Category Archives: Overviews

February 10, 2011 · 11:45 am

The Daily: It’s a NewsPad

– By Steve Robins

Industry transformation offers valuable lessons for solution marketers.  In fact, industry transformation often gets at the very heart of what a solution is and the benefit that it provides to customers.

Media in transition. With the advent of the Web (not exactly a new thing by now), social media (which they’re all trying to understand) and now tablet devices, the media and entertainment industry continues to transform itself.  It’s been a long slog as many companies have failed to make the transition to the digital age, believing that their product was inextricable from its medium. Continue reading →

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January 25, 2011 · 6:00 am

BMW Makes Joy. And You?

– By Steve Robins

Does Your Company Make and Sell a Solution?  Or a Product?

Rather than focusing on feeds and speeds, competitive comparisons, or sexy features, BMW’s Joy campaign focuses on the benefit that the entire automotive solution provides to BMW drivers: Joy.

“We realized a long time ago that what you make people feel is as important as what you make, and at BMW we don’t just makes cars, we make joy.”

— BMWUSA.com

Continue reading →

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December 28, 2010 · 6:00 am

Hire for Success

– By Steve Robins

Building a Successful Solution Marketing Function

The last post described how to start an industry and solutions marketing function, based on my own experience.  Today’s post will cover staffing for solution marketing in an enterprise (B2B) software company.  Many of these same concepts apply to B2B marketing in general.  I’ve even included a link to a sample job description (see below).   Continue reading →

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December 20, 2010 · 7:00 am

Getting Started in Industry and Solutions Marketing in 7 Steps

– By Steve Robins

7 Steps to Success

Lately, I’ve come across the following question a few times:

How do I get started in industry marketing?

Today, I’ll share tips based on nearly six years of starting and then running the industry and solutions marketing function for an enterprise software company.  I’m proud of the work that my team and I accomplished, which was emulated by other companies in our industry.

As you might suspect, industry marketing is a subset of solution marketing, focused on specific verticals such as financial services or government or energy.  Solution marketing principles apply to industry marketing as well.  Following are 7 steps to get started in industry marketing.    Continue reading →

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July 29, 2010 · 9:30 am

The Second Chasm

– By Steve Robins

Prospects Need to Cross a Chasm Too

If you’re in software marketing, you’re aware of Geoffrey Moore’s book, Crossing the Chasm.  The premise of the book, born out at companies like Oracle and Documentum (since acquired by EMC) is that companies must evolve and cross the “chasm” as they move from serving the early adopters to serving the larger and more lucrative early majority.  That’s the “first chasm.”

The Second Chasm

But there’s actually a second, less-known chasm that relates to the first.  The second chasm is crossed not by your company, but by your prospects.  To be successful, your software company needs to help prospects to make that leap too.  Failure to do so may prevent your company from crossing the first chasm.   Continue reading →

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