By Mark Helfen
If you thought the ultimate internet search tool was Google, come to the next combined meeting of the SDForum Marketing and Search SIGs. According to our speaker, you will be surprised by what you're missing.
Penny Herscher will speak on the topic Intelligent Business Search. Please note that this special combined meeting will be on a different day, and at a different location than our regular monthly Marketing SIG. We will be at the LinkedIn campus, 2027 Stierlin Court in Mountain View on Thursday, September 9. Details here.
This will be the only Marketing SIG meeting in September. In October, the Marketing SIG will return to its regular schedule, the second Monday of the month, at DLA Piper.
Showing posts with label meeting preview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meeting preview. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A SDForum First?? Presentation by iPad
Right or left brained, our speaker next Monday still has the tech bug, and will try something unique. Maybe a first for SDForum, certainly a first for the Marketing SIG.
Speakers usually bring their own laptop as a way to show presentation materials in our meeting room. But Joe Cullinane will bring his shiny new Apple iPad as a way to show his presentation, with hardware to connect it to the rooms projection system.
And, in good right brain thinking, also his laptop as a backup. Just in case.
Speakers usually bring their own laptop as a way to show presentation materials in our meeting room. But Joe Cullinane will bring his shiny new Apple iPad as a way to show his presentation, with hardware to connect it to the rooms projection system.
And, in good right brain thinking, also his laptop as a backup. Just in case.
Not in Any Job Description: The Unwritten Role of Marketing
An appeal to the right side of the brain...
By Mark Helfen
Joe Cullinane wants to appeal to the right side of your brain.
Your left brain is the part that writes code, crunches numbers, or focuses on logic. But getting organizations and teams to work well, and allowing you to better support you manager and your team needs some right brain focus.
"Its surprising that this side - the right brain - gets so little attention when its so important," said Cullinane when I spoke to him about his presentation. "It's a skill you don't learn anywhere, yet it can help in your career."
Cullinane is an executive advisor, consultant, and coach who helps executives and entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. He is also an author of several books, including his latest, Surfing the Rift: The Executive's Guide to the Post-Web 2.0 World. He will speak on the topic Not in Any Job Description: The Unwritten Role of Marketing at the SDForum Marketing SIG meeting on May 10.
The human relations skills, or "the mortar between the bricks" as Cullinane describes it, are not in any job description, and is "not stuff they teach you in business school. Nobody teaches these things."
But from three perspectives, Cullinane will show how they can be key to your success - with your boss, your team, and yourself.
By Mark Helfen
Joe Cullinane wants to appeal to the right side of your brain.
Your left brain is the part that writes code, crunches numbers, or focuses on logic. But getting organizations and teams to work well, and allowing you to better support you manager and your team needs some right brain focus.
"Its surprising that this side - the right brain - gets so little attention when its so important," said Cullinane when I spoke to him about his presentation. "It's a skill you don't learn anywhere, yet it can help in your career."
Cullinane is an executive advisor, consultant, and coach who helps executives and entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. He is also an author of several books, including his latest, Surfing the Rift: The Executive's Guide to the Post-Web 2.0 World. He will speak on the topic Not in Any Job Description: The Unwritten Role of Marketing at the SDForum Marketing SIG meeting on May 10.
The human relations skills, or "the mortar between the bricks" as Cullinane describes it, are not in any job description, and is "not stuff they teach you in business school. Nobody teaches these things."
But from three perspectives, Cullinane will show how they can be key to your success - with your boss, your team, and yourself.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
P-Camp 2010 Silicon Valley - March 13
By Mark Helfen
=============
P-Camp 2010 Silicon Valley will be on March 13, and if you are a Product Manager or Product Marketing Manager, you don’t want to miss it. I was at last years, and it was quite an event.
P-Camp is a barcamp. What’s a barcamp?
Well, there is a whole history of where the idea of a barcamp originated. You can read about it here, but it isn’t really relevant to deciding to attend. Barcamps have nothing do to with bars, beer, or other alcoholic beverages, at least not during the session. What you do after is your own business.
There are barcamps all over the world on a large variety of topics. (The Nairobi 2010 barcamp is currently being planned.) I recently attended Freelance Camp (for freelance writers) in Santa Cruz – it was a great day.
The idea of a barcamp is an “unconference,” - an open source meeting where the conference attendees make up the days agenda when the morning starts. P-Camp is a little more organized – morning sessions are set up in advance by a vote of the attendees, while afternoon sessions will be decided on the morning of the event. If you have a topic you would like to discuss with fellow marketers, you can organize it and run it. You don’t need to be an expert to run a session, you just need to be willing to stand up in front of a group and manage the process.
Whether you run a session or not, its worthwhile. A whole day devoted to product management and marketing topics, all surrounded by your peers. A great learning and networking opportunity.
You should register in advance. In prior years, registration filled up. Cost is…. free.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
=============
P-Camp 2010 Silicon Valley will be on March 13, and if you are a Product Manager or Product Marketing Manager, you don’t want to miss it. I was at last years, and it was quite an event.
P-Camp is a barcamp. What’s a barcamp?
Well, there is a whole history of where the idea of a barcamp originated. You can read about it here, but it isn’t really relevant to deciding to attend. Barcamps have nothing do to with bars, beer, or other alcoholic beverages, at least not during the session. What you do after is your own business.
