Finding Your Viewpoint, It's All a Cash Cow to Me!

(Note: Viewpoint is a critical part of my Breakthrough Marketing Framework, to learn more about how it fits with Value and Velocity to create impact and breakthrough, read this post...Ken ) 

In my recent blog on High Impact Marketing, I said,

Viewpoint is a framing of the market in the context of your uniqueness.  The uniqueness of your team, your capabilities, and your vision.  Some call viewpoint thought leadership, some vision with a capital V, and some brand.

 and I called on providers to set a unique and compelling viewpoint to create breakthrough for their marketing efforts.

While there are many frameworks and techniques to capturing Viewpoint, however defined, one of the simplest and most effective way I have, and one the first I usually pull out of my toolset, is to simple create an X and Y set of axis and coordinate labels for the market.  A simple 2x2 matrix which will then set your view firmly in one corner of the world, the best one!

There's a running joke in MBA circles that no presentation is complete without a 2x2 matrix.  This dates back at least to 1968 and the classic BCG "Growth Share" matrix, which among other notoriety is the source of the phrase "Cash Cow"!  With dimensions of market share and market growth, the BCG matrix provided a powerful way to understand and measure product segment profitability.   This example illustrates just how powerful a 2x2 matrix can be in setting a framework in which to view a problem.  From a simple idea, sprang a wealth of insight and business for BCG.

So let's try applying the 2x2 matrix to the problem of articulating a market Viewpoint.  Setting your market Viewpoint with a 2x2 matrix simple requires these "simple" steps:

1) Identify the X-axis.  A good place to start here is with the biggest and simplest piece of your market vision.  For Salesforce.com, this was the transition from Software to Service (now called SaaS, then call nothing really).  Now that we've identified the endpoints,  name the Axis, in this case let's call it "Delivery"

2) Identify the Y-Axis.  Here let's try the biggest change in the customer experience.  In the Salesforce.com case, it is from Coding to Configuration.  Let's name that axis, "Customization".

3) Claim the upper right corner as yours.  Here's how this comes together in the Salesforce.com example:

The "End of Software" became Salesforce.com's viewpoint, mantra and vision.   All from this "simple" 2x2 framework.

Viewpoint is all about framing the marketplace discussion, so you can then deliver your value to the customers who see through your market viewpoint.  Salesforce's value came in the proposition of lower TCO, faster Time to Value, and greater utilization than traditional CRM software packages.  And while "the End of Software" viewpoint did not sell any customers, it set a powerful market context for Salesforce to define and own the emerging SaaS CRM category, and create their own cash cow business.

Jim Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape, and one of the most amazing bosses I've ever had once said,

 "In the battle the bear and the alligator, the victor is determined by the terrain"

By articulating a compelling and meaningful viewpoint, organizations create the terrain so that they emerge winners. 

Never Punt - Winning by Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Unless you are a hardcore (American) football fan, or happened to just catch the latest episode of HBO Real Sports,  you may have never heard of Coach Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock Arkansas.  But if you are a football fan, I'd imagine you may hear about him soon even if you forget about this blog.  You see, Kelley's teams haven't punted since 2006.  And in that time he has taken his small 350 kid school into the national top 100 rankings and to 3 state championships while winning well over 90% of his games...

You can Google him and easily learn more...here's a couple of quotes from a Sept 09 Sports Illustrated Article on Kelley:

"The average punt in high school nets you 30 yards, but we convert around half our fourth downs, so it doesn't make sense to give up the ball," Kelley says. "Besides, if your offense knows it has four downs instead of three, it totally changes the game. I don't believe in punting and really can't ever see doing it again.

 and

He means ever. Consider the most extreme scenario, say, fourth-and-long near your own end zone. According to Kelley's data (much of which came from a documentary he saw), when a team punts from that deep, the opponents will take possession inside the 40-yard line and will then score a touchdown 77% of the time. If they recover on downs inside the 10, they'll score a touchdown 92% of the time. "So [forsaking] a punt, you give your offense a chance to stay on the field. And if you miss, the odds of the other team scoring only increase 15 percent. It's like someone said, '[Punting] is what you do on fourth down,' and everyone did it without asking why." 

