How to Speak to the IEEE Member

Because your technology or service becomes part of a larger product or solution, you have to communicate how your product will integrate with the buyer’s. That creates specific demands on your marketing. The people who make the purchasing decision on what you offer are not consumers or purchasing agents. They are engineers and innovation specialists. For your marketing to work, it must give them the answers they need.

385,000 IEEE members are part of the largest global association of technology specialists focused on the business of innovation. They drive new technology development around the world. Responding to a recent survey, IEEE members identified six areas they want addressed in your marketing.

What Decision Makers Want to Hear from You*

1. Communicate available technical solutions  
(97% of respondents identify this issue)

IEEE members want to know what your technology offers them. What does it do? Before you talk about specs or improvements over the last version or what internal features make it great, tell them first: What problem does it solve or what benefit does it provide for the person buying it?

2. Communicate what you are working on to resolve technology obstacles unique to your industry  
(95% of respondents identify this issue)

You know the big issues in the markets you serve. IEEE members are engaged in surmounting those obstacles. If you can offer part of the solution, you’ve got their attention. One of the big issues in Energy is increasing the efficiency of power transmission across the grid. In Semiconductors, it’s the need to get ever higher performance while lowering the power demand. Tell them what benefits your technology offers. If you aren’t sure what’s hot in your market, call us.

3. Communicate the scope and progress of your technology developmental work
(93% of respondents identify this issue)

You absolutely must get into specs and specifics with this audience. IEEE members want to know the scope and progress of your R&D. They want to know what your technology offers today and where it is headed tomorrow. They look for immediate solutions and long-term partners.

4. Offer direct engineer to engineer access 
(82% of respondents identify this issue)

When it comes to innovation, your engineers have to work with their engineers. IEEE members want to make the connection right away. They want to get started on solving their problem. If they can’t interact directly with your engineers, they’ll go to your competition. If you can’t have your engineers ready to pick up the phone, you can offer periodic online videoconferences, chat, or even virtual information environments. Call us for other ideas.

5. Communicate how you engage in collaboration with the engineering community
(72% of respondents identify this issue)

You need to both tell them and show them how you work with your customers. How you collaborate is just as important as the benefits your technology offers. Tell them in your advertising. Show them in your case histories. It’s absolutely essential to winning their trust.

6. Include more information about technology, solutions and collaboration in advertising and promotion rather than branding your company or featuring specific products 
(70% of respondents identify this issue)

Branding is great for perfume and blue jeans, but branding alone won’t impress engineers. IEEE members want easy access to your technical information. With life cycles of products getting shorter and shorter, time to market is their prime driver. Today’s engineers have to move quickly. If they can’t get quick access to your information, they’ll move on to your competitor.

Finally, remember to assess your objectives. If you want to generate leads, you need to offer something in your advertising to which readers will respond. Be prepared to know how to measure their response. Will it be click-throughs to a Web page? Visits to a trade show booth? Phone call requests for a sample widget? Make sure to make an appropriate call-to-action in your advertising, and be ready!

Call us for more ideas. Contact your local IEEE Media sales representative or Associate Publisher, Marion Delaney (+1 415 863 4717; m.delaney@ieee.org) today.

IEEE Spectrum
3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10016-5597
www.spectrum.ieee.org/static/media-center

*This data was drawn from a research study conducted by the independent firm of Mark Rothman and Associates, Inc., New York. A total of 300 online interviews with IEEE members were conducted in November 2008.