Marketing Workshop - NASSCOM and IPMA
- 1. Srihari Palangala January 30, 2015 Views and thoughts expressed here are entirely mine and strictly personal.
- 2. Who you are, What you do and What you want out of this day Images for the examples from basic Google searches.
- 3. 1. Morning Session – Product Marketing • 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM: Introductions • 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM: Customer segmentation & Business Positioning (Srihari Palangala) • 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM: Product Positioning and Messaging (Kashyap Dalal) • 11:30 AM – 11:45 AM - Break • 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM - Pricing (Srihari Palangala) • 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM – Case studies and presentation (break into 4-5 groups, 30 min prep for groups, 5 min each presentation); Each group picks a business from within the team itself
- 4. 2. Afternoon Session - Go To Market • 2:00 – 2:45 PM - Field marketing overview (Srihari Palangala) • 2:45 – 3:30 PM - Digital marketing deep dive (Kashyap Dalal) • 3:30 – 3:45 PM – Break • 3:45 – 4:15 PM – Digital marketing dashboard discussion (Kashyap Dalal) • 4:15 – 4:45 PM – Field/Sales interlock dashboard (Kashyap Dalal) • 4:45 – 5:00 PM – Closing remarks/Q&A and Open Discussion • Spill Over topics if time permits – Tools & Automation, Branding and PR
- 5. • Product Management • Internal and inward organizational focus • Translating external market & segment requirements to product roadmap • Engagement with cross functional teams to build and ship the product • Product and Field Marketing • Product marketing – external focus – reaching target segments with product messaging, pricing and offers (more classic “4 Ps”) • Field marketing – reaching specific geos/regions carrying forward all products, engaging with local sales, driving closed business in the regions Org: Product or Service Product Mgmt. Product & Field Marketing External Market
- 6. “Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two-- and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.“ – Peter Drucker
- 7. 10:00 – 10:45 AM
- 8. • Why is Segmentation Important • Reach audiences where the resonance for your message is highest • Tailor your messages to the audiences – based on profile, pain areas etc. • As a business you can evaluate product implications based on priority segments being targeted • Segmentation develops focus which is important to build customer acquisition velocity • With effective segmentation, you can find the most appropriate marketing vehicles to reach audiences • Content building - Building References, Case studies and Testimonials more easily Segmentation makes you start seeing your target as “chunks” of addressable market.
- 9. Addressable “chunk” - Youth in middle class families Adjust your message to cater to the segment (“father’s motorbike”) Marketing vehicles - Use social media to reach the young audiences
- 10. • Creating Customer Segments • (Geo location, Biz Size/Vertical) AND (Buyer Characteristics OR Buyer Behavior) • Target characteristics - Geo Location, Business size/vertical (e.g., US market – SMBs; India – Higher education institutes; India – Android phone buyers; India – K-12 parents) • Buyer Characteristics – where they are looking to address specific pain points/wants (e.g., Parents monitoring and concerned about child safety) • Buying Behavior – where they are looking in specific areas – can we attach (e.g., SMB DSL buyer – Cloud solutions) Find segments where your product/Service is a Need (vs. a Want) (“Must have” vs. “Nice to have”).
- 11. Clean drinking water and Data safety are examples of a strong need among certain sections of people. Foot massage and spa are a need for distance runners.
- 12. • New Products – Building to first 100 customers and Beyond • Listen closely to customer voices in the market; Social is a great vehicle to listen to relevant conversations (Google Alerts to get the latest conversations/posts/etc. happening) • Through the listening keep a keen ear to observe patterns of sections that are interested • Identify the highest affinity sub-segment (niche) • Bowling Pin Strategy - Identify First Pin and then Second, Third etc. Try to identify neighboring pins so transferring content/messages is easy Broad awareness is not important here; You are laser focused on a specific sub- segment – create a dent in the sub-segment (In the extreme, a sub-segment is an individual prospect – that’s where marketing personalization kicks in fully).
- 13. Not just any taxi ride – but laser focus on ONLY those trying to get to the airport. Over the course of time, expand to offer auto rides as well.
- 14. • Considerations in segmentation for established products • Can you attach to segments where your other products are sold • Migrate customers from older product versions • Explore messaging & reaching New segment/verticals • Expand geographic footprint/reach (while keeping the same verticals); • Tweak product/pricing for selling to newer segments, e.g., lower cost variants of your product Explore which of the above options works for you to grow your established product business.
- 15. Building websites is not a new proposition – but GoDaddy and Google are reaching new segments among SMBs in India. Migrate older phone users with a switching benefit to the iPhone 4.
