Mina Carlson

1
ARE YOUR READY?MARKETING THE I.T.

• Presented by
• Mina Carlson
• November 17, 2004

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Introduction and Topic

• What are we going to talk about?
• Marketing Basics
• Your Marketing Tools
• Putting Your Tools to Work
• What are we going to take from this today?
• Identifying Your Tools
• Building a Strategic Marketing Plan
• Test, Execute, Results, Measure!

3
Marketing Basics

• Am I worthy?
• No one wakes up saying I am going to work 8-15
  hours and make only 1/10 of what I could get in
  s today. But often we finish the day feeling
  this way.
• Most people ask themselves, Am I worthy of the
  goal to_______? Am I going to be successful ?
  Etc. Etc
• A better question is

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Is the opportunity worthy of me?
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Marketing Basics

• Three Reasons Why Marketing Fails
• Lack of Commitment
• Believe in your product, or idea. TAKE
  OWNERSHIP!
• If you do not believe in your product or are not
  consistent and regular in the way you promote it,
  your odds in succeeding go way down.
• Lack of a Clear Benefit
• SELL SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT!
• Without getting close to your customer, doing
  the research, and looking hard at what you have
  to offer, youre unlikely to stumble onto a hit.
  Too often, companies look at their skills and
  invent a new product or service that will be easy
  for them to make. That is the last reason to
  offer a product. Customers dont care about your
  skills or inventory. They want to know the
  BENEFIT! Whats in it for them.
• Poor Positioning
• DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
• Too often companies or consultants try to sell a
  product or project and have not researched their
  competition. What are the features and what are
  the benefits of your product or project? Do you
  have a measuring device? What is your back up
  plan? Your contingency plan?
• Be confident and this will come across to your
  client and you will sell your idea.

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Identify Your Marketing Tools

• Whether you are in IT or work as an Accountant,
  you have marketing tools.
• i.e. as an IT expert you specialize in database
  design. Focus on what you know best and
  highlight on the benefits of what you provide.
• Describe three benefits for each product you
  refer to.

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Your Marketing Tools The Six Critical Elements
of Your Marketing Plan

• There are six elements that make up the
  customers, Value Proposition. Every product
  and service includes these six items.
• Product - What are you selling?
• Price - Generally more effective to talk in terms
  of Value
• Place How and where is your product delivered?
• Promotion Do you offer a Branded solution the
  customer can leverage
• Personal Selling How do YOU personally create
  value
• Service (after sale) The guarantee and process
  to support your product

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The Six Elements - What they mean to the Customer

1. Product
2. Price
3. Place
4. Promotion
5. Personal Selling
6. Service (after sale)

The Profitability Triangle defines the 3 areas
a customer can improve their performance.
How do each of the elements in your offer impact
a profit driver?
Revenue
Productivity
Profit
Cost
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Your Marketing Tools

• Once you have identified these elements you can
  execute in a way that is successful for you.
• (Unfortunately we do not have time to go into
  each of your personal tools and what works best
  for you, depending upon your project or product)
• Understanding Positioning.
• Use Your tools find your niche, test, execute,
  measure, results.

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YOU ARE READY!

• Use your Tools that you have identified.
• Put together a strategic plan based on the tools
  and your project. See attachment Strategic
  Marketing Form
• Implement a Month by Month Timetable. See
  attachment Month by Month Timetable
• Once you have all your ducks in a row, and you
  have tested your product,
• SELL IT! SELL YOU!

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Make I. T. Happen!
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THANK YOU!
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Strategic Marketing Form

• Product or Service
• _________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___________________________________
• Target Market
• _________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___________________________________
• Competition
• _________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___________________________________
• Products features and benefits
• ____________________ ______________________
• ____________________ ______________________
• ____________________ ______________________
• How is it differentiated from the competition
  (Outline your position and theirs)
• _________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __
• What is my measurement device?
• _________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _

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Month by Month Marketing Timetable
Tool JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC