SMEs love the trade press when it comes to IT

WStore survey reveals lack of trust in manufacturer website info

The findings of a survey carried out into how UK businesses make informed decisions when purchasing technology has unearthed a healthy respect for the IT trade press, with computing magazines cited as essential sources of information by well over half of respondents. 

The survey, which was carried out by WStore, the leading online supplier of business IT equipment, also found that computing websites are held in even higher regard, with 73 per cent of SME-sized respondents, and 67 per cent of corporates turning to IT news and reviews sites as a primary source of product information.

However, almost one quarter of UK SMEs shy away from the official information on IT manufacturers websites when planning their next purchase.  Asked where do you source information when deciding which products to buy 23 per cent of SMEs and 17 per cent of corporates paid absolutely no attention to the official product information on manufacturers sites, indicating a  preference to look elsewhere for independent opinions.

Advertising was not seen as a reliable source of information by the surveys respondents, but did seem to make more of an impression on the SME market with 26 per cent getting their product information from them as opposed to only 13 per cent of corporates.

Stewart Hayward, WStore commercial director, said: These findings have been particularly interesting its great to see the trade press so highly regarded, whereas traditional advertising seems to be losing its impact as a sales tool, and has become more about brand perception than selling or providing information on specific products. Customers are becoming more aware of the variety of sources for information and are more inclined to use multiple sources of information when making a buying decision.

The WStore survey also asked whether respondents regularly use WStores pre-sales team, to gauge the extent to which businesses see resellers as trustworthy sources of information.  It found that SMEs are less likely to do this than corporates, with 46 per cent and 54 per cent respectively consulting the WStore pre-sales team before making a purchase.

Hayward continued: The perceived wisdom has always been that larger companies with in-house IT staff dont need the support of a reseller.  But our findings indicate that larger companies are, in fact, using resellers in a more strategic manner, which is good news for resellers and the channel in general.