Technology buying decisions made by small businesses are influenced more by attitudes and beliefs than by demographic factors such as industry, revenue, and years in business, according to a recent report from Infusionsoft.
The study, which was based on a nationwide survey of nearly 1,200 small businesses with 25 or fewer employees and revenue of more than $100,000, identified four distinct types of small business technology buyers: Strivers, Customizers, Maximizers, and Supporters. Each group, segmented based on similar attitudes and beliefs, makes up roughly a quarter of all buyers.
Below, key insights and data points for each segment identified by the study.
Strivers
Strivers seek technology that can help them overcome their sales and marketing challenges, move beyond their existing capabilities, and support the growth of their business.
- 43% of Strivers spend less than $500 per month on marketing.
- 78% say they need help in building automated sales and marketing processes.
- 78% say they need assistance with evaluating effective marketing content.
- Strivers have the smallest social media presence of the four groups and often lack a clear social media marketing strategy.
Customizers
The report identifies Customizers as those who seek technology that can help them automate existing sales processes and scale their business in a way that doesn't compromise their ability to deliver personalized customer service.
- Customizers use social networks like Facebook and Twitter to market to customers and use LinkedIn for networking.
- 51% spend more than $1,000 per month on marketing.
- 53% say they need help in selecting the right sales and marketing tools.
- 54% need help developing effective marketing strategies and evaluating messaging.
Maximizers
- Maximizers say technology can provide a competitive advantage and help them achieve consistency and efficiency, resulting in greater success.
- 61% spend more than $1,000 per month on marketing.
- 57% of Maximizers say they need help in choosing the right sales and marketing tools; 60% say they need help in building those tools.
- 61% say they need assistance in evaluating effective marketing content.
- Maximizers have the most diverse social media platform reach: 49% use Facebook, 36% use Twitter, and 31% use YouTube.
Supporters
- Supporters are proud of their small business identity and want to work with vendors that understand their challenges, which they feel differ from those of larger companies.
- 57% of Supporters spend less than $1,000 per month on marketing, and 34% spend between $0-$500 per month.
- 59% say they need help with evaluating effective marketing content.
- 59% of Supporters tend to favor Facebook for social media marketing, with Twitter coming in second at 31%.
For more findings from the report, check out the following infographic.
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About the research: The report, The American Dream: What Really Motivates Small Business Owners, was based on data from a survey of 1,200 small businesses. Only companies with 25 or fewer employees and revenue of more than $100,000 were surveyed.
COMMENTARY: It is imperative that technology marketers understand the Technology Adoption Curve (also referred to as the Technology Adoption Lifecycle). The technology adoption curve describes the adoption or acceptance of a new product or innovation, according to the demographic and psychological characteristics of defined adopter groups. The process of adoption over time is typically illustrated as a classical normal distribution or "bell curve." The model indicates that the first group of people to use a new product is called "innovators," followed by "early adopters." Next come the "early and late majority," and the last group to eventually adopt a product are called "laggards."
Atomic Learning created the following infographic which describes the attributes of each adopter group, best approach to market to each group, their motivators and the degree of professional development (technology training and education). Marketers should clearly understand the differences within each adopter group and develop appropriate marketing strategies.
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Technology adopters tend to be the most active users of social media and mobile digital devices. It is not unusual for technology adopters to subscribe to more than one social media network. Having said this, here a few pointers as to how technology marketers should use social media to engage with technology adopters.
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Courtesy of an article dated August 28, 2013 appearing in MarketingProfs and an article dated March 20, 2013 appearing in Tech & Learning
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