So what's going on here and what's it got to do with this blog, SaaS and Product Marketing?  I think quite a bit.  Here's why...

Despite the overwhelming evidence and success of his strategy (he also onside kicks on every kickoff and lets opposing punts roll un-fielded) and his growing popularity at coaches clinics and the like, it is not apparent that Kelley has attracted many disciples.  He's probably OK with that as he is amassing huge competitive advantage over his opponents.  As the SI article continues:

Which is to say that most football coaches aren't simply averse to risk—no shock, there—but that they make choices at odds with statistical probability, akin to blackjack players standing on 11. The explanation: Subject as they are to scrutiny, coaches have incentive to err on the side of conservatism. 

This brings me full circle to one of my favorite topics and soapboxes, Experience Marketing.   While conventional B2B marketing wisdom is that only very well qualified and vetted buyers should see demos or receive trials, without fail, in every scenario I have seen, the number one predictor of sales cycle success is the presence of a trial/POC or other real hands on experience.

Yet I see time and time again, sales and marketing teams in SaaS organizations, that could easily move the trial or experience to the front of the marketing and sales cycle, hang on to conventional wisdom, hiding or gating the actual product experience.  Whether this is because of fear of failure or simple rejection of the new, or concern over investor or CEO second guessing, those in the old product mindset  are punting away opportunity every day.

I have one thing to say to them:  "DON'T PUNT - JUST GO FOR IT ".  Whether that means a try and buy, freemium model or live demo instances, put EXPERIENCE front and center in your go to market strategy and tactics.  IT WILL give you the Kelley No Punt advantage.

It's no surprise that Kelley is out on the corporate speaking circuit talking about thinking outside of the box.  It's a simple recipe for winning.  Look at the data. See it in a new way. Change your mindset. Have the courage to ask.  Where else can cloud providers get a Kelley advantage...if you know, act now and win!

Join Me at SaaS U in Austin

I'm extremely honored to have been chosen to serve on the faculty for this event.  I sure hope some of my Silicon Valley colleagues can join me and the rest of the SoftLetter Faculty and Staff in Austin for this incredible 3 days... Enjoy SaaS U for the first 2 days, and then join me for my positioning workshop.  Use the code below for additional savings...

Softletter's SaaS University: Marketing, Selling,
Infrastructure and Financing Conferences, 2012

Since 2007, Softletter has hosted the industry's most comprehensive series of conferences on SaaS. Conferences have been held in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Washington, DC. New markets, opportunities, and obstacles are opening up as the software industry shifts towards the Cloud and a computing environment that provides 24/7/52 availability, communities of customers, and customer service and support issues that transcend anything ever seen by firms in the on premise, client/server markets!

SPECIAL SAVINGS FOR KJR Friends and Associates : Now SaaS University comes to Austin, Texas, February 28/29th, March 1^st. Register to attend at www.softletter.com. Save $100 off the Early Bird pricing with coupon: KJRSAVE100. Coupon courtesy of KJR Associates.

MY saas product positioning workshop - March 1st

Poking Through the Clouds: A Workshop That Builds Powerful, Sustainable, Breakthrough Positioning

This workshop will unlock your hidden positioning strengths, free you from your preconceived notions and put you on the path to accelerated revenue and market success. Using methods that have been proven to deliver results for SaaS and software providers in multiple market segments, we will rapidly develop powerful customer centric positioning. With your offerings and market challenges as our canvas, we will paint the picture of your breakthrough, market winning proposition. Facilitated by Ken Rutsky

SaaS University Program Overview Feb 27 and 28

·       28 Sessions

·       Six Keynotes

·       Five tracks, including main, sales and marketing, infrastructure, finances and transition

·       Complimentary Wine and Appetizer Networking Event

·      Two full days

Keynote Speakers

·       Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite Inc.

·       Roger Sippl, Chairman, Elastic Intelligence (founder of Informix, Vantive and Visigenics

·       Sharon Mertz, Gartner Research Director, SaaS, CRM, Russian Software Markets

·       Merrill R. (Rick) Chapman, Managing Editor and Publisher of Softletter & Conference Chairman

·       Jan Aleman, CEO, Servoy, B.V.

