When it comes to online marketing, social media marketing cannot be ignored. With the explosion of social networking sites, people can't help but join in. Businesses are taking advantage of this as they can reach their market easier. Not only are business owners using social media marketing for brand awareness and promotions, consumers have great use for it too. The relationship between social networks and IT is mutually beneficial.
Don't get this wrong, you're not reading something about how IT businesses can benefit from social networks. Rather, it's almost the other way around. IT purchasing decisions today rely heavily on social networks to get them through the buying process. IT decision makers were surveyed and the results showed that 85 percent of them uses one social network to help them in buying decisions. This just shows how relevant social networks are today.
Just to show you this significant relationship between social networks and IT purchasing, here are some facts you need to know:
* The survey was called "IT Purchasing Goes Social". The total number of subjects was 400 and all of them were IT buyers. 73 percent of the total number of subjects said that they have bought from a vendor in a social network.
* According to the same survey, 60 percent said that their purchasing decisions were influenced by social networks.
* Why do they need social networks to help in the decision making? That's because decision makers want to hear from trusted sources (buyers like them), to gather information on a product quickly and to gain access to a network of IT decision makers.
Does this mean that you have to consult social networking sites first before you make an IT purchase? You can as this will benefit you from making wrong purchasing decisions. You can try looking for groups like IT Spend Management on LinkedIn. It's a group where IT decision makers join together to share opinions, feedback and insights with one another. There is no biased information here. Everyone is helping each other get their money's worth.
IT purchasing is continuously evolving. Its future, we cannot really tell. There are still so many questions left unanswered between the relationship of social networks and IT purchasing. What will be the role of social networks when IT purchasing is less centralized? Will social networks be more influential in the future when it comes to vendor negotiations? Will social networks eventually hurt IT purchases?
Well, these are questions we have no answers for. But right now, what we do know is that social networks can provide you the necessary information to make an educated and wise IT purchasing decision. You can take advantage of this now while everything seems good.
Don't get this wrong, you're not reading something about how IT businesses can benefit from social networks. Rather, it's almost the other way around. IT purchasing decisions today rely heavily on social networks to get them through the buying process. IT decision makers were surveyed and the results showed that 85 percent of them uses one social network to help them in buying decisions. This just shows how relevant social networks are today.
Just to show you this significant relationship between social networks and IT purchasing, here are some facts you need to know:
* The survey was called "IT Purchasing Goes Social". The total number of subjects was 400 and all of them were IT buyers. 73 percent of the total number of subjects said that they have bought from a vendor in a social network.
* According to the same survey, 60 percent said that their purchasing decisions were influenced by social networks.
* Why do they need social networks to help in the decision making? That's because decision makers want to hear from trusted sources (buyers like them), to gather information on a product quickly and to gain access to a network of IT decision makers.
Does this mean that you have to consult social networking sites first before you make an IT purchase? You can as this will benefit you from making wrong purchasing decisions. You can try looking for groups like IT Spend Management on LinkedIn. It's a group where IT decision makers join together to share opinions, feedback and insights with one another. There is no biased information here. Everyone is helping each other get their money's worth.
IT purchasing is continuously evolving. Its future, we cannot really tell. There are still so many questions left unanswered between the relationship of social networks and IT purchasing. What will be the role of social networks when IT purchasing is less centralized? Will social networks be more influential in the future when it comes to vendor negotiations? Will social networks eventually hurt IT purchases?
Well, these are questions we have no answers for. But right now, what we do know is that social networks can provide you the necessary information to make an educated and wise IT purchasing decision. You can take advantage of this now while everything seems good.
About the Author:
Joseph B. Kappernick specializes in helping Fortune 500 companies save money. He recommends that you visit NPI to learn more about it cost reduction consulting solution consulting
No comments:
Post a Comment