Is Go-To-Market the whole race or a check-point?

 

More often than not, Go-to-Market strategy for an offering (service or product) resides on slide #15, from the pack. Anyone who has ever worn the GTM hat, will confirm the wishful scenario: to be brought to the chaos as the product or practice teams develop the offering. GTM strategy is not a destination that you head to as the 'next phase', but it needs to be treated as the fundamental offering existence rational.

GTM feedback loop can and should also play a very crucial role in re-imagining or re-shaping one or many of the offering's pillars. And for that to happen, befriend GTM at the break of dawn or the night before, definitely not meridiem. Stimulant delivered, deed is done.

Now playing: It has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime, What better place than here, what better time than now? One should love Zack and co. 

ARE WE MARKETING THE ADVERTISEMENT? PART 2

PART 2 ENTERS A MORE CRYPTIC LAND TO SIMPLIFY THINGS

<cryptic>Business as usual in many minds is a sound strategy. Right about now, hopping to the next post might be the best for those.

Filling in those sheets and slides and plans and cards to position a stellar marketing strategy should be the best brief and the only cause for the next piece of video commercial a brand wants to make.

Content is not just those 15 seconds of messaging, it can and should be more than that. Slamming them videos on an unsuspecting or dreading audience is just exploiting the handicap. Most audience when given an option go for the kill. Why be skipped or dumped when you can create content that is sticky and relevant to your audience.

CMO meet CTO meet your customers.</cryptic>

Would you market content?

I feel compelled to make an entry around this topic after having a very interesting discussion with one of my x-colleagues on 'content marKeting' (with a capital K).This is indeed the age of content creators sprouting up across the world equipped with their hardware and software artillery. In hindsight, brands/advertisers have pretty much strolled the curve picking up pieces of social media marketing, influencer engagement, proprietary products, platforms, et al along the way. An omnipresent tool that they always had in the shed was (and still is) Content (with a capital 'C'). They solely created it then and now it is a joint effort with their audience (also a dangerous path to tread).

But the whole point is lost when these brands/advertisers also have to consider a sizable investment in marketing the content that they hoped could market them or their product! This begs the case of Kolaveri D - For the unenlightened bunch, Circa 2011 - India witnessed its first real massive viral video on Youtube! I was working with a digital agency when this happened and I kept pondering then, on what was it about this piece that pushed people to share it and go bananas. IMHO, this was not funny enough to be a parody/joke of a song, not musical enough to be a serious number, not star-studded enough to be a glam candy! But eventually, it grew legs and became a viral beast like India had never seen before. What did the trick?

Again, IMHO (double caps on H), marketing helped the content travel. Most of them north of Chennai who didn't even know of Dhanush (a kick-ass star!), were either too curious on what was going on or were just responding to a serious case of FOMO attack. The initial push by the marketing/influencer/industry insiders/you know who made sure that in 24 hours, people would either be in love with this song or trying to figure it out. Anyway, the movie wins. Oh yes, that was obviously a teaser for their upcoming film.

If one'd dare venture the path of content, it should be a free-thinking and creatively raging experience. How about Felix Baumgartner being pushed out of that capsule by Red Bull? Was that video crack-your-skull-and-smash-it-even-more fantastic? You bet! Felix in the course of those 4 minutes and 19 seconds, broke the sound barrier! Though Google's Alan Eustace has since then broken the record for the highest parachute jump (literally left a boom behind), the Red Bull jump seems to be etched better on many a minds! That can be the perfect combination of a strong piece of content supported by a just about crazy strategic marketing plan. 

Thinking Content? Thing harder.

Hyperlocal Mojo: Now and Next

With the advent of AI and bots playing an increasing role in shaping up the current and future landscape of our digital experience, the crux of user interaction now depends on mobility and the action around their physical presence. The virtual existence now orbits around their physical being, making utilities like the Google Map a crucial addition to the mobile screen tiles.

If you didn't know or chose to ignore, one such upcoming product that empowers user-user and brand-user interaction on the fundamentals of hyperlocal technology is called Nocializer. Promoting it time and again (brutally unblushing) - Nocializer was born out of the need for users to connect better to the action around them, a paradigm shift amidst the current social media landscape.This solved the 'social media age old' problem of users depending on content curated by sites for reviews, by allowing access to other users around them - real time reviews and more. While the digital natives are intrigued by the spectrum of solutions presented by the IOT schema, hyperlocal product becomes the crux of connectivity.

