For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: IT Management Software Market, H1 2009

Vendors Are Missing The Cloud And Virtualization Waves

by Peter O'Neill, November 5, 2009

Forrester's market momentum overview assists vendor strategy professionals in tracking the evolution of the IT management software (ITMS) market and in gathering intelligence about the major activities. In the first half of 2009, we tracked 165 different . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards Winners Offer B2B Tech Marketers Valuable Social Media Lessons

by Laura Ramos, November 4, 2009

Business-to-business (B2B) marketers approach social strategy with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. Most want to know which firms execute social pursuits well and what tangible outcomes occur. The B2B Division winners of the 2009 Forrester Groundswell . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

How B2B Technology Buyers Use Social Media

Support Forums Rank Highest Among Emerging Tactics

by Laura Ramos, October 26, 2009

Technology buying is a highly considered, collaborative process, one ideally suited for social interactions. To see how emerging digital media affect the process, Forrester surveyed 1,217 technology decision-makers to find out which online sources will . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Reach Real Global B2B Tech Audiences With Virtual Events

New Tools And Best Practices For B2B Marketing Beyond Borders

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., October 6, 2009

The downturn is turning out to be a double whammy for tech marketers. Budget cuts and a significant drop in the effectiveness of tried-and-true tools, like trade shows, make calls to reach wider audiences through traditional marketing activities problematic. . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Make Your Marketing Sing To Business Mobility Decision-Makers

Vendors Must Use Employee Roles To Identify Preferred Marketing Channels

by Michele Pelino, October 5, 2009

IT professionals, business executives, and end users participate in purchasing decisions for enterprise mobility devices, middleware, services, and mobile applications. These decision-makers use online and offline channels to gather information. Top online . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Turning Your B2B Web Site Into A Community Hub

Social Media Marketing That Is Persistent, Consistent, And Scalable

by G. Oliver Young, Peter Burris, September 30, 2009

Social media is becoming a major focus in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. However, many marketers are allowing their community marketing approaches to emerge out of piecemeal technology purchases and community participation. To embrace a customer . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Making The SaaS And Collaboration Marriage Work

A Framework For Collaboration SaaS Vendors To Capitalize On The Channel

by TJ Keitt, August 31, 2009

Finding collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate collaboration between employees and partners is a top business priority. How technology enters businesses is changing as business leaders and individual workers are demanding more say in choosing . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The Seven Deadly Sins Of B2B Channel Enablement

Channel Partners Sound Off

by Tim Harmon, July 17, 2009

Current economic conditions are laying bare what's not working for channel partners, exposing issues ranging from channel conflict, to the "channel usability" of technologies, to community disenfranchisement. As companies try to move more volume through . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The Changing Yin And Yang Of Tech Vendors And Channel Partners

Business Model Changes Call For Realigning The Demand Chain

by Tim Harmon, July 10, 2009

For years, channel partners have based their businesses around specific offerings sold into specific geographies or verticals. Today, channel partners are making dramatic adjustments to business models to cope with new levels of complexity, software-as-a-service/platform-as-a-service . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Start Your Global Social Media Strategy Locally

Insights From Forrester's Social Media Analyst Day

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., June 25, 2009

A group of tech marketers and Forrester analysts recently engaged in an all-day Forrester event in London on the use of social media in a B2B marketing context. Our discussions focused on trends in social media adoption by B2B technology buyers and nascent . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

B2B Marketers: Tap Into Social Networking Sites To Energize Community Marketing

by Laura Ramos, June 17, 2009

Social networking sites let members connect and share ideas, insights, and experiences. Business marketers see membership on social sites swell but wonder if marketing there will raise awareness or generate demand. Rather than treat social networks like . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Case Study: MetricStream Builds B2B Community With ComplianceOnline

by Laura Ramos, June 17, 2009

As a premier destination for content, training, and advisory services dedicated to regulatory compliance, IT governance, and corporate risk management, ComplianceOnline is a model online community that delivers two million visitors annually to MetricStream's . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

Sources Of Offline And Online Media Influence For Purchasing Decisions: North America And Europe  (234 KB PPT)

by Ellen Daley, June 5, 2009

An overview of offline and online media that influence purchasing decisions of North American and European firms.