- 16. • B2B: Segmentation gets you to identify the target accounts/spaces • You will need to have tailor made messages and content for the various profiles/personas in the target accounts (user, influencer, buyer etc.) More about the messaging to various stakeholders in a bit, after we cover how we can position the business.
- 17. 10:00 – 10:45 AM
- 18. 1. Provide a wedge to open doors • An Elevator pitch version • A Longer version 2. Highlight product differentiators vs. the direct and indirect available alternatives • Overarching differentiators (e.g., “we support ALL platforms”) are better than trying to get into nitty-gritty feature comparison at the outset • Lower price is not a sustainable differentiator 3. Create some FUD about other solutions 4. Create an inbound pull, people start seeing you as the answer to an oft repeated question (or pain point) You are an answer to a common question asked by your target segments
- 19. Creating an inbound pull (“Proof October 14th”) and differentiator (“…is faster in performance”). A conversation starter when you say you are “#1 in Social Marketing”). Creating FUD around email solution.
- 20. • At the Customer • Technology beneficiary (Segment of people who experience a tangible impact because of your technology) • This defines the set of industry vertical segment(s) you target • The more you refine this, the better your targeting – so try to get as specific as possible in identifying this group (e.g., End users doing ABC & working in ABC vertical & company size > ABC with globally distributed offices etc.) • Influencer (Person(s) in the account who emerge as your champions) • Buyer (People who make decisions and sign the check) • It is possible that the same people are playing one or more of these roles in the customer account
- 21. • The Partner • Go to market partners • Reseller partners • The Investor • The people who back you • Key external stakeholders - the Partner and Investor, complete the gamut to be addressed • Clear positioning is also helpful to attract the right talent, but we will not get in to that here
- 22. • At the Customer • Technology beneficiary – How does it improve my workflow? • Influencer – How does it make my job easier/more effective? • Buyer – What is the ROI? Is there a strategic impact? • The Partner • Is this mutually beneficial? • The Investor • What is the opportunity?
- 23. TCO benefits (for buyer) and end user benefits (“deliver results faster”) discussed in the above messaging from AWS. Improvement in workflow when employee attendance can be tracked anywhere (content for the technology beneficiary). MessagetargetedtoTechnologyBeneficiary. MessagetargetedtoBuyer.
- 24. • At the Customer • Influencer, • Establish trust, credibility and confidence since you are a new player; Co- Marketing and References are helpful here • Access to, and showcase detailed technology benefits, including feature matrix (Industry awards also help) • Have a compelling set of collateral to help your Sales win against competition • Technical (before & after) comparison studies – e.g., Whitepapers; • That this is quickly becoming an industry best practice with business benefits • Answer FAQs; • Show how it makes their job easier – for e.g., fewer things to do; fewer decisions to take; fewer trouble tickets; ease of setup/deployment and maintenance etc. At the customer, establishing and winning the Influencer is the first step. Influencers need to be champions for your product cause
- 25. • Customer • Technology beneficiary, • Improved productivity benefits; • Easier to use than what you are accustomed to; • Show how their peers are benefiting – through case studies; If relevant, how other departments in the organization also benefit • Drive the urgency – why should they have the technology now? • Buyer, • Show the business benefit in the investment; • Third party validation voices (e.g., Analyst); • Partner • Content to show the interlock, i.e., how the technologies complement each other • Content to help them make the sales pitch (for resellers) • Investor • Your (& team) conviction, backed with data
- 26. Some things that your marketing content is covering – removing myths & establishing credibility and responding to FAQs; and showing how others are benefiting from a solution (peers benefiting).
- 27. • Like everything in your venture journey, it is “never a done deal” • You have placed a stick in the ground, but be ready to pivot where necessary in terms of refining the messaging and content • Be particularly ready to iterate and refine the ‘technology beneficiary’ Segment, Segment, Segment – your success around customer acquisition velocity largely depends on nailing this • Build your first version of the positioning and collateral after you have the first few (4-6) customers – so you have some external validation & input • Your marketing collateral (blogs, whitepaper, data sheets, website etc.) should continuously reflect your positioning
- 28. 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
- 29. • Product Trials and Seeding – get prospects to try the product/service before buying • Importance of Seeding • Prospects self-select when they choose to evaluate your product • It is a good indicator for qualified interest • You have a qualified base; Better chances to nurture the prospect to drive conversion to paid • Target and Improved Personalization - Send tailored communication based on what the prospect is evaluating/trying to do • Demonstrate network effects where possible (increased value of a product by virtue of others having it) – important when you are trying to create a standard across a community
- 30. Free trials – who should be eligible? All visitors? A section of them?
