1	The ROI Dilemma
2	About the Authors About Kotler Marketing Group Kotler Marketing Group is a consulting and training firm that has helped Global 2000 and technology start ups - including leading IT companies - to implement effective ROI-based sales and marketing strategies. Philip Kotler, one of the world’s leading marketing experts, is our principal associate. For further information, visit http://www.kotlermarketing.com. About SIIA The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 600 leading software and information companies. For further information, visit http://www.siia.net.
3	The Agenda Intros & overview of study methodology – 10 minutes Who is responsible for the ROI case – 10 minutes The enterprise view on ROI – 35 minutes The vendor view on ROI – 35 minutes Q&A – 30 minutes
4	Description of the study Surveyed over 400 enterprises, globally, about their purchase decision process & how they evaluated IT investments Surveyed over 220 technology vendors about their ROI-based sales & marketing strategies Study was completed during Q4, 2003 Responses were collected via an online survey
5	How to know when to use a business case When the client – Asks serious financial questions. Has to justify the sale internally, to the CFO or to an internal review board. Has heard the economic argument against you from your competition Cannot differentiate your proposal from the competition in terms of features and functions alone
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8	The enterprise view on ROI Survey respondents include CTOs, CIOs, IT managers, eBusiness executives and analysts, as well as technical specialists Respondents were drawn from the following industries: Banking & Finance (includes wholesale, insurance, and retail) Manufacturing Transportation & Utilities Services Firms (includes education, consulting, legal) Information Technology Government (federal, state, and local)
9	How enterprises evaluate ROI Enterprise customers & business cases Software benefits included in enterprise business cases The enterprise view on the role vendors should play
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18	What enterprises find most helpful about vendor assistance Vendor-supplied collateral is an effective way for enterprises to support their claims “It’s helpful because it gives me a basis to start from.” “I do not have the time to investigate vendors and their products.” “Provides immediate access to in-depth information that is not otherwise available without extensive research and proof-of-concept work.” Vendor ROI collateral is an excellent tool for reference and credibility “Better than our own guess – it gives us something to compare to.” “They have experience with the ROI potential based on implementation results. This can be useful if it’s credible.” Vendor-supplied ROI collateral improves enterprises’ thinking & understanding “Expands our thinking, educates us, and helps fill in the gaps for making decisions.” “Provides insight into areas not previously considered.”
19	What enterprises find least helpful about vendor assistance Enterprises complained that ROI collateral and data are too often self-serving and unreliable “Consider the motivation of the source. They want to sell. Period. The consider a long term relationship to be one measured in months.” “All vendors claim to have the best ROI.” “If you torture the numbers enough, they will admit to anything.” A similar critique is that vendors’ ROI studies lack rigor “Much too heavy a sales spin and too light on content to be rigorous and useful.” “Often based on fluff with very broad assumptions.” Enterprises report that ROI tools and collateral are not always relevant “Rarely does the collateral provide information for comparable businesses in a comparable situation” “Most times too “American” and generic; not fitted to the European context.”
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21	The vendor view on ROI Survey respondents include sales, marketing, and business development personnel from companies that offer the following types of applications: Front office (e.g., CRM) Back Office (e.g., HR, Finance) Infrastructure/Middleware (includes tools, languages, and utilities, as well as database and desktop applications) Portal/Content Management
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32	Challenges Faced by Vendors No one said it would be easy. Getting customer cooperation Gathering data Making the ROI case credible and compelling Getting credit for the intangibles Conducting customer-specific ROI analyses Training the salesforce
33	How to Make a Business Case More Helpful Be objective. Make sure you are comparing the ROI of your solution to enterprises’ “next best alternative.” Add on site assistance with working through issues. Acknowledgment the limits of your solution Make an extra effort to understand the client and its executive leadership and structure the business case in a way that is understandable at the executive levels in the organization.
34	Info about the full report & how to order Web cast participants may purchase the full report at a 50% discount off the full price of $795.00 for SIIA members and $995.00 for non-members. To order, call Kotler Marketing Group at 800 331 9110 or 202 331 0555 and mention promotional code #099 "The report was a tremendous aide. ... The industry cuts of the information and benchmark on other vendor practices were very helpful. " Randy Villeneuve, Senior Director, Oracle Corporation "Given customers' focus on optimizing IT budget dollars, it's never been more important to communicate ROI. But too often vendors forget to listen as well. This report provides a healthy antidote -- a chance to hear the voice of the customer on this important topic." Traver Gruen-Kennedy, VP & Chief Evangelist, Citrix Systems "I highly recommend it to vendors that are seeking to improve the quality of their business (ROI) case." Ajay Asthana, Business Architect, IBM Corporation