Marketing Primer for IT-BPO Services CEOs

Marketing Primer for IT-BPO CEOs Vijay Menon Vijay Menon Consulting www.vijaymenon.com Last updated: Jan 2012

In theory…In theory, marketing should be involved in all the four Ps – product, price, place,and promotion. Strategic Marketing Tactical Marketing Choose the value Communicate the Deliver the value value-Segment -Product and service -Sales promotion- Target management - Mass communication- Position - Pricing - One-to-one - Placement communication Source: Marketing Management, Philip Kotler 2

In practice, however…In practice, in the IT-BPO industry, marketing has little role to play in the first threePs – they are managed by other groups. So marketing is largely limited topositioning, branding, and communication. Strategic Marketing Tactical Marketing Choose the value Communicate the Deliver the value value-Segment -Product and service -Sales promotion- Target management - Mass communication- Position - Pricing - One-to-one -- Placement communicationMarketing’s role limited Marketing has little or Marketing has completeto inputs to corporate & no role. ownership.product planning. 3

Positioning is about focusing on ONE(and just one) big ideaThe standard way to write a positioning statement is to say what you do, for whom,and why you are better at it than others.To (target group and need) our (brand) is (the concept) that (what thepoint-of-difference is or does).A good example of an effective positioning statement-cum-tagline is the one that SAPused to reposition itself after the mySAP confusion of the early 2000s: The Best-Run Businesses Run SAPIt sought to put SAP firmly back where they liked to be—among the big boys. It wastheir rallying cry, their big idea. 4

Branding is about sending signals.Signals create associations. What it stands for Brand idea What it feels Sensory Brand The attitude it projects and sounds like identity personality Brand Signals Visual Verbal It’s name and how it talks What it looks like identity identity Source: Landor Associates 5

Communication is about engaging with manyaudiences, each with different needs and wants Does it solve my problem? Customers Is it cost-effective? Is this a good Is this newsy? What’s place to work? Employees Media different? Company Story What’s the ROI? Investors Analysts How does this change the status quo? 6

The communication is through several touchpoints across the engagement cycle Customers Analysts Media Investors EmployeesAwareness Advertising Advertising Press releases Direct marketing Advertising Sponsorships Conferences Press meets Earnings release Sponsorship Trade shows Trade shows Pre placement Direct marketing Direct marketingInterest PR Subscriptions Investor Websites Meetings conference Collateral Annual reportsDesire White papers Deep dives Meetings Meetings ROI/TCO Site visits Site visits collateralAction Site visits Query handling Query handling Query handling Demos Customer storiesLoyalty Newsletters Subscriptions Earnings calls Newsletters Events Conferences Town halls Account based Intranets marketingNote: Marketing does not lead all initiatives. For example, it supports HR in employee communication andsupports Finance in investor communication. 7

Fund your marketing programadequatelySetting up and running a marketing and communication program requiresbuilding a team and working with external agencies for market research, creativedesign, content writing, advertising, PR, events, sponsorships and so on.As a general guideline, mid- and large-sized IT services companies spend 1% of theirannual revenue on marketing.Smaller companies (revenues < $100m) will need to spend a much higher percentageif they hope to create an impact.Regardless of what you’ve heard, zero-money marketing is a myth. 8

Need help?Because experience matters.Vijay Menon is a Bangalore based marketing and communication consultant with atrack record of building IT, BPO, and technology brands among customers,influencers, investors, and employees. He was previously VP Marketing at Infosys BPOand QuEST.ContactVijay Menon Consultingvijaym@vijaymenon.comwww.vijaymenon.com© Vijay Menon Consulting, 2012 9

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Marketing Primer for IT-BPO Services CEOs

by Vijay Menon on Jun 30, 2010

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Marketing Primer for IT-BPO Services CEOs — Presentation Transcript