The emergence of the internet more than two decades ago revolutionised the way human beings conduct their activities. Many traditional jobs are disappearing because computers can perform the same tasks easily and efficiently. There is a high demand for IT services, but this doesn’t mean that running an IT company is a walk in the park. In this post, we will share tips on how to market IT services in Singapore.
If you’re looking to grow your IT services business, you’ve probably considered exploring the online marketplaces. But did you know that in addition to handling purchasing, you also need to design an effective strategy for marketing? Let’s take a look at some of the best practices you can use to market your IT services on the web.
Focus On The Visitor
As a marketer, I get asked this question a lot: “How can I get more business from online marketing?” The answer is simple: Focus on the visitor. Think of the main groups of people who visit your website:
- Buyers: People who are in the market for your product or service
- Decision makers: Key people who can make decisions about your product or service
- Discovery seekers: People who want to learn more about your product or service
- Enterprise audiences: People who work for your competitors (not fans!)
Now, if you want to market your IT services to one of these groups, where should you send them? Should you aim for enterprise audiences who can purchase your product? Or should you target decision makers who can influence the purchasing behavior of other groups?
If you want to grow your IT services, it probably makes sense to look for the right mix of purchasers and decision makers. To do this, you’ll need to establish multiple audiences and design multi-channel campaigns. Let’s say you’re selling software that helps businesses become more efficient. You can create an audience for marketing to purchasers, such as CEOs and executive management teams. Then, you can create an audience for marketing to decision makers, such as CIOs and IT managers. Doing this can help you develop a clearer picture of who your target audience is and allow you to tailor your marketing and communication efforts to be more effective.
Multi-Channel Marketing
Another important point to make is that you shouldn’t limit yourself to one source of traffic to your site. You should develop a strategy to reach your target audience whether they’re reading your blog posts or going to your website to purchase your product.
To start, build a presence on social media platforms, like Instagram or Twitter. On these platforms, you can talk to your target audience and share tips and tricks on what they can do to improve their businesses. You can also use these platforms to engage with potential customers, growing your email list and sparking interest in potentially buying your product. In addition to social media, you can also consider using forums like Quora or LinkedIn to engage with potential customers. Finally, you can create and manage a blog to attract and retain customers, build trust, and brand awareness.
As you might suspect, the above tactics aren’t mutually exclusive. You can certainly use different platforms for different marketing tasks. For example, you might use LinkedIn to generate interest and find qualified leads for your sales team, while Instagram or Twitter can be used for more of a public relations function. You can use whichever ones you deem fit for the task at hand.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
In addition to focusing on the visitor, you also need to set key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine how much success you’re having in reaching your target audience. Using Google Analytics, you can track the behavior of your website visitors and determine what’s working and what needs to be changed. Setting up these KPIs can help you pinpoint specific marketing activities which led to the most successful results. For example, you might want to track the performance of your various campaigns and find out which one of them generated the most leads or sales.
Some of the key performance indicators I look for include:
- Impressions: How many times did someone see or hear your ads?
- Click-through rate: How often did people visit a particular link or visit a website from an ad?
- Conversions: How many people purchased what you’re selling after clicking a link or seeing an ad?
- Page views: How many pages did people view on your website? (This is a general indicator of how much interest your target audience has in your product)
- Volume of traffic: How many people are visiting your site or social media platforms? (This can help you determine how effective your marketing is)
- Engagement: How many people are engaging with your content, either by sharing it or commenting on it?
- Interaction rate: How many people are interacting with your content (either by sharing it or commenting on it)?
Keep in mind that not all performance indicators are created equal. You need to look for those which can help you determine how well your marketing efforts are doing rather than how well you’re performing in comparison to other companies or initiatives.
Content Marketing
In the world of marketing, content is always key. When people hear the term “content marketing,” they usually think about online content, like blogs and websites. However, this is certainly not a limitation; offline content, like a white paper or a video, can be incorporated into a content marketing campaign. Just make sure that your content offers value and isn’t just a rehash of what you’ve already said online. If you’re lucky, your target audience will ultimately find their way to your offline content, too.
In addition to blogs and websites, consider creating and distributing press releases and participating in news blogs. By doing this, you can increase your online presence and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Furthermore, if you’re regularly participating in blogs and news stories, you can demonstrate your expertise and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. In addition to establishing yourself as a reputable source of information, you can use press releases to gain media coverage and draw interest to your product or service.
Email Marketing
Since its inception, email has always been a popular choice for marketing efforts. Not only do people like receiving emails, but they also like being subscribed to marketing lists which notify them of new products and offers. To establish yourself as an expert in your industry, you can create a brand-specific email list which you can use to send out periodic emails with helpful information or discounts. You can also consider using a tool like MailChimp to create and maintain your email lists.
If you’re looking to increase your sales, you can consider using email marketing to send out carefully designed emails with compelling subject lines to your list of potential customers. You can use tools like Litmus to help you find the perfect subject lines for your emails and to determine the overall success of your campaigns.
