[TOP 3] Marketing trends from growing IT service providers in the UK
(5 minute read) | That can be applied to 99% of service based businesses.
Here we are looking to dive into the details and provide some insight around ‘why’ these trends are appearing and what we can learn from them.
[If you didn’t know, we are paid to conduct market research on companies to identify how they are generating new business through marketing.]
This research is from a Q3 2024 project where we studied IT companies in the UK (4 leading small - medium IT service providers and 1 vendor).
Trend #1 | SEO as the biggest traffic driver.
The way most companies are being found is through organic search. Meaning someone types something in Google (or Bing, etc.) and they end up on that company's website.
What are they searching?
Either branded words (E.g. the company name) or unbranded terms (E.g. something relating to their services)—the best performers have a blend of both.
The SEO game plan of the top performers does vary slightly in terms of HOW they try and get unbranded traffic:
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Example No. 1 → Using top of the funnel terms such as; malware and optimising those pages to capture the interest of the right people—their target customers.
Side note: We hear you at the back - ‘Our target audience wouldn’t search for such basic information!’
Fair enough, we disagree. Building internal business cases? Educating Colleague? Research?
And the data to suggests your market leaders agree, with one of them getting 2.2K visitors a month, just looking for 'Malware'. If 1% of that traffic is a motivated buyer that’s 22 a month, 264 a year, what’s your conversation rate on inbound leads? That’s from one search term.
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Example No. 2 → Another effective approach, especially if you have multiple sites, is optimising for local, e.g. IT support in Bristol.
This approach is driving 15% of traffic for one top performer. Let’s break that down…
For them, thats 1,815 people searching for ‘IT Support in (London/Nottingham)’ a month, that are finding them - If 1% convert, that’s 18 enquiries a month.
This is typically a lower down the funnel search term too, meaning a higher percentage of the people typing this are looking to buy soon.
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However, all have two key elements:
A slick User Experience (UX)
This means regardless of what they type in Google to find their site, when they hit the site they are presented with the information they are looking for and more.
Also, it’s incredibly easy to find their way to any other related information they might want.
This includes making it easy for them to enquire and provide any necessary incentive they might need to take that leap of faith - it’s all part of the customer journey, and adds to their experience.
What motivates one group of people will not motivate another, the incentive to convert needs to match the audience and where they are at in their buying journey, then the magic happens.
Why is this important? This is backed up by Google, which now prioritises websites that provide people with a better user experience.
’Yes, UX affects SEO and search rankings. Search engines like Google prioritise delivering the best possible experience to their users, resulting in websites that offer exceptional UX being more likely to rank higher in Google search results.’ SEOrankings.com (May, 2024)
2. Benefit-driven messaging, up and down the buyer journey (no jargon)
Getting the traffic is one thing, grabbing the attention, nurturing them through the site, and getting them to think, ‘These guys can solve my problem’ is all in what you say.
The growing companies clearly define how they are able to solve the problems around the topics people are searching for, and if they are looking to buy, they clearly communicate what’s to be expected when working with them and why they are the right choice for the person browsing.
Messaging needs to be targeted, you can’t appeal to everyone, it doesn’t work like that (that’s where UX comes into it; get the right people to the right places).
Regardless of where they are in their buyer journey, give them the information they are looking for, clearly and concisely, while nurturing them through the buying process (with you).
When you know your audience, you can speak their language, motivate them specifically, and show them you’re the right choice.
Trend #2 | They optimise for social media.
Why → People spend time and attention on social media—use it.
‘Our clients aren’t on social.' They are; you’re just not grabbing their attention.
Where do they hang out? → Specifically for LinkedIn and YouTube.
It makes sense; most ‘professionals’ hang out on LinkedIn and are typically in work mode. They may be doom scrolling, but they are likely to be in a work environment and procrastinating from the challenges their role presents - a good place to insert a solution to their problem.
Why most businesses get it wrong → Their content is garbage.
(Overly sales-focused, generalist, unrelatable, and sometimes just completely irrelevant)—more on this later.
