i3 Business Solutions, an IT services firm based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is led by CEO Mike Ritsoma, a growth-minded leader who describes himself plainly: “I’m a sales type and always looking to expand the business.” That orientation toward growth set the stage for i3’s marketing transformation. Despite prior investments in well-known platforms, the team faced a familiar obstacle: consistent execution. The company needed a way to create and sustain a steady drumbeat of campaigns, events, and webinars without reinventing the wheel each time.

How the ConnectWise Partner Program Accelerated i3’s Marketing Maturity

The turning point came through the ConnectWise Partner Program, which paired i3’s ambition with practical support and purpose-built tools. From the outset, the ConnectWise Partner Program felt different to Ritsoma because it provided both strategic direction and hands-on assistance. As he puts it, “The ConnectWise Partner Program has helped us in two ways: The first was access to co-marketing and funding. The second was the connective tissue the program provides—introductions to experts, tools, and frameworks that remove friction from execution.” i3 worked closely with the ConnectWise team, including key advocates who, in Ritsoma’s words, “helped us immensely to expand.” The result was a rapid improvement in the company’s ability to plan and deliver high-quality marketing initiatives.

One of the most visible milestones in i3’s journey was a regional cybersecurity event that showcased the power of well curated partnerships and timely content. Ritsoma recounts, “In fact, one event that we did this year, with the Michigan State Police and a local cybersecurity attorney, where we also gave away a prize at the end, had phenomenal attendance.” The topic—urgent, practical, and rooted in risk mitigation—resonated with local businesses. Attendance validated both the format and the content: “I think we had 45 people there for a lunch and learn.” While i3 had hosted events in the past, this effort stood out for blending relevance with operational excellence. The ConnectWise team played a tangible role in the logistics and planning, with Ritsoma noting, “ConnectWise helped us put that together and make it a success.” That collaboration gave i3 more than a single win; it offered a replicable playbook for future programs. curated partnerships and timely content. Ritsoma recounts, 

Solving the Marketing Engine: From HubSpot Fatigue to GlassHive Momentum

The ConnectWise Partner Program’s value extended beyond events to the daily mechanics of marketing. A central challenge for i3 had been choosing and then fully implementing a marketing automation platform, an area where the company had struggled despite investing in a premier tool. Ritsoma is candid about the gap: “We signed up for HubSpot a year or two ago, and we’re spending big money on HubSpot, but never really properly implemented it.” 

ConnectWise introduced i3 to GlassHive, a platform designed specifically for MSP marketing. The alignment was immediate. Ritsoma explains, “So when GlassHive came out with the integrated campaigns, we started rolling that out. And three months ago, we turned off HubSpot and went to GlassHive.” The decision was not a rejection of features; it was a move toward usability, speed, and fit.

What made GlassHive a catalyst for change was its removal of bottlenecks in content creation and campaign packaging. For a team focused on serving clients, having a ready-to-launch library mattered. “The integration to ConnectWise is strong, but the campaigns, 50 of them, automatically branded to i3 Business Solutions, are just performing so great. We don’t have to create the content.” 

This single sentence captures the heart of i3’s marketing, which unlocks integrated tooling and prebuilt content, accelerating their ability to ship. In marketing, frequency builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust. By cutting the setup time, GlassHive helped i3 increase cadence without increasing complexity.

From Support to Sustainability: How i3 Built a Repeatable Marketing Engine

Execution also thrives with guidance, and i3 credits their ConnectWise Marketing Consultant for making the transition both effective and sustainable. “We work with Rebecca, and Rebecca’s phenomenal. She’s always there to help us and help us integrate the campaigns.” That support covered the gamut—from live events to webinars to podcast style programs—giving the team confidence to try new formats and optimize as they went. As i3 deepened its use of the platform, the learning curve flattened. Ritsoma reflects that “the campaigns are getting easier and easier as we get deeper and deeper into GlassHive and the ConnectWise Partner Program.” Ease is not trivial; it is the difference between sporadic activity and a durable marketing rhythm. style programs—giving the team confidence to try new formats and optimize as they went. As i3 deepened its use of the platform, the learning curve flattened. Ritsoma reflects that.

The results of this combined approach—co-marketing support, an MSP-focused platform, and hands-on guidance—showed up first in consistency and then in pipeline energy. Ritsoma offers a grounded view of measurement, acknowledging that while they are still refining attribution, momentum is unmistakable: “The drip, the drip of email campaigns, webinars, physical events, bringing in prospects excellent.” In concrete terms, i3’s webinars began to consistently attract net new interest: “We’re getting anywhere from four to six prospects on these webinars, podcasts.” That recurring influx demonstrates the compounding effect of a coherent system: when every campaign is easier to launch, every month brings more touchpoints, and every touchpoint increases the likelihood of conversion- new interest.

Perhaps most importantly, the ConnectWise Partner Program improved i3’s ability to act. The company no longer needed to start from scratch with each initiative. “The ability to execute is what’s impacting us. Our ability to execute, do campaigns without reinventing the wheel, is upping our drip, and that’s upping our prospects and our new accounts.” This line underscores a pivotal lesson for service providers: growth often hinges less on grand reinvention and more on reliable, repeatable execution. Even as the team continues to strengthen attribution models and ROI tracking, the early link between increased campaign velocity and new opportunities is clear.

Beyond Products: The Multiplier Effect of People and Programs

Underneath the marketing mechanics lies a broader story about ecosystem value. Ritsoma is quick to praise ConnectWise’s core products—“ConnectWise [solutions like ConnectWise RMM, ConnectWise PSA and ConnectWise CPQ] is excellent”—but he emphasizes that technology alone isn’t the differentiator. The real advantage emerges when tools are paired with people, programs, and community. “When we have a team that can work with us to expand our Business in the ConnectWise Partner Program using GlassHive, I mean, that creates a powerful partnership.” This perspective reframes the relationship: it’s not vendor–partner, but partner–partner, with shared goals and mutual leverage. That partnership mentality comes to life every year at IT Nation Connect™ Global, where i3 draws on its peers' collective insights. Ritsoma’s approach to the conference is pragmatic and focused on learning from real-world operators. “I’ll go to peer sessions where there’s a panel that I can listen to peers describe their experience.” 

Beyond sessions, the value lies in conversations—with other partners, with solution experts, and with leaders who face similar constraints and opportunities. Ritsoma’s summary is crisp and revealing: “That’s the power of IT Nation.” In his experience, the community is an accelerant; ideas travel faster, and best practices become accessible, actionable, and tailored to MSP realities.

A Modern Marketing Motion Powered by Partnership

Taken together, i3’s journey illustrates how growth-oriented service providers can modernize marketing by aligning three elements: a supportive ConnectWise Partner Program, a simplified and integrated platform, and a community that shares what works. For i3, that alignment turned intention into momentum. Campaigns that once felt heavy became routine. Events shifted from one-offs to cornerstones. Webinars evolved from experiments into engines for consistent prospect generation. The company gained not only leads but also a scalable system.

Ritsoma’s closing sentiment reinforces the theme that has defined i3’s transformation: “partnership as a multiplier. The ConnectWise ecosystem didn’t replace i3’s expertise; it amplified it, providing scaffolding where the team needed it most—campaign content, event structure, platform simplicity, and practical coaching.” 

In a market where attention is scarce and differentiation can be subtle, i3 has built a marketing motion that is both sustainable and resilient. As the company continues to refine attribution and measurement, the foundation is set: a steady “drip” of value-rich touchpoints, powered by a partnership designed for execution.