Question

Topic: Strategy

How Would You Position This Company?

Posted by Anonymous on 4/25/2008 at 3:15 PM ET 1000 Points
A colleague has developed a powerful marketing tool, but, ironically, is having trouble marketing it! People who see the tool have liked it, but he can't get to a deal with them. I feel that part of it is the 'value prop' is not clear.

I invite my friends within KHE to check out his company and use the tool for free, and then let us know how you believe the tool should be marketed and to what audiences. Following is a pitch that recently went out in a third-party newsletter.

SimonShows (www.simonshows.com) is a unique tool that allows nontechnical folks to quickly load diverse multimedia materials (PowerPoint, videos, podcasts, documents, etc.), and then easily craft unique, web-based presentations (or Shows). This allows you to create individual experiences for specific audience segments, or even individuals.

SimonShows' easy-to-use tools provide a way for companies to create and post multimedia profiles (built from your marketing collateral) that are used to reach out to potential customers, employment candidates, business partners, investors and others. Because SimonShows is so easy and fun to use, you can add or revise Shows on the fly!

To use the tool, please go to - - -
www.simonshows.com/channel/Help_Startups_Pittsburgh
and register on the site. Then you can load materials and create your own shows.

FYI - If you like the tool, please feel free to continue to use it at no charge!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 4/25/2008 at 3:45 PM Accepted
    A quick visit to the site and the 60-second tour suggest that this is a neat tool. I may actually try it myself. The problem you're having with marketing it is that it's not clear what problem it solves for the target audience.

    I suspect you have not thought through the needs, attitudes and habits/practices of your target audience, so you're staying very general in terms of the benefit. "Show what you know" isn't exactly I problem I thought I had. Easily integrating/editing content in different formats is more like what my problem is ... at least as I perceive it.

    I'm familiar with a few different tools and approaches to this basic product category, and they all seem to have a problem getting people to understand what's in it for them. I suspect the key will be in narrowing your focus to a very specific target audience, with some very specific needs, and knocking that one out of the park.

    Going after "all marketers" or "all businesses" or even "all people who want to present what they do" is way too broad. Rifle shots, not shotguns, will solve this problem.

    Have you done some simple market research to identify common characteristics of your prime target audience? If not, that's where I'd start.

    Let me know if I can help.
  • Posted by EnvisionTheNew on 4/25/2008 at 4:25 PM Member
    The average page view on the internet is under 3 seconds. That's how long you have to get in my head. After 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the site, I am still trying to figure out what the tool actually does for me that I can't do on say Facebook or MySpace. I am getting some ideas, buuuut.....

    I wonder why all these non-technical people have PowerPoint's, pictures, and video to load in the first place? Who are these people that need all this asset management to make simple presentations who are not technical enough to do it with all the existing solutions? I also wonder why I am going to sit through the presentation once I get to it? From the customer perspective.

    All critique aside, here are twelve questions every business needs to answer. If you can answer these, you can position the business. If you can't, you might not have a business.

    The questions are:

    1. What are we passionate about?
    2. What are we best at?
    3. What do people pay us for?
    4. What is our main objective?
    5. What problem do we solve? (Or what need do we meet or desire do we fulfill?)
    6. Whom do we solve it for? (Customers, referrers, influencers)
    7. How do we solve it?
    8. What changes for those we serve?
    9. What type of organization are we? (i.e., Internet provider, premium coffee lounge, clearinghouse for adoption information)
    10. What are the main roles of the people we employ? (i.e., programmers, designers, salespeople, barista, roaster, manager)
    11. How do we operate? (i.e., develop web sites, roast coffee and serve custom drinks, provide latest adoption information)
    12. What do we produce? (i.e., goods or services, web site code and structure, web site content, articles, research data, a diverse menu of hold and cold beverages made to order)
  • Posted on 4/25/2008 at 5:06 PM Accepted
    I have visit the site and after some reading I understand the nature of the service. I haven't open an account yet. My advice is to keep the website as lean, simple and to the point as possible. Start with a marvelous example of what you have developed. For a perfect example of this visit https://www.perceptivepixel.com/

    It takes a couple of seconds to load but then the show really starts and you will remember it weeks later. Partly because of what is showed but also because of the way chosen to promote the product.

    The service offered is facilitating users to add content like youtube, hives, flicker, sketchup, Google earth and other successful services. Youngsters are the heavy users and early adaptors for this kind of services and my advice is to initially point to this target group. I'm involved in the development of a concept for an activity center for youngsters and the use of internet is one of the activities that will be facilitated with small laptops, a video podcast/youtube studio, video editing software etc.. Your tool will be perfect for letting children make and publish good looking shows. Children making good looking presentation with video, pp, photos, animations etc. is the best promotion for your service. The general idea will be that if they can do it it must be very easy to use.

    I will open an account and let you know about my experiences. I will "use" my children as vulenteers to find out if they can use it easily and if they like it to use it (like they did with sketchup from google). You can do this kind of research yourself. Success!
  • Posted by Susan Oakes on 4/26/2008 at 2:33 AM Accepted
    As it has been said above the target market needs to be refined as it is too broad. It would be interesting to know how and why he came up with this product as this could give pointers as to the initial target markets. Also was there any inital market research or concept testing.

    That said I would consider starting with one market such as small or mid sized agencies. As his background is creative he would have credibility with this market and they would have a tool they could easily see the value. It would be a good follow up tool after a presentation or as a virtual presentation.

    Although it is difficult to say how to market it, taking the example above, there are associations, forums etc and he could use his contacts to get opinion leaders to try the product and build simple case studies as to how this increase sales, productivity and so on.

