Tag Archives: Solution Marketing

December 13, 2011 · 10:00 am

Anticipation

Anticipation builds customer loyalty.

A few weeks back, I had a few “wow” experiences that demonstrated the power of anticipation. No matter that they were almost mundane: each experience improved my perception of the brand/company, service or location. And they offer great lessons for solution marketers.

Anticipated receipt

After filling up with gas at the nearby Hess Gas Station, I saw that the gas pump’s receipt printer was out of paper – which is a nuisance. But when I walked into the store to pick up a receipt, the cashier already had my receipt ready – before I could utter a single word. Wow! I’d say that I was actually more impressed with her anticipating my receipt needs than I would have been had the printer actually had paper. I’ve been filling up at this station because they had competitive gas prices. Now I’ll do it because they have great service as well. Continue reading →

Icebergs & Solution Launches

By Steve Robins

It’s what lurks below that drives solution launch success

Icebergs: pretty, grand, glistening in the afternoon sun. The stuff of movies. And even disasters like the sinking of the Titanic.

And yes, these icy wonders share more than a few traits with solution launches.

The process of launching a new solution is much like an iceberg. The most important trait? Just like an iceberg, you see only 10% of the effort above water. Up top and above the water, everything looks shiny and crisp. Pretty even. But just like an iceberg, a launch’s success is based on the 90% of effort, the foundation below the surface — the planning and preparation that sit well below the surface, invisible to the public and to many of your colleagues. Oh, and yes, just like an iceberg, a bad launch can, well, sink a ship. Yikes.

Let me explain. Continue reading →

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Filed under SEVA - Elements of Solution Marketing, SIVA - Elements of Solution Marketing, Software marketing, Solution, The Solution Marketing Blog

Tagged as Icebergs, Marketing, Solution launches, Solution Marketing, Solutions, Steve Robins, technology marketing

August 23, 2011 · 10:00 am

HP TouchPad @ $99 – Value?

By Steve Robins

No, this is not a good thing

Confession: I enjoy talking about “value” because sometimes, it’s counter-intuitive. For example: how can an expensive solution or product be a better value than an inexpensive solution or product?

Value has been making big news lately, especially in the turbulent world of tablet devices. Take a look at six months of HP TouchPad headlines: Continue reading →

Building Your Solution Marketing Strategy

By Steve Robins

Where Are You in the Solution Marketing Lifecycle?

The obvious part of solution marketing is what gets delivered at the end of the process in the go-to-market phase – materials, web content and more. But the heavy lifting begins well before. Following are highlights of the key phases required to build and implement a successful solution marketing strategy. Continue reading →

Typewriters, Secretaries and Solution Marketing Lessons

By Steve Robins

As I mentioned in Part I, Secretaries, Typewriters and Solutions, secretaries and typewriters are part of a solution. Following are a few lessons:

#1: Problems change slowly; solutions evolve quickly

As I already mentioned, business problems (creating final communications) remain relatively constant while solutions – the way of solving the problem – change at a faster pace. Continue reading →

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Filed under Solution, Solution Marketing

Tagged as Secretaries, Solution Marketing, Solution Marketing Lessons, Typewriters