Results tagged “shaping strategy” from The Emory Marketing Institute Blog
Most software companies are notoriously bad at expressing their value propositions in anything resembling English. Instead they resort to the technical jargon and "geek-speak" to develop products named after their favorite geek expressions - exhibit A: "MetaCMDB" and exhibit B: "BMC Discovery." One might be excused for thinking they went to the same branding school as the pharmaceutical companies.
As is often the case with labels and designations, what you name your product or solution actually determines to a significant measure - your success, or lack thereof. An example that comes to mind is the term "IT Service Management" which is an industry designation which was meant to be centered on the customer's perspective of IT's contribution to the business. Can you tell? I can't.
So a few years ago, one of the vendors in this same marketspace came up with the term"business service management" to show that IT was now aligned with a company's business objectives. The organizing principal of business service management is that IT departments must monitor and measure their services from a business perspective.In other words, business service management is "whatever is required to align the IT organization to the needs and demands of the business" (see Keyworth).
Even though this particlar vendor coined the term, it was unable to brand it in such a way that gave it ownership. To be sure, it started ahead of the pack, and continues to lead, but the other top three or four vendors in the industry have nearly caught up. The ultimate irony, the rivals are also using the phrase "business service management."
So how could the thought-leader have maintained a branded position?
Unfortunately, they lacked the marketing and branding know-how to do so. They didn't trade mark the term, or even use it as a "tag line" for their business. They failed to create and nurture a community of prospects and customers around their idea. In short, they left the barn door open.
The lesson?
If you're going to lead the market with a shaping strategy, you must follow through on branding your initiative in a way that belongs to you, particularly in the mind of the prospective customer.
P.S. - see how the French go overboard >>
As is often the case with labels and designations, what you name your product or solution actually determines to a significant measure - your success, or lack thereof. An example that comes to mind is the term "IT Service Management" which is an industry designation which was meant to be centered on the customer's perspective of IT's contribution to the business. Can you tell? I can't.
So a few years ago, one of the vendors in this same marketspace came up with the term"business service management" to show that IT was now aligned with a company's business objectives. The organizing principal of business service management is that IT departments must monitor and measure their services from a business perspective.In other words, business service management is "whatever is required to align the IT organization to the needs and demands of the business" (see Keyworth).
Even though this particlar vendor coined the term, it was unable to brand it in such a way that gave it ownership. To be sure, it started ahead of the pack, and continues to lead, but the other top three or four vendors in the industry have nearly caught up. The ultimate irony, the rivals are also using the phrase "business service management."
So how could the thought-leader have maintained a branded position?
Unfortunately, they lacked the marketing and branding know-how to do so. They didn't trade mark the term, or even use it as a "tag line" for their business. They failed to create and nurture a community of prospects and customers around their idea. In short, they left the barn door open.
The lesson?
If you're going to lead the market with a shaping strategy, you must follow through on branding your initiative in a way that belongs to you, particularly in the mind of the prospective customer.
P.S. - see how the French go overboard >>
