Roblog Redux

Rob Ciampa's Markets, Musings & Meanders

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Mar 28

Hey Marketer, RTFM

Business, General Interest, Marketing, Technology 2 Comments »

In the 1990s, I gave up a great engineering management role at a technology company to pursue my passion for marketing. Since then, I’ve had an exciting and fulfilling time bringing a variety of products to markets around the world. Little did I realize, though, that my experience from engineering would prove so valuable as a marketer. Please let me set the context.

Auto Repair Manual Over the years, I’ve run into many marketers at all skill levels who had either no or limited knowledge of their products. Granted, product marketing managers do, but what about marketing communication managers? Lead generation specialists? And even marketing executives? Is this surprising? Well, yes and no. Yes, because product knowledge is one of the key tenets of effective marketing. No, because many products are becoming more sophisticated and require a significant investment of time to develop base expertise.

Good engineers know their products and so should good marketers. That’s the lesson from engineering: know your product in excruciating detail. It’s the the foundation of positioning. It’s the foundation of competitive analysis. It’s the foundation of selling. There’s absolutely no excuse for not having product depth, especially in today’s highly-competitive environment. Still, many rely on the crutch of dragging along a product-aware person to trade shows, industry events, analyst briefings, press calls, prospect visits, etc.

What’s the solution? RTFM. “Read the ‘fine’ manual.” If you’ve worked with engineers, you know the more acerbic ones have a better word substitution for “fine.” I’ll argue, however, that RTFM is only one step in a broader process of product understanding. Here are some key steps.

RTFM
Install the products
RTFM again
Review support calls
RTFM again
Go spend time with partners and customers

Lather, rinse, repeat. Yes, this is an ongoing process. And it takes time – time that many think they don’t have. But what could be more important than this? Marketers and their companies will be better for it. Moreover, that acerbic engineer will have more respect for marketing and won’t call you out publicly with, “Hey Marketer, RTFM.” He or she may even reciprocate by reading the product brochure.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: marketer • product • RTFM

Feb 07

A Complexity Crisis

General Interest, Technology No Comments »

Complexity Crisis

There are more than 100,000,000 lines of code running over dozens of processors in a contemporary automobile. That programming controls everything from the transmission gear selection to the tail light malfunction indicator. If you’ve ever had an automotive computer problem, you know that it’s an expensive, trial-and-error nightmare. Often, the dealer or repair shop simply replaces the whole part and tells you to “give it a shot.”

Last summer, I retired the family’s Dodge minivan after many years of service. (And I have no regrets about owning one!) I was amazed and frequently annoyed at the number of issues I had with the on-board computers: the body control module, transmission computer, etc. There were code compatibility issues, wiring issues and other assorted problems that would cause the dashboard to shut down while traveling 65 mph on a crowded highway. The repair shop was happy to do a “reprogram” for about $1000. My contract programmers used to get $100/hour, yet this task took the dealer 15 minutes to complete – and there were still bugs.

The recent problems with Toyota, though initially deemed mechanical, are now being considered “electronic,” and are not unique to this manufacturer; Ford has also issued recalls. Every manufacturer has a problem with programming whether they like to admit it or not. You can survive a computer crash because of bad code; you may not survive a car crash because of bad code. Losing the scan of Aunt Bertha’s crumb cake recipe is far different from running through a red light head-on into a dump truck.

As a former engineer, I’m surprised this crisis didn’t occur sooner. It’s just incredibly hard to design and debug distributed computing and control systems, much like those we find in today’s cars. However, we continue to make these systems even more complex and co-dependent. We are at the mercy of both an incompetent programmer who writes bad car code and the wayward squirrel that chews through the wire that connects the body module computer to the transmission.

Manufacturers who ride the complexity curve must be prepared for fall-out when the bad glitch occurs. The alleged “cover ups” that we’ve heard about are more likely an indication that the manufacturer has a complexity crisis and really doesn’t know what’s going on. And that’s bad for all of us.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: Complexity • Ford • Toyota • transmission

Jan 30

The Fragile Nature of Brand Equity

Brand, Business, Competitive Strategy, Customer Service, General Interest, Marketing, Social Commentary, Social Media No Comments »

As marketers and business leaders, we spend years, if not a lifetime, cultivating our brands. They define who we are and generate an annuity of business and goodwill for decades. That annuity helps grow the value our brand equity. Our customers, by purchase and by proxy, derive benefit from our brands. Go walk into a Starbucks. Who is there? Why are they there? What are they drinking? What computers are they using? What are they wearing? What are they reading? It’s all brand. Marketing 101.

