Arranged by RANT, the script for our focus group of key senior security decision makers was blown away in the first barrage from the audience. But hold on, before you assume the audience was completely negative, we can report they weren’t.
Our customers want to hear from us, want our services and want to learn how we can help. What they don’t want is unsolicited, uninformed and continual engagement with sales teams who show little or no regard for their wishes.
Buyers have taken significant steps to keep us out. They set up ghost email accounts and telephone numbers, introduce gatekeepers and generally place whatever barriers necessary to ensure they don’t drown under the mass attack of the IT channel in full flow.
They don’t provide contact details – makes you wonder where list brokers get their data from – and can’t understand why we’d expect them to give contact details for colleagues.
Most infuriating is the lack of research we do before contacting them which, for an industry at the forefront of the new digital economy, is a valid criticism.
In short, buyers want us be be more intelligent in our approaches, focused more on them by being more considered in our engagement.
They want to speak with people who know what they’re talking about and can help inform them in the decisions they make. In return, they’ll engage with us, help us understand buying patterns and the technologies that interest them.
But don’t assume you’ll get an order by return. Buyers can’t and won’t give that assurance, but they want to engage and – if we listen to them - won’t waste our time.
Unsurprisingly, we agree with buyer sentiments. Our worlds have changed and, if we want to build sustainable markets, we need to change with it.
If you’d like to hear more of our customer insights, get in touch and we’ll share them with you.