- 31. • Considerations • Remember it is a first experience of the product – so it is important to provide a great customer experience • People might prefer to try before purchase (especially if high value product) – also depends on the regions (behavior in emerging markets different from developed markets for instance) • Effectively & clearly including this in the Call To Action on the web pages
- 32. • Building a Successful Experience • Low touch model for trials – so prospects get the product and relevant content easily; Building an effective self-serve model (easy to get started) • Monitor the metrics – e.g., (a) on conversion of trial-ers to paid members (promos if necessary) (b) active use of the product during the trial etc. • What information to collect prior to allowing the trial (optimum balance – collect only that data which can be meaningfully used to increase conversion to paid)? • What is a the critical point when a trial user is “hooked” (quick proof points)? E.g., is it engagement or is it a successful POC? • Evaluate the duration of trials (30 days? 60 days?) – what is a convenient duration? • Evaluate the scope of trials (will you offer full product or only parts of the product selectively) • Trials can be instrumented – with Product hooks to know what features are being used, frequency of use etc. – important input to product management • Personalized communications can be sent based on prospect’s trial experience – plenty of optimization and A/B testing options on conversion
- 33. Make your trial sign-up easy – for e.g., allowing prospects to use other popular authentication mechanisms
- 34. • Product Pricing options to consider • How is competition pricing the product? How do you want to price relative to competition? Is it a new product with no competition (in which case you have more freedom on pricing decisions)? • Value based pricing (what are the Alternate options for the user/what benefits does it offer to users – evaluate this and base your price on the value offered to the user) • Cost+ : Mark up a price based on the cost for building the product; This is probably the worst option since it ignores demand and top line value elements • Premium Pricing: Price to what the market will bear (sustained or price skimming)
- 35. • Pricing – Fixed price (upfront) payment or Subscription? Subscription pricing also changes the dynamics of marketing to the customer • What is your Free Strategy? • Freemium - Give basic product (limited use of features) or some parts of the product free and charge for others • Freemium is an extended trial; Prolonged seeding mechanism • Freemium options, e.g., Free product to specific segments; Free users are customers as well since they invest time using the product – so product needs to perform well and deliver value;
- 36. Product can be made free for certain segments – like Education in this Autodesk example. Service can be free for a certain time (Spotify, though not in India). Other options – limit features, capacity, users, limited/no support, time.
- 37. • Introducing Product SKUs • Aim to maximize your share of wallet from the prospect • Recognize that prospects are at different requirement levels • For e.g., introducing SKUs for Enterprise (Premium), SMBs (Intermediate), Individuals/Consumers (Basic) (Free product can be outside of this)
- 38. • Co-marketing helps when • Partners are trying to reach the same sub-segment, but cross footprint expansion is possible to each other marketing databases OR • Sum is greater than the parts (bundling opportunities – e.g., better workflows/value for customer) OR • Special pricing or promotion incentives can be offered • Marketing to/through top influencers in the space
- 40. 2. Afternoon Session - Go To Market • 2:00 – 2:45 PM - Field marketing overview (Srihari Palangala) • 2:45 – 3:30 PM - Digital marketing deep dive (Kashyap Dalal) • 3:30 – 3:45 PM – Break • 3:45 – 4:15 PM – Digital marketing dashboard discussion (Kashyap Dalal) • 4:15 – 4:45 PM – Field/Sales interlock dashboard discussion (Kashyap Dalal) • 4:45 – 5:00 PM – Closing remarks/Q&A and Open Discussion • Spill Over topics if time permits – Tools & Automation, Branding and PR
- 41. 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
- 42. • Direct (from you) or Indirect (through a partner) • Direct • Online purchase & fulfilment (e.g., eCommerce, SaaS subscriptions) • Direct Field Salesforce (Inside sales, Account Managers, Business Development) • Indirect • Reseller partner • Solution partner • Via partner bundling
- 43. Pros Cons Build a direct relation with customer Legal contracting etc. will be required for every transaction through salesforce No margin loss Direct liability/exposure to solution/product deployment & use People costs with Salesforce (not applicable with online fulfilment though) Pros Cons Leveraged model – build scale and reach quickly Provide margin for intermediate partners Lesser exposure/risk Invest to build relevant mindshare and business growth Direct Indirect
- 44. • Online – Digital Marketing • Offline • Events, Tradeshows, Sponsorships • Other media – TV, Radio, Print • Tele-calling • Contact discovery • PR, references • Industry awards
- 45. • Content driven marketing (Drives Inbound, Self Selected audience largely) • Company Website & Visitor Conversion • Blogs • Whitepapers • Online Videos • Social • Search SEO • Online seminars • Online forums • Content on 3rd party sites • Mobile (App) • Reaching prospects (Advertising to prospects) • Email • Banner (Display) • Search SEM • Mobile (SMS) Time and effort; Generally low on $ cost though Time, effort & involves $ cost
- 46. 1. A blogger had posted an online review about a competing product – we immediately found this online 2. We were able to engage with the blogger and highlight our product differences 3. As a result, the blogger posted a review of our product as well and amplified our message to his audience (all of whom are again relevant readers) 4. All this happened in 2 days! With <1 hour of effort from us. How would this have worked in an Offline world?