So if brand is so important, why are we seeing some of the strongest ones tumble? Because brands are incredibly fragile. Just look at Tiger Woods and Toyota as recent examples. The fallout is not just to the brand-owners but to those who derive ancillary benefit. Tiger Woods’ sponsors are leaving because the brand actually has negative value and it impacts them. Personally, I love watching Tiger play and I enjoy hopping into my Toyota SUV and driving through the New England snow. I’m disheartened by both recent events.

The brand equity ascent is slow and arduous; the descent is fast and dangerous. Paraphrasing a former business partner of mine:

If you’re not careful, you can go from a hero to a has-been in heartbeat.

How true. Is it more challenging these days to protect a brand? Absolutely. The velocity of communications and the acceleration effects of social media leave little time to react. And remember: bad news is like gasoline and good news is like water – all it takes is one strike of a match.

Is there a cure? Not entirely, but integrity sure goes a long way. Not just integrity from the start (Tiger Woods) but also integrity when dealing with and addressing problems as they arise (Toyota). We’ll see how they (and many others) try to regain their brand equity. Much, however, depends on whether those of us who benefit will remain loyal.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: Brand Equity • Social Media • Starbucks • Tiger Woods • Toyota

Dec 12

Healthcare Color by Numbers

Social Commentary 4 Comments »

It’s tough looking at things objectively because it just doesn’t evoke the passion, the rhetoric or the sweat that seems to quench our daily thirst for opinion. One of the reasons I like Facebook is that it’s a great platform for people to let us know how they feel (non objectively) about things and ensures us a great reservoir of that passion, rhetoric and sweat. I very much enjoy diverse views, something that tends to drive my wife crazy, the opinionated person that she is. “My dear,” I told her, “because I have varied views does not imply I lack strong opinions or convictions. If I’m going to jump on a soap box, I better understand all sides.” It should be no surprise, then, that the healthcare debate is proving to be one of those defining moments, one that has generated a flood of opinion all the way from Facebook to my home.

Over the past several months, I spent time reviewing the proposed healthcare legislation, read editorial pieces on both sides of the issue, spoke with doctors and providers, and exchanged ideas with colleagues having diverse opinions. Have I formulated an opinion on healthcare reform? No – and that’s really starting to bother me. Why? Because I’ve invested so much time trying to figure out this societal predicament. Do I think healthcare is broken? Absolutely. The issue, though, is not whether we have to fix it, but rather the approach we take to doing so.

This is where I have an issue with both sides (are there really just two?) in the debate. Why? Because we have no way to measure spending or gauge the current performance of our healthcare system. We have neither quantified healthcare nor have we put together actionable data. Some people will jump up and down over this assertion, but there is no common baseline or framework sufficient for quantitative analysis. Some will argue that looking at things this way – objectively – will risk lives and depersonalize care. Time for a strong opinion:

Being able to sufficiently quantify healthcare will allow us to make informed decisions, to allocate resources much more efficiently and, ultimately, to provide better care and save lives.

One of my friends challenged my views on this concept, claiming “Healthcare is too complicated to fix and it won’t fit into one of your mathematical equations, Rob.” That’s the problem. How can we possibly fix a system we can’t measure? We won’t know if it’s fixed or where it’s broken!

Our efforts in healthcare should be directed at getting the numbers in place and baselines established – and doing this fast. In the meantime, the debate train moves on. From yesterday’s Wall Street Journal on Olympia Snowe, the senior United States Senator from Maine:

Mrs. Snowe began by noting that this year’s health debate is “one of the most complex and intricate undertakings the Congress has ever confronted,” and that she, too, has devoted much of her three-decade political career to promoting cheaper, better quality insurance. “But it must be done in an effective, common-sense and bipartisan way,” she cautioned.

Real numbers will help simplify the decision, promote bipartisanship, and get public support. Make all the numbers public. There’s a valuable lesson from the open source world in technology: when all the information is publicly accessible, more people will look at it, analyze it and make it actionable. Let’s give the numbers to a couple hundred million people and we’ll get some great results. Remember Color by Numbers? It was – for me at least – a lot easier to work from than a blank canvas.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: Facebook • Healthcare • Olympia Snowe

Dec 05

Dry Powder and the Spark of Innovation

Business, General Interest, Technology No Comments »

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Deutsche Bank Fintech 2009 Senior Executive Forum at the Time Warner Conference Center in New York. The event consisted of a number of outstanding and well-organized panels that addressed critical issues such as market expansion and global competition. Like other engaging affairs, the interaction off the dais was as important as the communication on it. Having been through a recent funding round and not pitching for money, I was able to have a more interactive and balanced session with some great venture capitalists and other private equity leaders.

