The IT industry and performing marketing, it seems like a necessary evil. The industry is originally, of course, very focused on technology, solving...
Marketing at IT companies, joy or burden?
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Force21
Blogs
Here you will find our latest news on the fast-changing world of information technology. We keep you up to date with everything going on in the IT industry. So check regularly for news on the latest developments and trends.
EOS Network Foundation & Zaisan!
In September, Force21, in collaboration with its partner Zaisan, launched a unique go-to-market campaign for Canada's EOS Network Foundation. The...
IaaS is neither co-location nor hardware
As a commercial consultancy for IT Service Providers, we speak to many new and existing cloud providers specialising in infrastructure services. In...
I get new clients through my partners.
It sounds so easy. "I ensure my products can be promoted by companies with the customer anyway. So I give away a little margin, and as a matter of...
The value of and for a partner
IT outsourcing: is it the standard? Many companies have taken their IT environment out of the equation in recent years. In many such situations, the...
The pitfalls of partnering
In the IT market, partnering is one of the essential go-to-market strategies. The major vendors run on this, but data centers, IT resellers,...
Where is your new customer?
As an IT company, you don't really care where your new customer is or what he does. Every organisation needs IT systems, so potentially every...
Blue Ocean – What makes you unique?
Everyone is unique. Our DNA, upbringing and environment in which we find ourselves makes us unique. And when a group of people unite to one goal,...
Selling your value to new customers
In a previous article, I gave some background on how we see IT companies often conduct their commerce. The emphasis here is very much on knowledge,...
Tech companies & commerce
As Force21, that is our playing field. We help IT companies with their commerce. Whether it is new technology, or the "older" technology companies,...
Growth through an innovation strategy
IT service providers move in a market that is constantly evolving. The IT market is one of the most innovative markets. New and existing companies...
Ajax 1 and the Cloud
Basically, of course, these two quantities have nothing to do with each other. The soccer club itself will probably fill its IT with Cloud services,...
IaaS for everyone
As a consulting firm, we see many of our clients "going IAAS. From data centers, resellers, network providers to larger workplace providers, all...
The Microsoft challenge
In the IT vendor market, there has been a marked change. People want to provide more services, and many companies are struggling with the rise and...
Market consolidation, to participate or not?
That's the big question facing a large number of independent MSPs right now. A question that only you, as the owner of an independent MSP, can...
The provider market is consolidating, next steps?
The Dutch service provider market has been consolidating for some time. Consolidation has begun in the hosting market, where a handful of large...
Think carefully about your business positioning
A strong business positioning means that you have found your place in the marketplace. You know what you stand for as a company, what your image and...
Achieve growth acceleration with a growth strategy
Most startup entrepreneurs initially have only one goal, and that is to grow their business. Many entrepreneurs start out full of enthusiasm and...
Getting the most out of your lead generation
Sales and marketing are two departments that have undergone major changes in recent decades regarding operations. The reason for this is the...
Achieve your business goals with a good marketing strategy
When you market a product and/or service, you want to achieve certain business goals with it. You want to sell many products or retain customers...
Business growth is achieved with a good growth strategy
In the innovative and fast-growing world of IT, it is important as an IT organisation not to fall behind the times. You too must capitalise on new...
Market consolidation
It has been going on for several years now but market consolidation in IT is beginning to take clear shape. Where Internet Service Providers (ISPs)...
Make Meaning – what meaning do you have?
Making a difference in a competitive marketplace. How do you do that? Many service providers (ISP) do so based on technological advantages,...
Back to the office!
Despite the recent full lock-down, we see light at the end of this corona tunnel. The rapid development of a Corona vaccine, raises the prospect of...
Henry Ford and Portfolio Management
Henry Ford is not known for his Portfolio Management skills, but and famous quote from Henry Ford is: If I had asked people what they wanted, they...
How rational is your (potential) customer?
The IT world is a rational, mostly B2B-oriented world. Technology has the upper hand in this. With features and descriptions of how the technology...
What is your DNA as a Provider?
Since the summer, we have launched many new customer campaigns. Our market is evolving. IT providers seize the current crisis situation to adapt,...
The do’s and don’ts in marketing
In recent months we have had a steep learning curve in how to act within marketing and communications. Frankly, it is a unique situation, a global...
The Challenge of Lead Generation
The challenge of lead generation The challenge in most commercial businesses. Who is responsible for Lead Generation? Is that Marketing? Or Sales?...
Automate your sales in 3 steps
Automate sales? Selling is an ABC after all. The way you explain the ABC says a lot about what kind of salesperson you are. We stand for sharing, in...
Improve lead generation in 3 ways
Let's start with a fair opening. Even as a sales and marketing company, we were affected bythe COVID19 lockdown. In March and April, we faced delays...
Winning bids in times of crisis
''We were very impressed with the offers and are happy to go with you. But let's keep in touch and see how the situation is this fall, in terms of...
The 3 distinctive mindset attributes for salespeople in times of crisis
Every salesperson will recognize when his or her manager begins to apply pressure when he or she is not achieving his or her sales goals. In the...
Keep your sales going
How do you get your sales process going in this Corona era? Why would a prospect want to take the next step? What can you accomplish when everyone...
IT services on an hourly basis and a crisis
Many industries are suffering from the current lockdown, but IT companies, in many cases, are not yet. Everyone has to work from home. So at most IT...
Online Business Dating
In these times of crisis, we must adapt to the new situation. In the new situation, we need to deepen social contacts mainly online. But how do you...
Crisis Value Proposition – Part 2
Frankly, I have never seen such a global crisis as the COVID19 crisis. Sure, we had the banking crisis, but this is different. The main difference...
Crisis Value Proposition – Part 1
In times of economic crisis, companies struggle with their sales and marketing, and we often see savings in that area. In a crisis, revenues fall...
Call Baby, Call
Call Baby, Call It sounds so simple: as a Sales Representative, you need to contact new customers. Normally, you can make contact in several ways....
Sell in a virtual way
Who could have guessed that within a period of weeks we would all be at home? We wonder what is happening in the world? The health situation is...
Commercial continuity in times of crisis
We are in a crisis, no doubt about it. In the last thirty years I have never seen such an abrupt stop. Many of our clients are currently asking us...
Which lead will come?
As a business owner, commercial director or manager, growth is one of your main drivers and ambitions. It is an ABC that you can grow by up- and...
The sense and nonsense of a rubber duck
In recent years, marketers have started sharing knowledge and information about their field. Following their lead, sales have adopted this approach...