There are barcamps all over the world on a large variety of topics. (The Nairobi 2010 barcamp is currently being planned.) I recently attended Freelance Camp (for freelance writers) in Santa Cruz – it was a great day.
The idea of a barcamp is an “unconference,” - an open source meeting where the conference attendees make up the days agenda when the morning starts. P-Camp is a little more organized – morning sessions are set up in advance by a vote of the attendees, while afternoon sessions will be decided on the morning of the event. If you have a topic you would like to discuss with fellow marketers, you can organize it and run it. You don’t need to be an expert to run a session, you just need to be willing to stand up in front of a group and manage the process.
Whether you run a session or not, its worthwhile. A whole day devoted to product management and marketing topics, all surrounded by your peers. A great learning and networking opportunity.
You should register in advance. In prior years, registration filled up. Cost is…. free.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Monday, March 1, 2010
For most people there’s not much training in branding. They learn it in the field.
By Mark Helfen
=============
“For most people there’s not much training in branding. They learn it in the field.”
So says Kevin Heney, speaker at next Monday’s (March 8) SDForum Marketing SIG meeting.
Heney runs Kevin Heney Design , a consulting firm that helps businesses with their branding. He is also the founder of the Silicon Valley Brand Forum , where branding professionals discuss the challenges of branding. (Check the forums website for their next meeting, coming up on May 4.)
Heney’s presentation will cover the value of a strong brand and what branding can do for your business, how to strengthen your brand, and some of the new challenges in brand management.
Many companies do nothing to manage their brand. Some technology companies are lead by “brilliant people that are strong on technology, but not strong on branding.” Heney’s talk will explain why ignoring your business brand isn’t a good strategy.
He will bring a number of real world examples of brand positives and negatives. Although following good branding strategy, the negatives aren’t negative, just “more challenging.”
Like other areas of marketing, new technology shakes things up and changes the balance. In the case of branding, social media has changed the landscape.
“Most people underestimate the effects of social media in their brand,” said Heney, both in the positive and negative direction.
He related the story of a brand “challenge” faced by United Airlines, involving the airline, a guitar, Youtube, and potentially $180 million in value. I won’t repeat it here – you will need to show up next Monday to hear all of the details.
So come to Monday’s meeting, and start your field training on branding.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
=============
“For most people there’s not much training in branding. They learn it in the field.”
So says Kevin Heney, speaker at next Monday’s (March 8) SDForum Marketing SIG meeting.
Heney runs Kevin Heney Design , a consulting firm that helps businesses with their branding. He is also the founder of the Silicon Valley Brand Forum , where branding professionals discuss the challenges of branding. (Check the forums website for their next meeting, coming up on May 4.)
Heney’s presentation will cover the value of a strong brand and what branding can do for your business, how to strengthen your brand, and some of the new challenges in brand management.
Many companies do nothing to manage their brand. Some technology companies are lead by “brilliant people that are strong on technology, but not strong on branding.” Heney’s talk will explain why ignoring your business brand isn’t a good strategy.
He will bring a number of real world examples of brand positives and negatives. Although following good branding strategy, the negatives aren’t negative, just “more challenging.”
Like other areas of marketing, new technology shakes things up and changes the balance. In the case of branding, social media has changed the landscape.
“Most people underestimate the effects of social media in their brand,” said Heney, both in the positive and negative direction.
He related the story of a brand “challenge” faced by United Airlines, involving the airline, a guitar, Youtube, and potentially $180 million in value. I won’t repeat it here – you will need to show up next Monday to hear all of the details.
So come to Monday’s meeting, and start your field training on branding.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Win the Search Engine Wars – or – Your graphics designer is screwing up you website rankings.
By Mark Helfen
You can win at the search engine wars, and Athol and Dan Foden will show you how at next Monday’s SDForum Marketing SIG meeting.
Foden is president of Brighter Naming, which helps companies develop names both for their products and for themselves. He also consults on internet marketing, search engine optimization, and is the author of the recently released book Brighter SEO: Organic Search Engine Optimization. He will be assisted by his son Ben, also a freelance marketing consultant.
Foden has been a popular speaker at previous Marketing SIG meetings.
I spoke to him Tuesday, and he said that his presentation would be practical advice, using real web sites, starting with his, for a detailed description of how you can get a high page rank on Google.
As search engines have gotten more intelligent, “honest citizens (or webizens) can play again,” said Foden. “You don’t have to game the system.”
Foden promotes a balanced approach, including a web site, search engine optimization, blogs, and social media that form the “SEO Power Pyramid.”
The result is “free” visibility, without paying for advertising. Perfect for small businesses, departments, or the individual consultant, including those just starting out. No need to pay Google for Adwords.
“If you are out of work, starting a business, this is a low cost way to get noticed,” and you can do it yourself said Foden.
The wide reach of the web will widen your visibility beyond the limited circle of friends, family, and your contact list to an international audience, and Foden says his own business is “living proof,” attracting clients from well beyond the valley within the last month.
Monday’s meeting will cover four topics:
- How to do integrated internet marketing on a shoestring.
- How you can start getting visibility for your small business tomorrow.
- How to stay a step ahead of the curve in the internet space.
And, perhaps most surprisingly,
- How your graphics designer is screwing up your website rankings.
“There are two views of a website. The human view, and the robot view. People don’t think of the difference,” said Foden.
