New York SBDC Research Network

Obtained from:   MarketingProfs  IT buyers tend to research products/services across a wide range of online channels, prefer to be contacted by vendors via email, and favor firms with excellent customer support, according to recent research from Spiceworks.  The top factors that drive whether IT buyers will respond to a new sales/marketing outreach effort are the relevance of the product/service and the inclusion of detailed pricing information in the message. IT buyers say the top factors that drive their brand loyalty to vendors are great customer support, consistently fair pricing, and a history of reliable products/services.

  Obtained From: eMarketer Just 6% of firms are completely prepared for the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to a November 2017 survey of IT professionals by data modeling company Erwin. The GDPR, which becomes enforceable in May, states that a consumer's data can only be used if they give a company explicit permission. Not being prepared for these new rules is a big risk, because companies that are found to be in violation of the GDPR face a fine of $24 million or 4% of annual sales, depending on which figure is higher. One of the reasons more companies aren’t prepared for the GDPR is because it is expensive to become compliant with the new laws. Half of the companies in a Forrester Consulting and Evidon survey spent more than $1 million to meet GDPR requirements. And nearly a fifth of companies allocated more than $5 million for GDPR prep. “Conducting a whole GDPR analysis on the companies you work with, and the companies that those