P-Camp - Product Camp 2011 - is an annual barcamp for people who are product managers and in related fields. I have been at the last few, and it is a day well spent.
Barcamp's (barcamp.org) are free or near-free, open source meetings - the agenda is usually set at the start of the day.
Product Camp this year will be April 2. It's free. but you must register to get a space.
Sponsored and organized by SVPMA - which is a great service for the Silicon Valley tech community.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Your Linkedin network - the one you already have - can be the key to getting your startup moving, with investors, partners, customers, or employees. Hear one of Linkedin's founders explain how.
By Mark Helfen
As you try to start up your startup, you have no brand, or at least no brand recognition. Making it difficult to attract investors, partners, employees, and customers - the very things that would get you some recognition. The result, according to the speaker at next MarketingSIG meeting (March 17) is a "catch-22."
But by using Linkedin and the personal network you already have, you can break this cycle, and get the contacts you need to get your business going.
Our speaker, Konstantin Guericke, was one of Linkedin's founders, and its first marketing VP. He is currently a partner at 50505 labs, which helps entrepreneurs get the business running. Before that, he was CEO at Jaxtr, a social communications startup.
In speaking to him about his presentation next week, its clear he is both a fan or Linkedin, and expert on startup entrepreneurs using the network, and he will share some of that knowledge in his presentation.
As you try to start up your startup, you have no brand, or at least no brand recognition. Making it difficult to attract investors, partners, employees, and customers - the very things that would get you some recognition. The result, according to the speaker at next MarketingSIG meeting (March 17) is a "catch-22."
But by using Linkedin and the personal network you already have, you can break this cycle, and get the contacts you need to get your business going.
Our speaker, Konstantin Guericke, was one of Linkedin's founders, and its first marketing VP. He is currently a partner at 50505 labs, which helps entrepreneurs get the business running. Before that, he was CEO at Jaxtr, a social communications startup.
In speaking to him about his presentation next week, its clear he is both a fan or Linkedin, and expert on startup entrepreneurs using the network, and he will share some of that knowledge in his presentation.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Content is (still) king, and email is (still) a "really efficient" way to deliver it.
By Mark Helfen
At last weeks SDForum Marketing SIG meeting (February 14), speaker Daniel Greenberg presented examples of a carefully designed strategy for internet B2B sales.
But given all of the technological sophistication available, the monitoring and distribution tools that can be used, a couple of older ideas are critical - content is still king, and email is still a "really efficient" way to deliver that content.
Greenberg is Chief Marketing Officer for Simply Hired. But his presentation discussed strategies he used when he worked (also the CMO) at TrialPay.
Simply Hired is a web aggregator that searches job listings on many web sites - a specialized search engine. This was not the focus of his presentation, and Greenberg gave only a brief overview of the site. The conclusion is that if you are looking for a new or different job you should check it out.
TrialPay's marketing strategy was the topic of the evening. TrialPay "helps online companies sell more by placing advertising around their transactions," and his task was to get more of this business at a minimum cost, with the least human intervention. From his perspective, marketing's budget is decided by how much revenue the marketing strategy delivers, which is a motivation for an effective plan.
Marketing is moving from an art to a science. The web has made things much more measurable, and new tools allow you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
At last weeks SDForum Marketing SIG meeting (February 14), speaker Daniel Greenberg presented examples of a carefully designed strategy for internet B2B sales.
But given all of the technological sophistication available, the monitoring and distribution tools that can be used, a couple of older ideas are critical - content is still king, and email is still a "really efficient" way to deliver that content.
Greenberg is Chief Marketing Officer for Simply Hired. But his presentation discussed strategies he used when he worked (also the CMO) at TrialPay.
Simply Hired is a web aggregator that searches job listings on many web sites - a specialized search engine. This was not the focus of his presentation, and Greenberg gave only a brief overview of the site. The conclusion is that if you are looking for a new or different job you should check it out.
TrialPay's marketing strategy was the topic of the evening. TrialPay "helps online companies sell more by placing advertising around their transactions," and his task was to get more of this business at a minimum cost, with the least human intervention. From his perspective, marketing's budget is decided by how much revenue the marketing strategy delivers, which is a motivation for an effective plan.
Marketing is moving from an art to a science. The web has made things much more measurable, and new tools allow you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Closing B2B business without your prospect being touched by a human being...
By Mark Helfen
Find business prospects .. nurture them to close .. with no human intervention?
Its common in the consumer world - when was the last time you called someone at Amazon for a book recommendation? But less so in business-to-business marketing, where customers expect to speak to a human before purchasing.
