Marketing

Consumer Product Management & Other Follies

by Reena Kapoor

I've worked in consumer product management in a few different industries — tech and non-tech — and want to talk about that I've observed about successful product management. Even that terminology "tech vs. non-tech" in itself is telling. I started my career nearly 18 years ago in the new product development function at Procter & Gamble (P&G). We defined requirements and developed the detergent formulas that would go into products like Tide, Cheer, etc. And while that was not a "hi tech" job, it was very driven by technology — AND consumer need. As a chemical engineer working in designing detergents I spent a lot of time with chemists and polymer scientists understanding new molecules and how they could clean grease, grass stains and perform various other miracles. However what I really learned at P&G that has been most instructive over the years was: how to make sure we're developing products that consumers need, want and will buy. A little later, when I transferred to Brand Management within P&G I was told by a very wise mentor that "P&G is a technology company that also knows how to market technology really well...." It took me a few years to truly understand that comment but I realized the importance of that insight once I moved back into hi-tech.

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Posted June 23, 2008 | Permalink

Marketing to Small & Medium Business

by Reena Kapoor

I went to a NorCal-BMA breakfast on March 20th where Drew Meyer (Senior Product Marketing Manager at Network Appliance’s StoreVault division) spoke about selling to SMB – a hot topic among many enterprise companies looking to expand their footprint into this space. Drew spoke about his experiences in selling to this segment and his findings made a lot of sense. There was good discussion about this segment (if we can call it that). I’ve worked now with a couple of clients who sell to SMBs and I want to share some thoughts with you based on this talk and my own experience. Tell me if this resonates.

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Posted June 23, 2008 | Permalink

Managed Services Provider (MSP) Benchmark Study

by Sridhar Ramanathan

We are conducting research in conjunction with Untangle, an open source network gateway company and partner to MSPs nationwide, and welcome you to join in on the survey we're fielding. We're conducting this independent market research study to help new and existing MSPs learn from their peers.

Subject: Learn how Managed Services Providers (MSPs) stack up on services and pricing

Purpose: Helping new and existing MSPs learn from their peers

Topics:

• Comparison of MSP service offerings


• Benchmark on how these services are priced


• Insight into the next big offering in managed services

To find out more or to begin the survey, click here to get started:

Respondents who complete the entire survey by May 23, 2008, will receive a detailed report of the study results – valuable and strategic data to help guide and keep your MSP business on track!

About Us:
Pacifica Group, founded in 2001, is an independent consulting firm that provides a range of business strategy and marketing services including market research, market assessments, product planning and launch, channel development, and interim executive/management roles.

Posted April 24, 2008 | Permalink

Successfully Implementing Positioning in Organizations

by Reena Kapoor

I’ve now worked on several strategic positioning projects for clients and have come to the realization that the harder part is not developing strong positioning for companies or their products. The greater challenge actually lies in implementing it successfully. Don’t get me wrong. Developing strong, distinctive and meaningful positioning is crucial. And – contrary to popular belief – it actually takes effort and skill to create it. Sridhar Ramanathan my partner here at Pacifica Group (a Conifer alliance) actually wrote a blog entry describing the characteristics of good positioning. He’s right on.

But I am sure you’ve heard the countless stories where a lot of time was spent and a fancy positioning was created only to gather dust. While positioning can be targeted at any stakeholder, for the purpose of this article, I am going to focus on positioning targeted at customers. I want to talk about how and what determines that a positioning will be successfully implemented. Some of it has to do with the development process, some with characteristics of the output and some with your internal company workflows. Here are some of the factors I have found to be crucial:

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Posted April 3, 2008 | Permalink

Corporate Integrity and the Role of Marketing

by Sridhar Ramanathan

One of the bright spots in IT spending today is enterprise software and services that support the alphabet soup of compliance regulations (SEC, SOX, PCI, HIPAA, FISMA, OSHA, etc.). One of our clients, SAP, is doing a great job capturing share as the market for governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software is expanding rapidly. Perhaps one of the key motivators for this growth is fear: fear of facing stiff financial penalties and/or even prison sentences for non-compliance. Examples in the business software industry alone include: Computer Associates’s execs being jailed for SEC violations and McAfee facing a $50M penalty for accounting trickery. But compliance is actually further down the Maslow hierarchy of needs. Corporate integrity would be a higher rung which calls corporate managers to “do the right thing” and elevate the organizations’ contribution beyond its immediate stakeholders.

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Posted March 19, 2008 | Permalink

The Patron Saint of Martyred Copywriters

by Rich Binell

This is a true story.

Steve Cosmopulos is an old art director in Boston.
(Hill Holiday Connors & Cosmopulos was his for awhile.
It got too big and he left, but he left his name on the door.)
He's a tough little fireplug of a high-school-educated Greek guy.
Always wears a tailored suit and tie.
Always.

He walks into a presentation.
Late.
Big conference table at client offices.
Everyone sitting expectantly.
Silence.
He has a duffel bag.
Sets the bag on his chair.
He doesn't sit.
From out of the bag he pulls a board.
With a bed of 100 nails sticking up out of this board.
Sets it carefully on table.
Pulls out an aluminum frying pan.
One of those nonstick Silverstone jobs.
Silence.
Holds up frying pan.
Silence.
Slams it down as hard as he can on bed of nails.
Repeatedly.
Holds up frying pan.
Shows dings in bottom.
Silence.
Puts board back in bag.
Pulls out another identical board.
But this one with just one nail.
Puts it on table.
Silence.
Slams down the frying pan on the single nail.
Pries frying pan off nail.
Holds up frying pan.
Hole in bottom.
Shows it slowly to everyone.
Asks:
"Now how many copy points do you want to put in this ad?"

Proof that an art director named Stavros Cosmopulos is
THE PATRON SAINT OF MARTYRED COPYWRITERS.
This is not only a Boston legend, it's a true story.
I asked him.

Posted December 12, 2007 | Permalink