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Back to basics
Two of the bloggers whom I regularly read are Joel Spolsky (www.joelonsoftware.com) and Seth Godin(http://sethgodin.typepad.com). Joel spolsky writes about software engineering and how to run a software company. Seth Godin writes about sales and marketing. If you are interested in these fields and haven't read them, please do read them you will feel the difference.
Given the conventional views, marketing for a software company is pretty difficult. Seth has different views. He says by exposing the insiders you create demand among the outsiders. That seems to be a real different thing. Recently, we read students rated Google better than Microsoft to work for. (https://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Google_is_more_attractive_than_Microsoft-nid-62497.html). The reasons included cash allowances to pay for dry cleaning and hair cut. How the information is visible. Is there any ad of google saying that they pay for haircut?. Is the information about pay for dry cleaning available in google homepage. Google is not into haircut or dry cleaning but all it does is upkeep for insiders.
One common thing about gossiping, chitchatting, large scale conferences and simple conversation is people like to talk and want something in return. It is the real character of the human beings that they want attention and recognition. They may be a masters of facts, they may not be greatest of intellectuals or they may be naysayers but the all they want madly is attention and recognition. We could see people who write blogs. But, hardly we could see a blog without the poster's name. Attention and recognition are the real buzz words.
In software industry creating demand, niche marketing, word of mouth marketing everything is possible only if the potential of insiders is evident to the outside world. The potential will be evident in the way the software is delivered and by the quality of the software. If it is so, it is beneficial for the software company. What is there for the insiders, starting from the CEO to the office boy?. If company's business grows, it will get the attention in the outside world. If it makes a difference, the details of company's success will be looked upon. There comes the benefits to insiders. Here comes the social networking, blogging, and other attention creation stuff. Imagine! how often we read the blogs written by MVPs (microsoft most valuable professional) and blogs written at ibnlive or cricinfo?. Does that mean there are no other bloggers writing about the same topics. It is what a company name can do to the insiders. When your company grows you will be noticed. This is the recognition the insiders want.
To surprise us, in the past few years, these social networking, blogging and other attention data have grown to great extent. The company gets recognition by the quality demonstrated by the insiders through these attention creation mechanisms. Seth puts this remarkably well by saying that "exposure of insiders". Insiders if they are right people, will seek out opportunities for getting the attention. All that the company has to do is allow them for social networking, blogging and to participate in social forums. Its really is a big way to market the business.
Brands, trust, reputation, and other cliches regarding success behind a business now includes the people who built the business. Quality of your business speaks about the quality of the people you have. If you have good people, they bring the quality your business needs. They are the most essential ingredient of your success. You hire good people, put them on the right bus, and drive them to the destination. Problem with small software companies might be they want to grow and they need to travel in the road that is less travelled. But believe me! right people will do that for you. Allow them to do that for you. This really is the basic to business.
Given the conventional views, marketing for a software company is pretty difficult. Seth has different views. He says by exposing the insiders you create demand among the outsiders. That seems to be a real different thing. Recently, we read students rated Google better than Microsoft to work for. (https://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Google_is_more_attractive_than_Microsoft-nid-62497.html). The reasons included cash allowances to pay for dry cleaning and hair cut. How the information is visible. Is there any ad of google saying that they pay for haircut?. Is the information about pay for dry cleaning available in google homepage. Google is not into haircut or dry cleaning but all it does is upkeep for insiders.
One common thing about gossiping, chitchatting, large scale conferences and simple conversation is people like to talk and want something in return. It is the real character of the human beings that they want attention and recognition. They may be a masters of facts, they may not be greatest of intellectuals or they may be naysayers but the all they want madly is attention and recognition. We could see people who write blogs. But, hardly we could see a blog without the poster's name. Attention and recognition are the real buzz words.
In software industry creating demand, niche marketing, word of mouth marketing everything is possible only if the potential of insiders is evident to the outside world. The potential will be evident in the way the software is delivered and by the quality of the software. If it is so, it is beneficial for the software company. What is there for the insiders, starting from the CEO to the office boy?. If company's business grows, it will get the attention in the outside world. If it makes a difference, the details of company's success will be looked upon. There comes the benefits to insiders. Here comes the social networking, blogging, and other attention creation stuff. Imagine! how often we read the blogs written by MVPs (microsoft most valuable professional) and blogs written at ibnlive or cricinfo?. Does that mean there are no other bloggers writing about the same topics. It is what a company name can do to the insiders. When your company grows you will be noticed. This is the recognition the insiders want.
To surprise us, in the past few years, these social networking, blogging and other attention data have grown to great extent. The company gets recognition by the quality demonstrated by the insiders through these attention creation mechanisms. Seth puts this remarkably well by saying that "exposure of insiders". Insiders if they are right people, will seek out opportunities for getting the attention. All that the company has to do is allow them for social networking, blogging and to participate in social forums. Its really is a big way to market the business.
Brands, trust, reputation, and other cliches regarding success behind a business now includes the people who built the business. Quality of your business speaks about the quality of the people you have. If you have good people, they bring the quality your business needs. They are the most essential ingredient of your success. You hire good people, put them on the right bus, and drive them to the destination. Problem with small software companies might be they want to grow and they need to travel in the road that is less travelled. But believe me! right people will do that for you. Allow them to do that for you. This really is the basic to business.
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