Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer

Anatomy of a

Steve Hurley

ITSMA/SI Online Survey

Note: This Abbreviated summary highlights some of the

significant findings from Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer Survey.

A more in-depth analysis can be found in the full report.

Abbreviated Summary | February 2012

Julie Schwartz

Solutions Marketer Senior Vice President

Research and Thought Leadership Managing Director

ITSMA and Solutions Insights would like to thank the following organizations for their support:

http://www.solutionsinsights.com/

http://www.itsma.com/research/anatomy-of-a-solutions-marketer/

knowledgeable

empathetic

effective

good listener

Key findings highlighted in

the report include:

• Solutions marketing is more

challenging than either product or

services marketing.

• Solutions marketers are a very

experienced group of individuals

and nearly all have either product

and/or services marketing

experience.

• Successful solutions marketers are

not born. Interpersonal skills and

the ability to foster relationships

across the organization are just as

important as marketing skills.

• Despite the importance of

solutions to the future of the

organization, the role of solutions

marketer is not well understood.

communicator

32

27

23

23

22

22

20

9

8

8

6

6

41

What are the top three challenges you face

in your role as a solutions marketer?

% of Respondents (N=127)

Note: Up to three responses allowed.

What makes solutions marketing so challenging? • Internal struggles

Shifting the culture from

products/services to solutions

Enabling the sales force to sell

solutions

Working across organizational silos

• Need for business oriented value

propositions

Enabling the sales force to sell solutions

Working across organizational silos

Identifying market opportunities and

targeting the appropriate audience

Communicating the solutions

value proposition

Differentiating from competitors and

creating brand awareness

Coping with budget restrictions and a

challenging economic climate

Changing the culture to move from

products and services to solutions

Pricing and packaging solutions

Measuring the ROI of solutions

Ensuring solutions repeatability

through mass customization

Defining solutions internally

and with customers

Creating thought leadership content

to support solutions approach

Other

Source: ITSMA/SI Online Survey: Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer, February 2012

source: ITSMA/SI Online Survey: Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer, February 2012

Although not unique to solutions, communicating the solutions value proposition adds a layer of complexity

Solutions marketing is defined as

developing and delivering

business value

Solutions value propositions require

a deeper understanding

of the customers’ industry

and individual business issues

Solutions marketers’ responsibilities are divided. Few are dedicated to solutions marketing. They are also responsible for marketing products and/or services.

Primarily

Solutions

Solutions

and

products

Solutions

and

services

Solutions,

products,

and

services

Marketing Responsibilities

% of Respondents

(N=119)

18%

7%

35%

40%



Successful solutions marketers are

not born. It takes experience,

knowledge, and

ability to foster

relationships

across the

organization.

Solutions marketers are a very experienced group of professionals, averaging 16 years in marketing

Approximately how long

have you been working

in marketing?


Minimum

1

Maximum

30

Mean

16

# of Years as a Marketer



Nearly all solutions marketers were either product or services marketers (or both!) prior to their stints in solutions Were you a product and/or

services marketer before a

solutions marketer?


“From VP Marketing to CMO, then President and

General Manager then CSO. The solutions focus was a natural outcome of trying to find ways to bring more

value to clients.” “Moved from traditional product marketing into services marketing and

realized the importance of integrating the two...into

solutions marketing.”

“Started in a pure product management role. I moved to software applications from automation systems where the software applications often need to fit particular needs. So, product management evolved into solutions management naturally.”

11%

6%

61% 23%

Product and

services

marketer before

solutions

marketing

Neither product nor services

marketer before solutions

marketing

Services

marketer

before

solutions

marketing

Product marketer before

solutions marketing

Source: ITSMA/SI Online Survey:

Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer,

February 2012


Despite the importance of solutions to the future of the organization, the role of solutions marketer is not well understood

Me

an

= 2

004

Solutions marketing is relatively new to most companies In which year did your company first

introduce the role of solutions marketer?


