The AMI-Partners Blog

As we pull new surveys out of 11 different countries I am struck by something. During our survey we ask SMB business decision makers how likely they are to purchase various IT products over the next three months. We also ask these SMBs what they purchased over the last three months and what they plan to purchase beyond three months. This question is very insightful (or at least has the potential of being very informative) because it asks about planned spending at the IT category level (desktops, printers, SaaS, etc.).

This questions also has another dimensions that is interesting. When AMI asks this question it requires that the SMB be specific about how likely they are to make these purchases. This allows us to delineate between those SMBs who are budgeting (and committed to making specific purchases) vs. those who are less committed and need a little prodding to make that purchase a reality: the “fence sitters.”

Here comes the interesting development that we are seeing in the latest survey results. The “fence sitters” (i.e. those SMBs saying they are “somewhat likely” to make specific purchases) are growing while the number of SMBs who are “very likely” to make specific purchases are flat or declining quarter-over-quarter. This is not the case in all of the countries, but it is the case in enough to see this “fence sitter opportunity” as something very real IT marketers will need to address.

The question becomes what the “fence sitter opportunity” represents. Is it an opportunity to trigger more sidelined IT spending or does it represent wishful thinking on behalf of SMBs wanting to make IT purchases that they know they can’t afford?

In speaking with SMBs I believe it represents more of an opportunity. SMBs are pushing out replacement/refresh cycles (especially on printers) as best they can. Most likely it seems that SMBs are learning that they can push these refresh cycles out even more to avoid the capital expenditures. However, SMBs are also looking to improve the performance of their businesses. This goes beyond basic needs of productivity gains or general revenue increases. SMBs are desperately seeking ways to cut costs and are willing to use technology to do so. They are also searching for new and compelling approaches to increase their abilities to acquire and retain customers. They want specific, tangible, quantifiable and proven value propositions to be served-up to them that directly address their most exaggerated pain points. Let me correct that. They don’t just want this they now require it if they are to make a purchase. The opportunity for IT marketers is to identify, target and deliver on those needs at the sub-segment level.

The “fence sitter opportunity” for IT marketers is three-fold:

1) Segment the portion of the SMB market that represents the highest “somewhat likely” to purchase their specific IT categories

2) Identify the purchase triggers of this sub-segment that will help them shift from “somewhat likely” to actual purchasers

3) Tie very specific value from their IT products, services and solutions to those key purchase triggers of the targeted sub segments

Bottom line: the “fence sitter opportunity” is truly an opportunity to grow IT spending in SMB, but it will require clear targeting of these discrete groups with value propositions that can shift SMBs from the world of “someday I’d like to make that purchase” to “I can’t afford NOT to make that purchase now.”

Chad Thompson is Vice President of the Market Strategy at AMI-Partners and can be reached at CThompson@ami-partners.com