    I wish your colleague the best of luck

    Susan
    M4B Marketing Software
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 4/26/2008 at 10:01 AM Member
    I'd start by first adding analytics to the site, so you know if you're getting traffic, and can study where people are looking. If you have enough traffic, you might find out quickly what your niches are.

    You're selling an easy-to-use service for people who already are tech savvy: they presumably know how to create and/or find videos, powerpoint slides, movies, etc. Your how-to use SimonShows requires a lot of reading/watching. If it was truly easy - there'd be a 30 second quick intro, and a beginner mode that would guide you along the process.

    Your home page needs much less tech and more slide shows immediately visible. If you don't have great examples, create a contest to seek out submissions (best small business, best large business, best non-profit, etc.).

    Contrast the site with: https://www.slideroll.com/, https://www.photagious.com/, https://www.viewbook.com/, docs.google.com, or https://www.adobe.com/products/presenter/

    Take a page from your competitors, and see how they market.
  • Posted by Levon on 4/26/2008 at 11:33 AM Member
    I think your biggest challenge is getting word out. If you can build some strategic partnerships with companies that have accomodating tech then your adoption rate will increase.
  • Posted by joshuacrumbaugh on 4/26/2008 at 3:37 PM Member
    I would reccomend going the open source route to get this thing off the ground. The key to building a successful web based tool is having a base community to start it. Start building up a community by marketing this free solution among the open source community. This will provide a customer base. Put viral marketing tools all over the website and set a base number like 100,000 members, give users the ability to make their presentations public and continue doing exactly what you did in here and indirectly solicit business through forums such as this one.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 4/27/2008 at 9:07 AM Accepted
    Ironically I am writing to you from your own Pittsburgh!

    While a lot of the comments are about the product-- I think you need info on marketing the product. Getting the word out-- as Levon states.

    I'd market this as the people from Constant Contact. They aren't the best email system but they market well.

    They chose a couple markets and have trainers in those area. Denver is one. Every month or so, they put together non commercial presenations on vasic and advanced email marketing. They also do training sessions to learn the product.

    I clicked around a bit- on my travel pc I don't have all the comfort as my desktop. But I am working on a biz and marketing plan for a new concept that I'll give it a good trial.
  • Posted on 4/27/2008 at 6:02 PM Accepted
    Just an odd answer that struck me from a current project but I always look for a niche to focus on and win some hearts and minds (hopefully some target segments thought leaders).

    What I thought would be good was for you to pitch it as a SarBox documenting tool for upper management. It is getting so bad at the top that most C-level folks won't sign anything unless they are so indemnified it really doesn't matter if they even read what they are signing and the fiscal responsibility burden is passed off to the insurers.

    If you went to these insurers and gave them some canned (pre-made fill in the blank forms/shows) for the SarBox problems they see you could get big money from the insurers and from the corporations (I like win-win's).

    Just a thought. Good enough for a case of Cohiba's though...

    My best,

    Mark Walker
    Head Coach
    Marketing Whisperers, Ltd.
  • Posted by jcasalou on 4/28/2008 at 3:21 PM Accepted
    Upon viewing the brief video clip I feel that this can marketed to a couple different markets. Two big ones come to mind.

    Business- Either small, medium, or large companies can get some real value and use out of this. Our corporation is nationwide and since we are a franchise it is important that we well connected with what is going on. Currently we do a lot of webinars which seems to be a live version of simonshows.com.

    From a sales aspect we do presentations all of the time. If the rep needs the presentation changed on the fly or doesn't have an updated version of it he or she could pull the new one from simonshows.com.

    Education - When giving presentations in courses students could easily upload their presentations to this and avoid the hassle of carrying a CD, laptop or jumpdrive.

    Just look at what this service really provides. Data transfer/sharing. So really a lot of people could use this as a personal tool like Sendpace.com and not just organizations.
  • Posted on 4/28/2008 at 7:33 PM Accepted
    Perhaps, further credibility building may strengthen your position. Companies/leads are not quick to switch or sign-up for your new product service when there is not much of a strong following or credibility. Perhaps, it may be smart to offer the service absolutely free to several companies that like the product but still not quick to sign-up. Make it available to them for a period of time (6-months to a year) for no cost and let them try it and get their feedback on how to improve it.

    This may or may not be something you've already tried but in my experience I found it extremely tough getting new idea/product/service off the ground to corporate buyers when it has zero following. Giving it away for free is not always the best approach and may lower the value of the proposition however it may be needed just to gain some traction and have several more clients under your belt.
  • Posted on 4/29/2008 at 10:21 AM Accepted
    I took a look at your site, and it's not clear who your target market is for this product, or what problems it solves. You have a list of lots of different audiences on the left, both business and consumer. It seems you are spraying and praying, hoping to hit something. A business person looking for help with sales presentations will look at your site and think this is for consumers, it's not for me. Likewise, someone looking for sports and fitness help will be put off by automotive or hobbies.

    I recommend that you select ONE audience and position yourself squarely in front of that target. Then add something to the front page clearly stating what pain your customers have and how your product stops that pain.

    Also, I started to listen to your audio presentation, and it's way tooo LOUD! Leave the manual for people who have downloaded the program, not right out front. Also, the ."..help your business" link is broken.

    That local program sounds great. What's stopping you from applying? Do you need companies who have already committed to the program?

    Another recommendation is to go back to the people who have expressed interest or liked the program and ask them what's stopping them from going ahead. If you find out what the problem is (in their minds) you can then fix it, and address their objections.

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