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High Tech Article Marketing on the Internet
2006-08-06 19:57:19
Many companies these days have a focus on Online Market ing , for pretty obvious reasons. The Internet has grabbed a hold of most markets, and is now the main source of information in most industries. In many it has also quickly becoming the actual center of revenue, via e-commerce activities on company websites and online retail sites. But like most marketing methods, competition quickly clogs up the available channels of reaching customers. This is especially true for the fast moving software and high tech markets that PJM Consulting addresses. Time to market and to the customer?s wallet is at a premium, when every company is attempting to establish themselves as the leader of an embryonic market. As a result, it?s getting harder all the time to reach the top of the organic search engine listings, and the cost of an Ad in PPC engines such as Google Adwords and Yahoo Overture continues to climb. Downloadable white papers work in B2B markets, if they are well targeted and written, bu...
More About: Article Marketing , High Tech

Gates and Microsoft
2006-08-06 19:57:19
One of the big news items in the last couple of weeks was Bill Gate s announcing that he was leaving Micro soft . It wasn?t really an earth shattering announcement; he is intending to transition out of a direct operational role with the company over a two year period, and will remain Chairman of the Board after the transition. I?d like to congratulate Mr. Gates on his enormous accomplishments in the technology industry. I would also like to applaud his coming transition to devoting most of his remaining career (which is considerable, since he is on 50 years old), to philanthropic purposes via his foundation. If he is as successful in his charitable pursuits as he has been in industry, the world will likely be a much better place for it. Warren Buffet?s recent announcement that he is going to give away the bulk of his fortune through the Gates Foundation, is great endorsement to his promise in that field. I?d love to see him consider supporting my favorite charitable cause, Autism Res...
More About: Soft

Is Advertising the Future of Software Revenue?
2006-08-06 19:57:19
There is a strong movement toward Internet-based software applications. Of this, there is little doubt. I have written on the SaaS trend in the past, and believe it is real. But sometimes market trends such as the move toward SaaS are overstated, both in terms of the speed of change, and also how much change the trend will ultimately affect a market. We have a word for this overstatement of a trend: ?hype?. So, is traditional software revenue model of licensing dead? Will all software eventually be ?given away? to the end user, and supported solely by advertising revenue?If you believe many of the pundits in the computer trade press, the answer is a resounding ?yes?.What do I believe? It?s a bunch of hooey. I?ve got a few gray hairs, and have been in the technology business for a while. In technology, this type of hype is neither unusual nor infrequent. For background purposes, let?s backtrack a bit, to few recent, major ?trends?, which were heralded as the ?next big thing? by the m...
More About: Software , Advertising , Future , War , Ware

A Special Appeal
2006-08-06 19:57:19
To all the loyal readers of the Morettini on <High Tech> Management:I rarely diverge from High Tech Management topics in this Blog. The following note is about a very important cause to me, and to society at large.I am participating in the upcoming San Diego Walk for Autism fundraiser, a charity event near to my heart. The Walk for Autism Research is the signature fundraising event of Autism Speaks/NAAR, one of the prominent parent-founded charities which funds Autism Research. I am asking for your generosity and seeking donations as part of my participation in the Walk--all donations going to Autism Research. You can find more information on the event at the San Diego NAAR/Autism Speaks-Walk for Autism website.The most important reason to contribute to Autism Research is the suffering of the children affected by this hideous disease, along with the difficulties it presents to their families. More than 50 years after it was first described, Autism remains a mystery, and is aff...
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Software and Technology Customer Service
2006-08-06 19:57:19
An under-rated competency, which should be considered more important to software and technology companies, is customer service. I guess that?s only natural; tech companies are very focused on gaining strategic advantage via technological advances and product differentiation. Once the product is in good shape, companies shift there focus, and become hell bent on marketing and sales activities to attract new customers. But what about taking care of existing customers?  And how about the operational details of what happens when someone?be it a prospect, new customer or existing customer?contacts the company for assistance? I find these are areas that software and tech companies aren?t ?naturally good at?. It?s not part of the DNA of most tech companies. Very seldom will you see a founder or CEO who came up on the support, or customer service side of the tech business.Because of this, customer support is quite often an afterthought, a detail that senior management never seems ...
More About: Software , Technology , Techno , Customer Service , Tech

Flattening of the Growth Curve
2006-08-06 19:57:19
In every company?s history there comes a time (or two or three or four times!) when your momentum slows, and the sales curve begins to flatten. This can be one of the most trying and frustrating times for software and technology companies. It?s certainly not as difficult as the startup phase, when ?crib death? is an ever present fear. And a no growth, flat revenue scenario is much preferable to declining sales combined with negative profitability that follows, which leads to a ?death spiral? if no effective action is taken.I do find this situation is often more confusing to company management than either the start up or death spiral scenarios. This is because it often occurs just after a period of fast growth and prosperity, where it seems that the company can do no wrong. As a result, senior managers are often in denial about what is happening?whereas in the startup or death spiral situations, the situation is much more obvious, usually motivating folks to take fast, decisive actio...
More About: Growth , Curve , Latte , Grow , Flat

Strategic Advantage
2006-08-06 19:57:19
How does a company compete in the long run? I?m not talking about day to day stuff?but what sets your company apart, and gives it a place in the marketplace that allows it to survive, and hopefully, thrive? There are a lot of different terms used to describe the ability to compete: strategic advantage, differential advantage, competitive advantage, unique value proposition, etc. But all these terms mean essentially the same thing?what have you got that the market wants, that other don?t? Drinking the Kool-Aid At PJM Consulting I have the opportunity to talk to a great many technology company CEOs, many which are of the early stage variety. I?m taken aback that some of them don?t even understand the concept of strategic advantage. To start a company, and not have thought about what is going to allow you to break into an existing market, seems pretty strange to me. Ignorance is bliss, I guess. A far greater number of CEOs understand the concept of strategic advantage, but hav...
More About: Trat , Stra , Strategic , Rate , Advanta

Search Engine Optimization
2006-08-06 19:57:19
Marketing on the Internet has been quite a hot topic for some time. That means different things to different people?Banner advertising, pay-per-click ads, email newsletters, direct marketing via email, affiliate marketing, Electronic Press Releases, etc. Any and all of these may be an important part of your optimal online marketing mix, depending upon the specifics of your business and resources. However, there is one online marketing method that nearly EVERYONE should be pursuing. In my consulting practice at PJM Consulting, I find that too many technology companies are not actively utilizing this marketing method, and it?s very surprising to me. I?m referring to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the practice of modifying the content and infrastructure of your website, to ensure that the Search Engine s find it, when someone enters a keyword search that is highly relevant to your site. This just doesn?t happen automatically?unfortunately. Offline Marketing Analogies M...

Promoting your content through RSS feeds
2006-08-06 19:57:19
To many of you, this article will be preaching to the choir. In fact, quite a few people already read these articles via an RSS feed in a newsreader, browser, or on their Google, Yahoo or MSN personalized homepage. If you haven?t already done so, you can subscribe to my articles simply by clicking on one of the icons on the right side of the Morettini on Management Blog, just below ?Google News? link. There is an icon for a generic XML feed, and also simple icons for adding my feed to your Newsgator Reader, or your MSN or Yahoo personalized page. There?s even a way to have the feed sent to you instantly via email as soon as it?s published, via the email subscription box provided by Feed blitz. So you can play around with receiving an RSS feed, right here on my site.However, RSS is still an emerging opportunity which many companies haven?t yet exploited. So for those of you not already using RSS in your business, here?s a brief tutorial:The origin of the term RSS is a bit hazy, and it...
More About: Promoting , Prom , Your , Content

