Becoming an IT supplier is tough in today’s market. Competition is high and it takes much time, determination and effort to establish your business and once you are established you need to continue to retain and expand your client base.

Here are some of the tips that we thought we'd share with you from our own experience here at iWebManage. Please feel free to add your own comments.

For the IT service provider it is becoming harder to make their company or services stand out from the rest. While competition is great for the end consumer, it can also be very difficult to choose a partner for their business IT needs.

For the business decision maker, getting access to a directory of rated suppliers is a step in the right direction to help them along the way of choosing a partner for their IT needs. For the IT supplier it a good place to gain exposure and win new business.

This is why it is good to start building your company's profile and promote your services using more than one channel.

Marketing channels

Your website:

The first channel should always be your own website. We don't really mean that you should have a very snazzy website with little content or substance. We are actually saying communicate your offerings clearly and make statements about why your service is better than the competition.

Your own blog:

Blogs are very important in terms of driving traffic to your website. Not only they give a more insight into your company's expertise and ability. But also blogs are typically continuously being updated and this means search engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo and others will index them more often and consider the content more recent and will display it relatively higher in the results list.

Case studies:

Getting the first contract for your business is the first hurdle. The first contract/customer will have been a result of some business networking, marketing and other activities. Build on that success and continue to update your profile with new case studies of successful customer stories.

Social media:

Twitter, facebook and LinkedIn are the some of the more prominent channels to spread the word about your business. Use them effectively and carefully. I say carefully because communicating the wrong message could be more damaging that useful to your business. Always have a planned outcome when using these channels.

Use outsourcing directories:

Outsourcing directories are now becoming more and more familiar with small and medium size businesses. get your company registered and start building your profile and rating. The benefits of using these directories is that you can:

- Increase your sales with no investment in marketing.
- Offer your services on a global level.
- Make your organisation standout from others in the marketplace.
- Compare your performance in terms of wining contracts to other suppliers.
- Access a pool of service providers that you can partner with to deliver projects you may otherwise not be able to deliver using resources available to you.

There are plenty of directories out there and iWebManage is just one of them. Get your company registered on as many as you can to get exposure. However do not forget to keep your skills and profile up to date.

This list is by no means exhaustive so please feel free to add to it and share your own thoughts with us.

Regards,
The iWebManage team

Labels: IT auction, IT bids, IT buyer, IT marketing, IT outsourcing, IT supplier, IT tenders, Outsourcing directory, small business, sme, social media, technology supplier, tips