by Hank Barnes | May 15, 2013 | Submit a Comment
This past weekend my daughter (who I have referenced in several posts) graduated from NC State University–Summa Cum Laude and Phi Betta Kappa and heading on to UNC Chapel Hill for Medical School(proud parent addition of information irrelevant to this story). During the weekend, she took several out of town visitors on a tour of [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: acoustic mirrors, communications, context, marketing
by Hank Barnes | April 11, 2013 | 1 Comment
I have been a fan of Outside-In Thinking for a long time. In the late ’90s, we used the principles of Outside-In thinking to position the approach of our content management solution in the market. Our message was that the furor over the growing amount of content was meaningless. What mattered is managing the content [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: customer centric, customer experience, marketing, outside-in, sales
by Hank Barnes | April 4, 2013 | 1 Comment
My daughter is very talented (I have to admit). After graduating from NC State this year with a 4.0 average, she is heading to UNC Med School. Additionally, she was an all-star cheerleader for many years and also did gymnastics. A few years ago, she wanted to learn to play volleyball (my sport). While she [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: adaptability, marketing, sales
by Hank Barnes | March 28, 2013 | 2 Comments
A few years ago, I was interviewing for a VP of Marketing job with a local software provider. During the interview, the CEO posed this question: “I want to be known as the best company to work for in the Triangle. How will you make that happen?” This was an interesting question, and a big [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: authenticity, marketing, trust
by Hank Barnes | March 20, 2013 | 1 Comment
Last night, I went to see AWOLNation at a small club in Raleigh (note: While I was probably one of the oldest people there, my musical tastes are geared toward modern alternative bands that are not mainstream). The concert was entertaining and intense. At one point the lead singer encouraged the audience to crowdsurf and [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: crowdsurfing, marketing, trust
by Hank Barnes | March 4, 2013 | 2 Comments
Every technology vendor relies on demonstrations as part of their sales efforts. Customers want to see what the solution does and how it does it. We’ve also heard the horror stories about demonstration failures at big events. While that can be nerve wracking, both for the executive presenting and the team supporting him or her, [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: demonstrations, demos, marketing, product marketing
by Hank Barnes | February 27, 2013 | Comments Off
We are now living in an era of total information and sensory overload. It is possible to find anything on the Internet, but that can also be like finding a needle in a haystack. Additionally, multi-tasking is the norm with figures showing the number of people using Smartphones and Tablets while watching TV rising at [...]
Comments Off
Category: Go to Market Tags: engagement, marketing, messaging
by Hank Barnes | February 21, 2013 | 1 Comment
Powerpoint presentations continue to be a key communications tool. Platforms like Slideshare, Brainshark, and others are increasing the potential value of presentation decks by offering other ways to deliver the story. A great presentation is memorable, but bad ones tend to stick out even more, like and unpleasant odor. To combat this, many organizations create [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: marketing, presentations
by Hank Barnes | February 19, 2013 | 1 Comment
I am currently working on some research for technology vendors around differentiation and positioning. The note should publish soon, but the process has served as a stark reminder of just how hard differentiation is today. While the amount of competition is a big factor, the saying “we have met the enemy, and they are us” [...]
Category: Go to Market Tags: marketing, positioning
by Hank Barnes | February 10, 2013 | Comments Off
When I got my first tablet over a year ago, a Kindle Fire (I’m more of an Amazon guy than an Apple guy), I was struck by the experience. The Fire, which I have since upgraded to the new larger HD version, is really more of a multi-meida content consumption device than a general purpose tablet. And [...]
Comments Off
Category: Go to Market Tags: go-to-market, marketing, tablet
