Social Media is NOT the only tool in the Marketing toolbox

I started out this post with the title “Social Media Marketing is no Island” to reflect the idea that SMM is not by itself “out there”. It should be an integral part of the Marketing toolbox – though just a part. With all the hype around Social Media, it is easy to forget that it really only covers 1 of Kotler’s 4Ps of marketing, namely Promotion. Of promotion, it is only 1 of...

Official Transcript from Steve Ballmer and Rupert Murdoch’s meeting

On Wednesday, the Internet was buzzing with the news that Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, and Rupert Murdoch or News Corp, were discussing an agreement that would allow Microsoft exclusive access to News Corp content. Here is the transcript from the Ballmer / Murdoch conversation that led to this announcement. Ballmer:   “Rupert, we both have a problem and I think we can help each other. Google...

Micro ISVs are the Garage Bands of technology

Balsamiq (see prior post) bills itself as a Micro ISV. Until a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard the term “Micro ISV” so I decided to dig a bit deeper. My findings in a nutshell: Micro ISVs are a very interesting concept and are viable because of the seismic changes that we are experiencing in marketing and technology. Here’s a basic definition: “A Micro ISV is an Independent Software...

The Best Marketed Software Ever!

I have recently been advising a client on how to improve their marketing and sales effectiveness. The company is a very innovative manufacturer of industrial equipment and despite the economy, they are in rapid expansion mode. One of their key goals is to implement an integrated marketing and sales platform to more quantitatively manage direct sales, channel sales and marketing activities. The company has decided to...

Design Thinking: 1+1+1=5

Tim Brown of IDEO recently delivered a tremendous presentation at TED on  ”Design Thinking” or System Design and System Thinking.  His ideas focused on design “interactions” versus just individual design “points”. Basically the system is more than the sum of the individual components. The concept really resonates with Rule #5 for successful Social Media: Be Excellent . Let me...