
towards us?
What insights can we
tap into to best
communicate with
them?


A very versatile group of people.

From a 10-man company owner

to

a 100,000-people global, public-listed company CEO


A BDM persona
I am a man (78%). I obtained tertiary education. I work in a
service or manufacturing company. My annual
compensation can easily exceed $150,000. I use a
computer in my office, and work with Windows XP & Office
2007. I always have my mobile phone near me or my PDA. I
surf the web every day. I feel optimistic about my future. I
am ambitious and love my job. I read a lot about the
economy, my own industry and my job to stay ahead of the
curve and lead my company.

I‟m around 40 years old. I‟m married with children. My wife
is working too. My professional life and my private life are
not completely balanced. I live in a high-paced cityor its
suburbs. I love sports. I often read. Outside of work, I like
going to clubs to meet like-minded leaders. At home, we
are over-equiped with high tech products. I am a frequent
flier for both business and personal reasons, on business
class (20%).


Who is a Business Decision Maker
 Decision maker of a company or an organization exceeding 10 persons
 Covers both private and public sector
 Manages either the whole company or a department
 Does NOT work in the IT department
 Top job is managing people and budgets efficiently and effectively
 Looks after the long-term, strategic company direction (strategic, human,
budgetary)
 Most likely to meet with senior company management
 Many BDMs have an influence on technology : TIDM (technology-influencing
decision maker) or TI BDM (same thing)
 TI BDMs are not just c-level executives
 Most involved with technology as capital expenditure
 Top goal is turning IT from an expense into a strategic asset
 Final decision authority on technology purchases
 Little or low opinion of Microsoft
 Microsoft‟s focus has been on BDMs in : finances, sales and marketing, HR and the
supply chain roles (from procurement to after-sales services including production)

Who are they? Responsibilities Making decisions Challenges Source of info Products Attitude to MSFT Insights & Comm

BDM at work
 Their career success is their first objective, they accept the
sacrifices required to succeed (length of a day worked, little
family time)

 Their personal priorities :
– 1st : increase their income (52 %)
– 2nd : develop new competences (42 %)

 They are optimists
– 84 % are optimistic about the future of the company
– 84.5 % are optimistic about their professional future


BDM audience size in USA
Download sizing breakdown for your country.

1,951,000
Enterprise

4,310,000
Mid Market

2,858,000 1,496,000
Small Org

2,733,000 2,226,000

Tech Competency
- Non TI BDM TI BDM
+
9,902,000 Non TI BDM 5,673,000 TI BDM

Source: Microsoft‟s BDM Group, March 2010.


TI BDM vs. BDM ?
 TIDM and TI BDM: same same
 The TI BDMs are a sub group of BDMs and represent 73% of the BDMs
 TI BDM overall involvement in the IT purchase process is high
 TI BDMs‟ IT influence varies by IT product category; lowest for server/tools
products, highest for business applications
 Top focus areas for most TI BDMs are customer-facing and financial process
software
 Most TI BDMs report friendly relationships with ITDMs
 There are 4-6 TI BDMs in a typical mid-market company; 12-15 in a typical
enterprise
 Microsoft‟s primary marketing focus is on TI BDMs.


A BDM can also fully/partly be an ITDM


A BDM can also partly be an IW


BDM vis-à-vis IW
 Which of the following best describes your role at work?

I am responsible for making
Exec decisions about the goals/priorities

BDM
of my department and/or the
overall company.
Management

I determine how to complete
Coordination my projects and/or tasks.
or

IW
I am responsible for
Implementation
contributing to a team and
completing my own
projects/tasks.


How they describe their responsibilities:


BDM Roles & Responsibilities – Key Words
 When asked to define the „essence‟ of their positions in just a few words, the following
terms that emerged with some frequency were: manage, control, lead,
communicate, coordinate and oversee.
– I could say that I manage the direction, I oversee it more so. [Chicago, BDM]

– I have to lead, responsibilities, the juggling of different personalities throughout the organization… [Chicago, BDM]

– To be considered a leader amongst my team and to direct responsibilities and job functions to others and to hold them
accountable. [Chicago, BDM]

– Oversee, planning and implement. […] It‟s basically what I do. […] Oversee is the same word as management. [SF,BDM]

– Coordinate, project management, and events. […] I see coordinating as taking pieces from different people and putting
them all together, whereas the events and project management is something that I own and make all the decisions on and
roll out completely on my own. [SF, BDM]

– I control payments within Germany and on an international level, so I underlined control. I test and find new software. So I
control, tend and test. [Frankfurt, BDM]

– I said to check the budget, control purchase, and help to structure and the IT content. I underlined control, agree, and
participate. […] This is control whether people stick to the defined budget. We have to work with the budget that we have.
[Frankfurt, BDM]

– The first one is communication. We‟ve got about a thousand staff in 18, 20 offices across the globe, so we‟ve got to
communicate everything from the engineers to the media to the staff… it‟s very difficult to keep everyone up to date with
the bids, to tracking, to just trying to make a big company seem like a local company is key. [London, BDM]

– The three words [for the essence of my position], I‟ve got detail, management, and communication. [London, BDM]

– The coordinator. I am the go-between between the top management and lines of business, and I have to develop
concrete plans, action plans, and manage the plans. Actually it‟s the line of people to implement and I have to manage
them implementing plans. [Tokyo, BDM]

– I plan. […] And manage people implementing plans. [Tokyo, BDM]

Source: CMG Market Research “BDM Influence Mapping Final
Report_033108”


BDMs self-expressions on their roles and responsibilities
 Despite a broad range of roles and industries a number of consistent
elements emerged when BDMs were asked to describe their roles.
– Most BDMs tended to describe their roles in terms of their responsibilities, often listing the
functional areas they managed or the key deliverables they were accountable for.
- I‟m a Purchasing Manager for a large insurance company. I buy all products using internally outside services. I
also manage the corporate travel and the corporate auto fleet. In addition, I also manage our San Francisco
office‟s portion of our internal mailroom, 12 employees total. [SF, BDM]
- I work for an export company. I supervise a staff overseas. I work with 34 managers. I purchase products. I
meet with vendors. I meet our customer demands. I work with our warehouse staff. I do advertising and I
manage our local office. [SF, BDM]
- I am the Operation Supervisor of AG Edwards, a financial. I take care of all the employees, all the trading, the
daily ins and outs of all trades electronically, and all of the communications the branch goes through, whether
it be phone or computer, that kind of thing. [Chicago, BDM]
- I‟m responsible for the service planning. I make tenders. I speak with employees. I‟m in contact with other
branches of the company and I‟m in contact with our customers and I‟m responsible for customer care. So it‟s
service planning, employee care and customer care. [Frankfurt, BDM]
- I‟m Manager of a varied group of about 10 people providing support services in the global head office in a
Fortune 100 company. So I‟m head of the facility support unit. We‟re providing everything that people need
to do their job, whether it‟s the chair they sit on or the desk they sit at, what phone they use, what car they
drive, what lunch they eat. [London, BDM]
- Marketing Service Manager for a worldwide travel company. Production of sales and photography. Run a
team of people, databases and print and ensure online imageries are kept up to date and maintain
corporate and individual identities. [London, BDM]
- From the planning all the way up to the implementation for the entire process I have the decision making
process, and I should be responsible for the result of the actions taken and the process. [Tokyo, BDM]

Source: CMG Market Research
“BDM Influence Mapping Final Report_033108”


BDM involvement in the decision process
 BDM consider having three main tasks :
– 67 % of them consider they have ”to frame/plan”
– 65 % of them consider they have ”to manage”
– 64 % of them consider they have ”to decide”
 BDM also take part in the IT purchases process of their company
BDM % Index
BDM involvement in the buying process
66 200
64
64 197 195
62
190
60
58 185
182
56 55 180
54
175
52
50 170
For software > $ 5,000 Hardware equipment > $5,000
Source: FCA 2008


Social and non-social influences on
BDM‟s decisions


BDM‟s [professional] social influences
 Social influencers are a select bunch of people close to a BDM
 Social influencers most often (over three-quarters) to be "internal", i.e., part of the BDM's
organization

 Social influencers are far more likely to be drawn from the Finance and IT
departments (over three-quarters) than from any other department
 Only two social influencers on average

 Long standing relationships; average 7+ years

 Social influencers are viewed as honest, dependable, trustworthy and credible (top
2-box scores higher than 80%)

 The information provided by social influencers is characterized as very important

 And this information is perceived as free from any vested interests (over 80% of
social influencers are "not trying to push an agenda")

 As such they are in frequent and regular contact

Source: BDM Influence Mapping, MaPS and
CMG Market Research, March „08


Email and in-person contact top the
interaction with social influencers
0% % by Phone 25% 0% % by e-mail/IM 25% 0% % In-Person 25%

Multiple times a day 15% 21% 18%

Once a day 8% 11% 11%

Several times a week 17% 19% 11%

Once a week 17% 13% 13%

Several times a month 13% 14% 11%

Once a month 13% 11% 12%

Once every 2-3 months 9% 6% 11%

Once every 6 months 2% 3% 5%

Once every year 1% 0% 4%

Less than once a year 1% 0% 2%

Never 4% 2% 1%

Source: BDM Influence Mapping, MaPS
and CMG Market Research, March „08


Most prefer a work-only relationship *

Relationships are strictly
social
Relationships are
predominantly social with
some work related 4%
2%
interactions

29% 65%

Relationships are
predominantly work related
with some social interactions

Relationships are strictly work
related

* More so in enterprises and less so in small and medium business.
* This is also less applicable to regions like Asia where work-personal relationships are more common.