And Youtube:
A lot of businesses forget Youtube is a search engine - people go there to gather information, learn how to solve problems, and evaluate solutions.
Not a bad place to be if you’re a solution provider.
But typically, YouTube is very underutilised, and a lot of businesses that have made one or two poor quality videos, label it as the wrong place for their time and marketing investment.
When in fact, the quality and relevance of the information and structure of their videos, paired with a lack of attention towards SEO (yes, as a search engine, SEO is critical for your videos views), is the reason behind their poor performance.
But it only drivers 1% of traffic.
Yes, that is correct.
Within B2B circles, it’s common to see a small amount of traffic directly from social. So why bother?
Branded Traffic
It’s not a coincidence that the businesses doing well on social have much more branded traffic. People know about them and the problems they solve and therefore go looking for them on Google.
Brand Recognition
'Ah, I’ve heard of them’ or ‘Do you know anyone who can X’.
If you’re consistently nailing social, you’re front of mind - Whenever the time is right (internal conversations, peer suggestions, networking, etc.)
So how do you do well on social?
→ Creating the right content.
It needs to be relatable, valuable, and relevant.
If it’s those things and it grabs attention, you’re on to a winner. You just need to be consistent.
You also want to mix up what you are talking about. Sure, talking about how you solve problems, providing education, and talking about your industry is good.
But you also want to share stories of the business, your people, your culture, and your values.
Why? Because it paints a picture of what it would be like to work with you and what that experience would be like.
It adds personality to a corporate brand, making it more relatable.
The relevancy comes from being specific to your audience - talk about their problems, not just problems…
’Here’s how you can save money with your IT’
or
‘Here’s how law firms can reduce their IT spend by 35%, while reducing time wasted on admin tasks by up to 15% - in the next 30 days.’
See the difference?
Trend #3 | Capturing leads through compelling offers.
We spoke about delivering value above, and through content, you can create demand by consistently providing value.
But how do the growing businesses we researched capture the demand that they have created?
Marketing is rarely a silver bullet. If you do all the work to create the demand, and get attention, it’s naive to think people will just flock to talk to you.
More often than not, you need to give them a compelling reason to convert.
A value exchange (Also known as a lead magnet, offer, CTA, or carrot)
Simply, you do this, and we will do/give you that.
Example - you give us your contact details, we will do a free cybersecurity audit for you.
The reason these top performers do so well is because their offers are great!
What makes a good offer?
→ Understand your audience
→ Be specific
→ Give them something other people would charge for.
And they will feel stupid saying no to it.
Ideally, you want this offer to be highly valuable, require little to no effort or time from them, cost no money (or a nominal amount), and they can realise that value quickly.
Examples of good offers:
A free initial step, E.g. an assessment, scan, audit, etc.
E.g., Step 1 is free; the rest is paid.
Data
E.g. reports, research, or information they won’t get access to, that is relevant to them.
Value up front
Think 30-day trials, results guaranteed. No results, no fees.
With all these examples, you need to talk about the benefit to them of that value, why do they need it?
Don’t just talk about the features of the offer.
Example:
‘Book a free cybersecurity assessment’
or
‘Accountants→ Have complete peace of mind your firm is sending all email communication securely, every time.
[Book a FREE email security assessment now]
See the difference?
Remember, how does taking you up on that offer change their life?
→ Answer that question, make it compelling.
In conclusion, the trends we identified from our Q3 2024 research on UK IT companies provide actionable insights that 99% of service-based businesses can apply. SEO is still the top traffic driver, with the most successful companies blending branded and unbranded search terms, supported by a slick user experience and benefit-driven messaging.
When it comes to social media, platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube, while not driving massive traffic, are key for brand recognition and getting in front of the right people.
The businesses that are winning aren’t just hoping people find them; they’re capturing demand through irresistible offers that provide value upfront. The formula is simple: understand your audience, make it compelling, and make it hard for them to say no.
If you get these elements right—solid SEO, consistent social content that hits home, and offers that make people want to act—you’ll be in a strong position to drive more leads and grow your business.
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