Segmentation is the heart of marketing because it is the best way to guarantee the relevancy of the offering, of the value proposition, and of the messaging to the target market. So, by definition, what is aimed at one segment does not necessarily please another segment, nor should it. This “Marketing 101″ lesson seems lost on the mass of skeptical technology enthusiasts who do not see in the iPad what they were hoping for. But make no mistake: the iPad is a transformational product. Apple intends to capitalize on the momentum of the iPod and iPhone to rope in enough partners and spark another revolution.
Posts Tagged ‘high-tech marketing’
iPad Strategy Misunderstood
Thursday, February 4th, 201021 Signs That Your Company Is Not Customer-Driven
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Companies talk a lot about being more customer-driven, but it mostly remains just talk. It makes for good PR internally and externally. The question is whether a transition has really been made away from being mostly product-driven. Here is a selection of practical signs that indicate that a focus on products is preventing your company from unlocking real value for customers.
Should Your Company Switch To a Low-Cost Strategy?
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
When it comes to competitive advantage, the recession is re-dealing the cards. If you suspect that the value your company delivers is seen as being too rich, now is the time to do some forward-looking thinking to decide if the basis on which you are competing needs to change.
Has Your Company Fallen Into One of These Four Strategic Traps?
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
For a management team, it is hard to accept that a strategy that was birthed after so much work, discussion, and compromise is leading to limited growth, or worse. That is the predicament that many SMBs find themselves in, and it can be painfully apparent especially in these times. Here is a framework that describes four common strategic traps, some of them uglier than others, identified by examining the combination of two strategic biases (see diagram). (more…)
Market Research by Product Launch: When Does It Make Sense?
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
We all know of companies that put products out in the marketplace like the proverbial spaghetti tossed against the wall just to see if “it sticks”. Spotty planning and tentative execution usually lead to mixed results and perplexity as to what to do next.
But are there circumstances when a solid case can be made for the “let’s see if it sticks” approach? What if throwing spaghetti had real value? (more…)
The Vertical Strategy: an Ace in the Hole for SMBs?
Saturday, February 28th, 2009Verticalization is a favorite strategy of small companies because it opens the possibility of upstaging bigger firms on specific markets . It is the classic case of a small force achieving a breakthrough against a larger opponent by concentrating overwhelming firepower on a small section of a long front.
Going vertical can proceed along two very different vectors: one is a “soft”, messaging-oriented axis, the other is more focused on product, or it can be a combination of the two. The costs and risks involved are very different in each case. (more…)
Tools for Marketing in a Recession – or – How To Do More with Less, Soviet Style?!
Monday, February 23rd, 2009The story goes that when NASA started sending people into space, it encountered the problem that regular pens did not work in a weightless environment. After spending many $100Ks on research, NASA did manage to engineer a special pen that could work in zero gravity. Naturally, the Soviet space program had the same problem but did not have the same resources and technology to solve it. The Russians did find a very effective solution, both technically and financially: they simply gave their cosmonauts lead pencils.
The story rings like a good metaphor for (more…)
Customers Have No Vision for You
Thursday, February 19th, 2009This may come as somewhat of a surprise to those who have stayed with the conventional wisdom that “the customer is always right“. But satisfying the request of every customer with the hope that the firm’s reputation for excellence will spread and be the key to riches is a noble but ultimately losing proposition.
Although customers as a group have requests, ideas, suggestions, and legitimate problems that need solutions, only the company’s management and the CEO can have a Vision. Only the company’s leadership (more…)
Is Product Proliferation Killing Your Company?
Friday, February 13th, 2009The slippery slope of product proliferation starts with a discussion in the management staff meeting that goes along this line:
“We have found out that one of our suppliers has just made an important component available on the basis of which we can quickly make a new product. [OK]
Adding this product will take almost no effort at all. [Really?] (more…)
Getting Aggressive: Splendor and Misery of Comparative Advertising
Friday, February 6th, 2009When business conditions are difficult, marketers consider using tools that they would not ordinarily resort to. Competitive advertising/PR is such a tool. The air of conflict and controversy that surrounds direct comparisons have a way of attracting attention; just what a marketer needs when demand is down, right? (more…)