Hiring and Retaining High Tech Employees
2006-08-06 19:57:19
Among the many interesting things that I get to examine in my Consulting Practice, one of the most fascinating is the differing cultures that are created within Software and Tech nology companies. Much of a company?s culture flows from the attitudes of the founders of the company. But the culture really consists largely of the people who are employed by make up the company. A company?s culture is a living, changing concept that is controlled by these employees in aggregate?from the CEO all the way down to the ?worker bees?. I believe that culture plays a huge role in the company?s success or failure in the long run. For this reason, as well as many other obvious ones, there is probably nothing more important to a high tech company?s long-term success, than hiring and retaining employees. So what?s the best way to hire ?the best? and motivate and retain them for the long haul? That?s the $64,000 question. There are many paths to success, and even many ways of accomplishing the same g...
More About: High Tech , Employees , Ring , Hiring

Software vs. Hardware
2006-08-06 19:57:19
Much of my consulting practice centers on working with early stage software companies. But I have substantial hardware market experience in my background, and I do take on consulting assignments with hardware companies. So what are the differences and similarities between successful software and hardware businesses? Capital Requirements One of the larger differences is that software companies generally require much lower capital to reach profitability and continued growth. This is primarily because of the lack of need to invest in expensive semiconductor development tools, semiconductor masks, manufacturing plants/equipment, manufacturing engineering personnel, unfinished goods inventory, higher cost of finished goods inventory, etc. So except for startups backed by substantial institutional capital, it?s much easier to startup software companies compared to their hardware counterparts. Margins Another important area where software companies have an advantage is in margins?...
More About: Hardware , Software , War , Ware , Hard

Outsourcing Software Development Offshore
2006-08-06 19:57:19
This has become a very hot topic in the last several years. I?m referring to the practice of companies in the US, and other developed countries, outsourcing software development projects to companies in lower cost, developing countries. This is a strategy that has ?taken off? and is rapidly becoming mainstream in the software industry. Much has been written on the social and macroeconomic consequences of this phenomenon. My take on it will be strictly from a business perspective. In my research in this area for a number of clients, several important questions popped to the forefront. I?ll address them one at a time. What are the circumstances whereby outsourcing to a lower cost country makes sense? This is a complex question with no simple answer. There are actually many reasons to consider outsourcing. The first and most obvious is to lower your development expenses, of course. How much can you save? The answer depends upon what your costs are in your home location, as wel...
More About: Software , Outsourcing , Software Development , Development , Men

Technology Sales & Marketing-Is a direct or indirect approac
2006-08-06 19:57:19
A question that often arises when my consulting practice engages with early stage companies is ?How should we sell our product? Should we build a sales force, or sell through distributors, dealers or OEM partners?? The answer, like most topics discussed in this forum, is rarely as simple or straightforward as the question itself. It depends?on a lot of different factors. First of all, if direct, does that mean building an expensive direct sales force, or a marketing driven model with direct sales from a website? If indirect, does it mean distribution through 11,000 mass retailers, or a select few, highly specialized, technical Systems Integrators? There are so many different options within the direct vs. indirect argument. I will tell you upfront that I have a bias toward using multiple channels?direct and indirect?if at all possible. It?s always been my opinion that this is usually the best way of achieving the highest total return, from the high product development investments...
More About: Marketing , Technology , Market , Techno , Sales

Maintaining and Editing your High Tech Blog
2006-08-06 19:57:19
Blogs have become important marketing tools for many companies these days. Of course, being in the forefront of technology means that software and tech companies are early adopters of business Blogs. Whether it?s for marketing purposes as an online newsletter, to obtain feedback from the customer base, to have dialogue with potential clients, or to simply add interesting content to your website thereby increasing its ?stickiness?, business Blogs are all the rage.It?s challenging enough to come up with the content to include in your Blog. What you don?t need is difficulty in implementing that content, quickly and easily, into your Blog. Unfortunately, some of the standard tools provided by the Blog software companies and services leave a bit to be desired. I use Blogger by Google as the infrastructure to my own Blog, Morettini on Management. I am generally happy with Blogger, as it has most of the features to meet my needs, and is generally stable. But one area where Blogger is weak...
More About: High Tech , Tech , Blog , Main , Your