Credit: BDM Influence Mapping, MaPS and CMG Market Research, March „08


BDM‟s non-social influences
 Non-social influences are all influences other than social influencers
 The top sources of non-social influence are:
 Product demonstrations
 Conferences
 Sales presentations
 Worth noting that the above three sources all involve a human element and
interactivity
 Three times as many non-social influences as social influencers.
 Likely to be much less impactful as compared to social influencers.
 Six non-social influences on average
 Least impactful non-social source: pure content.
 Non-social influences not viewed as honest, dependable, trustworthy and
credible
 Likely to be characterized as non-essential or simply unimportant
 Information being affiliated with vendors/suppliers and as such perhaps
colored by vested interests
 Non-social sources of influence consulted on an "as-needed" basis and at a
much lower frequency than social influencers


Engaging non-social influences happens once
every 2-3 months.
10
0% 25% 00
%%

Multiple times a day 1%

Once a day 2%

Several times a week 4%

Once a week 6%

Several times a month 9%

Once a month 17%

Once every 2-3 months 22%

Once every 6 months 20%

Once every year 14%

Less than once a year 5%

Credit: BDM Influence Mapping, MaPS and CMG
Market Research, March „08


TI BDM Influence Map
Webcasts/webinars (239, 83) Trade shows (245, 56)
Bus. pubs./ columnists (233, 46)
Trade mags./journals (245, 56)
Non-social Influence
White papers/tech l
iterature (227, 40)
Conferences/speakers (343, 57) Social Influencer
IT Dir/SM-IT/MIS,
Supplier websites (343, 57)
Co-worker (210, 196)
Books
TI BDM Sales presentations (361, 122) = 0.48
(175, 26)
Pdt. Demos (419, 170)

Analyst websites
(169, 72)

Tech. Consult.
websites (140, 65)

Dir. rpt./Subord.
(122, 149)

E-mail newsletters CXO-Finance, Boss/Mentor
(116, 26) (29, 156)

BBs, DGs, blogs (105, 29)

Other (52, 116)

CIO/CTO-IT/MIS, Co-worker
(76, 261) External, Tech. Consult. (70, 130)
Other-Other, Co-worker (52, 145)

The first number is the strength index calculated as the ratio of the percent of times an influence is cited to the average percent of times all social and non-social
influences are cited. The second number is the impact index calculated as the ratio of the percent of times a cited influence is described as essential to the average
percent of times all cited social and non-social influences are described as essential.
Source: BDM Influence Mapping, MaPS and CMG Market Research, March „08


 Majority seek advice from colleagues before making a decision.
 Many prefer committee-based decisions are well advised and are willing to
observe others prior to making a decision.
BDM Personal Decision Making Style

% Top 2 Box
0% 100%

Seek out advice from colleagues before making 59% 59%
recommendation
Decisions made by committee are less risky as 44% 44%
several perspectives are considered
Rely on others' good experience with product 42% 42%

Observe others before making decision 39% 39%

Hands-on decision maker 21% 21%

Continue using product with experience rather 16% 16%
than try new ones
Decisions made by committee are safer and have 16% 16%
less accountability
Like to gamble on new products 8% 8%

Rely on gut feel and experience 7% 7%

 This indicates that these BDMs are likely to be influenced by social and
non-social influencers. This is good news for us.

Credit: BDM Influence Mapping, MaPS and CMG Market Research, March „08


Reaching BDMs is like
catching a slippery fish


It‟s a demanding audience…
 65% of business decision makers claim to never click on
online ads

 Many won’t get past the headlines of a print ad

 They are expensive to reach


It is expensive and difficult as they tend to stay away
from eDMs and banner ads.

Source : Microsoft Digital campaign benchmarking tools
(comparative global results, Q4 FY08)


So where do they get information and
knowledge?


