From Fast Foundations to Measurable Results: How Wingmaven Helped Virtual IT Group Build a Marketing Engine
Updated: 2 hours ago
Virtual IT Group (VITG), Australia's leading managed IT and cybersecurity services provider, had built a highly profitable Managed Service Provider (MSP) business, primarily through acquisition. Then the growth model changed.
Backed by private equity firm The Riverside Company, VITG set an ambitious annual organic growth target. That meant winning new customers directly and predictably, a fundamental shift in how they approached the market. VITG needed a sophisticated marketing strategy and an investment case for this that the board would back - and both inside a timeline measured in weeks. They brought in Wingmaven to build it.
The Challenge: Turning Activity Into Revenue
“There was plenty of marketing activity in motion, but they needed a consistent way to turn that activity into qualified leads and measurable revenue,” explains Sarah Gibbins, now VITG's Chief Marketing Officer.
In order to build the marketing engine, the business needed clarity in two main areas: a defined Customer Value Proposition (CVP), to give the market a clear reason to choose it over a competitor. And data-led insight into its Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to point that activity in a clear direction.
Riverside had set the target and the clock was running. VITG and Wingmaven had weeks to turn the ambition into something the board would fund.
The Solution: Rivers of Opportunity
Wingmaven designed and executed a program to diagnose the current state and define a roadmap for growth. This was delivered within just 14 weeks, from the initial kick-off to full Board and Executive sign-off, including the investment case endorsement. Initially part of the Wingmaven team, Sarah helped deliver this critical consulting piece.
The insight that changed the shape of the work came early. VITG wasn't selling to one type of customer. It was selling to two, with different buying cycles and different reasons to buy. Once the team could see those two groups separately, they could target each one properly.
The program delivered the strategic foundations:
Customer Value Proposition (CVP): Defining VITG’s unique market differentiation to stand out in a crowded sector.
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) & Customer Journey Mapping: Defining the ICP and mapping how each of the two customer types actually buys, so marketing could target them with precision.
Data & Tech Review: Assessing the existing tech stack, including an underutilised CRM, and appointing the right providers to support growth.
Resource Optimisation: Advising on the ideal mix of in-house talent and outsourced support to sustain the engine long term.
The Results: A High-Performance Engine
Once the Board endorsed the strategy, VITG hired Sarah as Marketing Director to operationalise the very strategy she had helped Wingmaven create. Under her leadership, the move from strategy to execution was rapid, and she has since been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer. The results so far:
Go-to-Market Strategy: The team established a "test-and-learn" program to validate the strategy through real-world proof of concepts before scaling spend.
Tech Stack Transformation: Alongside the newly appointed Sales Director, the team reconfigured the existing CRM and digital ecosystem into an integrated growth stack, providing the data integrity and automation needed to move to a proactive demand engine.
Team Capability & Scale: Using the strategic roadmap as the guide, VITG built a fully functioning marketing department from the ground up, successfully scaling from a single person to a high-performing team of four within 12 months.
Lead Generation: The lead generation engine took three months to build. Within 18 months, inbound marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) grew from two a month to over 100 a month, a steady, predictable pipeline where none existed before.
Marketing-Led Pipeline: Marketing now consistently drives 60% of new business revenue in the deal pipeline, worth roughly $3m as at August 2026.
The Legacy of Clarity
The strategy didn't retire when the engagement did. It became the reference point VITG's marketing team still works from.
"I still refer back to the work we did with Wingmaven in every presentation I do. Whether it's the ideal customer profile, the size of the market opportunity or our 'rivers of opportunity,' that work was pivotal in driving the initial pace of organic growth for the business."
Sarah Gibbins, Chief Marketing Officer, VITG
Plenty of businesses reach the point VITG reached, where the growth model that built the company can't deliver the next target. The answer usually isn't more marketing. It's a clearer view of who's buying, and a system that proves what's working.
