Dear ITSMA Friends and Colleagues,
Looking for help in measuring marketing performance? Wondering how you stack up against your peers? You've come to the right place! February is launch month for ITSMA's 2001 Benchmarking Study and Services Sales Effectiveness Program. These two initiatives fill out ITSMA's 2001 portfolio of multiclient research programs and studies, which together offer a unique set of opportunities to quantify marketing parameters, identify best practices, and compare performance against peers and top-tier firms. Scroll down for details on the new research offerings, as well as recent publications, upcoming events, new data on training, and our monthly Toolbox. As always, let me know how we can make the ITSMA E-ZINE an even more useful resource for services marketing ideas and information. And don't forget Valentine's Day (I did once, and February became the longest month of the year).

Rob Leavitt, director of member advocacy, editor of ITSMA's E-ZINE

What's Hot: Performance Evaluation for Marketing Success

Once upon a time, marketing services was all about short-term projects. Move collateral out the door; schmooze your way through trade shows; struggle for press coverage. Today, services marketers have to master a much more strategic set of longer-term initiatives, such as developing new offerings, analyzing profitable customer segments, managing complex portfolios, and documenting return on marketing investment.

One common denominator for all aspects of the "new" services marketing is the need for performance evaluation. As services marketers take on more responsibility for business strategy and planning, executives are demanding more justification for marketing investments.

For 2001, ITSMA offers a broad portfolio of multiclient research programs and studies (more details listed in the Research Desk section) to help companies evaluate their performance across a wide range of marketing, pricing, sales, and branding issues. Our core offering, the 2001 Benchmarking Study, for example, addresses such concerns as budgeting, staffing, training, sales models, margins, and new services development. The study includes a special volume on field marketing metrics and best practices, as well as an extensive survey to gain customer feedback on a range of field marketing programs.

ITSMA has worked with more than 100 companies since 1995 to assess their marketing performance against peers, competitors, and industry leaders. Through ITSMA, member companies have been able to document such problems as getting new services to market too slowly, under-funding the marketing organization, over-reliance on a single sales channel, misdirected brand initiatives, and/or lack of appropriate services sales support.

Research is the foundation of any successful marketing program. For more information on ITSMA's multiclient research offerings, scroll down to the Research Desk section of this E-ZINE, or contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or mailto:pgates@itsma.com.

*Early sign-up rates are available for selected studies before February 28, 2001.

Research Desk

ITSMA's 2001 Multiclient Research Programs: Sign Up Now!

2001 Benchmarking Study - Sign up in February before rates go up

Services marketers need hard data to justify new initiatives, allocate resources effectively, and maximize performance. ITSMA's 2001 Benchmarking Study enables services marketers to quantify marketing parameters, identify best practices, and compare their performance with industry peers and "best-in-class" companies. The 2001 study includes a special volume on field marketing metrics, a top investment area cited by ITSMA members for 2001, and a survey assessing customer interests and ratings for various field marketing programs. Sponsor fees range from $11,995, to $18,995.

Contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or pgates@itsma.com to participate. View a study prospectus online at http://www.itsma.com/Research/prospectus/mk0160_bench01.htm.

2001 Services Sales Effectiveness Program - Sign up in February before rates go up

Top-performing IT services firms have higher sales productivity, lower selling costs, lower sales force turnover, and more loyal customers. But gathering data on these issues was extremely difficult until ITSMA launched its landmark Services Sales Effectiveness subscription program last year. The 2001 subscription program includes a series of deliverables that provide data, analysis, benchmarks, and best practices on issues such as sales coverage models, sales force incentives, win/loss ratios, sales support tools, and sales channel programs. Participation fees range from $13,995 to $19,995.

For more information, contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or pgates@itsma.com. View the study prospectus online at http://www.itsma.com/Research/prospectus/mk0171_sse01.htm.