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

B2B Digital Marketing: A Deep Dive Into Insurance IT Decision-Makers

by Ellen Carney, Emily Van Metre, June 2, 2009

Insurance professionals seem unlikely candidates for social media use. They trust familiar information sources, value personal relationships, and are generally risk-averse. However, this group's interest in social media is not only on par with their peers . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Demand Insights: Predictive Analytics In The Financial Services Sector

How IBM Helps Banks And Insurers Get The Business They Really Want

by Ellen Carney, June 2, 2009

Banks and insurers do a great job acquiring customers, but they fall down when it comes to cross- and upselling other services. Few financial services institutions even know if the customers they have are actually the kind of business that they want. . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Effective Customer Reference Management Anchors B2B Community Marketing Efforts

by Laura Ramos, May 27, 2009

Customer references validate product claims and streamline the sales process, both vital activities in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. Yet, even as program budgets grow and reference pools swell, customer reference management risks sliding to second-class . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Mobile App Stores Are Important To Biz Users

App Stores Must Make Their Stores Sing To Business Buyers

by Michele Pelino, May 21, 2009

The Apple App Store for iPhones opened in mid-2008 and grabbed the attention of independent application developers and mobile device users as a software distribution channel for new mobile applications. In turn, the Apple App Store's success is causing . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Hardware Tech Marketers Bank On The Small Financial Services Market

by Ellen Carney, May 6, 2009

Not too long ago, IT hardware vendors banked on the business they got from financial services industry giants like Morgan Stanley, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and AIG. When the Wall Street bubble burst, hardware tech vendors like Cisco Systems, Dell, . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Vive La Difference In B2B Buyer Behavior

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., April 24, 2009

Social media is a global phenomenon creating profound change in B2B buyer behavior and the nature of the relationship between technology buyers and vendors. While social media is evolving into a valuable marketing tool, local adoption of social technologies . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

B2B Marketers' 2009 Budget Trends

Dollars Shift To Digital Tactics As The Recession Provokes Deep Cuts

by Laura Ramos, April 24, 2009

What a difference a year makes. Compared with our year-end 2007 study, the outlook for business-to-business (B2B) marketing budgets is, not surprisingly, dire. Facing budget reductions of 23% on average, most marketers try to fend off deeper cuts while . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The Down Economy Pushes B2B Digital Tactics Ahead

Integrate Email, Digital, And Search Marketing To Make The Marketing Mix Pay Off

by Laura Ramos, April 24, 2009

As the current recession continues through 2009, a company's marketing mix must produce sales-ready results using less expensive channels. Digital marketing creates engaging, interesting experiences that rival personal selling without the cost of travel . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Role Profile: The Chief Information Security Officer

Understanding And Marketing To Security And Risk Professionals

by Emily Van Metre, Eric G. Brown, April 15, 2009

The chief information security officer (CISO) drives technology and services decisions that ensure compliance and protect the company's IT assets and brand. Knowing these stakeholders will help your sales force start the right conversation with a prospect, . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: IT Management Software Market, H2 2008

Are Vendors Promoting Themselves Enough?

by Peter O'Neill, March 27, 2009

Forrester's market momentum overview assists vendor strategy professionals in tracking the evolution of the IT management software market and in gathering intelligence about the major activities. In the second half of 2008, we tracked 177 different activities . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Media Trends: Time Spent On The Internet Continues To Grow

by Bobby Tulsiani, March 18, 2009

Driven by the increasing availability of broadband, shift toward digital media, and prevalence of multitasking, time spent on the Internet continues to grow. However, all hours on the Internet are not equal as users primarily split time between communication . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Case Study: Intuit TurboTax Uses Crowd Wisdom To Make Online Support Less Taxing

by Laura Ramos, March 4, 2009

Intuit TurboTax used the wisdom of crowds — gleaned by analyzing how tax filers and tax preparation businesses interact with thousands of pages of support and tax code information — to supercharge its online support and hold down costs. Business-to-business . . .