ITSMA Forum to Highlight New Marketing Strategies Driving Growth in Services and Solutions in Maturing Technology Sector

Marketers of technology-based business solutions to gather June 18-19 in Heathrow, London, with speakers from Accenture, HP, Microsoft, Steria, Cranfield School of Management, The Fifield Organisation, and others to discuss advanced strategies and tactics to deliver value to all stakeholders in a slow-growth sector

London, U.K.—1 May 2003—With buyers remaining sceptical and risk-averse more than two years after the technology downturn, marketing leaders from technology firms are designing new strategies to compete effectively for business and provide ongoing value to shareholders.

ITSMA Europe's third annual European Forum, "Winning in a Solutions World: Marketing, Selling, and Delivering Value," will showcase the latest thinking on successful strategies and tactics from a roster of industry experts, marketing leaders, and academics. The Conference will take place June 18-19 at The Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, London.

With the technology sector facing the classic symptoms of a maturing industry—slow growth, commoditisation, offshore competition, and consolidation—marketing leaders need to fundamentally rethink the strategies and tactics required to sustain growth and profitability," said Dave Munn, ITSMA's president and CEO.

Bev Burgess, Managing Director of ITSMA Europe adds, "Our European Forum offers technology marketers the rare chance to share ideas, opinions, and challenges with peers on the best ways to succeed. Marketing business solutions in today’s environment requires a more sophisticated approach—greater customer knowledge, more industry expertise, tighter cross-organisational collaboration, advanced sales facilitation, clearer calculations of deliverable value. Its time for marketers to rise to the challenge and lead the corporate charge."

The Forum will focus on European marketers’ top five priorities right now, including:

• Strengthening brand differentiation
• Managing relationship marketing
• Empowering the sales team
• Marketing, selling, and delivering value to clients
• Demonstrating quantifiable return on marketing investment

Featured speakers include:

• Professor Adrian Payne, Professor of Services & Relationship Marketing and Director of the Centre for Customer Relationship Management, Cranfield School of Management;
• Charles Doyle, Head of Marketing – Communications and Hi-Tech Industry Group, Accenture and author of the Collins Dictionary of Marketing;
• Lars Ahlgren, Director EMEA Services Marketing, Microsoft;
• Ernesto Capobianco, Services Marketing Director, EMEA, HP;
• Lynda Chambers, Marketing Director, Steria;
• Dr Paul Fifield, Managing Director, the Fifield Organisation and International Board Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Marketing;
• Dave Munn, CEO and President of ITSMA;
• Bev Burgess, Managing Director, ITSMA Europe.

For more information on the Forum schedule, attendees, and registration, visit
http://www.itsma.com/Events/event_desc/03AF06E05.htm

This forum qualifies for 7 hours CPD under the Chartered Institute of Marketing's continuing professional development scheme leading to the award of Chartered Marketer. More information can be found on the website at www.cim.co.uk.

For more information on the Forum contact Bev Burgess on +44 (0) 1892 523060 or on info@itsma.com. There are a limited number of media places available - for further information contact Adam Wurf on +44 (0) 7812 450 398.

About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA members include business leaders such as Accenture, BT, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing ^SM, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.