Many fast-growing IT professional services firms recognize the need to establish their e-business positioning and create increased brand awareness as e-business solutions providers. Although brand awareness can be built quickly in today’s Internet economy, the ultimate goal of branding is acquiring customer loyalty. With loyalty, marketing is easier, selling is faster, premium pricing is more acceptable, repeat business is extremely high, and positive word of mouth generates new business. Long-term loyalty comes from meeting and shaping customer expectations through experience over time.

During the fall and early winter of 2001, ITSMA conducted interviews with 400 buyers of IT consulting and professional services for Internet technology, Web marketing, e-commerce, or e-services to assess the brand awareness and marketing positioning of the major industry services providers. The study respondents, both IS and business executives, represent 10 major industries: financial services, discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing, communications, retail, energy, government, health care, transportation, and dot-coms. This report provides analysis by industry and buyer responsibility.

The study provides detailed analysis on the following topics:

• Unaided e-business professional services firm awareness
• Aided e-business professional services firm awareness
• Recognition of primary sponsors and sponsor-specified peers
• Favorability of e-business professional services firms
• Preference for doing business with e-business professional services firms
• Positioning of e-business professional services firms, primary sponsors and specified peers
• Importance of attributes in the selection of e-business professional services firms
• Comparison of attributes of primary sponsors and specified peers
• Sources of information about e-business and Internet professional services providers
• Awareness and recall of advertising venues and messages