You will learn the difference at Monday’s meeting.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
You can win at the search engine wars, and Athol and Dan Foden will show you how at next Monday’s SDForum Marketing SIG meeting.
Foden is president of Brighter Naming, which helps companies develop names both for their products and for themselves. He also consults on internet marketing, search engine optimization, and is the author of the recently released book Brighter SEO: Organic Search Engine Optimization. He will be assisted by his son Ben, also a freelance marketing consultant.
Foden has been a popular speaker at previous Marketing SIG meetings.
I spoke to him Tuesday, and he said that his presentation would be practical advice, using real web sites, starting with his, for a detailed description of how you can get a high page rank on Google.
As search engines have gotten more intelligent, “honest citizens (or webizens) can play again,” said Foden. “You don’t have to game the system.”
Foden promotes a balanced approach, including a web site, search engine optimization, blogs, and social media that form the “SEO Power Pyramid.”
The result is “free” visibility, without paying for advertising. Perfect for small businesses, departments, or the individual consultant, including those just starting out. No need to pay Google for Adwords.
“If you are out of work, starting a business, this is a low cost way to get noticed,” and you can do it yourself said Foden.
The wide reach of the web will widen your visibility beyond the limited circle of friends, family, and your contact list to an international audience, and Foden says his own business is “living proof,” attracting clients from well beyond the valley within the last month.
Monday’s meeting will cover four topics:
- How to do integrated internet marketing on a shoestring.
- How you can start getting visibility for your small business tomorrow.
- How to stay a step ahead of the curve in the internet space.
And, perhaps most surprisingly,
- How your graphics designer is screwing up your website rankings.
“There are two views of a website. The human view, and the robot view. People don’t think of the difference,” said Foden.
You will learn the difference at Monday’s meeting.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Dump the Plug! - your wireless future at the SDForum Marketing SIG
By Mark Helfen
Next Monday's Marketing SIG meeting (December 14) will be about wireless power - a future where wall warts, extension cords, and floor spaghetti will all disappear. Eventually....
I managed to talk to two of the evening's panelists. Christopher Surdi of PowerBeam, and Afshin Partovi of Mojo Mobility, and here are a few predictions:
In addition to Surdi and Partovi, Steve Day of Malabar Technologies will also be a panelist.
PowerBeam and Mojo Mobility both have different technologies, but both panelists believe there is a large consumer demand for wireless power. Think WIFI, but instead of a data signal, the power necessary to run the device, or charge the battery, will be available without a physical connection.
The initial products are charging pads that are plugged in, and cell phones or laptops that have batteries with "receivers" to get power.
The market is just starting up. According to Partovi, Dell has released a laptop with a wireless charging unit. The Latitude Z business laptop can be placed on a special stand that recharges the battery. But the stand and laptop only work with each other.
The eventual idea is "ubiquitous access to power. In your car, at Starbucks, built into furniture, on the tray table of your airplane seat. In any public area," said Partovi. "Easy, universal access."
Think about the stuff you need to haul along when you travel - chargers for each of your battery powered items, maybe an extension cord. The idea is to leave them all at home
This future is still a ways away. Both companies are working with OEMs to design their technology into products, and said that consumer products will be available in late 2010 or early 2011. And both forecast wide consumer adoption in the 5 to 10 year time frame.
Standards are also just starting to be developed, to allow power supplies and devices to interoperate. Both products are intelligent and don't consume power when there is no demand.
So come to the MarketingSIG on Monday - we promise that everyone will get a charge out of the meeting. You might even walk out with your cell phone battery topped up.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Next Monday's Marketing SIG meeting (December 14) will be about wireless power - a future where wall warts, extension cords, and floor spaghetti will all disappear. Eventually....
I managed to talk to two of the evening's panelists. Christopher Surdi of PowerBeam, and Afshin Partovi of Mojo Mobility, and here are a few predictions:
- "In 5 to 10 years, the word 'recharge' will be deleted from every day vocabulary"
- "Your sons and daughters will never have to plug anything in for power"
- Furniture will be designed and built so that wires will disappear. Simply by putting your cell phone, desk lamp, or wireless on your desk it will be powered.
- People at the local Starbucks will no longer compete for tables close to wall plugs. Just by being there, your cell phone or laptop will be recharged.
In addition to Surdi and Partovi, Steve Day of Malabar Technologies will also be a panelist.
PowerBeam and Mojo Mobility both have different technologies, but both panelists believe there is a large consumer demand for wireless power. Think WIFI, but instead of a data signal, the power necessary to run the device, or charge the battery, will be available without a physical connection.
The initial products are charging pads that are plugged in, and cell phones or laptops that have batteries with "receivers" to get power.
The market is just starting up. According to Partovi, Dell has released a laptop with a wireless charging unit. The Latitude Z business laptop can be placed on a special stand that recharges the battery. But the stand and laptop only work with each other.
The eventual idea is "ubiquitous access to power. In your car, at Starbucks, built into furniture, on the tray table of your airplane seat. In any public area," said Partovi. "Easy, universal access."
Think about the stuff you need to haul along when you travel - chargers for each of your battery powered items, maybe an extension cord. The idea is to leave them all at home
This future is still a ways away. Both companies are working with OEMs to design their technology into products, and said that consumer products will be available in late 2010 or early 2011. And both forecast wide consumer adoption in the 5 to 10 year time frame.
Standards are also just starting to be developed, to allow power supplies and devices to interoperate. Both products are intelligent and don't consume power when there is no demand.