2001 Professional Services Pricing Study - Sign up in February before rates go up

Few issues bedevil services marketers more than pricing. What margins are realistic? How should our billing rates be structured? How do we deal with pricing on a global basis? And most important, can we use pricing to create a strategic advantage with clients and prospects? ITSMA's 2001 Professional Services Pricing Study addresses all these critical issues, and more. This new multiclient study includes qualitative and quantitative data from study participants in a range of IT sectors and from Fortune 1000 service buyers. Sponsor fees range from $7,000 to $9,500.

For more information, contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or pgates@itsma.com. View the updated study prospectus online at http://www.itsma.com/Brand_Pro/pricing_prosp.htm.

Networking and Telecom Services Brand Equity Study, Winter 2001

Sponsorship slots are still available for ITSMA's Networking and Telecom Services Brand Awareness Study for the Enterprise Market. Which providers have the most currency with customers? What attributes do buyers value most? How is your firm positioned relative to your competitors? Primary sponsors also help shape the survey instruments and influence the respondent profiles. Sponsor fees range from $12,500 to $35,000.

Contact Matt Leary at +1-401-635-2148 or mailto:mleary@itsma.com to participate. View a study prospectus online at http://www.itsma.com/Brand_Pro/telecom_prosp.htm.

CRM Services Brand Equity Study, Winter 2001

ITSMA's CRM Services Brand Awareness Study will create a critical research foundation for all CRM services providers seeking to better understand this fast-growing market. Study sponsors will gain early and affordable access to new data on brand awareness, customer preferences, relative positioning, and other critical metrics. Sponsor fees range from $12,500 to $27,500.

Contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or mailto:pgates@itsma.com to participate. View a study prospectus online at http://www.itsma.com/Brand_Pro/brand_CRM2001.htm.

Winning the Next Game: An Hour with Christopher Lochhead, Former CMO, Scient Corporation

The new Internet economy mandates that IT services providers change; they are competing in a whole new game. For some companies, the game is already over and they won't survive. Extensive layoffs at e-business professional services firms have made the role of marketing even more central as the firms struggle to compete in the new environment. Christopher Lochhead, chief marketing officer at Scient through the end of 2000, highlights the aggressive approach that marketers need to take in leading their firms through the current turmoil and taking advantage of the massive opportunities in "the next economy."

Winning the Next Game was distributed recently to all ITSMA member delegates. Additional copies are available to members for a nominal reprint charge and to non-members for $395.

For more information or to order copies, visit http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/v0015.htm or contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or mailto:pgates@itsma.com.

Download Now:
IT Services Marketing: State of the Profession (Online Briefing)

On January 25, 2001, Julie Schwartz, ITSMA's vice president of research, gave her annual "state of the profession" address to ITSMA members. Julie reviewed the latest ITSMA data and analysis of key trends affecting services marketing and sales, and she urged that firms facing a softening of demand in 2001 return to the marketing basics of "right growth." Firms that focus on the three R's—Revenue, Retention and Reputation—will see a return to profitability. Click here to download a PDF version of Julie's slides.

Professional Development: Closing the Training Gap

The growing importance of services marketing to the future of IT firms places a much greater premium on specialized skills development and training for marketers. As the complexity of branding, marketing, and selling high-value IT services increases, the burden on marketers to assimilate new strategies, tools, and techniques gets heavier and heavier. According to recent ITSMA benchmarking data, however, very few IT services organizations have formal professional development programs for their services marketers.

Most companies spend about 4% of their total services marketing budget on staff training and professional development. Given the growing demands on marketing, however, this might not be enough.

ITSMA's 2000 Benchmarking Study documents the relative lack of services marketing backgrounds among most new hires. For staff positions, for example, only about 10% come in with previous services marketing experience. About one-third have some other marketing experience, and another 15% come from services (but not marketing) backgrounds.

The numbers are somewhat better for new hires in services marketing executive or managerial positions, but still only about one-quarter of such hires come on board with services marketing experience.

In this context, it is a bit alarming that only 10% of companies have a formal professional development program for their services marketers. The vast majority of companies rely instead on "on-the-job training and mentoring" and public courses (such as those offered by ITSMA). See Table 1 for details.

