The online world has transformed communications, yet B2B technology comms, which you may think would be ahead of the curve, seems to be using traditional ways to reach their audiences. This is according to a report How Disruptive Tech Has Turned Communications on its Head from communications agency 3 Monkeys Zeno in partnership with Opinium Research.
More of the same
Adam Clatworthy, associate director, technology at 3 Monkeys Zeno, says: “The enterprise technology sector has remained curiously immune to much change over the past decade. Whilst smaller and more pressured to engage and monetise readership, technology-focused earned media is still critical to how technology brands reach business buyers, influencers and specifiers.”
Key findings
- 57% of senior decision makers in UK SMEs believe that technology innovation is the main driving change in the technology purchasing sector
- 21% of senior decision makers in UK SMEs say that their businesses seek employee/staff recommendations when looking to invest in new technology
- 45% of marketers are experimenting with influencer marketing programmes
Different audiences
This is not to say there hasn’t been huge changes in tech comms. But the changes are more in terms of who is buying technology these days. Clatworthy explains: “Many would argue that the phrase B2B tech is no longer relevant. Tech purchasing influence is now increasingly direct-to-department rather than business-to-business. Welcome to the age of BYOT – Bring Your Own Tech. It means a radical rethink of how tech brands communicate to engage hearts and minds, not just extol the virtues of technology.”
So how should tech communicators reach key audiences? Clatworthy concludes: “Smart communications teams have already begun to tackle the challenge by spreading their wings across the communication mix, and beyond into marketing. Understanding what to do and how best to build value is complex though.
Brand must be expansive
“Brands need to take a more expansive approach to their comms, beyond just media relations. Influencer marketing holds greater value, whilst brands must leverage data to better understand what people are reading and why, and – more importantly – how they’re reacting to it.
“Above all it’s about understanding what really makes people tick and telling stories that explain the human impact of technology in a way that’s relevant to them.”
Methodology
The report is based on a survey of 502 senior decision makers in SMEs conducted by Opinium Research in April 2018.
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