So come to the MarketingSIG on Monday - we promise that everyone will get a charge out of the meeting. You might even walk out with your cell phone battery topped up.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Marketing - Moving from High Tech to Clean Tech
By Mark Helfen
It will be a clean, green evening at the November 9 SDForum Marketing SIG meeting, where an expert panel will discuss marketing clean technology, and in particular how clean tech marketing differs from high tech marketing.
The moderators, Kathleen Gilligan and Karen Janowski, are co-founders of the EcoStrategy Group, a consultancy that helps companies in "Bringing Clean Technology Products to Market" and "Helping Businesses 'Go Green.'"
I spoke to Janowski about what to expect during the evening.
For people who are interested in marketing clean tech, they will "learn the kind of career paths that it takes to get from where they are," marketing high tech, to marketing clean tech, said Janowski.
Techniques and tools that come out of high tech marketing can sometimes be applied to clean tech. The panel will talk about where things are the same, and where they diverge.
The topic fits the "classic MarketingSIG audience," according to Janowski. She lists people who currently market high tech but want to move toward clean tech, marketing managers already in the clean tech space, and startups that plan to be selling clean tech products. People marketing high tech products will also gain fresh perspective about new marketing techniques.
I asked her about the three panelists will speak at the meeting.
Marcia Kadanoff is Vice President of Marketing at Sustainable Spaces. Sustainable Spaces describes itself as "Bay Area's leader in green energy remodeling." Kadanoff has been around the valley for a long time, and is an expert at creating "demand by key decision makers," said Janowski.
Kate Gerwe is COO at the Lucid Design Group. They describe themselves as "The pioneer in real-time resource use feedback technology." One of Lucid's primary markets is universities, and according to Janowski, Gerwe's background at Yahoo helps her "create communities" with early adopters, administrators, and students.
Tom Tansy is Vice President of Marketing at Fat Spaniel Technologies, who "the leading independent provider of critical monitoring and reporting services for the renewable energy industry." According to Janowski, Tansy has experience in several clean tech businesses. His prior job was selling clean tech to consumers, while Fat Spaniel sells to businesses.
Where does the "fat spaniel" come in? You will need to show up Monday to find out.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
By Mark Helfen
It will be a clean, green evening at the November 9 SDForum Marketing SIG meeting, where an expert panel will discuss marketing clean technology, and in particular how clean tech marketing differs from high tech marketing.
The moderators, Kathleen Gilligan and Karen Janowski, are co-founders of the EcoStrategy Group, a consultancy that helps companies in "Bringing Clean Technology Products to Market" and "Helping Businesses 'Go Green.'"
I spoke to Janowski about what to expect during the evening.
For people who are interested in marketing clean tech, they will "learn the kind of career paths that it takes to get from where they are," marketing high tech, to marketing clean tech, said Janowski.
Techniques and tools that come out of high tech marketing can sometimes be applied to clean tech. The panel will talk about where things are the same, and where they diverge.
The topic fits the "classic MarketingSIG audience," according to Janowski. She lists people who currently market high tech but want to move toward clean tech, marketing managers already in the clean tech space, and startups that plan to be selling clean tech products. People marketing high tech products will also gain fresh perspective about new marketing techniques.
I asked her about the three panelists will speak at the meeting.
Marcia Kadanoff is Vice President of Marketing at Sustainable Spaces. Sustainable Spaces describes itself as "Bay Area's leader in green energy remodeling." Kadanoff has been around the valley for a long time, and is an expert at creating "demand by key decision makers," said Janowski.
Kate Gerwe is COO at the Lucid Design Group. They describe themselves as "The pioneer in real-time resource use feedback technology." One of Lucid's primary markets is universities, and according to Janowski, Gerwe's background at Yahoo helps her "create communities" with early adopters, administrators, and students.
Tom Tansy is Vice President of Marketing at Fat Spaniel Technologies, who "the leading independent provider of critical monitoring and reporting services for the renewable energy industry." According to Janowski, Tansy has experience in several clean tech businesses. His prior job was selling clean tech to consumers, while Fat Spaniel sells to businesses.
Where does the "fat spaniel" come in? You will need to show up Monday to find out.
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Monday, September 7, 2009
Don’t Just Plan the Party
By Mark Helfen
“The consumer technology industry needs to forget it’s a technology industry, and must move to being a consumer product industry.”
Or so said Joshua Weinberg, President of The Digital Life Consulting Group, when I interviewed him to ask about his upcoming SDForum Marketing SIG talk. He will be speaking at the Monday, September 14 meeting, and you can check out the meeting announcement here.
Weinberg has studied companies that do a great job of launching consumer technology products, and has developed a list of rules for the perfect launch. The idea is to have everything ready when the product publicly launched. The same rules that apply to physical products also apply to web based consumer products. Business products also benefit from following the rules.
Apple is a company that does a great job, and Weinberg studies Apple's product launches, which helped him crystallize the rules.
“A launch is not planning six weeks for a big party,” said Weinberg. “It’s a year long process that starts at the moment the product starts.”
He referred to his recent blog posting “Why would Sony launch a product that consumers can’t buy?” which compares Sony’s Reader launch to product launches from Apple and Bose.
“Sony is not a failure, but clearly Apple has mind share.”
The “little things” matter a lot, like the product having a name as opposed to just a meaningless string of letters and numbers. Every accessory in the box is as important as the main product. For a web product, the sign-up process is as critical as how the product works day to day.