Recommended Contact Tactics for BDMs
 BDM‟s current information seeking patterns :
– reliance on WOM, especially social influencers
– desire for targeted, industry-specific information
– need for solving business, not technical challenges
 Based on these patterns, a series of tactics were
evaluated, based on:
– Efficiency at moving a BDM lead from awareness to
purchase
– Impact of the tactic (relative to others)
– Cost
– Time to generate a lead


Evaluation of media tactics (cont)
Messaging Stage
Impact of Tactic Awareness / Cosideration / Loyalty / Time to
on Target Knowledge Trial Satisfaction Advocacy Cost generate leads
Reach /
Tactic (1 = Low / 3 = High) (Effectiveness, 1 = Low / 5 = High) Depth ($ = Low / $$$ = High) (1 = Low / 3 = High)

Breakfast meetings / symposia 3 5 5 4 4 Depth $ 2
Business leader groups/Chambers of Commerce 3 3 2 2 2 Depth $$ 2

In-flight magazine 3 5 5 4 4 Reach $$ 2

Collateral 3 5 5 4 4 Reach / Depth $$ 2

Analysts (eg. Foley) 3 5 4 3 2 Depth $$ 2

CIO mag ad buy 3 5 4 3 3 Reach $$ 2
Industry 3 5 5 3 3 Reach $$ 2
conferences
Industry leader 3 5 5 3 3 Reach $$ 2

Targetted Email 3 4 4 3 3 Reach / Depth $ 1

Online search 3 4 4 2 2 Reach $ 2

Buzz creation kit 3 4 4 3 3 Depth $$ 2

Local and regional Events 3 4 3 3 3 Reach $$ 2

Roundtable discussion 3 4 4 3 3 Depth $$ 2

Local radio spots 3 4 4 2 2 Reach $$$ 3
(with CTA - website, event, offer
Blog channels 2 4 4 3 2 Reach $$ 2

Source: ALM Dev Framework for Microsoft by Y&R Brands, March 2007


Messaging Stage
Impact of Tactic Awareness / Cosideration / Loyalty / Time to generate
on Target Knowledge Trial Satisfaction Advocacy Cost leads
Reach /
Tactic Target (1 = Low / 3 = High) (Effectiveness, 1 = Low / 5 = High) Depth ($ = Low / $$$ = High) (1 = Lowe/ 3 = High)
Briefings and 2 4 4 3 3 Depth $$$ 2
workshops
CIO summit 2 4 4 3 3 Depth $$$ 2
Magazine inserts 2 4 3 2 2 Depth $$$ 2
SME / Exec Circle Podcasts 2 4 4 3 3 Reach / Depth $$ 3

Gartner summit 2 4 4 2 2 Reach $$ 3
HBR / MIT extracts 2 4 4 2 2 Reach $$ 3
EMBA programs 2 4 4 3 3 Depth $$$ 3
Management consultants 1 4 4 2 2 Depth $$$ 2

DM w/brochures 2 3 4 3 3 Reach / Depth $ 2

Management retreat in a box 2 3 3 3 2 Depth $ 2

Promotion 2 3 5 3 3 Reach $$ 2

Online banners 2 3 2 1 1 Reach $$ 2

Magazines / publications 2 3 2 1 1 Reach $$ 2

Venture capitalists 1 3 3 1 1 Depth $$ 2

Case studies / 2 2 3 3 2 Reach $$ 1
success stories

Funny disruptive blog - 2 2 2 1 1 Reach $$ 2
dysfunctional organization and its turnaround
Whitepapers 2 2 3 2 1 Reach / Depth $$ 2



Messaging Stage
Impact of Tactic Awareness / Cosideration / Loyalty / Time to
on Target Knowledge Trial Satisfaction Advocacy Cost generate leads
Reach /
Tactic (1 = Low / 3 = High) (Effectiveness, 1 = Low / 5 = High) Depth ($ = Low / $$$ = High) (1 = Low / 3 = High)

Viral Game 2 2 2 1 1 Reach $$$ 2

Cab flyers 1 2 2 1 1 Reach $ 1

Messenger BOT 1 2 2 1 1 Reach $$ 2

MSFT 2 1 1 4 4 Depth $$ 3
Recognition

SMS content 1 1 2 2 1 Depth $$ 2

Executive 1 1 1 3 3 Depth $$ 3
Dashboard



Few practical things we have learned

 Social influencers and non-social influences need to be
paired up
 Best to engage TI BDM alongside an ITDM
– For example, in BI (business intelligence), targeting Finance
Director/ CFO (as TI BDM) alongside a CTO (as ITDM) would be key
to winning.
 From our experience, we know;
– direct mail + email + telemarketing to begin engagement
– online + telemarketing to sustain dialogue
– events to close deals


Product involvement
View
of
Business Process & Highest Opportunity for SW/IT
Integration App Integration & Connectivity

Storage
Strategic

Management &
Security
ROI

Server Foundation
Stable
Utility

Client
Cost

External Only Internal Only Internal & External Blend

TI BDM Focus


Even the most engaged BDMs (with IT influence)
perceive Microsoft as monolithic, unaware, and
indifferent.