All too often, of course, "on-the-job training and mentoring" is simply a euphemism for "they'll somehow figure it out when they need to." For companies with very small services marketing staffs, reliance on public courses might be acceptable, although many such courses do not focus specifically on marketing services. But with the economy slowing, competition heightening, and demands for marketing accountability increasing, ad hoc approaches to professional development will generally fall far short of long-term needs.

Table 1: Training Services Marketing Professionals

Note: Multiple responses were allowed.
Source: ITSMA, 2000 Benchmarking Study on Services Marketing Practices

Services marketing success in the coming period will rely even more on highly skilled professionals with expertise in the full range of disciplines, from market selection and services pricing to branding, internal marketing, leveraging sales channels, and sustaining customer loyalty.

Education and training budgets often get squeezed first when marketing belts are tightened. This premise was always questionable; it's even more dubious now.

- Rob Leavitt

Upcoming Events: Sign up for events online and receive a 5% reduced fee!

February 13, 12:00-1:00 p.m. EST: Online Briefing: Profiting from "Voice of the Customer Research" (free for ITSMA members)
Far too often, IT services marketers leap into mission-critical initiatives with only anecdotal information about customer perspectives, preferences, beliefs, and feelings. "We don't have time; we don't have budget; we're already measuring customer satisfaction." But well-executed "Voice of the Customer" research ultimately saves time and money by enabling a much more efficient service launch, re-launch, or expansion. Join ITSMA's Advisory Services group to explore the benefits of "Voice of the Customer" research, and review common pitfalls in planning, execution, and analysis.
For more information, or to register online, visit http://www.itsma.com/events/event_desc/E02130101.htm

February 20-23, 2001: Client-Centric Marketing Course: Accelerating Services' Growth Through Client-Focused Initiatives (San Jose)
ITSMA's highly regarded core course for professionals with fewer than five to seven years of IT/networking services marketing experience covers a broad range of topics critical to services marketing. Built on ITSMA best-practice research, the course provides case examples on core topics such as market analysis and positioning, new services development, building customer loyalty, and e-marketing. MBA credit is available to attendees through Babson College. ITSMA's ongoing partnership with Babson, a top MBA and executive education school, adds considerable value to the design and delivery of all ITSMA courses.
For more information, or to register online, visit http://www.itsma.com/Events/event_desc/E02150101.htm.

March 28-29, 2001: Creating Market-Centric Mindsets Workshop, with Dr. Lynn Phillips (San Jose)
Join one of ITSMA's top-ranked faculty members for one of our most highly-rated events, formerly known as Building a Market-Focused Services Strategy Workshop. The workshop is designed to help services marketers deal with many of your biggest challenges, including ensuring that customers perceive superior value from your offering, translating customer needs into viable services products, and gaining competitive advantage through developing a market-focused organization. This popular workshop will be held only once in 2001, so sign up now!
For more information or to register online, visit http://www.itsma.com/Events/event_desc/E03280101.htm.

April 18-20, 2001: Chief Marketer's Conference
This conference represents ITSMA's first event dedicated to the issues that specifically face the top marketing executives within technology, IT services, and consulting firms. Sergio Zyman, former CMO at Coca-Cola and author of The End of Marketing As We Know It; Paul Magill, vice president of marketing and strategy at IBM Global Services; Merle Sprinzen, CMO at Sapient; Ellen Kitzis, group vice president at Gartner; and other experts will lead an intensive, top-level review of the new role of marketing, enforcing accountability, building brand equity in IT services, and other urgent executive issues. This event is targeted to the top services marketing executive, the top corporate marketing executive, or their most senior staff.
For more information, or to register online, visit http://www.itsma.com/Events/event_desc/E04180101.htm.

Event Sponsorship Opportunities

As the premier industry association for IT services marketing, ITSMA offers event sponsorship opportunities to member companies throughout the year. Event sponsors benefit from direct access to services marketing executives and managers from the world's leading IT services firms as well as the broader association with ITSMA. Sponsorship fees help ITSMA invest in new event offerings and offset the growing costs of event development and facilitation.