While companies can be “somewhat successful” without using his strategy, they can be “more successful the more rules they follow.”
Here in the valley, there is a long tradition of delivering the absolutely newest technology even if it’s not fully productized. If you have purchased technology products recently, you may have seen that some, or many, companies don’t have everything together when the product is launched. I related my recent purchase of a (name brand withheld) router where the User Guide is not yet finished.
Weinberg’s response is that “if the only thing you have is being first to market, there is not a lot there.”
“Most of these rules are blatantly obvious,” said Weinberg. “But if it’s so obvious, how come people aren’t doing it?”
You can ask him yourself at our next meeting on the 14th.
You can reach Weinberg at http://dlifegroup.com/
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
“The consumer technology industry needs to forget it’s a technology industry, and must move to being a consumer product industry.”
Or so said Joshua Weinberg, President of The Digital Life Consulting Group, when I interviewed him to ask about his upcoming SDForum Marketing SIG talk. He will be speaking at the Monday, September 14 meeting, and you can check out the meeting announcement here.
Weinberg has studied companies that do a great job of launching consumer technology products, and has developed a list of rules for the perfect launch. The idea is to have everything ready when the product publicly launched. The same rules that apply to physical products also apply to web based consumer products. Business products also benefit from following the rules.
Apple is a company that does a great job, and Weinberg studies Apple's product launches, which helped him crystallize the rules.
“A launch is not planning six weeks for a big party,” said Weinberg. “It’s a year long process that starts at the moment the product starts.”
He referred to his recent blog posting “Why would Sony launch a product that consumers can’t buy?” which compares Sony’s Reader launch to product launches from Apple and Bose.
“Sony is not a failure, but clearly Apple has mind share.”
The “little things” matter a lot, like the product having a name as opposed to just a meaningless string of letters and numbers. Every accessory in the box is as important as the main product. For a web product, the sign-up process is as critical as how the product works day to day.
While companies can be “somewhat successful” without using his strategy, they can be “more successful the more rules they follow.”
Here in the valley, there is a long tradition of delivering the absolutely newest technology even if it’s not fully productized. If you have purchased technology products recently, you may have seen that some, or many, companies don’t have everything together when the product is launched. I related my recent purchase of a (name brand withheld) router where the User Guide is not yet finished.
Weinberg’s response is that “if the only thing you have is being first to market, there is not a lot there.”
“Most of these rules are blatantly obvious,” said Weinberg. “But if it’s so obvious, how come people aren’t doing it?”
You can ask him yourself at our next meeting on the 14th.
You can reach Weinberg at http://dlifegroup.com/
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Strategic Partnerships for Early Stage Startups
By Mark Helfen
Most technology entrepreneurs think "they need to do everything by themselves. But it doesn't have to be that way. Partners can improve you chances for success."
So says Brad Reddersen, CEO of Stranova, a consultancy in strategic planning and innovation for emerging businesses and startups. Reddersen will speak next Monday at the July 11 meeting of the SDForum marketing SIG about "The Role or Strategic Community for Early Stage Startups."
I spoke to Reddersen about his presentation a few days ago. His talk will cover how a startup can determine the kind of partners that can help a new business be successful. And for potential strategic partners of an emerging company, how to work effectively with a startup.
By finding the right strategic partners, a startup can create a "consciously created community" of people and businesses that can increase the chances of success.
Reddersen defines strategic partners as people or companies with who you share a common interest. People that you can rely on to do certain things. Companies that have a complimentary set of skills. A common way of doing business. Common competitors, or even common enemies.
A partnership results in mutual benefits to both sides.
"Companies need the right partners at the beginning," said Reddersen. "More than your board of advisers." Partners that are "strategic, not just someone who works on your web site."
The right partners can bring a variety of skills to your startup. Reddersen listed some examples: Technical ideas. A distribution channel for your products. Or a unique network of contacts.
In addition to guidance for startup entrepreneurs, the presentation will present information for marketing managers in established companies that might benefit from strategic partnerships with early stage companies: What to look for in an emerging company, and how to position yourself to be available.
You can find more details about the meeting on the Marketing SIGs web site, here
Stranova's web site is here
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Most technology entrepreneurs think "they need to do everything by themselves. But it doesn't have to be that way. Partners can improve you chances for success."
So says Brad Reddersen, CEO of Stranova, a consultancy in strategic planning and innovation for emerging businesses and startups. Reddersen will speak next Monday at the July 11 meeting of the SDForum marketing SIG about "The Role or Strategic Community for Early Stage Startups."
I spoke to Reddersen about his presentation a few days ago. His talk will cover how a startup can determine the kind of partners that can help a new business be successful. And for potential strategic partners of an emerging company, how to work effectively with a startup.
By finding the right strategic partners, a startup can create a "consciously created community" of people and businesses that can increase the chances of success.
Reddersen defines strategic partners as people or companies with who you share a common interest. People that you can rely on to do certain things. Companies that have a complimentary set of skills. A common way of doing business. Common competitors, or even common enemies.
A partnership results in mutual benefits to both sides.
"Companies need the right partners at the beginning," said Reddersen. "More than your board of advisers." Partners that are "strategic, not just someone who works on your web site."
The right partners can bring a variety of skills to your startup. Reddersen listed some examples: Technical ideas. A distribution channel for your products. Or a unique network of contacts.
