Though marketing budgets are increasing modestly in 2015, pressure remains for marketing to further expand its scope of responsibility. Most of this expansion seems to be in areas that have historically been the domain of sales or business development: generating new business (“new logos”), lead generation, and pipeline progression. Mainstream marketing automation tools are clearly making their mark. As marketing focus and investments continue to shift online, areas like corporate websites, online content, and online advertising will see the biggest increases in spending. While the emphasis is squarely on revenue generation, other top priorities include thought leadership as well as brand/reputation and differentiation. ITSMA sounds the alarm that focusing too much on tactical activities to drive revenue contribution risks eroding marketing’s strategic role—and core competence—in long-term value creation. We offer several recommendations to mitigate this risk: Increase the role and visibility of subject matter experts (SMEs) Integrating on- and off-line marketing to deliver a consistent customer experience Build a thought leadership engine Increasing relevance and personalization Use new marketing tools and technologies to improve marketing, not just generate leads Build a comprehensive customer engagement program Overview Services Marketing Budgets and Benchmarks: 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends, a PowerPoint-style report, delivers a detailed look at the state of the services marketing profession as it exists in early 2015. It provides data on services marketing budgets, budget allocations, and marketing priorities from a range of companies across the technology and consulting industries. Topics covered in the report include: Size of the Marketing Budget Marketing Staffing Agency Relationships Services Marketing Budget Allocation Marketing Programs and Campaigns Online/Digital Marketing Spending Marketing Priorities and Challenges Marketing Organization Perception and Scope Study Methodology During December 2014 through January 2015, ITSMA used an invitation-only, Web-based survey to gather data from a combination of members and non-members about services marketing budgets, services growth, and top marketing priorities. ITSMA received 48 responses from 45 unique companies and analyzed the collected data three ways: The data set as a whole Company type: primarily services or product and services Company size: less than $1 billion or $1 billion or more in annual services revenue

1. 2015 Services Marketing
Budget Allocations
and Trends
Julie Schwartz
Senior Vice President
Research and Thought Leadership
ITSMA
Abbreviated Summary | January 2015
2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends | Abbreviated Summary | B026AS | © 2015 ITSMA. All Rights Reserved.

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Abbreviated Summary
The 2015 Services
Marketing Budget
Allocations and Trends
survey provides data on
services marketing budgets,
budget allocations, and
marketing priorities from a
range of companies across
the technology and
consulting industries.
Topics covered in the report include:
l Size of the Marketing Budget
l Marketing Staffing
l Agency Relationships
l Services Marketing Budget Allocation
l Marketing Programs and Campaigns
l Online/Digital Marketing Spending
l Marketing Priorities and Challenges
l Marketing Organization Perception
and Scope
services
budget allocations

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Revenue
(today)
Relationships
(future)
Reputation
(the past)
What marketers are
focusing on today is not
what is going to carry
them into the future.
Marketing’s contribution
to revenue is important,
but we must not lose sight
of marketing’s pivotal
role in customer insight
and relationships.

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Lead generation has risen to become marketing’s top priority.
Is this emphasis overshadowing marketing’s strategic role in the
business—understanding buyers and markets?
Rank
Marketing Priorities2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
1 7 3 9 9 27 – Lead generation, management, and nurturing
2 1 1 2 4 3 7 Thought leadership development and dissemination
3 2 5 4 3 5 2 Brand/reputation management/differentiation
4 21 22 9 – – – Solutions marketing
5 9 25 24 31 – – Marketing technology and automation systems
6 6 14 13 10 – – Cross-divisional marketing programs and messaging
7 4 4 5 7 16 11 Account Based Marketing (ABM)
8 10 16 19 8 17 17 Customer insight (wants, needs, buying process)
9 14 8 9 6 6 6 Vertical/industry marketing
10 3 2 1 2 1 1 Sales and marketing alignment/sales force enablement and tools
11 5 8 6 5 7 9
Marketing performance management (measuring/
improving/proving marketing's impact on the business)
Source: ITSMA, Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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when we should be
talking about
The future belongs to those
marketers who focus on
establishing and building
relationships based on
personalization and
relevance, at all stages of
the buying process.
nurturing
leads
“Marketing talks
about
nurturing
relationships

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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48%
17%
35%
Marketing budgets and staff will grow in 2014,
however modestly
In FY2015, do you expect your marketing
budget to increase, decrease, or stay the
same when compared to FY2014?
% of Respondents (N=48)
Increase
Decrease
Stay the
Same
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends
2015
B2B Services
Marketing Budget
Growth:
4.4%
What changes do you anticipate in your
marketing staff in FY2015?
% of Respondents (N=48)
2015
B2B Services
Marketing Staff
Growth:
3.8%
44%
13%
44% Increase
Decrease
Stay the
Same

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Although many have seen budgets bounce back, marketers
are still being asked to stretch their funds as the scope of
marketing’s responsibilities increases
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends
How has the scope of your marketing organization’s
responsibilities changed over the last year?
% of Respondents (N=48)
Marketing’s
scope of
responsibilities
has been
expanded
65%
Marketing’s
scope of
responsibilities
has been
reduced
No change
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends
29%
6%