0.9 0.9

1.8

0.9

1.8

5.4

1.8

0.9

7.2

2.7 2.7

1.8

5.4

11.7

7.2 7.2

9.9

6.3

15.3

5.4

2.7

1

9

0

0

1

9

7

0

1

9

8

0

1

9

9

0

1

9

9

2

1

9

9

5

1

9

9

8

1

9

9

9

2

0

0

0

2

0

0

1

2

0

0

2

2

0

0

3

2

0

0

4

2

0

0

5

2

0

0

6

2

0

0

7

2

0

0

8

2

0

0

9

2

0

1

0

2

0

1

1

2

0

1

2



How important is your

solutions business to the

future of your company?


Today, solutions marketing is viewed as very important to the business…

Note: Mean rating based on a 5-point scale where 1=not at all important and 5=extremely important.

0

2

14

45

40

Not at all

important

Somewhat

important

Important

Very

important

Extremely

Important

Mean

Rating

= 4.2



Do you believe that people

outside of marketing in

your company understand

what the role of a

solutions marketer is?

% of Respondents

(N=124)

…but unfortunately, the role of solutions marketing is not well understood outside of the marketing function

23%

42%

35%

Yes

No, only my

peers in

marketing

No, only my

peers in

solutions

marketing



• Foster communication

across organizational silos

• Be catalysts for change

• Ensure that the entire

company understands

the importance of solutions

It is time for solutions marketers to put their skills and experience to work:

Methodology and Respondent Demographics Between January and February 2012, ITSMA and

Solutions Insights conducted an online web-based

survey completed by 133 representatives from 92

companies.

The results were analyzed by:

• Percentage of revenue from solutions

(Less than 40%; 40–79%; 80% or more)

• Type of company (sell primarily services vs. sell

both products and services)

• Size of company (annual revenue: Less than $1B;

$1–4.9B; $5–49B; more than $49B)

• Title (“solutions marketing” included in the

respondent’s title vs. do marketing in a solutions

organizational unit)

• Primary business (technology company vs.

non-technology company)

A combination of products and/or services

with intellectual capital, focused on a

particular customer problem and driving

measurable business value.

Geographic

Location

% of

Respondents

(N=133)

Services

Offerings

% of

Respondents

(N=133)

Type of

Business

% of

Respondents

(N=133)

ITSMA

defines

solutions

as:

North

America 80%

14%

Europe

Asia | 5% South America | 1%

Both

products

and

services

80%

20%

Primarily

services*

*5% or less

revenue from

products

100% B2B

(business-

to-

business)

86%

14%

Both B2B and B2C

(business-to-

consumer)



4.5 5.4 8.1

28.8 29.7

23.4

Less than

$100M

$100–

499M

$500–

999M

$1–4.9B $5–49B More than

$49B

Size of Company: Annual Revenue


Respondents’ Roles


16

16

15

11

8

8

5

5

4

4

2

1

5

Study respondents held a diverse group of titles and

represented organizations in a variety of technology

and non-technology companies varying in annual

revenue, from less than $1 billion to over $45 billion.

Computer systems and solutions

Software solutions

IT professional services/

consulting

Telecommunications and

network systems and solutions

Management consulting

Other technology hardware

systems and solutions

Industrial and commercial

machinery

Healthcare solutions

Chemicals and allied products

Other product manufacturing

Architecture/engineering/

construction

Consumer packaged goods

I can’t select just one industry;

we are equally in several

Which one of the following BEST describes your

company’s primary business?


27

26

18

16

12

2

Other

C-level

Vice president/senior

vice president

Individual contributor

Manager/supervisor

Director



Table of Contents for

Slide

Executive Summary 3

Methodology and Respondent Demographics 32

Detailed Results 47

Appendix: What are the top three challenges

you face in your role as a solutions marketer? 90

For More Information

Steve Hurley

Managing Director

Solutions Insights

[email protected]

+1-781-686-1607

Study Buy the $995

Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer

www.solutionsinsights.com

Julie Schwartz

Senior Vice President

Research and Thought Leadership

ITSMA

[email protected]

+1-407-788-8220

Study Buy the

Member: $295 Non-member: $495

http://www.solutionsinsights.com/


http://www.itsma.com/


Anatomy of a Solutions Marketer

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