Author name: writeminded

The Information Technology (IT) industry is poised for significant growth in 2024, with worldwide IT spending expected to total a staggering $5 trillion, marking an increase of 6.8% from 2023. This presents a golden opportunity for IT service companies to expand their reach and capitalize on this growth. One effective way to do this is by investing in digital tech marketing services. The Growing IT Market The IT services sector is projected to grow by 8.7% in 2024, reaching $1.5 trillion. This growth indicates a rising demand for IT services, making it the largest segment of IT spending for the first time. With such a vast market, IT service companies need to ensure they are visible and accessible to potential customers. This is where digital marketing comes into play. The Power of Digital Marketing Digital marketing encompasses a range of strategies designed to engage customers online, where they are increasingly making their purchasing decisions. These strategies include account-based marketing, paid and organic social media marketing, webinars, thought leadership content marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Account-Based Marketing Account-based marketing (ABM) is a targeted approach to business marketing based on account awareness. It involves identifying high-value prospects or customer accounts and creating personalized marketing campaigns to engage those accounts. ABM can help IT service companies focus their resources on the accounts with the highest potential return. Social Media Marketing for Tech Companies Social media platforms are a powerful tool for reaching and engaging with potential customers. Paid social media marketing can help IT service companies target specific demographics, while organic social media tech marketing can help build brand awareness and customer loyalty. Webinars Webinars are a great way to demonstrate expertise and provide value to potential customers. They can be used to showcase the company’s IT services, answer customer questions, and build relationships. Thought Leadership Content Marketing Thought leadership content marketing involves creating and sharing content that positions the company as a leader in its field. This can help build the company’s reputation and attract more customers. SEO and Search Engine Marketing for Tech Companies Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are strategies designed to increase a website’s visibility in search engine results pages. This can help IT service companies reach more potential customers who are searching for their services online. The Future of IT Services The tech industry is growing much faster than average when compared to all occupations nationwide. While computer occupations will see a 14.2% job growth from 2022 to 2032, all occupations will grow by just 3%. A projected 377,500 computer and IT positions will open each year from 2022 to 2032. The fastest-growing jobs in this industry are: Information security analysts (projected 32% growth from 2022–32), Software developers, quality assurance analysts and testers (projected 25% growth), and Computer and information research scientists (projected 23% growth). These statistics indicate a promising future for IT businesses in 2024. However, it’s important to note that these are just projections and actual growth may vary based on various factors. The projected growth in the IT industry presents a significant opportunity for IT service companies. By investing in tech marketing, these companies can increase their visibility, reach more potential customers, and ultimately capitalize on the growth trends in the IT industry. Now is the time to act and invest in digital marketing services to ensure your IT service company is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead. Sources:: Worldwide IT Spending Forecast : Digital Marketing Trends : Account-Based Marketing : Tech Industry Job Growth : IT Industry Projections Free Web Audit and Marketing Review is your marketing built to work? INCLUDES: Competitive analysis, market review, web and platform performance, SWOT analysis and strategic recommendations. Let's GO!

