I am troubled by Jeremiah Owyang's assertion that an IT Toolbox survey with the stated
Study Goal: determine how IT decision-makers and influencers worldwide use social media tools and
user-generated content to aid purchasing decisions
is:
...by far the most important report I've seen this year for the IT industry
The thrust of the study's findings are that social media (defined as user-generated content and social media tools such as blogs, podcasts, online communities, wikis, and profiles/social networking) are taking on significant importance in the overall decision taking process.
Looking at the comments and pingbacks, it was almost a forgone conclusion that marketers would be all over this like a bad rash. It plays directly towards the many exhortations for marketers to get in on the 'social media' hoopla. If that wasn't worrying enough, the survey begs a lot of questions:
- What kinds of IT purchasing decision are we talking about?
- What are the variations in influence among different sizes of company that participated?
- What was the relative value of decisions taken?
- What was the relative impact of the different types of social media?
Jeremiah points out obvious discrepancies like the fact vendor sites were the most referenced yet social media is the more trusted. He posits:
Social media is helpful in making better decisions. Perhaps it is more objective, or customer opinions matter the most
Ask anyone who has made a business decision to acquire significant IT assets in the last 10-15 years and almost certainly they will have spoken to at least one customer reference on a no-holds barred (if NDA'd) basis. That practice continues today. I know - I'm engaged in selection beauty parades. The difference I'd suggest is that customer stories are more accessible and less subject to massage. Where they are given the PR makeover, it is usually obvious.
But I think the biggest flaw with the research is that it credits social media for something that's always been available to the astute buyer. The authentic customer voice. The difference - which the research points up - is that those voices help make decisions more efficient. Note - it does NOT say more effective. For that, we must await further research.
The troubling part of Jermemiah's analysis is that it ignores the risk for potential buyers getting lulled into believing that all social media is good for decision making. It isn't. You still need the input of subject matter experts, you still need objective opinion. Especially for business critical IT decisions. That gets harder to discern once PR and marketing get their fangs into these media. It is a good reason why unashamed buyer advocates are needed yet are curiously few and far between.
Technorati Tags: social media
Enterprise, Investment, Technology
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