• Most BDMs only interact with Microsoft‟s desktop products, therefore Microsoft = Office
• They lack awareness of Microsoft‟s broader capabilities and struggle to comprehend the
company and its people as something apart from Office and Windows


Having a relationship with Microsoft is perceived as out of reach for
most, relative to other great business relationships.
• Most BDMs feel the real Microsoft is well beyond them…
• BDM‟s company is too small for Microsoft to accommodate
or even care about…
• Or they cannot grasp the idea of having a relationship with (as a Company)

this very large company, MS.
• Beyond Bill Gates, these BDMs have difficulty picturing the
people behind Microsoft.
• When comparing MS to their preferred relationships,
BDMs expect to see a sense of caring and personal
relationship.
• BDMs know what makes a great relationship.
• This is diametrically opposed to BDM perceptions of MS.
• The way BDMs see MS has profound implications on how MS
needs to build a relationship.
• A few ponder whether they even need more of a
relationship with Microsoft beyond that of a user.
• No reasonable alternative to Microsoft.
• Microsoft‟s pervasiveness does not require a great
relationship
Source: Relationship and Advocacy Focus Group Research, WW BDM
Audience Group, June 2008


BDMs are less certain of the value Microsoft offers as opposed to ITDMs
who are the most likely to see Microsoft as a good value.

Targeted
Consumers ITDMs IT Is BDMs SBOs Developers
Broad Elites
Quality
Most important Good Value Good value
(43%)/Value Quality (43%) Quality (42%) Quality (42%) Quality (42%)
factor in purchases (33%) (45%)
(41%)
Strongly agree
Microsoft is a good 31% 11% 59% 36% 22% 33% 30%
value
Family/Company
has been affected
32% 27% 35% 39% 25% 38% 26%
by downtown
a great deal
Top Good Value Quality for a Quality for a Quality for a Quality for a Quality for a
Customer service Reliability
Driver good price good price good price good price good price

Highest

Lowest

Source: Microsoft Value Messaging Research, CMG
Market Research, May 2009


Q64-82. Please indicate how much it applies to
Microsoft. Scale - 1 = “Does not apply at all” and 9 =
“Applies completely.” BDM ITDM Where Microsoft
falls short on
Net Score = Top 3 Box (9 + 8 + 7) – Bottom 3 Box (1 + 2 + 3)
Ranked by Consumer

85 85
creating value
Is an industry leader

Has a vision for the future of technology 74 79
Is innovative 70 82 [quality + cost]
Offers leading-edge products 73 78
with BDMs.
Has reliable products and services 57 78
Makes my life easier 70 78
Is a company I trust 66 77
Offers leading-edge services 63 75
Has secure products and services 55 71
Products are high quality for a good price 53 76 BDMs see less “quality” in
Services are high quality for a good price 46 76 Microsoft than ITDMs
Has products and services that fit my household/company
61 78
budget
Helps me/my company create opportunities to succeed 58 82
Has good customer service 43 71

Wide divide between
Helps people get access to the products they need at a low cost 30 77
Total cost of deployment is lower than competitors 32 65
BDMs and ITDMs on “cost”
Total cost of ownership is lower than competitors 34 67

Source: Microsoft Value Messaging Research, CMG Market Research, May 2009


BDMs perceive getting better value from Dell, HP and even Apple.
ITDMs see Microsoft as best value.

Q54. Which of the following companies do you think is most
concerned with offering good value to its customers? BDM ITDM
Ranked by Consumer

Dell 42 18

Microsoft 13 37

Hewlett Packard 20 10

Apple 14 12

ASUS 3 1

IBM 8 22

Source: Microsoft Value Messaging Research,
CMG Market Research, May 2009


Company Advocacy Assessment Exercises…

Situation 1: Solving a Business Problem

Customer Selected
Vendor

I do not involve I proactively
the vendor or work with vendor
company at all or company to
when define the
determining the business problem
business and shape the
problem. solution.


Company Advocacy Assessment Exercises (cont.)

Situation 2: Interacting with Peers and Management

Customer Selected
Vendor

I publically
I do not communicate
communicate the vendor or
the vendor‟s or company‟s
company‟s value at external
value ever. events and in
external written
communications


Current dialogue

 Business decision makers are not used to hearing from
Microsoft directly

 Especially not in person


When communicating with BDMs, we
typically use the following three
dimensions:

– Segment:
• GMSC | depth | breadth
• Commercial | Public Sector

– Function:
• CEO, IT, HR, Finance, Sales, Marketing, etc.
• ITDM or TI BDM

– Industry sector:
• Retail, Manufacturing, Finance, etc.


