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March 15, 2010. Call in at 12:55 p.m. Eastern time
The Old Launch Codes Won’t WorkTom GrantSenior AnalystForrester Research
2Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more information
For a copy of one of today’s presentations and to download a Product Management & Marketing Toolkit, visit www.forrester.com/pcampaustin
Toolkit includes:
• 3 pieces of free research
• 1 hour-long recorded Webinar “2010 Priorities for B2B Tech Community Marketing”
3Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agenda
• The traditional launch
• What changed
• The new launch
4Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agenda
• The traditional launch
• What changed
• The new launch
5Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
The old assumptions for launches
• New company!
• New product/service!
• Major product/service release!
• Minor product/service release!
• New partnership!
• New market!
• New marketing campaign!
6Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tech industry trends redefine launches
• Trends
– SaaS/cloud
– Agile
– Social media
– Shift from information technology (IT) to business technology (BT)
• Results
• Launches detached from releases
• New criteria for having launches
• Boundaries of the launch spread and blur
• Earlier involvement of key participants
• New ways to assess outcomes
7Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Traditional problems with launches
App. 75% of launches
fail to get desired results
Something’s lost in
transmission, or the wrong message is being sent
Vendors use launches to communicate value to customers
8Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Newer problems with launches
Some industry trends have increased the
amount of noise in the channel
It’s harder to get the attention of the intended audience
The number and diversity of
relevant audiences has increased
The answer is not to yell more
loudly
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Who owns the launch?
?
Corporatemarketing Product
marketing
Productmgt
Development
Partners
BusinessDevelopment
Fieldmarketing
Sales
Consulting
Support
Executivemgt
Training
10Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
What do we hope to achieve?
• Deliver a quality product
• Generate leads
• Retain customers
• Increase awareness
• Increase sales generally
• Differentiate from competition
• Increase sales within existing accounts
• Establish a foothold in a new market
• Position the company
• Deflect a competitor
• Maintain company morale
• Satisfy someone’s internal agenda
11Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
What’s our preferred way of marketing?
Source: February 2010, “Organizing For B2B Tech Community Marketing”
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What didn’t work as planned?
• The product?
• The messaging?
• The event?
• The people in charge?
• The rest of the company?
• The follow-up?
• The assessment?
13Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agenda
• The traditional launch
• What changed
• The new launch
14Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and SaaS: EFFECTS
• Greater frequency
• Greater pressure on company-wide readiness
• More immediate success or failure at demonstrating value
• Easier reach into new markets
• New options for campaign management
• Easier marketing assessment
15Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and SaaS: BEST PRACTICES
Be certain that you’re communicating value
on launch day
Use the impact on the customer as
leverage for getting the company ready
Take advantage of the SaaS opportunity to assess products, marketing, and sales
in new ways
16Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and Agile: ALIGNMENT
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Launches and Agile: EFFECTS
• Provides more opportunities for launches
• Most vendors launch after several iterations
• Re-defines concept of the product
• Re-defines customer engagement
• Disruptive to downstream groups
• Forces a new approach to the value developed and delivered
18Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and Agile: BEST PRACTICES
Perfect “just in time” launch techniques
Use short iterations to make corrections before the launch,
and assess the results afterwards
Involve key players in earlier iterations, including partners
and customers
19Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and social media: EFFECTS
• Unhappy customers become unhappy networks of customers
• Longer ramping-up to the launch
• Opportunities for earlier customer feedback
• Greater leverage for company readiness
• The conversation continues after the launch event
20Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and social media: BEST PRACTICES
Plan for a period of follow-through and assessment
Use the ongoing conversation to bring customers and partners on board before the
launch
Re-define the launch as an
ongoing discussion, not a one-shot
event
21Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and BT: EFFECTS
• Pressure to demonstrate the value of what’s being launched
• Pressure to demonstrate the ability to deliver
• New stakeholders that the launch must address
• New markets have different BT requirements
22Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Launches and BT: BEST PRACTICES
Use channel and implementation
partners to deepen your
understanding of the customer
Make customer-facing groups’
understanding of the customer’s perspective a
precondition of the launch
Make product managers and
product marketers experts in the
customer’s adoption of technology
23Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agenda
• The traditional launch
• What changed
• The new launch
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The purpose of the launch is changing
NEW HOTNESS:
It’s all about the customer
OLD AND BUSTED:
It’s all about the vendor
Here’s our new product, and the
price list, and the data sheet. Look at all the features. Aren’t you glad?
You’re a busy person, so I won’t waste your time. Here’s something that
should be valuable to you, and here’s how it will
help.
25Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
The new model
• Launch when you have something of value for the customer
• Launch when the customer can absorb it
• Launch when you can execute
• Launch when you can assess
• Launch when you can learn
Launch value, not products
!
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Equip your champion to
make a compelling case
to other stakeholders
Launches need to reach champions
Design the launch to reach your
champion within the customer
organization
27Entire contents © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Thank you
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Questions?
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