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Conspirators

Nearly all the dialog I had with the financiers turned to the concept of “dry powder,” an interesting and well-known metaphor for uninvested capital. The irony is that there are many emerging firms searching for money – looking for powder – and unable to get it. Is there a disconnect? Yes and no. Yes, because investment criteria are different and, in most cases, more exacting and stringent. No, because the model – as always – must address two markets: the one in which you’re trying to build a business and the other in which you’re seeking to raise money. Interestingly, elements of Sequoia Capital’s “Presentation of Doom” still ring true, but viewed in a different light it’s just common sense.

Entrepreneurship 101 right? Yes, but…we remain in a bit of a broader technology market malaise. Fortunately, because I lean toward optimism, there are encouraging signs, as indicated by a recent piece in the Merc. When conditions improve – and they will – the success of the outcome will be directly correlated to the dryness of the powder. Right now, that powder may be just a bit damp.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: Deutsche Bank • Dry Powder • Guy Fawkes • Presentation of Doom • Sequoia Capital

Nov 27

A Statistically-Interesting Social Media Thanksgiving with Sarah Palin

General Interest, Marketing, Social Commentary, Social Media 1 Comment »

What a difference a year makes. Last year, our large Thanksgiving gathering was still divided and at odds over the then recent 2008 presidential election. With the exception of Sarah Palin, which I’ll address shortly, a new, shiny object showed up with the holiday turkey: social media. With three generations at the table ranging from ages twelve to eighty, I knew it was going to be an interesting discussion. For my statistically-oriented and pollster-pushing friends, here is a measurable tidbit: everyone in attendance had an email address – and that included “the elders.” For simplicity, let’s segment the gathering into the elders (60 +), the kids (20 -) and the mid-market (20-60).

As a marketing guy and a card-carrying member of the mid-market, I was at an interesting vantage point because I’ve used all of the social media vehicles. I had to explain the role of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, Digg, etc. What intrigued me, though, were the divergent and interesting views on social media. Here are some take-aways:

The kids thought the other generations at the table were Luddites and couldn’t understand why we weren’t texting between bites of cranberry sauce and stuffing.
The mid-market and elders believe Facebook should be about connecting friends and not about communicating to your-sister’s-classmate’s-cousin-from-Fresno-CA’s-favorite-Starbucks-barista.
The kids had an average 582 friends vs. about 87 for the mid-market. From our sample, none of the elders had Facebook, but were very interested.
Only the mid-market, marketing guy and his wife (Mrs. Market Research) had a Twitter account. None of the kids “got” Twitter and thought it was weird. Go figure.
LinkedIn was deemed very intriguing by the mid-market and the elders, though the brand recognition was weak. The kids challenged the concept of LinkedIn when one already had a Facebook account. (Why do the non-kids segments feel this way? Because business colleagues generally don’t want to see one another in skimpy bathing suits and compromising situations.)
Social bookmarking was not well known across all three segments. When I explained the concept, everyone thought the idea was great, but didn’t like that fact that there were so many choices. The one-stop shopping rule returns.
Most at the table don’t understand long URLs and want to shorten them. I explained bit.ly to a few, but they didn’t necessarily like the new, cryptic URLs either.

After the social media discussions ended, Sarah Palin showed up again this year as a hot topic. As always, she remains a divisive subject, especially now that her new book is out. I tried to remain objective between the Maureen Dowd-esque and Sean-Hannity-esque banter (and flying drumsticks) at the table. In an effort to mediate the debate, I raised the subject of her use of Facebook and Twitter, which only empowered both sides at the table. I’ll try to remain neutral again next year, though I suspect my analysis of her use of social media may not fly again. I will be especially interested at the Thanksgiving 2010 to see how the market segmentation changes and which social media vehicles are in vogue.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: Digg • LinkedIn • Maureen Dowd • Sarah Palin • Sean Hannity • Thanksgiving • Twitter

Nov 19

The Recipe for Great Service

Culinary Adventures, Customer Service, New England Interest, Wine and Spirits 2 Comments »

Jackson Cannon - Eastern Standard

Many years ago, like many young boys from my neighborhood, I went to work at a famed Italian restaurant in Boston’s ethnic North End called “The European.” Even as a street savvy fifteen-year-old kid from nearby Medford, MA, I was somewhat unprepared for the world of the restaurant business, both on the floor and in the kitchen. Anthony Bourdain dutifully captures some of this restaurant lifestyle in his bestseller Kitchen Confidential. Little did I realize, though, what a positive, lifelong effect my time there would have on me, especially when it came to understanding and embracing the concept of great service.

