1. The Six Secrets to
Selling to SMBs
Ivy Worldwide SMB technology
purchasing survey results
August 2010
info@ivyworldwide.com

2. SMB Secrets: #1
Search still rules Which resources do you rely on for
making business purchases?*
• Like consumers, search engines 60%
49%
54% 52%
50%
are SMB technology buyers’ Search engines
40% 35% 34%
primary resource for Review sites
30%
product/service discovery 20%
Blogs/forums
Traditonal media
10%
Twitter/ Facebook
• With search results in hand, 0%
First choice Second Third Fourth
SMBs lean heavily on word-of-
mouth referral Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
*Respondents able to submit multiple selections
• Chief resources for word-of-
mouth referral are blogs and
forums (34%) and third-party
reviews (35%)
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

3. SMB Secrets: #2
Third-party endorsement guides What considerations weigh most
heavily when making purchasing
decision-making decisions for your business ?
Vendor
9%
• Getting found in search engine Support
15%
results merely builds the Price/TCO
33%
consideration set
Dual-utility Positive
18% Referral
25%
• Price/TCO important, as always
Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
• Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) base their
purchasing decisions on products or
services that have utility in both
business and personal contexts
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

4. SMB Secrets: #3
Social for SMB isn’t what Which resource do you rely on most
for product information?
you think it is 40% 34%
29%
30% 23%
20%
• Surprisingly, traditional media 10%
9%
5%
(9%) and Twitter/Facebook 0%
(5%) are minimal factors in Blogs/forums Search Review sites Traditonal Twitter/
engines media Facebook
purchasing decisions
Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
• Many suggest these resources
lack the detail and timeliness
necessary for making such
decisions
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

5. SMB Secrets: #4
Business = personal =
business
• SMBs act like value-conscious
consumers when buying
technology…
• Akin to consumer technology
buyers in that price (33%) and
third-party referral (25%)
strongly influence their decisions
• Setting them apart is preference
for meeting business/personal
dual-use potential
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

6. SMB Secrets: #5
Which companies are effective in
Room for improvement? marketing to you as an SMB purchaser?*
That’s putting it lightly… *Unaided response
HP
Microsoft
• Most large companies miss the 19%
17%
mark when marketing to SMBs Dell
14%
Other
30%
o Slightly more than 75% of SMBs
Lenovo
feel they’re not effectively No preference IBM 9%
Apple
marketed to by the companies 3% 3% 5%
that target them Source: Ivy Worldwide 2010 SMB technology purchasing survey (n=602)
• Only one software company was
named in unaided responses
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

7. SMB Secrets: #6
Brick and mortar is busted
• 70% tend to purchase online
• Preference for tailored service:
Retailers (17%) and resellers
(14%) are preferred for support
and convenience
• Exceptions to online preference
are desire for hands-on
experience or need for especially
quick acquisition
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

8. Respondent overview
• 95% have annual operating
revenues of US$2M or less
• 80% deliver services; 20% products
• 53% have been in operation for 3
years or fewer
• 54% work at home or otherwise
virtually, while 40% work on-site*
• 1 in 5 operate in multiple languages,
including English
• Respondents operate globally*: N.
America (57%), Europe/Asia (27%
ea.), S. America (7%), Africa (4%)
• Average 12 FTEs and 3 or fewer
contractors
*Responses do not total 100% due to ability to submit multiple selections
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

9. Methodology
• Ivy Worldwide surveyed SMB owners and purchasers worldwide
• Over 1000 responses were collected and analyzed for relevance to
SMB purchase decision-makers
• Of those, 602 qualifying responses were then analyzed regarding
SMB purchasing habits
• More than 96% of respondents have direct input into or final
purchasing decision-making responsibility
©2010 Ivy Worldwide

10. info@ivyworldwide.com