I read somewhere and it made absolute sense that hyperlocal can be credited as the first form of marketing techniques - that fruit vendor calling out to you was hyperlocal at its primitive best. It can be used for more than just content and goods delivery. Much more. 

Hyperlocal wins. Now and Next.

Don't create a new problem for the new trend to solve.

Keeping it very concise this time, very concise. Your business may not actually need blockchain or AI. Stop trying to incorporate either just to use these words as propositions. It's OK. Take it easy. That goes double for you (You - The one who doesn't understand fundamentals of technology/programming).

Ponder on the challenge and dream the most desirable solution. That can probably be the paving. Coloring outside the lines can make you lose the big picture. Be agile, not that.

'I want to adopt blockchain/AI' conversation counter: n+1   

Disclaimer: I don't mine and I am no zucky.

Cryptocoins: Daredevils of Project Delivery

One might applaud the analysis put behind the avant-garde crypto-currencies and the gazillion alt-coins that are trying to float an alternate eco-system (block-chain unites :P), but miss their boldness in riding the show on their planning efficiency by announcing targets and milestones across portals. 

In an ocean already colored deep red, hollering out milestone-targets and making the needles move by delivering on those goals makes them outfits champion planners. 

Take note. Over.

Product Strategy: Game faces on!

<Quickie>

With a zillion new apps out there (a few originals and the inspired rest), some juggernaut products need to be put under the lens of retrospect, as far as the user journey is concerned. Analyzing the kind of products out there, it might be wise to peel back the onion on their existence considering the user senescence it brings about.

One such mammoth of a dating app celebrates true love, compatibility and stable relationships, in effect celebrating uninstalls. 

Re-enforcing the 'importance of communication in tandem with the purpose of existence'. Check. :) 

</Quickie>

I.T. folks, let's try measuring the 'value' of technology. Yes, the value.

Picture shown here (kind of) is for illustration purpose only. Actual scenario may vary depending on everything right and wrong with your business. 

In order to be able to advance with new technology and stay aligned with the strategic business goals, it is imperative to measure the performance or value of the technology implemented, a.k.a. the C-suite case. Without the measurement of a current state, is becomes impossible or meaningless to pursue innovation since change or innovation is usually called for when status quo doesn't quite measure up. The measures are often recorded with metrics. The metrics under each measure can be categorized as either objective (quantitative) or subjective (qualitative) metrics. IT peeps - Some KPIs to measure the value of a newly adopted technology/product:

1. ROI: Arriving at an IT project's ROI is a clear indicator for the management on the gains that can be expected on taking on the project. The ROI can be arrived at by subtracting the project cost from the project's estimated revenue (the gains). The metrics for calculating the ROI depends on the technology implemented. For instance, some metrics include I/T budget as a percent of the revenue, website hits, app installs, online sales, etc.

2. Employee Productivity or People Development: Measuring employee productivity is the extent to which the organization is executing its personnel development plan. For instance, talent assessment (in house versus sourcing), attrition levels, etc. are some metrics that can be identified for this purpose. The metrics created need to be relevant to the organizations's current environment, for eg.: attrition, average tenure, skills and resource bank, number of performance objectives and bonuses achieved, etc.

3. Customer Satisfaction: This is typically the level of satisfaction experienced within the organization towards the IT department. Some examples of metrics include, satisfaction with the help desk (First call resolution, Average Resolution Time, Call queue waiting time, Call drop rate, etc.), escalation process, problem resolution, tickets and requests, availability of IT staff, personnel quality, etc.

It is a good practice to have frequent checks (monthly or quarterly basis) on the measures/metrics discussed above. It is also important to assess the industry/competitive environment and standards for arriving at a benchmark (considering external environment too). Once arrived at a benchmark and having assessed the internal performance, it becomes easier to plan for improved efficiency for the future state of operations including any innovations or new technology implementations. Just don't lose out on new product trials because of rejections based on budget challenges.
Over and out.