In addition to guidance for startup entrepreneurs, the presentation will present information for marketing managers in established companies that might benefit from strategic partnerships with early stage companies: What to look for in an emerging company, and how to position yourself to be available.
You can find more details about the meeting on the Marketing SIGs web site, here
Stranova's web site is here
=============
Mark Helfen is a freelance writer, journalist, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at:
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mark.helfen
follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mark_helfen
=============
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Who Needs Leads?
Who Needs Leads?
By Mark Helfen
On Monday June 8, David Tabor will speak to the SDForum Marketing SIG on the topic "Who Needs Leads?"
Despite the provocative title, Tabor is not suggesting that you throw out all of your sales leads. But he will explain how they need to be looked at in a different way. According to Tabor, 95 percent of your leads are worthless, and the job of sales and marketing is to find those that have value and use them start a sales cycle.
Tabor is the CEO of SalesLogistix, and the author of a new book, Salesforce.com Secrets of Success. His consulting firm specializes in "re-implementing broken Salesforce.com implementations."
"We don't do initial implementations," said Tabor. "People don't want to listen until they've tried it and goofed it up." Their thinking needs to change to reflect new ideas of how a sales force needs to in today's environment.
Sales management is too focused on getting more leads. They are very low value, a "low grade ore," in Tabor's words. Marketing management gets incented to just generate more numbers, and "leads will never make a sales guy's numbers." Its how you manage them to get sales cycles started.
Since most of the people attending the marketing SIG are primarily focused on marketing, I asked what benefit they would get from the presentation. Tabor has been doing technology marketing for more then 20 years, and has been marketing VP at a number of technology companies. He has experience in both the sales and marketing roles.
Marketing objectives change under Tabor's methodology.
"The right way to generate more business is for sales and marketing to both work on exactly the same measurement - revenue, not leads." Sales and marketing must act as one cycle. Just generating more leads doesn't get results.
Tabor will bring copies of his new book to the meeting.
You can find the meeting location and details on the SDForum web site, here.
=============
Mark Helfen is a journalist, writer, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
- or -
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: facebook.com/people/Mark-Helfen/1423354725
Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
By Mark Helfen
On Monday June 8, David Tabor will speak to the SDForum Marketing SIG on the topic "Who Needs Leads?"
Despite the provocative title, Tabor is not suggesting that you throw out all of your sales leads. But he will explain how they need to be looked at in a different way. According to Tabor, 95 percent of your leads are worthless, and the job of sales and marketing is to find those that have value and use them start a sales cycle.
Tabor is the CEO of SalesLogistix, and the author of a new book, Salesforce.com Secrets of Success. His consulting firm specializes in "re-implementing broken Salesforce.com implementations."
"We don't do initial implementations," said Tabor. "People don't want to listen until they've tried it and goofed it up." Their thinking needs to change to reflect new ideas of how a sales force needs to in today's environment.
Sales management is too focused on getting more leads. They are very low value, a "low grade ore," in Tabor's words. Marketing management gets incented to just generate more numbers, and "leads will never make a sales guy's numbers." Its how you manage them to get sales cycles started.
Since most of the people attending the marketing SIG are primarily focused on marketing, I asked what benefit they would get from the presentation. Tabor has been doing technology marketing for more then 20 years, and has been marketing VP at a number of technology companies. He has experience in both the sales and marketing roles.
Marketing objectives change under Tabor's methodology.
"The right way to generate more business is for sales and marketing to both work on exactly the same measurement - revenue, not leads." Sales and marketing must act as one cycle. Just generating more leads doesn't get results.
Tabor will bring copies of his new book to the meeting.
You can find the meeting location and details on the SDForum web site, here.
=============
Mark Helfen is a journalist, writer, and marketing consultant. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
- or -
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: facebook.com/people/Mark-Helfen/1423354725
Twitter: twitter.com/mark_helfen
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Would YOU hire you? and a FREE resume analysis
On May 11, Denise Denise Pringle, has agreed to come and speak on the subject of "Would you hire you?"
Ever wonder what those recruiters and hiring managers think of your resume when they see it lying on their desk? Can you imagine what a person who has seen hundreds if not thousands applicants thinks? How do they dissect the resume?
Denise Pringle will use her expertise to help people who want to gain fresh insights into their resumes and interviewing skills.
And... a special offer...
If you would like to have your resume analyzed, mail a copy in to the sig - to MarketingSIG (at) sdforum.org. Ten resumes will be randomly chosen for an analysis at the meeting. And don't worry - you can remove your name, or we will do it for you - you will be the only one who knows its really you...
Denise Pringle has extensive experience in both domestic and international human resources. She has held executive HR positions in high technology and medical device industries. She has worked on transition teams for mergers and outsourcing and has had responsibility for training, organizational development, staffing and university relations. Denise received her Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in History from San Jose State University. She has been the principal for Pringle Consulting, an HR firm providing HR services and training and has held an adjunct faculty position at San Jose State University's Professional Development Center
The meeting will at the regular time, at the regular place...details here
Ever wonder what those recruiters and hiring managers think of your resume when they see it lying on their desk? Can you imagine what a person who has seen hundreds if not thousands applicants thinks? How do they dissect the resume?
Denise Pringle will use her expertise to help people who want to gain fresh insights into their resumes and interviewing skills.
And... a special offer...
