For technology services firms, this is a time of tremendous opportunity – and increasingly complex challenges. As the marketplace grows more hyper-competitive than ever before, effective IT marketing becomes absolutely essential.
But which challenges are most pressing for technology services firm, and which initiatives are they prioritizing in order to get ahead? The Hinge Research Institute surveyed 530 professional services firms to better understand the business challenges for IT services firms and give them a competitive edge. The findings revealed powerful insights about the new shape of the IT marketing landscape.
Consider, for example, the top five business challenges cited by technology services firms.
These answers are particularly instructive when compared to results from across other professional services industries. Like firms in other areas, attracting and developing new business is the top priority – and it will only grow more essential as more and more competitors enter the technology marketplace to vie for a limited number of buyers.
There’s a major difference between technology services and other industries, however: the need for innovation ranks much more highly in technology. That should come as no surprise. New ideas are the lifeblood of a technology company today, allowing the organization to continue into the future rather than being supplanted by competitors with similar or better offerings. These findings confirm that in the technology industry, innovation is much more than a buzzword – it’s an urgently felt need, and the foundation of continuing business.
It’s clear that the industry is in flux. So what is driving the transformation of the technology services marketing space?
Transformative Trends
There are several key trends reshaping IT marketing today, and in order to craft effective marketing strategies and solutions, we need to first identify and thoroughly understand these trends. Let’s take a look at some of the most influential changes sweeping the industry.
Buyers of technology services want to be educated
A recent collaborative study conducted by RAIN Group and the Hinge Research Institute reveals a striking phenomenon. In an analysis of competitions for professional services sales, the winning firms consistently did one thing distinctively: they educated their prospects.
Technology services buyers are looking for answers and education. They want to know how to solve their problems today – and the firms that help them accomplish this build credibility while positioning themselves to provide services in the future. There’s a powerful side effect, too. Even if a visitor who finds answers in your site doesn’t engage you for services, they may refer you to another buyer based on your expertise. In fact, over 80% of firms have received such a referral from a firm they had not worked with directly.
Source: Hinge Marketing
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