- 47. Content Objective Marketing Collateral Awareness Lead Gen Nurture Thought Leadership Website X Blog X X Search SEO X X Online Forum X X 3rd party Articles X Email X X Social X X Mobile (SMS) X X Whitepaper X X X Online Seminar X X Banner X X Search SEM X X Online Video X
- 48. Must Have Good to Have Nice to Have B2B • Website & Visitor Conversion • Blog • Search SEO • Email • Whitepapers • Social (e.g., own LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) • Online seminars • Banner • Search SEM • Online forum engagement (3rd party) • Mobile (SMS or App) • Contributing to Third party website – content • Online videos B2C • Website & Visitor Conversion • Social (e.g., own LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) • Search SEO • Banner • Email • Blog • Online videos • Mobile (SMS or App) • Online forum engagement (3rd party) • Whitepapers • Search SEM • Contributing to Third party website – content • These are broad guidelines for a marketing mix; • You must determine the exact mix based on your specific product/service and business
- 49. • B2B • LP needs to provide information relevant to the incoming segment traffic; Customize the information highlighted on LPs • Have 1 or 2 prominent calls to action on the LP (Register Here, Download Trial etc.); Don’t go overboard asking for Info when they register • Monitor bounce rates of the landing page • B2C • It is more important to get the visitor to engage – e.g., on a travel portal, visitor could buy a ticket without having to create a log-in • Some form of ‘instant gratification’ is more important (e.g., quickly finding what they are looking for) Example: Salesforce page with ‘Contact Me’ as a CTA
- 50. Tactic Challenges Some things you could try Website Conversion Build segment based messaging; Try A/B tests; Bring in external credibility/references Blog Creating relevant and interesting content; Frequency of posts Engage the entire team to contribute – this is a culture; Discipline to 2 Posts/week Search SEO Showing up among top results for keywords Get expert help on SEO; Are there related words you can optimize for? Online Forum Finding the right forums; Engaging with caution (avoiding backlash) Setup Google alerts; Learn Advanced Google search really well! Don’t be pushy about your agenda 3rd party article This requires time! Make product marketing responsible for this Email Low open rates (<8-10%) Try other formats – e.g., plain text; Pick different days; Some vendors give great reports on email tracking; Social Sustaining engagement Build a content roll out calendar; Stick to it! Whitepaper Creating engaging content Hire techno marketers (i.e., your marketing person should have a good technical background) Online Seminar Driving the right audience Co-marketing; Try renting external databases Banner Click fraud Pay per lead; Move away from CPM Search SEM Conversion Improve your CTA; Try a different CTA Online Video Expensive, if you engage external vendors Record and build your own videos – tools available
- 51. • Build your persona slowly, do not be brash or impose yourself (or your brand) online • Invest the time to find the online influencers in your business; and then build engagement with them; e.g. – offer to do a guest post on their blog etc. • Be ready for positive and negative comments – take them in your stride and make corrections where necessary • People are generally approachable and they help – so engage when you are ready
- 52. • My recommendation 1. Start with Online – build up your ‘Must have’ tactics 2. Add Offline when you have the resources 3. Then leverage your established Online presence to amplify your Offline • Offline marketing vehicles • Events, Tradeshows & Sponsorships • Other media – TV, Radio, Print • Tele-calling • Contact discovery • PR & building customer references • Industry awards
- 53. Awareness Consideration Purchase Ensuring that the prospect is aware of the product Getting the prospect to try or consider your product prior to purchase decision Driving the purchase of the product (closure of business with prospect)
- 54. Awareness Consideration Purchase New Visits to website Inquiries received Revenue
- 55. Awareness Consideration Purchase Search, Email, Display, Social, PR/AR Online and Offline events Tele-calling Website leads Promotions (Pricing)
- 56. • Marketing – generates qualified leads that have the potential for business closure (in a certain time period) • Marketing hands off the leads to Sales • Sales converts a portion of the leads to closed business • Marketing – should ideally influence 15-20% of the closed business (i.e., 20% of the closed business in a quarter should come from Marketing leads) • Marketing generates qualified leads to support the Sales funnel from opportunity identification to closure
- 57. • spalangala@gmail.com The content in the deck is what I am sharing based on my experience and learning over the years; I hope it helps you in your startup journey as you distil some of the information and apply some of the points in your own context(s).