With thanks to all who participate, here are the results of this past weekend’s poll, which I’ve now closed. This poll’s focus:

How much influence do you have over corporate purchasing decisions? How well is that influence understood by external parties?

The results:  While more than a third of respondents advised that they don’t have influence on corporate purchasing decisions, the 62% who do have influence seem to experience mixed results in terms of suppliers’ awareness.

Catering, Conference Sites, Event Planning, Restaurants and Office Supplies Think about the traditional areas over which administrators have influence, and you won’t be surprised to learn that 50% or more of all respondents rated their influence as either four or five out of five when it comes to catering and conference/retreat site selection. 40% or more of all respondents rated their influence as either four or five out of five for event planning, office supplies, restaurants (client hospitality and internal hospitality) and travel accommodation.

Influencing Travel Decisions  In fact, more than 27% of all respondents rated their influence as five out of five when it comes to travel accommodation decisions. This means that they either make or influence final decisions. Another 18% rated their influence in this category at a solid four out of five. When it comes to travel agents and airlines, 18% of respondents rated their influence at five out of five.

Not So Influential When it Comes to Tech Purchases – but this shouldn’t be a surprise, given that there are efficiencies to be had when IT colleagues are able to assess and ensure consistency of platforms.

The Results

On a scale of 1 (no comprehension) to 5 (enlightened), how aware do you think suppliers/reps are of the influence you have on corporate purchasing decisions?

• 5: 0% of respondents
• 4: 23% of respondents
• 3: 31% of respondents
• 2: 8% of respondents
• 38% of respondents selected “not applicable; I have no influence on my executive’s employer’s purchasing decisions”

SCALE: For the balance of this Weekend Poll, I asked readers to rank their influence on a scale of one (little/no influence) to five (make/contribute to final decisions). Here are the results.

On a scale of 1 to 5, much purchasing influence do you have on …

CATERING

• 5: 31% of respondents
• 4: 39% of respondents
• 3: 15% of respondents
• 2: 0% of respondents
• 1: 15% of respondents

CONFERENCE/RETREAT SITE SELECTION

• 5: 15.5% of respondents
• 4: 46% of respondents
• 3: 0% of respondents
• 2: 15.5% of respondents
• 1: 23% of respondents

CORPORATE SUBSCRIPTIONS

• 5: 8% of respondents
• 4: 8% of respondents
• 3: 38% of respondents
• 2: 15% of respondents
• 1: 31% of respondents

CORPORATE/PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS

• 5: 7.13% of respondents
• 4: 14.29% of respondents
• 3: 14.29% of respondents
• 2: 14.29% of respondents
• 1: 50% of respondents

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS/GIFTS

• 5: 0% of respondents
• 4: 25% of respondents
• 3: 17% of respondents
• 2: 8% of respondents
• 1: 42% of respondents
• 8% selected “Other”. On respondent wrote that her organisation doesn’t have such a program.

EVENT PLANNING

• 5: 33.33% of respondents
• 4: 8.33% of respondents
• 3: 25% of respondents
• 2: 8.33% of respondents
• 1: 25% of respondents

OFFICE SUPPLIES

• 5: 42% of respondents
• 4: 0% of respondents
• 3: 16.5% of respondents
• 2: 25% of respondents
• 1: 16.5% of respondents

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• 5: 17% of respondents
• 4: 17% of respondents
• 3: 8% of respondents
• 2: 33% of respondents
• 1: 25% of respondents

RESTAURANTS – CLIENT HOSPITALITY

• 5: 15% of respondents
• 4: 31% of respondents
• 3: 8% of respondents
• 8: 2% of respondents
• 1: 23% of respondents
• 8% of respondents selected “Other”. Comments?  “Not applicable”.

RESTAURANTS – INTERNAL HOSPITALITY

• 5: 8.33% of respondents
• 4: 33.33% of respondents
• 3: 8.33% of respondents
• 2: 8.33% of respondents
• 1: 33.33% of respondents
• 8% of respondents selected “Other”. Comments? Again, “Not applicable”.

TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITIONS  – HARDWARE

• 2: 27% of respondents
• 1: 73% of respondents

TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITIONS  – SOFTWARE

• 4: 9% of respondents
• 2: 9% of respondents
• 1: 82% of respondents

TRAVEL – ACCOMMODATION

• 5: 27.5% of respondents
• 4: 18% of respondents
• 3: 0% of respondents
• 2: 27.5% of respondents
• 1: 18% of respondents
• 9% of respondents selected “Other”. Comments?  “Not applicable”.

TRAVEL – AGENT

• 5: 18% of respondents
• 4: 18% of respondents
• 3: 0% of respondents
• 2: 9% of respondents
• 1: 45% of respondents
• 9% of respondents selected “Other”. Comments?  “Not applicable”.

TRAVEL – AIRLINES

• 5: 18% of respondents
• 4: 9% of respondents
• 3: 18% of respondents
• 2: 9% of respondents
• 1: 36% of respondents
• 9% of respondents selected “Other”. Comments?  “Not applicable”.

Lastly, I asked readers to identify any other purchasing decisions over which they have influence. Respondents didn’t identify any additional categories; it appears that we captured all of them above.