Life would be so much easier for technical communicators if user documentation wasn't seen as expense, and, instead was seen as a way to generate income for the organisation. So I was very interested when I heard Michael Priestley, enterprise content technology strategist and lead DITA architect at IBM, mention the value of user documentation as a sales tool in his presentation at the Congility 2014 conference.
Michael quoted these statistics in one of his slides.
Research shows using technical content:
- Generates 50%+ of viable sales leads [Forbes]
- Encompasses 55%+ of sales cycle time (vs. 21% spent talking to sales people) [Marketing Interactions]
- 2nd most important pre-sales activity for technology buyers [IDC]
(See Findable, usable, reusable: IBM’s enterprise content strategy for smart content).
I think he is correct to say that, in the Internet age of the educated user, technical and user documentation has become an important marketing tool.
I asked Michael if he could point me to the original article in Forbes magazine, and he kindly sent me the link. The article was written by Aaron Fulkerson, CEO of Mindtouch, called The Evolution Of User Manuals. Aaron wrote:
“I have spoken to are reporting that their documentation is bringing in over 50% of their qualified leads. I can report that my company receives 70% plus of our site traffic from organic sources, and our documentation generates more than half of our overall site traffic.”
Mindtouch are in the technical documentation business, so a skeptic might respond “He would say that, wouldn't he?” So let me point you to research by Google that showed the average shopper now uses 10.7 sources of information before making a purchase. In other research of 5,003 consumers, Google found 84% of respondents said that online feedback and research helped to influence their purchase decisions.
Michael Priestley also showed a slide that described some research IBM had carried out into the importance of technical content for its customers. Over 88.9% said it was important or very important when they were making their initial purchase decision.
It would be great to have further evidence so that we can change the perception of technical content as being effectively a grudge purchase, and see it more as a valuable marketing tool.
Ellis Pratt is director at Cherryleaf, a UK technical writing services company. Ranked the most influential blogger on technical communication in Europe, Ellis is a specialist in the field of creating clear and simple information users will love.
Ellis, great post. I could not agree with your premise more. However, your post brought into specific relief an issue with using tech comm materials as marketing materials that I’ve been trying to articulate for awhile. When tech docs become marketing tools, marketing *text* tends to creep into the content. (“This product allows you to quickly and easily…”) Marketing content is, by design, vague hyperbole, whereas tech comm content, which is designed to aid users in completing a task using that product, must be specific and objective. Thanks for helping me clarify the confusion in my mind.
Hi Karen
There is room certainly for a more conversational style, for certain products. We’re seeing this on some Help pages on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MailChimp.
Hi, Ellis. Again, I agree. But a conversational style is not the same as a sales pitch. The underlying agendas are different. The challenge I see here, which your post helped me crystallize, is how to use tech comm docs as marketing tools without compromising users with sales pitches and flowery language. It’s an interesting conundrum!