Over time, I worked my way up from bussing tables, to managing the wine cellar, to working the kitchen and ultimately to waiting on tables. In the last position, I was fortunate to have had some great mentors who introduced me to the concept of great service. Chuck, our eccentric, tuxedoed maître d’ made it simple. “Bobby,” he said, “always think like a customer, intimately know what’s on the menu, and be passionate about what you do.” Simple advice, profound results. Chuck had me study the menu, the wine list, and trained me on the finer elements of French and Russian service. I loved it. The European wasn’t high-brow, but for some parties we could really pour it on and deliver an incredible experience. In time, great service came naturally, as did the rewards, both psychologically and financially. My job was enjoyable and rewarding, complemented by a stream of “regulars,” customers I knew by name and who knew me, always requesting a seat at one of my tables.

I continually find myself in search of great service and looking for those with an evangelical zeal about it. Recently, I decided to take a course in early American mixology at Boston University’s Culinary Arts School. (I’m enamored by culinary history.) The course was taught by Jackson Cannon and Bobby McCoy, famed bartenders at Boston’s Eastern Standard restaurant. For those of you who don’t know Eastern Standard, it has one of best bars in Boston, if not the U.S. Why the fame? It’s simple. The bar team at Eastern Standard gives great service: they are customer-focused; know their product; and are passionate about what they do. It doesn’t matter whether you’re serving food, mixing drinks or – in my case -delivering technology products around the world, the recipe for great service remains the same.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: Anthony Bourdain • Bobby McCoy • Boston • Eastern Standard • Jackson Cannon • Kitchen Confidential • Medford • North End

Nov 14

Blog, Rob. Blog!

General Interest No Comments »

I began blogging in 2004 at the behest of my friend Dave Forstrom, who’s now a public relations manager at Microsoft. “You have passion about everything you do, Rob,” he said, “along with no drought of opinion or lack of creative thought.” I thanked him for the kind words and tried very hard to convince him that I was just another regular, boring guy. I further told him my docket was full with all sorts of other “marketing” things to do. He persisted, so I capitulated and began writing. As a former engineer, I was never one to shy away from the avant-garde, but little did I know how transformative blogging could be. Remember, it wasn’t until some years after this that the blogosphere truly had its tipping point.

When I began my blogging journey, I was with a company that supplied information security solutions to the marketplace. Having recently left a successful stint at IBM, I was rediscovering my creative running legs. My initial blog entries back then were arguably somewhat vanilla, perhaps reflecting a bit of my public relations prose. Then something changed. Around that time, I found an important segment of the technology industry chasing yet another BFRH (big fat red herring) and I decided to challenge it. Initially, I was greeted with some skepticism, but then supportive emails began arriving, followed by links from other blogs, and subsequently requests for broader syndication. A great debate was smoldering, then ignited when Dave Kearns, one of the great technology writers for Network World, poured some gas on it. Separately, Mike Rothman from Security Incite, the ultimate protagonist/antagonist, was also having a bonfire of his own on this topic and soon everything came together into a great conflagration. Expectations were reset and companies around the world were better off – and more secure – for it. A few blog entries were the sparks that lit up and impacted an entire industry.

Over the years, I’ve had several corporate blogs in which I injected my voice into otherwise mundane topics, making them a bit more palatable, pithy, and – at times – amusing. I’ve also been fortunate to have shared excellent blogs with some great partners, such as Ian Glazer, now an analyst with the Burton Group. I learned that if you blog for yourself, you eat by yourself; if you blog with a broader voice, you share a banquet with many others. And you can have an impact. I’ll continue to do the corporate blogs, but now I look forward to sharing thoughts on a vast array of topics, or as I subtitled this blog: markets, musings & meanders. Life is much too interesting to sit idly by on the sidelines.

Rob Ciampa

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Tagged with: BFRH • Dave Forstrom • Dave Kearns • Ian Glazer • Mike Rothman

Next Entries

Roblog Redux

Hey Marketer, RTFM

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A Complexity Crisis

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Dry Powder and the Spark of Innovation

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The Recipe for Great Service

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Blog, Rob. Blog!

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