Is Your Business Model Built for the Long Haul?
Public statements notwithstanding, more business plans in Silicon Valley are built around technology than around customer relationships. It's just the way it is; we're talking about technology companies, right? The problem is that, given time, all technology either becomes obsolete or a commodity. With the increasing pace of technological change, this is happening sooner rather than later. The risk in building on technology rather than customer relationships is that you are never more than a wrong turn or two away from putting your business survival at risk. Customer relationships provide your business with more options, and strong relationships can be very forgiving of the occasional misstep, meaning your business is more resilient and your plans can be bolder. Further--and perhaps even more important--technology-centric business models limit your offerings and growth potential, so they are associated with lower valuations over the long term.
See Rubicon at SoftLetter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Seminar
October 23, 2008 - 10:00 AM
, San Mateo, CA
Online Reviews Second Only to Word of Mouth as Purchase Influencer in US
A broader investigation into how business can exploit online community underlines the importance of online information in driving purchase decisions, but the most influential information is beyond the direct control of companies selling products and services. Courting the small fraction of Internet users who write online reviews and comments is a very important task for many companies, but one they often neglect.
Many companies downplay the importance of online communities because only a few percent of all Internet users contribute to them heavily. What they don’t understand is that most other Internet users read those reviews and rely on them heavily when making purchase decisions. Taking good care of online communities can be a huge money-saver for companies trying to get more marketing impact from limited budgets.
WinMarkets Blogs
Proposition 8 and community review sites: Everybody loses
By Michael Mace on December 13, 2008
The passage of California's Proposition 8 (the gay marriage ban) has created a nasty problem for Yelp and other online reviews sites. The situation is a good example of the complexities of running a social site, and the ability of...
Think-ectomy Needed
By Nilofer Merchant on December 12, 2008
I believe consumers will end up co-driving what you produce and that will result in better products, that serve real needs. Our mindset needs to change. We need to have a think-ectomy on who is in charge.
Influencers vs. the swarm: Why both views of purchase influence are wrong
By Michael Mace on December 3, 2008
Summary. There's been a heated online debate about the ways consumers are influenced to buy things and adopt new social trends. Some people say a small group of Influencers drive most consumer decisions. Others argue that ideas spread through society...
Marketing Marketing
By Bruce LaFetra on December 2, 2008
The business equivalent of making sausage is the marketing of marketing. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (November 29-30, 2008), Tom Hayes and Michael Malone explain the new world of marketing in a Web-based world. They have a provocative name ("Marketing 3.0") and a new concept (the business meme or "beme"). In the end, they sound like apologists trying to make a pitch for why advertising agencies are still relevant and reminds me of this humorous video imaging what would happen if a modern advertising agency designed the stop sign. In short, they are marketing marketing.
Online Communities and Their Impact on Business: Ignore at Your Peril (Introduction)
By Michael Mace on October 23, 2008
In our strategy work with tech companies, we're frequently asked about web communities -- how they operate, what they can and can't do, and how a company should look to work with them. The companies we deal with generally fall...
Swing Thru the Ball
By Nilofer Merchant on October 23, 2008
What should you do? Do you stop things? Start things? Answer: yes, to both. Of course you should rethink and reevaluate but if you do that for long you put at risk the current business or effort simply because you didn't execute what you could have done.
Online Communities and Their Impact on Business. Part Three: Web Community and Social Life
By Michael Mace on October 23, 2008
In our strategy work with tech companies, we're frequently asked about web communities -- how they operate, what they can and can't do, and how a company should look to work with them. To help answer those questions, we surveyed...
Online Communities and Their Impact on Business. Part Two: Leading Web Destinations and Community
By Michael Mace on October 23, 2008
In our strategy work with tech companies, we're frequently asked about web communities -- how they operate, what they can and can't do, and how a company should look to work with them. To help answer those questions, we surveyed...
Online Communities and Their Impact on Business. Part One: How online community works
By Michael Mace on October 23, 2008
This is Part One of the report. To return to the Introduction, click here. Summary Working with online communities has long been touted as a great way for a company to save money in its marketing, support, sales, and even...
Know Yourself
By Nilofer Merchant on September 25, 2008
What matters to you? This isn't just a touchy-feely question, it's the bedrock that describes who you are. What is deeply felt and has meaning for you will ultimately inspire you to do your best work. It took me years...
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