1. 7 Essentials
of IT Marketing
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Broad outline of the key factors
influencing marketing decisions in
the IT industry
Anil Yerra
a_y_kumar@yahoo.co.in
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2. “The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you
are not a brand, you are a commodity. Then price is
everything and the low-cost producer is the only
winner.” - Philip Kotler
Brand Identity
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3. Does marketing need to be
different for the IT industry ?
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 Basic marketing plan can rely on the standard approach
 Alter strategies to cross the ‘chasm’ of visionary adopters and majority market
 Issues that need to be addressed:
 Secondary importance to marketing compared to development
 Techies lacking a ‘market focus’ mindset
 Cross functional collaboration within organisation
 Paucity of High-Tech marketing expertise
 Marketing plan needs to be modified to suit higher degree of uncertainty in the IT
environment
 Marketing plan needs to be tailored to the type of innovation
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4. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#1 PRODUCTS & SERVICES
#2 ENVIRONMENT
#3 STRATEGY
#4 ALLIANCES & PARTNERSHIPS
#5 MARKET ORIENTATION
#6 CUSTOMERS
#7 4Ps
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5. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#1
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
IT industry products & services demand a different
approach compared to traditional products & services
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Essentially Solutions! High-Tech in nature Introduced in unstable Unfamiliar (software
and disorganised packages, chips etc.)
conditions unlike familiar
products like Coke etc.
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6. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#2
ENVIRONMENT
Due to high degree of ambiguity, error margin is
smaller when compared to conventional markets
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Market
Technological
Uncertainty
(current needs, Uncertainty
future requirements, (performance,
standards, market delivery timelines,
size, speed of Competitive quality, side-effects,
adoption etc.) obsolescence)
Volatility
(Changes in the eco-
systems and
competitive arena)
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7. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#3
STRATEGY
Demanding technology-intensive markets and
opportunities warrant a faster and simpler strategy
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Who are the
target customers? Must create a
clear
What is the
Must maintain a Competitive
offering? When
to enter the Culture Advantage!
market? How to Encouraging
execute? Innovation
• Creative destruction*
• Corporate imagination*
• Expeditionary
marketing*
* As explained in reference 1 www.linkedin.com/in/anilyerra

8. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#4
PARTNERSHIPS & ALLIANCES
Working jointly is vital due to several inter-dependent
forces, shorter time cycles and high costs and risks
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Add new
skill sets
Sharing & cost
Gain market clout
efficiencies
Complementary Relationship Improve Go-to-
products and
Marketing market
services
Innovations and
Attack new markets
new products
Define
industry
standards
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9. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#5
MARKET ORIENTATION
Superior products and services through cross-
functional collaboration driven by the market pulse
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1. Need to introduce customer oriented attitude to firm’s operations.
Necessity significantly downplayed compared to other things
2. Departmental integration: ‘R&D – Marketing’ necessary
Marketing Innovation R&D
Inputs Process Knowledge
Product / Service
addressing
customer need
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10. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#6
CUSTOMERS
Expectations and fears of obsolescence are high, new
technology adoption is an important decision
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Understanding Customers
• Customer Behaviour
• Decision making process
• Early/late adopter of technology
Formulate
Strategies
to avoid obsolescence in a market environment of
high speed improvement and innovation
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11. 7 Essentials of IT Marketing
#7
4 Ps
General features of the IT environment can be better
understood by applying the standard framework
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Product Place Price Promotion
• Technology map to • Complex Channel and • Complex pricing • Cost effective
guide product Supply considerations environment leveraging of
development in the high-tech • Buyer’s perceptions advertising and
• Licensing technology market and pricing concerns promotion tools
or commercializing • Diminishing • After-sales service • Strong brand and
products? distinctions in supply pricing cobranding strategies
• New product chain members • Unavoidable decline to allay customer
development: ongoing • Integrating internet in prices over time anxiety
management into existing • Technology Paradox • Product
• Intellectual Property distribution channels preannouncements
• ‘free’ to ‘fee’ trend
protection • Influential role of • Integrated marketing
• Transparent costs via
channel members in communications to
internet
selling technology manage customer
• Dynamic pricing relationships
strategies
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12. Thank You!
References
1. Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations by Jakki Mohr, Sanjit Sengupta and Stanley Slater (Second Edition)
2. Asymmetric Marketing: Tossing the 'Chasm' in the Age of the Software Superpowers by Joseph E. Bentzel (2006)
3. Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of
Business Development Success by Mike Schultz and John Doerr (2009)
4. Marketing IT Products and Services by Jessica Keyes (2010)
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