Information Security is not just an IT chore.

Social Engineering attacks is definitely one of the most dangerous hack methods in this information age. The book Computer Security Handbook (6th ed.) suggests that it is imperative for information security professionals and organizations to strengthen the three common avenues of detection for social engineering attacks, viz., People, Audit Controls and Technology.

It is essential to educate users/people about the various potential sources of these attacks across aspects of impersonation, seduction, intimidation, etc. The one thumb rule for protecting users from social engineers is to make sure that the users do not disclose any sensitive information (passwords, account details, etc.) under any circumstances without evident legitimate proof requesting for it and checking for the authenticity by making another contact with the concerned department/business. Social engineering attacks can be fought against by strengthening the aspects of detection, response and mitigation. Detection of these attacks can be carried out through effective auditing of datapoints like emails, internet content, system logins and changes along with effective anti-malware and anti-phishing tools. The response to these attacks should be well-defined and planned according to the incident-management processes practiced by the organization. For information security professionals, it is essential to always be ready for an attack of this nature since with evolution of information security standards, the attacks also get complex. It is imperative for the organization to also include the prevention of such attacks within their defense strategy. Since at some level these attacks require the user/victim to willingly share information, the organization should treat areas of policy building, training, technology and physical security with high importance. For eg. providing training sessions for awareness on such attacks and refreshers on security policies should be an on-going exercise encouraging employees to ask the reason for any requests regarding sensitive/PII. Similarly, technology mandates should be made clear to employees regarding installation of malware/firewalls, anti-virus practices, two-factor authentication for any transactional processes, etc. In order to evade any security breach in office-premises, it is essential for the organization to implement rules like display of ID cards, door locks, special/limited access to confidential areas, security camera operations, appropriate disposal of confidential documents not in use, computer password updates, etc.

Though it might be difficult to defend the organization against social engineer attacks since the subject involved are humans, I think security professionals stand a better chance of defense with the above mentioned methods.

P.S.: Do take note if your business/organization deals with information exchange. :)

Open Source for 'For Profit' product development?

Open-source is cool. I get it. Not 'I see how Neo did' cool. Dig?

While Open Source software is free to use and pretty much offers itself as a flexible product (in terms of evading complex licensing issues and ensuring continuous improvement), there are some disadvantages of implementing an open-source that a company has to consider before making the decision. Since the premise of open-source software development is based on the absence of intellectual proprietary rights, developers and promoters of such software are predominantly unreliable when it comes to productivity (especially because the promoters/developers engaged here are emotionally driven - passion over money!).

Let's look at some of the pit-falls, aye?

ONE - Perpetual Vulnerability to attackers: Since the whole concept of open-source is based on collaborative efforts, the source code is pretty much available to any contributor. Though the expectation is for these users to 'contribute' by enhancing the product performance through error-detection and new features, there is a huge scope for malicious users to exploit the privilege by infecting the product with bugs which can be used for serious data breaches. This is not the case with proprietary software which are strengthened with strict security measures to evade any attacks or bugs.

TWO - Lack of responsibility: In case of proprietary or purchased software, the developing company can be held responsible for any bugs or damages caused to the buyer (depends on the contract/agreement of-course). Especially in case of B2B products, there is always access to a service team which can assist the client if something goes wrong with the product. With open-source products, it is not possible to turn to a specific team or an individual since it is developed by numerous people.

THREE - Requires dedicated-skilled resource: Open-source products are primarily more difficult to use compared to its commercial counterparts. For eg.: Though Linux is a great hit with servers, it has not yet made any mark on the desktop segment. The Linux UI is difficult to use compared to the user-friendly Windows or Mac OS. Using open-source software requires effective training which might be both time-consuming and expensive, leading to lower productivity. The bigger problem lies in partial knowledge of such open-source systems at work, potentially risking information security.

FOUR -  No frequent updates: With the lack of real responsibility, developers/promoters are not bound to work on frequent updates of the software. There is a good possibility for a company to get stuck with the same product version for years and hence should not be considered for any commercial use, wherein business ride on the efficiency of the software. Individual users (non-business) can probably take that chance and choose to try these open-source codes without a lot riding on it.
  

FIVE - You are running a business, correct?