A Note from the President & CEO

February, 2011

I hope you are off to a good start in 2011. Here at ITSMA, we are very excited about what we are seeing and hearing from our members about their return to growth after a difficult couple of years.  We just held our 2011 kick-off meeting and I want to share some highlights from 2010 and let you know what we have planned for the year ahead.

First, I want to thank all our members for their support in 2010. In spite of a difficult economy, we have a lot to celebrate. We:

  • Grew our business in North America and Europe by more than 20%, combined ;
  • Added almost 30 new members, including a number of new associate members;
  • Saw our research downloads—case studies, tools, white papers, benchmarking studies, focus reports, online briefings, viewpoints, and more—increase 100% over 2009
  • Conducted a successful global Professional Services and Solutions Brand Tracking Study with 510 quantitative and 25 qualitative phone interviews with business and IT executives in North and South America, Europe, and Australia
  • Partnered with The UK’s  Chartered Institute of Marketing to launch a ground-breaking Marketing for Business Services and Solutions diploma course with blended online/offline learning options
  • Published a Special Report: How to Fit Social Media into Your Overall Marketing Strategy and Make it Stick, a 47-page in-depth report that outlines the five steps B2B marketers must take to successfully integrate social media into their larger marketing strategy
  • Held successful events in the US and Europe on thought leadership, cloud computing, sales enablement, social media, and marketing transformation
  • Completed numerous consulting projects on services marketing, account based marketing, demand generation, reference management, and sales enablement
  • Completed custom research projects on client loyalty/Net Promoter, 360o brand positioning, channel partner engagement, and more.

We are not resting on our laurels, though. While all signs point to a continued recovery in 2011, we know that the market is nothing if not uncertain. We also know that our members are hiring and spending carefully, and that you have a lot of choices. Because of this, we are doing all we can to be even more focused, disciplined, and relevant in 2011 and beyond.

You’ll see this in our Research and Thought Leadership Agenda. Our focus for the year is on six key areas:

  • Social Media: Building the Competence and Accelerating Adoption
  • Ideas to Revenue: Developing a Thought Leadership Model that Drives Business
  • The Anatomy of Successful Lead Management and Nurturing
  • Becoming a Data Driven Marketing Organization
  • Channel Enablement: Improving Marketing and Sales Effectiveness
  • Adapting to Changes in How Buyers Consume Information

We have built a full slate of events around this agenda. In addition, we have a number of member deliverables in the works, such as viewpoints, case studies, research updates, tools, focus reports, and multi-client research studies.

I recognize that the Research and Thought Leadership Agenda is not exhaustive. What else do you want to see? I’d love to hear from you.

Finally, things move quickly around here, so I want to be sure you are keeping up with us. Please take a minute to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, the Marketing Strategist, join our LinkedIn Group, or follow us on Twitter.

2011 will be a fast-paced, exciting and unpredictable journey. As marketing continues to assume more responsibility for shaping the company’s overall direction, ITSMA will be here, encouraging our members to stretch your skills and play a larger role in defining business strategy, develop the portfolio, and redefine the company’s approach to connecting with customers.

If you are not yet a member, we’d love to talk to you about joining us for the ride! Drop me a line and let me know how we can help you.

Best regards,

Dave Munn
President and CEO, ITSMA
dmunn@itsma.com