“Generation PC” and halls of the C-suite

Rise of the C-Suite
How Executives Locate and Filter Business Information

Forbes Insights, in association with Google, recently published a white paper entitled The Rise of the Digital C-Suite where they surveyed 354 top executives at large U.S. companies (those with annual sales of greater than $1 billion). This survey was augmented through one-on-one interviews with another 15 high-profile executives. The findings clearly showed that the Internet has become the chief source of business information, but how the Internet is used frequently depends on the age and work experience of the executive.

Among the key findings of the study:

A gen shift is occurring in the C-suite that is transforming how they use the Internet. Executives ages of 40 and 50 are now assuming leadership positions in corporate America. These executives access information more frequently than typical executives, see greater value in emerging Internet technologies, and are willing to retrieve information in different ways, such as via video or through a mobile device.

The Internet is the C-suite’s top information resource.
Executives find it more valuable for locating business related information than references from colleagues, personal networks, newspapers and magazines, TV and radio, and conferences and trade shows.

Members of the C-suite search for information themselves.
While delegating research may be part of the stereotype of a C-level executive, it is not the reality. More than half of C-level respondents said they prefer to locate information themselves, making them more self-sufficient in their information gathering than non-C-suite executives.

When they go to locate info., the C-suite first turns to mainstream search engines.
And they do so frequently, with six out of ten executives conducting more than six searches a day. Once they get started on a search, executives are willing to click around to locate the right information, and will follow a path of links driven by search results, content, and advertising.

Video and online networks are emerging as C-suite tools.
While text is still the preferred format for receiving information, streaming video, webcasts, and similar formats are increasing in prevalence, especially among executives under 50. Similarly, although most executives prefer personal contacts, they are increasingly willing to network and seek advice through online communities.

Execs in IT are the most prevalent users of the Internet for information gathering. CIOs and other IT leaders are the most likely executives to conduct Web searches, use online communities to gather information and recommendations, seek out blogs and other Web 2.0 tools, or use online video over text.

Execs under 40 are the most willing to engage with emerging Internet technologies such as blogs, wikis, Twitter, mobile computing, and online social networks. Having come of professional age in the Internet era, this generation defines fluency in Web technologies. As they rise into the C-suite, they are likely to take collaboration and networking in research to unprecedented levels.

Having grown up in an era described as “Generation PC”, I can identify with C-suite members who grew up on word processing, spreadsheets, desktop presentation software, email and search engines. Now that its members are 40-50 years old, they are increasingly dominant force in the C-suite.

I recall from my earlier days of carrying a bag for Wang Labs (1984) that CIOs at the time preferred reading content (print) from research analysts or leveraging their personal relationship with vendors as a primary means of educating themselves and Creating Competitive Advantage. In my opinion, there is nothing more powerful in building a relationship (Influence Marketing) with the C-suite than cutting out an article or two and mailing it along with a personal note. Rest assured, C-suite execs love to hoard information and be the first to espouse statistics amongst their peers. Needless to say, they look smart and the sales rep looks even smarter!

Now that “Generation PC” is controlling the halls of IT, they feel comfortable embracing all forms of digital information to give them a leg up on their peers. Let’s face it, organizations are much more data-driven these days and while gaining access to the information is easy, it is still difficult to navigate and takes an enormous amount of time.

So how can a sales rep leverage this to his or her Competitive Positioning? If you can determine a CIO’s areas of interest and then collect and synthesize the information (targeting), you will help supplement their learning process and ultimately build a customer for life.