IBM Targets Millennial Techies | Multichannel Marketing for B2B Marketers

Want to reach the real decision makers on inhouse IT teams? Do what IBM has done: Go after the Millennials.

People in this group are young and lack buying authority. But they are tech-savvy and exert a huge influence on what gets bought, said Pamela Evans, senior marketing manager, Web marketing, Worldwide Software group for IBM. What’s more, these members of Generation Y are rapidly moving into leadership positions. Ignore them at your peril.

“It’s very important to think about how you can relate to everyone around the table,” Evans said during a session at the Direct Marketing Association’s DM Days.

Gen Y cohorts were largely the focus of IBM’s Lotus Jam, an online forum that went on last September for 72 hours, resulting in 950 ideas. And they drove this year’s Lotusphere conference in Orlando; IBM used their ideas to shape the content, then relied on social media to foster engagement.

Audience members tweeted speakers with questions, and were answered in real time.

The event drew thousands of tweets, and IBM came away with some good product ideas.

Then there’s IBM’s smarter planet ad campaign: “The World is SMALLER. The world, is FLATTER. The world is about to get a whole lot SMARTER.”

“We’re using this platform as a way to reach and relate to Generation Y and other audiences,” Evans said.

Go on the IBM site, and you’ll even find an environmental game. “Learn about a new Smarter Planet game that challenges you to save your city,” the copy says. “Have you got what it takes?”

Generation Y also figures in:

• IBM’s Trial code download experience (learn/try/buy).

• Lotus Greenhouse, a program for customer testing and feedback. (“Generation Y led us into this space,” Evans said.)

• IBM’s Tell your Boss Packages.

“It’s not just brand terms like Lotus,” she added. The key word roster also include terms related to “business collaboration, smarter planet ideas and thought leadership.”

What happens when a prospect clicks through to one of IBM’s offerings?

“We’re here to help when someone gets to our site,” Evans said. “We want to be sure we have a person who can get the question answered quickly. Most importantly, we want to make sure we’re following up. We want to connect them to a sales resource.”

Is this producing results? Sure is. “It’s a wonderful strategy,” Evans said. “It’s working well.” But, she added with a laugh, “We have a long way to go.”

via mailinglistsblog.com

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