How Microsoft communicates with BDMs

Microsoft
Dev Evangelists

BDM
CxOs VPs, LOB

Microsoft
Microsoft
Field Sales

Hi-Touch
Partners
Development
managers

Lo-Touch
Partners

Key
Promotion
Evangelism
Influence

Source: Microsoft / Y&R ALM Framework

62


Microsoft has considerable room to grow in order to
build relationships and advocacy among BDMs.
Key Steps for Building Strong Relationships and Advocacy
• Performing above and beyond
the call
• Coming through in a tough or
difficult situation
• Consistent great performance
• Putting name/reputation on the
line
• Making the BDMs look good


Unaided, BDMs recommend for Microsoft to focus on:

Build Solution Awareness Develop Personal Relationships
•General and targeted advertisements •Account representatives (1:1)
•Direct mailings •Get to know me and my company
•Ads in trade magazines •Determine my needs
•Brochures •Provide solutions
•DVDs •Lunch
•Trial offers •Follow-up
•Participate in tradeshows and conferences •Host social events
•Product demonstrations and workshops •Raise awareness of involvement in charities,
•Traveling Microsoft road show scholarships, and the environment
•Offer discounts and incentives
•Technical support

Source: Relationship and Advocacy Focus Group Research, WW BDM
Audience Group, June 2008


What would make a BDM leave his office?

• Compelling reasons or benefits to BDM (job
made easier or more efficient)
• Topics of interest to the BDMs
• Cocktails/entertainment
• Key Microsoft Executive speakers
• Attendance prizes (discounts on
products, dinners with MS Execs, etc.)
• Casual environment
• List competency required (making
less skilled more comfortable)

Source: Relationship and Advocacy Focus Group
Research, WW BDM Audience Group, June 2008


So what do TI BDMs want from Microsoft?
Very short, high And not too One way only – Make it job- and
level messages often… “I’ll call you” industry-specific

• “I should get the bullet • “Once a month some kind • “I would like to get 1 way • Do your homework - you
points to know how it can of newsletter.” communication I can know our SIC code – give
assist me in human and deal with at my leisure like me things focused on
real terms. How the • “Once a year or so is all I the magazine. For that.”
technology works send it need.” discussion call IT. If I have
to IT.” a need I will find them.” • “Get on our web site and
• “A monthly email with understand the business.”
• “I prefer the technical new products, • “Send me magazine and
gets funneled through IT. information, news – but invitation and don't call • “I need industry specific.
Just give me the more give me something to me – send me stuff.” They have to show they
global bullet points and if make me think or grin or have gone above and
there were more questions something.” • “1 way communication beyond to learn the
I can call them or call IT.” so it‟s on my timetable business - talk to customer
• “I wouldn‟t want them and my schedule.” service and call into the
• “I don't know the contact me saying guess organization before you
technical jargon and what I have for you. If it • “I need to peruse it on my call up a decision maker.”
want to know the business was an add on to what I time and no phone calls.”
perspective. If it‟s have I would like it but I • “Say we have something
interesting from a business don't need a groupie • “Contact me through an that does this or handles
perspective send it to me hanging on “ email and I‟ll contact that. That is what will
and then they can talk back if I want solutions- attract me more than
tech to IT.” • “A quarterly magazine but I wouldn‟t be generalities.”
seems right.” receptive of them calling
me out of the blue to sell
me a product.”
Source: BDM Relationship With Microsoft, BDM Relationship
Group, March 2003


Findings on BDMs can be paradoxical
 From research available, we might hear feedback and
recommendations from BDMs that are contradictory and
paradoxical. E.g. not wanting regular outreach from
Microsoft – yet feeling they should be made aware of any
relevant offerings at the time they are seeking information
for a new application or to solve a business need.
 This could be due to the differences in the organization
size and/or geographies.
 This means, we need to:
– Understand the specifics of the targeted BDMs
– Test on smaller sampler before going big-bang


Messaging : what works and does not work

What Works:
– Solve a Business Pain. BDMs manage business pains on a daily basis. Resolving or
easing any of these pains in our messaging will resonate well.
– Quantify Savings. Showing that Microsoft software (e.g. Office) costs just about a $1
day for hours upon hours of productivity helps explain the value that Microsoft
brings to businesses.
– Connect Microsoft Products Directly to Immediate Savings. BDMs process
Microsoft value in terms of results and they are looking for immediate delivery of
those results. The relationship between Microsoft’s Unified Communications and
the resulting increase in productivity and decrease in travel costs gives BDMs an
example that is easily understandable and appears to be immediate.
– Emphasize Innovation, Vision, Trust. These form a trifecta for BDMs: BDMs trust
Microsoft will deliver products that help drive business; in addition Microsoft has the
vision and will continue to innovate which will help BDMs grow their companies.


