Standards-based marketing – an antidote “Broaden the Debate” Part 4
Part 4 – Broaden the Debate
I’m continuing this series of blogs here by looking at the techniques that software vendors can use to create the “illusion” of differentiation in markets where technical standards have led to little material product difference.
So moving on from my last blog where I looked at the way an organisation can differentiate based on the way that they sell, this entry will look at techniques to move the focus away from the technology and onto some other element of the proposition where real differentiation between vendors exists.
I should perhaps first acknowledge that achieving this sort of holistic approach to taking a proposition to market is not the work of moments. It takes… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, differentiation, go-to-market, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Tactics, positioning, product marketing | 
competition, competitive, Danny Goodall, differentiation, Lustratus, marketing strategy, product marketing, REPAMA, standards, Strategic Marketing | 
Leave a comment“Aim wider”, “focus everywhere” and other oxymorons
I’ve just had a conversation with a friend, an ex-colleague who was picking my brains (for free I might add!) about what he could do to make his sales year look better.
I asked him how his product was positioned and where his focus was on the market. He told me, and in doing so mentioned 3 industries, 3 market categories and 4 sub market segments, 4 or 5 target audiences and a similar number of problems they address in each of the 3 industries. I told him that this isn’t a focus. It’s a hedging of bets. It’s a baiting of many hooks in the vain hope of landing at least… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, go-to-market, ideal customer, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Tactics, pain, positioning, product marketing, prospects, reason to buy, usp | alternative, audience, benefit, competitive, Danny Goodall, focus, lead generation, Lustratus, marketing strategy, product marketing, prospecting, REPAMA, Target audience | Leave a commentAudience Strata
In infrastructure software sales and marketing, Lustratus categorises the primary end user target audience as one or more of the following three categories:
- IT Technical – Represents the overtly technical disciplines within the IT organisation that have no management, strategic or commercial responsibilities
- IT Business – Represents the higher management levels of the IT organisation that have strategic and/or financial responsibilities
- Business – Represents the line of business functions outside of the IT organisation
Whilst there are many subtle distinctions between these these layers a general description of the types of positions and the role of they play in enterprise software sales for infrastructure software is shown in the diagram below:
Danny Goodall
Related posts that you might also… Continue reading
Positioning and the Positioning Statement
Positioning and the Positioning Statement
This page contains a summary of a series of blog entries I made during January and February 2009. It describes the format of the positioning statement that we use in the REPAMA competitive intelligence methodology. I refer to the concept of positioning and the positioning statement frequently so I wanted to pull them all together in once place. So here you are.
Danny Goodall
Links to Original Posts
The Positioning Statement
FOR… positioning element
WHO…positioning element
OUR…positioning element
IS A…positioning element
THAT PROVIDES…positioning element
UNLIKE…positioning element
OUR PRODUCT…positioning element
Part 1 – Positioning
Happy 2009! I’ve been in debate with a number of correspondents about the layout and format of the positioning statement… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, differentiation, go-to-market, ideal customer, marketing, Marketing Strategy, positioning, product category, product marketing, product name, reason to buy, Uncategorized, usp | alternative, audience, benefit, competition, competitive, competitor, customer pain, Danny Goodall, ideal customer, Lustratus, main benefit, messaging, offer category, positioning, positioning statement, primary alternative, primary reason to buy, product category, product marketing, product name, REPAMA, Strategic Marketing, target customer, unique sales proposition, usp | 1 CommentBook recommendation – Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Ries and Trout
As I mentioned in this blog entry on the Positioning Statement, I learned a lot from Al Ries and Jack Trout‘s book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. My copy, published in 2000 is the 20th anniversary edition and I must admit to thinking that its relevance may have diminished over the the 20+ years since it was published. That’s not the case as the concept of positioning and the associated disciplines and exercises really haven’t changed that much in that time.
That said many of the examples, and the book uses hundred of examples and case studies to make its point, are a little dated. Whilst an attempt has been made to bring… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, go-to-market, marketing, Marketing Strategy, positioning, product marketing, Recommended Reading | Al Ries, book, books, competition, Danny Goodall, Jack Trout, Lustratus, marketing strategy, positioning, product marketing, REPAMA | Leave a commentPart 8 – The “OUR PRODUCT [has this unique selling proposition] element from the positioning statement
The Unique Selling Proposition
Throughout this series of blogs I’ve been examining the format of the positioning statement that we use in our REPAMA consultancy and analysis services.
In this final entry in the series I’m going to close out by looking at the pay-off, the crescendo, the exclamation mark at the end of the positioning statement – the USP or unique selling proposition.
But first, and for one last time, let’s take a look at this element in the context of the complete positioning statement.
FOR [the ideal customer] WHO [has this specific pain or problem] OUR [product name] IS A[product category] THAT PROVIDES [this main benefit and reason… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, esb, go-to-market, marketing, Marketing Strategy, product marketing, usp, Vendor-Related Posts | benefit, competition, competitive, Danny Goodall, esb, ESB Guidance, Lustratus, marketing strategy, microsoft, oracle, positioning, positioning statement, product marketing, REPAMA, Strategic Marketing, strategy, tibco, usp | Leave a commentPart 7 – The “UNLIKE [the primary alternative]” element from the positioning statement
The Primary Competitor or Alternative
I’ve been looking at the positioning statement In this series of blogs. This entry will focus on the UNLIKE [the primary alternative or competitor] element.
So just to recap here we’re constructing a natural language statement that captures a number of key strategic marketing positioning elements. This particular element in the positioning statement above is where the ideal customer’s alternative to our product is defined.
First let’s see this element in the context of the complete positioning statement.