If you would like to have your resume analyzed, mail a copy in to the sig - to MarketingSIG (at) sdforum.org. Ten resumes will be randomly chosen for an analysis at the meeting. And don't worry - you can remove your name, or we will do it for you - you will be the only one who knows its really you...
Denise Pringle has extensive experience in both domestic and international human resources. She has held executive HR positions in high technology and medical device industries. She has worked on transition teams for mergers and outsourcing and has had responsibility for training, organizational development, staffing and university relations. Denise received her Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in History from San Jose State University. She has been the principal for Pringle Consulting, an HR firm providing HR services and training and has held an adjunct faculty position at San Jose State University's Professional Development Center
The meeting will at the regular time, at the regular place...details here
Friday, April 10, 2009
Social Media Marketing Best Practices
Meeting Preview
SDForum Marketing SIG April meeting - 4/13/09
By: Mark Helfen
Your marketing job is likely to completely change over the next two years, as social media becomes an ever larger part of the marketing mix. So says Sudha Jamthe, who will speak at the next Monday's SIG meeting, helping you get ahead of the curve.
I spoke briefly to Jamthe about her upcoming talk. She said that social media - Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter among others - will become an increasingly important part of your job in marketing. A "social media mix" to add to the marketing mix.
"But only a handful of people know this. You should be one of them."
She believes that the combination of Web 2.0, and the new social media tools will change every role in marketing - product management and marketing, corporate communications, public relations, and the rest.
Jamthe works as a consultant to companies like Intuit, AOL, and Bebo, helping create a social media strategy in their marketing campaigns. She finds that customers are ahead of her clients in using products like Facebook and Twitter.
"Its more ubiquitous than people think," she said. Most of the marketing people she works with are knowledgeable about Linkedin. But her clients are "blown away" by what their customers are already doing, telling her "they had no idea that they can to that."
Jamthe's bio describes her as "passionate about social media," so I asked her what drove her interest.
She said the social media bug bit her about two and a half years ago. As a marketer, she likes to engage in conversations with customers. Before, she could only speak them at specific times - events, meetings, phone calls.
Now she can be connected all the time, and really get to know people. It takes the conversation to the "next level."
Like all good social media marketers, Jamthe has lots of ways to reach her:
A blog: http://coolastory.com
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sujamthe
Facebook: http://sujamthe.socialtoo.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sujamthe
You can read more details about the meeting here
Getting in the spirit of the topic, I guess I should also show the following for ME....
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Helfen/1423354725
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mark_helfen
Happy tweeting......
---
Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
SDForum Marketing SIG April meeting - 4/13/09
By: Mark Helfen
Your marketing job is likely to completely change over the next two years, as social media becomes an ever larger part of the marketing mix. So says Sudha Jamthe, who will speak at the next Monday's SIG meeting, helping you get ahead of the curve.
I spoke briefly to Jamthe about her upcoming talk. She said that social media - Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter among others - will become an increasingly important part of your job in marketing. A "social media mix" to add to the marketing mix.
"But only a handful of people know this. You should be one of them."
She believes that the combination of Web 2.0, and the new social media tools will change every role in marketing - product management and marketing, corporate communications, public relations, and the rest.
Jamthe works as a consultant to companies like Intuit, AOL, and Bebo, helping create a social media strategy in their marketing campaigns. She finds that customers are ahead of her clients in using products like Facebook and Twitter.
"Its more ubiquitous than people think," she said. Most of the marketing people she works with are knowledgeable about Linkedin. But her clients are "blown away" by what their customers are already doing, telling her "they had no idea that they can to that."
Jamthe's bio describes her as "passionate about social media," so I asked her what drove her interest.
She said the social media bug bit her about two and a half years ago. As a marketer, she likes to engage in conversations with customers. Before, she could only speak them at specific times - events, meetings, phone calls.
Now she can be connected all the time, and really get to know people. It takes the conversation to the "next level."
Like all good social media marketers, Jamthe has lots of ways to reach her:
A blog: http://coolastory.com
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sujamthe
Facebook: http://sujamthe.socialtoo.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sujamthe
You can read more details about the meeting here
Getting in the spirit of the topic, I guess I should also show the following for ME....
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhelfen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Helfen/1423354725
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mark_helfen
Happy tweeting......
---
Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Monday, April 6, 2009
Upcoming meetings - April 13 and April 20
This month, the SDForum Marketing SIG will have two meetings.
On April 13, at our regular meeting, Sudha Jamthe will speak on the topic:
Social Media Marketing Best Practices
And on April 20, the Marketing SIG will co-host a meeting with the Startup SIG:
Strategic Pricing for Start-ups, New Products and Innovations
I will try to post additional information on both of these meetings over the next week, but in the meantime mark you calendar.
You can see more information on the SDForum meeting schedule at the SDForum calendar
Mark Helfen
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
On April 13, at our regular meeting, Sudha Jamthe will speak on the topic:
Social Media Marketing Best Practices
And on April 20, the Marketing SIG will co-host a meeting with the Startup SIG:
Strategic Pricing for Start-ups, New Products and Innovations
I will try to post additional information on both of these meetings over the next week, but in the meantime mark you calendar.
You can see more information on the SDForum meeting schedule at the SDForum calendar
Mark Helfen
mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Friday, February 27, 2009
Marketing Yourself Through a Book: It's easier than you think!
By: Mark Helfen
Ever thought about writing a book?