Messaging : what works and does not work
What Doesn’t Work:
– Highlighting $9b in research. Opposite to SBOs, BDMs do NOT want to think about
Microsoft massive commitments and the resulting economic impact – perhaps the
figure spawns a sense of delay in enjoying the benefits of the investment
(counterpoint to the immediate savings point above).
– Going too technical. As with the SBO audience, virtualization and cloud computing
did not register (again possibly due to a perception of delayed savings).
– Implying Microsoft is Always the Answer. Messages that infer Microsoft’s products
are the answer for companies no matter the economic condition – good, bad or
somewhere in between – are not believable or successful.


Business Decision-Makers: Top Ranking Messages
Index Score = Net Believability + Strongly Agree MSFT Good Value + Very Likely to Purchase/Deploy/Develop
Net Stgly Very Index
Net Believability = (5 + 4) – (1 + 2) Top 10% Top 33% Bottom 33% Bel Ag Lkly Score
Ranked by Index Score
Your most important asset and key to business success is your people, never more so than in tough

Familiar economic times.
Microsoft puts powerful, familiar tools in the hands of your people, enabling them to get to
Product =
Empower- work quickly on projects and work the way that’s best for them. Microsoft’s familiar toolset and well-established presence across business 79 20 22 121
ed Employ-
ees
processes helps empower your employees to get the most value from
familiar, existing technology.
Microsoft Office represents incredible value for your organization-- for about a dollar a day your
people can have a full productivity suite that organizes mail, handles presentations and budgets along with
Office 60 25 25 110
scheduling and contacts. This incredible value has helped Microsoft Office to become the standard of modern business against many
competitors, even free ones.

businesses can’t afford to make a risky investment or to retrain staff on new
In times like these,

technologies that don’t have a rapid return on investment. Microsoft server technologies like Windows Server
Eco-
system and SQL Server are industry standards, with hundreds of thousands of certified professionals 64 20 21 105

with skills to support your Microsoft infrastructure. With such a robust ecosystem, you can be confident that your
trained staff can maximize the impact of your Microsoft investments.
Since 1975, Microsoft has helped lead the software revolution that has brought computers to where
robust tools that have contributed to economic growth, from world capitals to
they are today:

Stability remote villages. No matter how great the challenge, Microsoft will be there to give our customers, both home 70 18 16 104

and business users, the tools that will help them realize their potential and open
new worlds.
Sometimes your company’s best people are spread across the country, or even the world. In tough economic times, it’s understandable that travel policies tighten up. Microsoft Unified
Better
Commun- Communications provides a familiar interface across PC, web and mobile devices, accelerating end- 64 20 20 104
ication/
Less Travel
user adoption and enhancing productivity. Your company’s staff stays productive and
travel costs are cut.


Business Decision-Makers: Middle Ranking Messages
Index Score = Net Believability + Strongly Agree MSFT Good Value + Very Likely to Purchase/Deploy/Develop Top 10% Top 33% Bottom 33%
Net Believability = (5 + 4) – (1 + 2)
Bel Ag Lkly Score
Windows Mobile software is designed so you don't need a $500 device with a touch-screen to get all
of the advantages of an advanced smart-phone. Windows Mobile software works with a wide variety of phones,
Windows including more basic phones that cost less but can use all its features of syncing mail, calendars and contacts. Windows 60 23 20 103
Mobile Mobile Software was designed with value in mind and in extending more advanced technology for less to
million more users.
When Microsoft was PC in every home and every desk by helping to make it affordable
founded, it sought to put a
PC on
every
and useful at a moderate price. the next billion users in developing countries, offering
Today, Microsoft is helping extend this philosophy to
59 20 17 96
desk lower-cost starter editions of its operating system and seeking to put affordable technology in the hands of
people across the globe.
Microsoft products, like SharePoint and Communicator are a good value investment for your company because they allow for easy
Better
Use of IT
collaboration among employees – whether they are separated by a hallway or an ocean. Because the products are built to
58 18 18 94
Support integrate smoothly, your people will experience a familiar layout enabling them to get the job done, without intense training or assistance
from the IT department.
Microsoft has helped develop an ever-growing community of diverse
Beyond our own products,

companies who build products, create solutions, or provide additional services using
The Microsoft technology. This global partner ecosystem is a strong network of 700, 000
Comm- business partners, working to develop and sell Microsoft-based technologies and solutions. Microsoft has 58 19 16 93
unity
supported this community of companies in building their businesses, which in turn drives
the economy by creating new products and services, new opportunities and
new jobs.
Microsoft's heritage has from the beginning been to create products that put in the hands of people
superior technology for much less than existed before. The PC revolutionized small business
Heritage by making computing power affordable and easy to use for them; and today Microsoft in all its products 60 16 16 92
from mobile phone to gaming software seeks to broaden the marketplace by making advanced technology more
affordable to millions and even hundreds of millions.


