Customer Control Driving Change in IT Sales and Marketing Practices, ITSMA Studies Show

Investing in collaboration and new methods of communication is key to boosting sales and improving loyalty in customer-led markets

LEXINGTON, Massachusetts—May 23, 2005—IT services and solutions companies must invest in new sales and marketing strategies to succeed in today’s customer-driven marketplace, according to ITSMA, a membership organization that specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions. ITSMA research reveals that customers who have identified a need for IT services or solutions proactively contact vendors 67% of the time, leaving little opportunity for traditional sales and marketing tactics to work.

“Today’s buyers are far too proactive to wait around for sales or marketing to contact them,” says Julie Schwartz, senior vice president and chief research officer, ITSMA. “They know what they want and pay little attention to generic pitches. And loyalty to existing providers is clearly on the wane. Companies need to invest in new tools, skills, and practices to help sales and marketing develop and deliver offerings that have demonstrable business value to the customer.”

Collaboration Is Critical

ITSMA’s 2005 Sales Study, “Raising the Bar: Selling Technology Services in a Competitive Market,” reports that sales reps at IT services firms spend an average of 53% of their time selling as part of teams. As IT companies strive to bring more comprehensive solutions to market, ITSMA predicts that team-based selling will become even more important. There are several major advantages for solutions providers in facilitating collaboration across the enterprise, including:

• Development of tools to help marketing and sales design custom solutions that appeal to individual and small groups of customers
• Better opportunity management because the right specialists are accessible at the right times
• Enhanced cross-selling
• The ability to present a unified face to the customer

“Facilitating collaboration and shifting to team-based selling are best practices in selling services and solutions,” says Schwartz. “Making it easy for customers to get what they want when they want it is the objective. Better teamwork across the enterprise is a huge factor in the equation.”

Communication is Changing

ITSMA’s new Focus Report, “Connecting with Customers: Generating Awareness, Interest, and Confidence for Technology Services,” reveals that traditional sales and marketing tools such as direct mail, email from a sales rep, trade shows, and advertisements all fall to the bottom half of the list of how customers initially become aware of services providers. A recommendation from a colleague is the number one way that prospects learn about vendors and their services, with 35% of study respondents reporting that references are the first step to catching their attention.

The types of information that are most likely to interest prospects are:

• Technology innovation (89%)
• Customer success stories (82%)
• Thought leadership on the application of technology (79%)

Surprisingly, provider claims that they can deliver high return on investment yield the least amount of interest among prospects (51%), at least at initial stages of the buying cycle.

“These results make it clear that marketing needs to refocus its energies if it wants to succeed in today’s buyer reality,” says Schwartz. “Enough with the claims for high ROI! Show your prospects what you’ve helped other companies achieve, and make sure your sales team has easy access to that material. Proof points by way of relevant references and success stories are essential.”

About the Studies

“Raising the Bar: Selling Technology Services in a Competitive Market” provides in-depth data and analysis of how effectively technology companies are managing and measuring their services sales performance in the new buyer reality. Highlighting qualitative and quantitative data from 29 U.S.-based companies including IBM, Lucent, Motorola, NCR, and Sprint, the study is designed to help marketing, sales, and business development leaders:

• Benchmark their sales practices and performances against industry averages and top performers
• Explore best practices in selling technology services and solutions

For more information about this report, visit http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/s005.htm.

Based on interviews with 211 key decision makers for purchases of technology services in U.S. companies and government entities, “Connecting with Customers: Generating Awareness, Interest, and Confidence for Technology Services” provides detailed data and analysis to help marketers deliver the most effective information at each stage of the buying cycle.

For more information about this report, visit http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/f009.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.