For more information on event sponsorship opportunities, benefits, and costs, visit our Website: http://www.itsma.com/events/other_desc/01_sponsorprg.htm or contact Paul Gates at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 15, or mailto:pgates@itsma.com.

Toolbox: Business Development Assessment Tool

Each month ITSMA highlights one or two new ideas, books, applications, or other tools that services marketers can use immediately to strengthen their programs and organizations.

This month we're featuring an assessment tool to help evaluate your business development process.

The pyramid graphic shows the key elements of a comprehensive business development process. The pyramid can be used as a simple tool to assess the process within your organization, as follows:

• The foundation of any sound business development process is a well-rounded, qualitative and quantitative approach to performance management and metrics. Is your approach sufficient for today's business landscape?
• Once the foundation is in place, the first step is research. How adequate are your efforts to generate knowledge about your competition, your industry, and your market environment? How are you spreading that knowledge throughout the organization?
• Next, your sales coverage models: Are they appropriate to the current environment?
• What sort of opportunity management system is in place? Are you doing enough to track, qualify, and segment leads?
• How is the sales process itself working? How are you moving prospects toward a services deal? Are all the right elements in place?
• No company wins every deal. Are you assessing win/loss ratios? Most effective tools? Common pitfalls?
• Is there a formal program in place to ensure continuous improvement at every level of the pyramid?
• Throughout the process, are you documenting best practices and disseminating them throughout the organization?
• What about professional development? Are there adequate training and skills development programs in place?

Member Voices

Marketing Professional Services

How do you think professional services marketing differs from other types of services marketing (e.g., customer support services, repair services, education services, and so forth)?

Shari Wenker, director, integrated marketing, Accenture:

Professional services marketing is above all the marketing of an image combined with the marketing of intangible thoughts and ideas. This is very different than, for example, marketing customer support services, which are tangible, well-understood services. Every consumer knows about help lines or complaint lines. More sophisticated customer support services are simply a premium extension of that basic, tangible service. With professional services you are marketing an intangible image of trust and confidence. The recipients of professional services must be willing to place their lives and careers in your hands. They have to buy your ideas, and bet that your help can turn their business around. Normally these are very large, risky propositions. If the repair service makes a mistake when fixing my clothes dryer, I am out $600. If the professional services company I engage makes a mistake on my multibillion-dollar bet on improving or re-steering my business, company performance and earnings will go down, the stock will tank, and my career will be over. The game is different, the stakes are higher, and trust is everything.

Accenture's Brand Launch

ITSMA's recent commentary on the $175 million January 1 advertising launch of Accenture, the former Andersen Consulting, inspired a number of responses. Click here to read responses from folks at Cisco, Compaq, neoIT, and other firms.

Click here if you missed the original commentary.

In the News: Service Marketing: Four That Get It: IBM, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and marchFIRST

"Unlike a computer, a hamburger, or a car, a service can be a tricky thing to promote; obviously, glossy product shots just won't cut it. Service organizations must find another way to convey their service strengths, and well-plotted, intelligently designed marketing campaigns can be highly effective tools.Customer Support Management congratulates this year's ITSMA award recipients!"

Click here to read the full text of Customer Support Management's January 1, 2001, review of the four winners of the 2000 ITSMA Services Marketing Excellence Award.

$2,500 Reward: Refer a Colleague to ITSMA and Help Us Grow

ITSMA is growing fast, and we can't do it alone. Opportunities to expand our highly regarded research, consulting, and professional development services abound, and we're looking to fill a number of new positions. If you know someone who can help us grow, let us know. We're currently hiring highly successful thinkers and doers in marketing, consulting, research, and sales. If we hire one of your referrals, we'll pay you $2,500, no strings attached, after that person starts work. For more information, visit the career section of our Website at http://www.itsma.com/corpinfo/corpinfo_jobs.htm or contact Joanne Tibbetts at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 11, or mailto:jtibbetts@itsma.com.

Reproduction or disclosure of this or any other ITSMA document, in whole or in part to other parties shall be made according to the ITSMA Citation Policy. Reproduction prohibited.

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About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we provide research, consulting, and training to the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.