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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With the ultimate
vote of confidence:
other organizations,
in particular the BUs,
are coming up with
funds to supplement
marketing’s budget
Yes
79%
In addition to the official marketing budget,
are there other sources of money/“funds”
that you can access/ apply to use?
% of Respondents (N=48)
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends
Yes
79%

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Marketing
Programs and
Campaigns
Content
Development
People
Strategy and
Planning
Tools
68
64
40
34
28
-6
-2
-17
-9
-17
Increasing
Spend
Decreasing
Spend
Marketing leaders are placing their biggest bets on
marketing programs and content development
What are your spending plans in FY2015 for the
following budget categories?
% of Respondents (N~47)
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends
FY2015 (est.) (N=36)
How was/will your Marketing spend be allocated
across the following categories?
Mean % of Services Marketing Budget
People
Marketing Programs
and Campaigns
Content
Development
Strategy and
Planning
Tools
Other
3% 5%
7%
15%
28%
42%

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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34 33
26 28
40 39
FY2014 FY2015 (est.)
New Business
Lead Generation
New Business
Pipeline
Progression
Customer
Expansion,
Loyalty, and
Growth
Focus on net-new
customers
dominates budget
growth as
marketing seems
to be taking over
responsibility for
the sales funnel
How was/will your marketing budget (including
staff) allocated among these activities?
Mean % (N=25)
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends

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But is this new focus on tactical lead generation distracting
us from the core competence of B2B marketing?
Is it coming at the
expense of more
strategic—and less
easily measured—
activities that focus
on reputation and
relationship
development?
We may be
undermining the
value that only
marketing can
bring to our
companies.
2 0 1 4
1. Increase share of wallet
2. Retain existing customers
3. Acquire new customers
2 0 0 9
1. Strengthen executive-level
relationships
2. Increase share of wallet
3. Gain insight into customers’
business issues/wants and
needs
Top 3 Strategic Objectives for Customer Engagement
All about
RELATIONSHIPS
REVENUE
INSIGHT
All about
REVENUE
vs.
Source: ITSMA Survey: Customer Engagement, August 2014, 2009

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Buyers want more engagement
with their providers
Peer
networkingNew ideas and
thought leadership
Give input to
shape provider’s
strategy
Interaction
with SMEs
Dialog with
provider’s
senior executives
Relevant
content

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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B2B Marketing Leaders will step back from the
relentless pursuit of revenue to build ongoing
relationships by focusing on:
 Expanding the role and visibility of SMEs and
enabling sales to do thought leadership selling
 Integrating on- and off-line marketing to
deliver an omnichannel customer experience
 Building a thought leadership engine
 Increasing relevance and personalization
through customer insight & B2I
 Capitalizing on new marketing
tools and technology
 Creating a comprehensive portfolio
to engage with new and
existing customers

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Study Participants
Atos International Germany

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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In Services Revenue
6% 6% 8%
17%
29%
33%
Less
than
$100M
$100–
249M
$250–
499M
$500–
999M
$1–5B Greater
than
$5B
Study Methodology
From December 2014 through January 2015,
ITSMA used a web-based survey to gather data
from its members and select non-members about
services marketing budgets, services growth, and
top marketing priorities. ITSMA received 48
responses from 45 unique companies.
Source: ITSMA, 2015 Services Marketing Budget Allocations and Trends
Industry Subsector
Which of
these
categories
best
describes
your
industry
subsector?
% of
Respondents
(N=48)
40%
19%
13%
8%
8%
6%
6% Professional
services firm
(consulting,
outsourcing,
systems
integration,
managed
services)
Other
How large is your services business?
% of Respondents (N=48)
Organization Size
Type of Company
56%
44% We sell
both
products
and
services
We
primarily
sell
services
Which of
the
following
best
describes
your
company?
% of
Respondents
(N=48)
Software solutions
provider
Computer
systems and
solutions
provider
Telecommunications
services provider
Network systems and
solutions provider
Other hardware systems
and solutions

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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ITSMA analyzed the survey data set as a
whole and in two additional ways:
 By Size of Company: Less than $1B or
More than or Equal to $1B annual services
revenue
 Type of Company: Product and Services
Company or Primarily a
Services Company

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ITSMA Benchmarking Study | 2015 Budget Allocations and Trends
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Table of Contents for 2015 Services Marketing Budget
Allocations and Trends
For More Information
Julie Schwartz
Senior Vice President
Research and Thought Leadership
ITSMA
Email: jschwartz@itsma.com
Phone: +1-781-862-8500, Ext. 112
Slide
Executive Summary 3
Survey Methodology and Demographics 29
Size of the Marketing Budget 39
Marketing Staffing 46
Agency Relationships 52
Services Marketing Budget Allocation 57
Marketing Programs and Campaigns 64
Online/Digital Marketing Spending 69
Marketing Priorities and Challenges 72
Marketing Organization Perception and Scope 76
Crosstabs 81
By Size of Company 81
By Type of Company 119
Appendix: ITSMA Budget Taxonomy and Definitions
Used in This Report
157