Goals and Challenges
The prospective industry partner persona is the CIO of a leading healthcare company, responsible for developing high-quality, cost-effective technologies that enhance his business capabilities. His company recently experienced a high-profile data breach, and solving this problem keeps him up at night. Security is essential.
What Questions Does He Have?
Awareness
- How can we continue our revenue streams?
- What emerging technologies will affect our business?
- How are other business leaders responding?
- Who are the thought leaders in this category?
- What internal resources will be needed to solve this problem?
- How much money will this cost to solve?
- Do we need to form strategic partnerships with external resources?
Consideration
- What universities are located in international cities with low business costs?
- What are Georgia Tech’s fields of expertise?
- How will Georgia Tech solve my problem or help me make money?
- What other business leaders are partnering with the Institute?
- What successes has the Institute had in my company’s area?
- What are Georgia Tech's plans for the future?
Decision
- How do I develop a strategic relationship with you?
- What do I need to know about next steps?
- What level of ongoing interaction can I expect from senior management?
- How do I hire students?
- What partnership alliance opportunities exist?
How Does He Find Answers?
Awareness
- Talks to other business leaders.
- Reads white papers.
- Reads research magazines.
- Attends professional conferences.
- Searches online forums.
- Holds internal R&D team discussions.
- Reaches out to external research organizations.
Consideration
- Studies university and lab publications.
- Reads emails and other research communications.
- Meets with university representatives.
- Visits campus and labs.
- Schedules meetings at conferences.
- Submits proposal to leadership for approval.
- Calls current or former college partner and asks, "Who’s an expert on this?"
Decision
- Meets with city officials and business leaders.
- Submits contracts to internal teams to implement.
- Issues press release about partnership.
- Speaks with the media.
What Do We Want Him to Think?
Awareness
- Georgia Tech is helping to solve critical challenges and bringing new technologies to the marketplace.
- Georgia Tech faculty are a primary source of professional and academic expertise.
- Atlanta has a strong technology-focused talent pool and its reputation as a technology hub is growing.
Consideration
- Other industry leaders are successfully partnering with Georgia Tech for corporate R&D.
- Georgia Tech's corporate partners have access to top-tier experts and research.
- Georgia Tech students are workforce-ready and capable of delivering solutions to real technology challenges.
- Georgia Tech delivers demonstrable return on investment to industry partners and the state of Georgia.
- Few universities can approach cybersecurity with the same breadth and depth as Georgia Tech.
- GaMEP successfully helps manufacturers reduce costs and increase productivity and revenue.
Decision
- Georgia Tech provides industry partners with clear, valuable incentives and paths for engagement.
- I clearly understand the next steps to forming a strategic partnership with Georgia Tech.
Sources: Research Horizons Future Directions Study 2014; Georgia Tech Reputational Study 2012.
Mapping Content to the Buying Cycle
What types of content will be most useful at each stage?