I was fortunate enough last week to be able to talk a senior IT exec for a large consumer goods firm.

Whilst I can’t divulge the company, the (sometimes surprising) insights into team structure, pressures and supplier relationships are useful for marketers planning campaigns in this turbulent environment.

• The IT team is split into a number of divisions, and each division has a specific responsibility – some long term planning and vision, some delivering business programmes and others looking at the day-to-day needs of hardware and software
• Each IT supplier is allocated an owner and there is an internal programme for each supplier to meet senior IT representatives. This is seen very much as being about relationships and not about purchasing or commercials
  Suppliers are ranked in importance and managed by IT as such. Importance is determined by the criticality of the programme, not necessarily the size of the spend with that supplier
• If new suppliers are needed then there will be a tender process. For development and SIs the company tends to use people already known to them. If it’s a new need then the best way in is through the specific programme manager who will promote it up to the senior IT execs
• There tends to be a specific effort to scout around for new suppliers if there’s a new project or the incumbent isn’t perceived as being up to the mark. New starters in the IT department or in procurement are also a regular source of suggestions around new suppliers.
• Even when an IT purchase is being driven by an explicit need from the business (and this is almost always the driving force in looking for something new), it’s typically IT that drives the decision about what specifically is eventually implemented
• In terms of marketing explicitly, senior IT execs attend networking and high value events and the CIO is the most heavily targeted of all. Interestingly, the next layer down, and the one below that is very lightly targeted, especially via direct mail
• An interesting point to note was that at the moment, even in this “reduced cost” environment, IT spend is continuing apace (in some cases to demonstrate projects are on track with the commitments made at the start of the year). Being behind on budgets can be seen to suggest that you are behind on the delivery of your initiatives.
• There is infinitely more demand for IT than there is supply. And resource can be a constraint as well as money.

And our conclusions on this?

• Track your advocates – times when they join a new firm are one of your biggest opportunities
• Don’t discount certain channels of communication just because of what you read
• Campaign all the time because timing is critical – and monitor/research key accounts to make sure you are aware of weaknesses in competitors’ (or your own!) positions
• Work hard at getting quality data for the business as well as IT, and at multiple levels. You’ll never know exactly who the right person to campaign to is at first touch – the word of a trusted lieutenant can carry more weight than a CIOs own views!
• Consider propositions about easing resourcing pain as much as financial pain