FOR [the ideal customer] WHO [has this specific pain or problem] OUR [product name] IS A[product category] THAT PROVIDES [this main benefit and reason to buy] UNLIKE [the… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, go-to-market, ideal customer, marketing, Marketing Strategy, positioning, product marketing, usp | alternative, competition, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, competitive, Competitive Marketing, competitor, Danny Goodall, Lustratus, marketing strategy, positioning, positioning statement, product marketing, REPAMA, Strategic Marketing | Leave a commentPart 6 – The “THAT PROVIDES [main benefit]” element from the positioning statement
The Main Benefit or Reason to buy
In this series of blogs I’m exploring the format of the positioning statement that Lustratus uses in our REPAMA research methodology.
Today I’m looking at one of, if not the most important elements. This is an element that in my experience vendors often find the most difficult to define about their own offering. This is the “THAT PROVIDES [main benefit]” element. First some let’s look at how this element fits into the context of the complete positioning statement.
FOR [the ideal customer] WHO [has this specific pain or problem] OUR [product name] IS A[product category] THAT PROVIDES [this main benefit and reason to… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, esb, go-to-market, marketing, Marketing Strategy, positioning, product marketing, reason to buy, Vendor-Related Posts | audience, benefit, competition, competitive, Competitive Marketing, Danny Goodall, esb, Lustratus, marketing strategy, positioning, positioning statement, product marketing, reason to buy, REPAMA, Strategic Marketing, strategy | Leave a commentPart 5 – The “IS A [product category]” element from the positioning statement
Product Category
Continuing this series of blogs where we are looking at the positioning statement format that Lustratus uses in our REPAMA research methodology. In this blog entry we’re going to look at one of the elements that usually, but not necessarily, picks itself. This entry is looking at the “IS A [product category]” element here.
So as usual let’s look at the context of this element in the wider positioning statement.
FOR [the ideal customer] WHO [has this specific pain or problem] OUR [product name] IS A [product category] THAT PROVIDES [this main benefit and reason to buy] UNLIKE [the primary alternative or competitor] OUR PRODUCT [has this unique selling proposition].… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, Competition and Competitive Intelligence, esb, go-to-market, marketing, Marketing Strategy, positioning, product category, product marketing | competition, Danny Goodall, esb, Lustratus, marketing strategy, positioning, positioning statement, product category, product marketing, REPAMA | Leave a commentPart 4 – The “OUR [product name]” element from the positioning statement
The Our Product Element
In this series of blogs we’re looking at the elements of the positioning statement format that Lustratus uses in our REPAMA research methodology.
In this entry I’m going to tackle one of the easier elements, where little specific planning or strategy is needed. Here we’re looking at the “Our [product name]” section of the positioning statement. So as usual let’s look at the context of this element in the wider positioning statement.
FOR [the ideal customer] WHO [has this specific pain or problem] OUR [product name] IS A[product category] THAT PROVIDES [this main benefit and reason to buy] UNLIKE [the primary alternative or competitor] OUR PRODUCT [has… Continue reading
Posted in All Blog Categories, communication, esb, go-to-market, marketing, Marketing Strategy, positioning, product marketing, product name, Vendor-Related Posts | Danny Goodall, esb, Lustratus, marketing strategy, positioning, positioning statement, product marketing, product name, REPAMA, Strategic Marketing, strategy | 1 Comment
- On Informatica, Evangelism, Audience Strata and BIG-DATA
- The marketing strategies of open source versus closed source ESBs
- Part 2 – First output from REPAMATron – WSO2 versus FuseSource versus Talend versus the ESB market
- First output from REPAMATron – WSO2 versus FuseSource versus Talend versus the ESB market
- WSO2 – Fits in between Talend and FuseSource…
- WSO2, or rather one of its competitors, has thrown its hat into the ring
- Wordcount.org – it counts words…
Recent Comments
May 12, 2011 (12:01) The Goodall Technology Reading Ease Index - How Complex is Your Marketing Copy? Hmm. I really do like the name Sarah but what about my ego? If I were to call the index 'GoodRead...
May 12, 2011 (11:36) The Goodall Technology Reading Ease Index - How Complex is Your Marketing Copy? I suggest calling it the GoodRead Index. Maybe it's over-reaching a bit, but you'll just have to ...
October 14, 2010 (4:19) Truth Denied? The Software Appliance Revisited. I hope you could tell that I was being more than a little flippant here Jacques. Perhaps I should...
October 13, 2010 (1:56) Truth Denied? The Software Appliance Revisited. Allow me to disagrre. At a customer, we have used Datapower for years to process XML (BTW, it is ...
June 7, 2010 (4:38) New Report From Lustratus Research: A Competitive Review of SOA Appliances Pete,Thanks for your comments, and those of your colleague. I think Danny has answered the 'mar...
June 4, 2010 (4:03) New Report From Lustratus Research: A Competitive Review of SOA Appliances Hi,I'd very much like to develop a point made in the report where it is asserted that software ...
May 6, 2010 (12:35) New Report From Lustratus Research: A Competitive Review of SOA Appliances Thanks for your comment Blake. This is a marketing-focused blog that looks at different vendors' ...
May 5, 2010 (1:23) New Report From Lustratus Research: A Competitive Review of SOA Appliances Hello There - It seems that this is a very provocative report, especially with respect to the sta...
April 14, 2010 (2:57) The Decision Making Unit for Cloud Computing Nice Technology Related Blog. Will visit again.
October 16, 2009 (5:56) The Decision Making Unit for Cloud Computing Very interesting point of discussion. I would be very interested to hear your results.