Lucent Technologies: Learning by Association

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“What I appreciate about ITSMA is that its insight and recommendations are all based in best practice research and years of industry observation. It's not pure theory you're getting; you know that the best companies in the business are doing what ITSMA says.”

—Stef Van Aarle, Senior Vice President, Services, Europe & North America, Alcatel-Lucent

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE

As Lucent faced a changing telecom industry and a challenging market, the company had to adjust to this new reality. Reduced telecom spending required Lucent to reassess its operations; this included a decision to shift from selling easily-commoditized, network-centric boxes to selling more valuable and profitable customer-centric solutions. For Lucent, this meant executing on a five-year plan to transform itself into a marketing-led organization.

“ITSMA is clearly the thought leader when it comes to solutions. This is a big issue for Lucent, and we're always looking for new ideas and best practices. ITSMA's research, events, and even its newsletter are great sources for inspiration and recommendations on how companies can move to a solutions focus.”

APPLYING MARKETING INSIGHT

A member of ITSMA since its spin-off from AT&T in 1996, Lucent began to leverage its membership to a greater extent when the company became more focused on developing end-to-end solutions. With ITSMA's specific concentration and body of research on the unique requirements for marketing services and solutions, Lucent has actively used its membership in the following ways:

• To hone its leading-edge marketing strategy. Lucent has adapted the ITSMA Marketing Framework to its business and used ITSMA thought leadership to help justify its move to selling solutions. Over the years, ITSMA has also provided guidance around branding, account-based marketing, reference management, and sales force effectiveness.

• To measure the effectiveness of its marketing spend.Lucent is active in ITSMA's annual member research program, participating in annual "give to get" brand tracking studies, which allow the company to measure the progress of its brand-building initiatives over time.

• To better understand customers and improve lead generation. Participation in ITSMA's research program has allowed Lucent to gain an understanding of its mindshare with customers, along with their preferences. Through this improved understanding, Lucent has changed how it sells and delivers services and improved lead generation.

BUSINESS RESULTS

Lucent's membership in ITSMA has helped the company position itself as a leader in services, and is rapidly helping the company become a leader in solutions as well. Leveraging ITSMA frameworks and concepts, guidance, and research capabilities, the company is in the midst of transforming its business model from a product- to a customer-centric one.

The difficult decisions made after the telecom bubble burst began paying off last year when the company reported its first profitable year since fiscal 2000. Today, Lucent is well positioned to lead the move to converged end-user services due to the depth and breadth of its portfolio, its technical innovations, and its forward-thinking approach to marketing in the new millennium.

“ITSMA keeps my team on the cutting edge of what's happening in services marketing.”

—Stef Van Aarle, Senior Vice President, Services, Europe & North America, Alcatel-Lucent

About Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies designs and delivers the systems, services and software that drive next-generation communications networks. Backed by Bell Labs research and development, Lucent uses its strengths in mobility, optical, software, data and voice networking technologies, as well as services, to create new revenue-generating opportunities for its customers, while enabling them to quickly deploy and better manage their networks. Lucent's customer base includes communications service providers, governments and enterprises worldwide. For more information on Lucent Technologies, which has headquarters in Murray Hill, NJ, USA, visit http://www.lucent.com.

About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions. As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services firms to generate new business, strengthen customer loyalty, and increase brand differentiation. Through research, consulting, training, and community we provide the insight companies need to improve marketing impact, sales performance, and business results. ITSMA is based in Lexington, Massachusetts, and has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Learn more at www.itsma.com.