Tech buyers avoid unwanted calls with invalid phone numbers

The online generation of sales leads by forcing registration for content or downloads should include multiple offers and communication routes to maximise sign-ups.

by Helen Leggatt

A joint study by KnowledgeStorm and MarketingSherpa called "Connecting Through Content, Issue Two: Content Distribution - Where Information Intersects With Interest”, found that technology buyers do want to hear from vendors, but only on their own terms. Some will even provide fake contact information on online registrations to avoid unwanted communications.

Technology buyers, the focus of the study along with B2B marketers, were most likely to provide a valid email address (68 percent) and name (72 percent) when registering for content (such as a white paper), but are less likely to provide a valid phone number (38 percent).

“What is interesting in this finding is that it reflects the buyer’s desire to be in control of the communication with a vendor and choose when and how they want to respond,” said Matt Lohman, director of research, KnowledgeStorm. “Though they don’t give a valid phone number as often, the fact they give a valid email does mean the interest exists – just on the buyer’s terms.”

Another interesting observation from the study was the number of technology buyers who provide their personal email addresses for business enquiries. To keep their work email free of sales emails 43 percent gave their personal email addresses, B2B Marketers might want to bear this in mind when purging business email lists of web-based email accounts. Twelve percent provided their personal email addresses because their work account's spam filters were too aggressive and they often didn't receive the email.