According to Mitchell Levy, the speaker for the March 9 marketing SIG meeting, it's easier than you think, and will do great things for both your career and your business. The title of his talk is "Marketing Yourself Through a Book. It's easier than you think."
I spoke to Levy briefly about his upcoming talk at the Marketing SIG meeting. He is the author of 11 business books, and the CEO and Executive Editor of Happy About, and independent publishing house.
Levy says that the reputation you get from writing a book is the same as "spending 3 years getting your PhD." The book will take 50 to 150 hours to put together, considerably less.
"It's instant credibility."
Anyone interested in establishing themselves as a "thought leader" should consider the idea, says Levy.
He expects to publish between 25 and 50 books this year, and says that 90 percent of what he publishes is profitable, so the author makes some direct income from the book. But the key benefit is "indirect income," consulting and speaking fees.
What if you aren't a consultant or independently employed? Levy recommends a book on your product, which could bring benefits both to you and your company.
He summarizes his talk with three points:
- If you ever had an idea that you thought should be in a book,
- If you didn't realize how easy it can be,
- If you have no clue to the significant benefits having "author" next to your name will bring you,
... than the Monday meeting is for you.
You can read more about Mitchell Levy's publishing business here
For the details of the next SDForum MarketingSIG, see here
Hope to see you there..
mh
---
Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Ever thought about writing a book?
According to Mitchell Levy, the speaker for the March 9 marketing SIG meeting, it's easier than you think, and will do great things for both your career and your business. The title of his talk is "Marketing Yourself Through a Book. It's easier than you think."
I spoke to Levy briefly about his upcoming talk at the Marketing SIG meeting. He is the author of 11 business books, and the CEO and Executive Editor of Happy About, and independent publishing house.
Levy says that the reputation you get from writing a book is the same as "spending 3 years getting your PhD." The book will take 50 to 150 hours to put together, considerably less.
"It's instant credibility."
Anyone interested in establishing themselves as a "thought leader" should consider the idea, says Levy.
He expects to publish between 25 and 50 books this year, and says that 90 percent of what he publishes is profitable, so the author makes some direct income from the book. But the key benefit is "indirect income," consulting and speaking fees.
What if you aren't a consultant or independently employed? Levy recommends a book on your product, which could bring benefits both to you and your company.
He summarizes his talk with three points:
- If you ever had an idea that you thought should be in a book,
- If you didn't realize how easy it can be,
- If you have no clue to the significant benefits having "author" next to your name will bring you,
... than the Monday meeting is for you.
You can read more about Mitchell Levy's publishing business here
For the details of the next SDForum MarketingSIG, see here
Hope to see you there..
mh
---
Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Marketing Yourself in a Tough Market
Meeting preview
By: Mark Helfen
Our meeting next Monday (2/9) is on the topic:
Marketing Yourself in a Tough Market
Speakers are
Sue Connelly
President
Connelly Communications, Inc.
Founder of the KIT List
and
Gretchen Sand
Senior Partner and Co-founder
Skyline Recruiting Corporation
You can read the full details of their backgrounds, along with the meeting announcement here:
( http://www.sdforum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventID=13306 )
I spoke to Sue Connelly briefly and asked her what people would learn by attending.
"We both want to share our life experiences" in the job market, said Connelly. She had tips and techniques to share, not only for a normal economy, but also for these "historic times."
The objective is not only find work, but to find a job you really enjoy, for which you are fairly compensated.
She said that the real issue is "people helping each other." While there are tools to aid this, the "person to person personal touch" is what is key.
People will leave the meeting with some practical steps.
"There are some commonsense things that people actually don't do. And some common mistakes that cause you to shoot yourself in the foot," she said.
If you aren't getting called back, aren't getting follow-ups and return phone calls, her advice can help you analyze why.
Connelly promises that you will leave the meeting with some practical steps that you can take the next day.
-- -- --
I saw an advance preview of part of the presentation, which included a bullet point "Dinosaurs CAN fly." This I got to see.....
mh
---
Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
By: Mark Helfen
Our meeting next Monday (2/9) is on the topic:
Marketing Yourself in a Tough Market
Speakers are
Sue Connelly
President
Connelly Communications, Inc.
Founder of the KIT List
and
Gretchen Sand
Senior Partner and Co-founder
Skyline Recruiting Corporation
You can read the full details of their backgrounds, along with the meeting announcement here:
( http://www.sdforum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventID=13306 )
I spoke to Sue Connelly briefly and asked her what people would learn by attending.
"We both want to share our life experiences" in the job market, said Connelly. She had tips and techniques to share, not only for a normal economy, but also for these "historic times."
The objective is not only find work, but to find a job you really enjoy, for which you are fairly compensated.
She said that the real issue is "people helping each other." While there are tools to aid this, the "person to person personal touch" is what is key.
People will leave the meeting with some practical steps.
"There are some commonsense things that people actually don't do. And some common mistakes that cause you to shoot yourself in the foot," she said.
If you aren't getting called back, aren't getting follow-ups and return phone calls, her advice can help you analyze why.
Connelly promises that you will leave the meeting with some practical steps that you can take the next day.
-- -- --
I saw an advance preview of part of the presentation, which included a bullet point "Dinosaurs CAN fly." This I got to see.....
mh
---
Mark Helfen is a Marketing Consultant and Freelance Writer. He can be reached at mhelfen@wordpixel.com
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