– By Steve Robins
The iPad Solution. Why all the fuss about the Apple iPad? What makes it special? Read on to better understand the potential success of the iPad. Hint: the iPad is more than a device… it’s a solution.
The original post from April 4 has been split into two posts:
Filed under Case Studies, Solution Marketing, Solutions
– By Steve Robins
Sometimes the best solution marketing is about value.
It’s been one of the most interesting solution value stories of the last 18 months: ERP vendors’ exhorbitant support prices (at Oracle’s 90% margins) and SAP’s botched attempt to raise prices even further. It’s pretty obvious that ERP vendor greed has further weakened customer relationships while opening the door to a new cadre of support vendors.
ERP vendors charge high maintenance and support prices that are essentially insurance policies that enable their clients to receive upgrades and support. Problem is, many companies don’t need – and can’t afford – the broad and expensive maintenance and support provided by ERP vendors, so they’ve moved to competitive support firms like Rimini Street.
Yesterday’s sacking of SAP’s CEO is only the latest chapter in this tale. Continue reading
Filed under Solution Marketing, Value
– By Steve Robins
This past weekend, I attended the inaugural WordCamp Boston at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge, MA. WordCamp was a great opportunity to dig deeper into the WordPress platform that powers The Solution Marketing Blog. The conference offered a special bonus as well: ten years after the Cluetrain Manifesto was first published, two of the authors, Doc Searls and David Weinberger, participated in a discussion with the Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner. The conference had an interesting mix of attendees – both technical consultants/developers and business bloggers. As is the case for most xCamps (ProductCamp, CloudCamp, etc), the atmosphere and program was informal, collegial and educational.
Filed under Resources (additional), Social Media, Solution Marketing
– By Steve Robins
It’s pretty safe to say that until earlier this year, few if any people defined Solution Marketing. Sure, Solution Selling has been around for so long that it’s almost passé now. And it seemed that just about every tech company offered solutions of some kind – be they functional or industry solutions. But few if any folks had ever defined the process of solution marketing for technology. That changed in February 2009 with the publication of this blog and the presentation, Introduction to Solution Marketing, which was first presented at the inaugural ProductCamp Boston.
Now I’ve updated the presentation. Check it out at:
Also, be sure to check out the Solution Marketing Best Practices presentation:
Comments welcome!
Filed under Solution Marketing
The Strategic Role of Product Marketing
Presentation at ProductCamp ON>LINE Friday June 11 at 1:15 pm ET
Register – free to attend. Learn more.
 Steve Robins has been helping companies to transform their marketing focus from technology platforms to customer solutions -- for over 10 years as a tech analyst and marketer at EMC Documentum, KANA and The Yankee Group. More... |
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