Buyers Weigh In on Professional Services Brands

Lori Weiner, associate vice president of research at ITSMA, recently published the findings from our 2007 Brand Tracking Study for Professional Services and Solutions. In this interview, she provides insight into the prevailing buying reality for IT professional services and solutions providers.

ITSMA: Lori, this is the ninth annual installment of this study. What were some of the most surprising findings this year?

Weiner: Im always surprised by the senior business and technology executives who claim not to have heard of IBM, Oracle, or HP! The people we interview for this study are responsible for professional services procurement, and the fact that some of them can’t name a single provider or recognize industry-dominant players is mind boggling.

Of course, most of the buyers we interviewed did recognize the big-name firms. When we calculated the brand equity of the 20 professional services and solutions firms we examined in the study, IBM took the top spot. Other top achievers included Accenture, Deloitte, EDS, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, and SAP.

ITSMA: What about smaller or emerging players that don’t yet have the kind of brand recognition that the incumbents enjoy? How can they gain more mindshare with buyers?

Weiner: Less established players should keep in mind that the market for professional services and solutions is highly fragmented, which means there are opportunities for them to stand up and be noticed. However, they need to accept that broad awareness is within reach of only those companies that have the largest advertising budgets and that they’ll have more success if they abandon the blanket approach to marketing in favor of staking out a niche and building awareness with smart, targeted marketing.

ITSMA: How did the offshore firms fare this year?

Weiner: Of the five offshore firms included in the study—Cognizant, Infosys, Satyam, TCS, and Wipro—Infosys emerged with the highest Brand Equity Index (BEI) score. Cognizant came in a close second. Although these offshore providers still lag behind many of the incumbents in terms of brand awareness and preference, the message about the cost savings that can be achieved by selecting offshore providers continues to resonate with buyers.

ITSMA: What did buyers say was most important to them when selecting services and solutions providers?

Weiner: What we saw this year was that relationship factors like dependability, responsiveness, and a collaborative work style are the most important selection criteria for buyers, but providers are having a hard time conveying these qualities during the sales cycle. To address this challenge, ITSMA recommends that firms demonstrate that they’re committed to building a relationship, not just making a sale, by:

1. Managing the total customer experience, from initial contact through delivery, to ensure consistency throughout the relationship
2. Securing customer references
3. Allowing prospects to sample the goods before they buy: providing seminars, presenting at conferences, and offering complimentary assessments

For more information about this study, please see:
http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/BPS008.htm

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ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. 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 annual program clients include business leaders such as AT&T, Cisco, Deloitte, EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing℠, 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.