But at Monday's (February 14) SDForum Marketing SIG meeting Daniel Greenberg will explain how it's done. In his last position, he designed a closed loop system to get business without sales intervention.
Greenberg is currently Chief Marketing Officer at Simply Hired. He has more than 20 years of marketing experience, including 5 years as a C-level executive. He has a BA in economics from Oberlin College, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
According to Greenberg, you can close business "without your prospect being touched by a human being."
Greenberg's system sources prospects from social media, and then nurtures them along to a close with marketing automation and CRM software. While the tools are high tech, the products sold don't need to be. Greenberg says that a wide range of products can be sold this way, all except the very high end.
Designing his initial system was hard said Greenberg. So he has some techniques, tips and tricks so you gain from the benefit of his experience.
A few examples:
- How to set up a flow chart to manage prospect nurturing.
- How to do mass customization of emails.
- He will share the metrics and measurements he uses to manage the process, and the "CMO dashboard" he used to monitor the marketing process.
Please note that the MarketingSIG now has a Meetup page - Please sign up if you plan to attend. If the meeting lists full, please sign up to be wait listed.
=============
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
=============
Find business prospects .. nurture them to close .. with no human intervention?
Its common in the consumer world - when was the last time you called someone at Amazon for a book recommendation? But less so in business-to-business marketing, where customers expect to speak to a human before purchasing.
But at Monday's (February 14) SDForum Marketing SIG meeting Daniel Greenberg will explain how it's done. In his last position, he designed a closed loop system to get business without sales intervention.
Greenberg is currently Chief Marketing Officer at Simply Hired. He has more than 20 years of marketing experience, including 5 years as a C-level executive. He has a BA in economics from Oberlin College, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
According to Greenberg, you can close business "without your prospect being touched by a human being."
Greenberg's system sources prospects from social media, and then nurtures them along to a close with marketing automation and CRM software. While the tools are high tech, the products sold don't need to be. Greenberg says that a wide range of products can be sold this way, all except the very high end.
Designing his initial system was hard said Greenberg. So he has some techniques, tips and tricks so you gain from the benefit of his experience.
A few examples:
- How to set up a flow chart to manage prospect nurturing.
- How to do mass customization of emails.
- He will share the metrics and measurements he uses to manage the process, and the "CMO dashboard" he used to monitor the marketing process.
Please note that the MarketingSIG now has a Meetup page - Please sign up if you plan to attend. If the meeting lists full, please sign up to be wait listed.
=============
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
=============
Friday, January 14, 2011
By Mark Helfen
"Your brand yourself every day."
"You have a brand, whether you like it or not."
"Great work does not equal a great reputation." (Perhaps this last one could be the most difficult for engineering types.)
These were a few of the things you would have heard at the last SDForum MarketingSIG (January 10) from speaker Karen Kang, an expert on personal and corporate branding. Kang is principal of Branding Pays, a consulting practice that helps both corporations and individuals brand them self. Or maybe more accurately, helps them establish and manage a reputation that helps with their marketing.
Kang, a former partner at Regis McKenna, one of the valley's premier PR firms, spoke to an overflow audience at the regular monthly meeting held at EMC. (And thanks to EMC, both for the space and the food.) Her presentation focused on the idea that your brand, or the reputation that you have in the eyes of others, needs to be managed. Just doing your work expertly isn't enough.
"Brand is both a noun and a verb," said Kang, meaning that your brand is your image and reputation, but developing or changing your brand is an activity that requires work.
The work starts with both your professional competence, and your core values. Your brand starts with results you can actually deliver.
You need to "start getting expert in something, to make you stand out from the pack." Most people have skills and competence in their background that can be the core of their brand. But as with all marketing, doing everything isn't a good strategy. You need to focus on a small number of things that match your core beliefs and objective, and that will make a memorable impression with your target market
Kang's model is a cake with icing. The cake represents what you are really good at - what you can deliver. The frosting is your presentation - the outside layer. Maybe your personality - the immediate thing people feel when you walk into the room. Being "attractive, engaging, and likeable."
Once you have developed your brand, at least to your own satisfaction, the next step is to make it visible to others. One step is developing a "third party reference structure of endorsements." This could include writing, blogging, or speaking.
Kang also has a 90/10 rule - 10 percent of the people have 90 percent of the influence. Part of your branding strategy is finding those 10 percent - your brand "eco-system" that helps transmit your branding message.
The end is a reputation that is focused, clear, and compelling - what people will remember about you - your brand.
=============
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
=============
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