So, this is one of those topics that continues to rear its head with clients and prospects alike, so I thought it would be worth it to break an inaccurate assumption that is often made when brands are seeking digital marketing support. I’m going to predicate this insight with the fact that I have been in this marketing space since before Google was born, using local service providers (phone companies) to build my first web landing page, that they hosted for my business at the time – way back in 1997. I’ve watched the digital marketing space grow and evolve into the complex and often confusing arena that it is today, and this topic has been a consistent inaccuracy throughout that tenure. I’ve also worked with national teams who have had singular industry experience, and small companies who supported diverse industries. Here it is. Ready? Engaging a marketer or agency who relies on marketing Analytics, Competitive and Market research are more equipped to offer your company the best service than any other agency or person who has extensive experience in your industry, but does not use data and research to build and optimize strategies. Yeah, I know. But it’s true. There is a great pitfall in most marketing strategies being rolled out. The “this has always worked for us” ideology is a quagmire for companies looking to compete and own more market share, and its often part of the “industry mindset” that comes from being in one space for a long time. Digital marketing is a living, breathing and evolving element of your brand’s identity and lead generation tactics, and it has to be revisited, analyzed, adjusted, and in some cases, scrapped and reworked. This means being objective about the plan, which can be difficult if a lot of time and effort went into building it or if promises of KPIs were set that had been achieved in the magical land of “before”, and team or board signoff was required to fund it. When a marketer or agency has limited themselves to working in one vertical, with one type of audience, they have truncated their ability to a broader scope of options or ideas to build or augment plans that drive results. And marketers themselves know it. A survey revealed that 32% of marketers identified marketing analytics and competitive insights as the most important factors in supporting their marketing strategies over the last 18 months. This is not to say that industry experience has no value, of course it does. But it also limits perspective and almost always results in a cyclic processes that follow a truncated view of how marketing should be approached. The fact is, brand messaging, channel selection, tactical strategies, engagement potential and lead options can all be gleaned from market and competitive analysis, offering your marketing partner the details on user behavior, vernacular, drivers and detractors and positioning opportunities that they need to build an effective slew of campaigns. If you want to get a clear understanding if how to brand, position your products and services, choose your marketing channels and develop a strong strategy, do the homework. Review: I’ve worked with and for several industry-specialized agencies and have found that the singularity of their vision does more harm than good to the potential of them offering their most creative, innovative and visionary work. This is true at all levels from leadership down to account management and sales. They “know what they know” and the idea of breaking a model that is “working” is more harrowing a thought to them than decreasing client returns. I’ve seen the promise of creativity and innovation die under the wheels of known processes and ideologies, and it was a disservice to my clients and partners. Doing the homework above gives you the edge you need and doesn’t box you in to the “this is how we do it” trap. So, when you consider a digital marketing asset for your team or are researching digital marketing agency partners, keep in mind that, like with most of life, the ability to adapt, be diverse, innovate and bring a fresh perspective to a project or role is a positive, not a detractor. And an agency that can do that successfully irrelevant of industry is an asset your company needs.

The Status Quo Has to Change I’ve always found it interesting that throughout my career, with just about every company I’ve worked with or for, the division between the sales and marketing department is almost a given. These two groups provide the direct line to business growth. Yet, through the last 20 years, I have seen them surrounded by their own silos, separated, or in even worse scenarios, working in adverse intentions, so that marketing and sales are almost competing for their own place at the table to justify their budgets and existence as viable tools to the organization. The fact is, marketing is intended to be, and should be, aligned with sales efforts, whether it be for the branding, messaging or PR efforts of the company, or the SEM and lead generation campaigns they build. Keeping this in mind, sales and marketing need to work symbiotically to do the best for any company they support. The information acquired from field agents who are talking to clients and prospects, attending industry events, and hearing the drivers and detractors from the market is solid gold intel for the baseline of messaging, targeting and planning for the marketing department. On the flipside, marketing, with the info they derive from open and consistent communication with their sales team, can be more strategic in their planning and set more realistic KPI’s for their efforts. Marketers should be consistently running competitive analysis, and reporting on their tactics, to feed this information back to the field to start of intentional and open communication cycle between the two departments all over again. This takes a strategic approach to integrating tools and updating processes. Leveraging CRM for Sales and Marketing Automation Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are pivotal in fostering a harmonious relationship between sales and marketing teams. A robust CRM ensures that both teams have access to the same customer data, enabling them to work together more effectively and efficiently. Breaking Down Silos In many organizations, sales and marketing teams often operate in silos, each with their own objectives, strategies, and processes. This lack of alignment can lead to a lack of synergy, reduced innovation, and decreased overall productivity. Working in silos means team members are isolated from the team itself. It could mean individuals or entire departments are isolated from the rest of the business. These individuals and groups don’t collaborate with others, which can eventually lead to a lack of communication. This lack of collaboration can quickly turn into zero communication, even between team members. Benefits of Working Towards the Same Growth Goals Aligning the goals of sales and marketing teams can have significant benefits for an organization. When these teams work well together, metrics soar. In fact, companies with aligned sales and marketing teams experience 38% higher sales win rates as well as 36% higher customer retention rates. Rather than each team working within their own silos to meet separate goals, the teams are working together and performing at a higher level. This alignment not only reduces friction for both teams but can also result in higher return on investment (ROI) for sales and marketing efforts. Breaking down the silos between sales and marketing teams and aligning them towards the same growth goals can significantly improve an organization’s performance and bottom line by ensuring: The alignment of sales and marketing teams is not just about improving internal communication and efficiency. It’s about building a consistent, reliable, and client-centric approach that significantly improves client retention rates. By ensuring that the messaging, sales pitches, and promises made are consistent and reliable, businesses can enhance their client retention rates by a substantial 38%. Want your business to grow? Be sure your marketing department is aligned with your sales efforts/goals. Open the doors between the silos and get your Growth Team to work.