·       Patrick Fetterman, Vice President, Plex Systems, Inc

·       Kevin O'Brien, Senior Director, ISV & SaaS Strategy for Worldwide Alliances and Channels, Oracle Corporation

Delivering Breakthrough Marketing: Viewpoint, Value and Velocity

Most CEOs I talk to have a jaded, if not skeptical view of marketing.  While they recognize the importance of marketing to their long term success, they have a hard time understanding and measuring how well marketing is doing.  And while more mature organizations have a good handle on very well tuned marketing metrics and measurement, the question is still always out there.  With the advance in marketing automation, new channels of communication, and the avalanche of marketing data now available, marketing has evolved, in many CEOs view, from a black art, to a black science.


Hidden behind the dashboards and metrics lies a more fundamental problem.  In today's hyper competitive, global, instantaneous market, where buyers and consumers have nearly unlimited access to information and each other, the fight for attention and share has become a treadmill of constantly faster speed.  With the proliferation of social media, and competivite solutions in even the most specialized market segment, we need a new Breakthrough marketing formula to feed the machine.


Simply put, we need a new model for getting noticed and getting bought.  To achieve the highest breakthrough possible, we need to get great at Viewpoint, Value and Velocity. We need to move to Converged Viewpoint, Unique Value and High Velocity.

Viewpoint, Value and Velocity Converge to deliver breakthrough

Let's look briefly at each of these elements, what they are, and why they are needed.


Viewpoint
Viewpoint is a framing of the market in the context of your uniqueness.  The uniqueness of your team, your capabilities, and your vision.  Some call viewpoint thought leadership, some vision with a capital V, and some brand. 


Why is Viewpoint critical? Without a doubt, we live in a world of data and information overload. But often overlooked is the aspect of information over-availability.  As anyone who use Google knows, the challenge is not in finding an answer or result, but it is in finding the right or most helpful one.   What does this mean for marketers?  Let's take a look at one small experiment.  In November of 2011, KJR Associates examined a sampling of companies from the Andreeson Horowitz venture portfolio; Here's a screen grab of that set:

We then examined the websites of each company and determined its "market category":
Finally, we did a Google search using the a quoted market category name and looked at the quantity of search results returned.  This is displayed here:

Market Categories

Google Search Result for Specific Results

So, as is clear from above, and totally consistent with our intuition, it's a CROWDED marketplace for products and ideas.  Even in very niches market segments, we have hundreds of thousands of results returned.  The ONLY way to be noticed in this market is to provide something different, a UNIQUE and RELEVANT viewpoint. 

In order to define Viewpoint providers must tap into the macro trends that impact their customers, as well as the discontinuity they offer to meet these trends.  In my related post on Viewpoint, I walk through an example of this process.


Value
So while Viewpoint is critical to getting noticed, Value is critical to getting into the buyers shortlist.  Simply put, Value is defined as the intersection between your unique capabilities express as business benefits,  your customer needs, and the missing capabilities of your key competitors.   This is shown with a simple sketch:

This unique Value is then articulated in forms such as competitive positioning statements, messaging, market segmentations and product feature benefit charts.    Then when combined with Viewpoint, I can tilt the market in my favor.  This process is further discussed here.

Velocity
With ViewPoint articulated and Value defined, the last piece of the puzzle is to deliver high velocity programs, those that deliver high quality leads across the buying lifecycle.  Marketing Velocity = DE**2, or simply put:  

Velocity = Delivery X Engagement X Experience

High velocity marketing is strong on message, meaning it effectively and creatively communicates Value within a powerful market Viewpoint.  High velocity marketing uses appropriate Delivery channels and investments that meet buyers whereever and whenever they are in the buying lifecycle. More and more so, this is about delivering compelling experiences, as I have blogged about extensively.  Lastly, high velocity marketing is fueled by high levels of interactivity and engagement.  Gone are the days of depending solely on complex whitepapers to explain solutions.   Vehicles like live demos, interactive assessments, and engaging video case studies are now a must. Velocity is further explored in this post.