• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 17, 2022

Email teams in technology companies have a twofold challenge: They need to write educated emails, and they have to deliver content, judging by Continued Technology Advancements Increase Need for Reliable Tech Content, a new global study by Foundry. 

Of the information technology decision-makers (ITDMs) polled, 91% are willing to register/share their information with vendors to gain access to content, up from 87% in 2021 and 83% in 2019.  

But 90% say it’s tough to find high-quality content, versus 86% in 2019. Among enterprise respondents, 50% describe the task as challenging, compared to 42% at SMBs. 

Despite that, 48% have downloaded work-related content with value over the past 12 months, up from 41% in the prior year and 38% in 2019.

Yet they have higher expectations. For instance, 97% of IT buyers are interested in custom-tailored content based on:

• Industry — 54%
• The technology platform(s) already installed at organization — 49%
• Company size — 31%

And speed matters: ITDMs expect to be contacted within 16 hours after filling out a form to learn more about a solution, and 30% demand contact within six hours. 

That said, it usually takes them three days to consume a piece of downloaded content. 

And the content they download is not only for their own consumption. 

“Buyers understand and accept that vendor-supplied information is biased toward that company’s solutions, however, they value having access to that content, with 65% saying that educating non-technical people within their organization requires resources from vendors,” the study states.

ITDMs will share vendor information with their peers if it provides:

• A great customer experience — 48%
• Timely, relevant content — 43%
• Content that offers “how-to” information — 40%

The lesson for email teams and others is that they must deliver tailored, high-quality content throughout the customer journey, and respond quickly with notifications and alerts. 

Meanwhile, 97% of ITDMs have received value from a product demo, the most useful formats being:

• Limited time, full function product trial—52%
• In-person product demonstration—51%
• Virtual live demonstration—44%

Note: Larger companies expect in-person demos. 

Overall, 75% of ITDMs say demonstrations of capability inspire trust. And 73% feel that tech brands are more likely to be added to the short list when they are known and trusted. 

On the macro front, 69% of C-suite execs worldwide think a recession will hit in the coming year. But only 18% of ITDMs anticipate a reduction in technologu budgets. On the contrary, 36% predict an increase while 13% say things will stay the same. 

Foundry surveyed 624 IT and business professionals worldwide.