Business Decision-Makers: Bottom Ranking Messages
Index Score = Net Believability + Strongly Agree MSFT Good Value + Very Likely to Purchase/Deploy/Develop
Net Believability = (5 + 4) – (1 + 2) Top 10% Top 33% Bottom 33%
Bel Ag Lkly Score

Microsoft has always been pushes the boundaries of software innovation, and we remain
a company that

Optimistic
optimistic that future innovations will serve as a catalyst for economic recovery and help
about all of us improve our lives. Microsoft is committed to purposeful innovation, which is why we invest $9 63 15 14 92
Tomorrow
billion a year in research and development, a full billion dollars more than last year, to market to study and bring the

best software experience for our customers.

The soft economy impacts almost every market and community, creating an ebb and flow that can be a challenge to ride from
Riding the recession back to growth. Microsoft products and services become a particularly valuable strategic 48 14 17 79
Wave investment during a downturn because they support remote worker productivity,
virtual solutions, and are easily scalable when your business is ready to grow.
Increase Economic uncertainty creates changes in your customers’ behavior, and addressing those changes early could be the advantage your company needs to stay
Results ahead. To weather tough times and excel in better times, Microsoft Dynamics offers a valuable set of software and tools
with 44 16 14 74
Business that provide real-time, actionable information, which your company can use to react quickly to
Insight
changing business conditions.

Virtualizati Think making IT cuts was hard? How about when your company recovers and you need to get back to par with less time and fewer resources? Microsoft products represent a good value
on Helps
with the
advantage of virtualization and cloud computing, giving you the
because they take
41 15 17 73
Up/Down flexibility and choice to more easily expand and contract your IT load to match
Economy
business conditions.

Microsoft continues to deliver software innovations that help individuals and organizations around the world learn and grow while accomplishing everyday tasks and achieving their
Spark
Economic
goals in increasingly efficient ways. The upcoming Windows 7 and other Microsoft innovations offer cost-effective 42 15 15 72
Growth solutions for both individuals and businesses and serve as resources to aid in the exploration, growth and
innovation that help spark economic growth.



The Bottom Line
Value matters to all audiences, but we need to tune the message for each one
– Arm ITDMs (“believers”) with value-based content and air cover so they can sell up to their
leadership
- Messaging connecting value to performance and reinforcing IT as a strategic investment
that can reduce costs in the long-run helps strengthen the case
– Inform BDMs (“skeptics”) of the value we deliver to their organization today through
empowering their employees to get the most value from familiar technology, our investment
in innovations, and strong service and support ecosystem in order to shift their perceptions of
Microsoft value
- Since BDMs are skeptics, they have the potential to block Microsoft as they increasingly
take a larger role in budget decisions
– Remind Consumers and Small Business Owners (“fence sitters”) of the history of value
Microsoft has delivered (Office, Windows , Live, UC, etc.) and continue to deliver (via new
offerings, free features) to reinforce our strong value heritage and to convert existing equity
into consideration of the next wave of offerings (Windows 7, Office, Search, Server, etc.)
- For example, consumers look for immediate cost savings and need to be “reminded” of
the ‘hidden’ cost savings in Microsoft products and services


Example

 How to promote the new Xerox
black & white copy machine to
medium size company CEOs ?


Write the value proposition
 Product features and benefits:
– High resolution b&w (1600 dpi)
– Smaller than the competition
– Access to statistics in real time
– A service contract that provide you a 24/7 intervention
– The quickest copy machine in terms of copies / minutes
– A price among the lowest ones with a flexible lease offered to S&M size companies

 Insights :
– What BDMs dislike most is to imagine their employees losing their time in useless actions
– BDMs are seeking to hire the best employees despite the lack of « sex appeal » of small
companies for young people.
– SMB BDMs are looking for flexible paiment conditions.
– BDMs does not wish to lose their time in dealing with copy machine and toilet paper
details, they want to focus on development and company benefits

Business Audience Deep Dive: BDMs and IWs Insights

Business Audience Deep Dive: BDMs and IWs Insights

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