YouTube Videos
Does your company offer video production and video marketing services as part of your IT package? If you do, then there is no better way to market those services than by creating your own videos to share on YouTube. The content that you post, however, should be relevant to your business and also be of value to viewers. Some examples of the types of videos that you can produce include screen share (let viewers see what you are doing on your computer screen), how-to and tutorial videos and vlogs.
Focus on SEO
So you have built that beautiful website for your business and the next step is to attract potential clients to visit. With more people turning to search engines to look for reliable services and vendors, your site’s standing on search engine results is vital to whether you are visible to your clients.
It is important to take note that search engine optimisation is constantly changing and the rules that ensured your site is primed for SEO success yesterday may not be the best practice today. As an IT company, it is essential that you keep updated on the latest practices in order to provide tip-top SEO services for both your corporate website and to satisfy your clients’ needs.
Content is King
Providing clients with valuable and informative content through the use of content marketing is necessary in establishing credibility and reliability for your business. The steps taken in content marketing include first capturing their attention by sharing educational information via your company blog, website or on social media, and then successfully converting them into paying clients. With exceptional content, you will be able to not only influence interested clients within the industry but also extend your reach to a new target audience.
If you use the above marketing strategies, you can be sure of a steady client flow. The marketing environment changes every day so you have to follow the trends, especially when you are in the IT sector. What you need to focus on right now is internet marketing. If your hands are full, you can always seek the services of MediaOne to help you with digital marketing techniques such as SEM and SEO.
Work with Resellers and Channel Distributors
Channel distributors act as a link between vendors and resellers. You may find it difficult to get your services to the end user so using distributors and resellers is a wise move. In most cases, distributors handle payment and procurement.
They also have the responsibility of informing resellers of the availability of new products from your IT service. If you want to increase your customer base, it is advisable to have a distribution channel that ensures your goods get into the market.
Use Value Added Resellers (VARs) and System Integrators
Using VARs is another great way to market your IT services. VARs basically add more features/services to products bought from vendors before selling them to end-users. In most cases, SIs and VARs buy products from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors.
Value added resellers usually bundle third party software and hardware to create a package for reselling. A good example of value added reselling is when services such as web development and customer support are added to your IT services. On the other hand, system integrators sell various systems/ equipment and get them to work together.
Develop the right strategy to customise services for all your clients as it will help you build good rapport with clients, subsequently increasing the odds of them using your services again in the future.
Trade Shows/Fairs to Promote your IT Services
There are so many ways you can benefit from trade shows. First of all, you get a platform to showcase your services to those who do not know about your company.
Secondly, attending trade shows provide you with a great opportunity to meet potential clients as well as business partners, and also allows you to observe what your competitors are up to and keep up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
Build a Website for your IT services
Think of your business website as a digital name card and something that adds credibility to your company. There are a rising number of businesses that look for IT services online and your priority should be to have your corporate website appear on the first few pages of the search results.
Your website should be user-friendly and easy to navigate. Take note to include relevant information on the site, including the services that you offer and most importantly, your company’s contact details. A website that looks professional, aesthetically-pleasing and sleek will work wonders in giving potential clients a positive first impression of your brand.
Social media is free-to-use and can help you build an extensive network for your business. You can buy ad space on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, to market your business and the IT services that you offer, or link your business directly with clients on LinkedIn and Twitter.
If one of the IT services that your company offers is social media marketing and branding, then there is no other reason why you should shy away from it. Building a strong presence on social media for your business not only helps you widen your reach to your target audiences but also highlights your proficiency in social media management.
Conduct Market Research
A thorough understanding the business environment is crucial in the development and implementation of your marketing strategy. This is where market research comes in. Conducting effective and relevant market research will allow you to be in-the-know of clients’ requirements and let you tweak your services in order to provide added value.
Market research also allows you to observe how you are doing in terms of the services that you offer; what are the processes that are effective and which are the ones that do not work? The data and information collated through the use of market research will allow you to be more efficient and work more effectively.
Individual or Visible Experts
A great way to stand out among a sea of IT companies is to draw focus on a Visible Expert – industry rock stars known by name and whose accomplishments and talents are widely recognised. Visible Experts add credibility and help build a stellar reputation for the company that they belong to. When clients view these experts as being authoritative in the industry, they are more willing to bring their business to you.
Place your more notable employee(s) in the public eye and help them build a presence. This will in turn get them invited to headline trade shows, speak at conferences and other events to successfully attain much-needed and much-valued publicity for your company.
Pricing Strategy
Depending on your product or service, you may decide that you want to price your product or service based on a few key metrics. These can include customer lifetime value, cost per acquisition, or even price per use. To determine the right price for your product, it’s important to consider various factors, like the perceived value of your product to the target audience, as well as your own personal feelings on the subject. For example, if you have a software product which can significantly improve the efficiency of a cleaning business, but you consider your own self-employed status to be more valuable, you might want to set a higher price for your product than you would if you were simply aiming at growing your business.
Once you know how much you want for your product, it’s time to determine the right price. To do this, you’ll need to consider your target audience’s willingness to pay for your product. Setting a price based on other metrics, like the cost of goods or the perceived value of your product can help keep you from making costly mistakes and give you an edge in the marketplace.
