Understate or Overhype?
“Marketing slime!” I used the term back when I developed software, then became its target after moving to the dark side (marketing).
Such statements are usually good-natured, yet tension can arise between software engineers and marketers when discussing appropriate language to describe a product. Engineers by nature must be very precise and may prefer to losing a prospect over misleading them. Marketers want to draw attention to a product by describing it in the most compelling terms possible and may prefer to stretch the meaning of a desirable word rather than lose a prospect.
Each group has a point. Prospects notice quickly and lose interest when a product description exceeds reality. On the other hand, an opportunity to address their problem can be derailed if a product description is devoid of words that connect with their needs.
Think about it like this. The diagram below represents the continuum between understatement and overhyping. Overhyping product capabilities hurts prospects by misleading them into thinking a problem can be solved when it can’t. Understating capabilities prevents them from solving their problem because they don’t fully understand what the product can do.
Clarity is the goal. What does the product do? What types of problems can be realistically solved? Language that both clarifies and motivates is the goal. Sales success is the result.
The Evolution of Internet Access
Long-time friend Paul Gillin is an acknowledged expert on social media who has written several books on the subject. I highly recommend subscribing to his excellent blog and newsletter where he continually shares what he’s found through helping firms work out their social media strategies.
In my own busy end of the year, I overlooked a piece in one of his December newsletters until this morning. In it he summarized five important insights picked up at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco:
- Make marketing a service to customers
- You need a mobile strategy, and faster than you probably thought
- Social is the killer app (surprised, right?)
- Simulations are a powerful incentive to engage
- Everything on the Web
Supporting point #2 he included these projections regarding the transition we’re making toward mobile devices supplanting notebooks as our primary platform:
What implications does this have for your business? Will mobile devices totally supplant notebooks? Not likely, any more than notebooks have made desktop PCs disappear. What we’re seeing is a proliferation of devices in multiple form factors, all driven by data accessible via internet, with the user interface being packaged applications in more cases and browsers in fewer instances:
“Google’s Eric Schmidt made an interesting point: smart phones are actually more useful than PCs because they know more about the user, including location, and can deliver a more personal level of utility. This doesn’t mean PCs are going away. Rather, the plunging price of flat-panel displays will make PCs more of a dashboard for a user’s business and entertainment needs. However, the browser will be only one of several ways people will access the Internet.”
For more information, check out “Five Lessons from the Web 2.0 Summit“!
A Milestone for 20/20 Outlook
Exactly six months ago, 20/
20 Outlook LLC officially opened for business. If it seems longer than six months, you’re right – planning started over 18 months ago. I felt “nudged” in a new direction and began exploring how to deliver value to CEOs of private companies. The answer ultimately lay in combining an unusual (some might say “weird”) combination of C-level experience in partnerships, acquisitions, and product strategy for startups through billion dollar companies to create the 20/20 Outlook process.
In February, I set a goal to achieve a certain level of business in six months, and we’re on track to surpass that goal this month. Experienced friends in the consulting business say it takes a year to get it off the ground, so it’s exciting to reach this milestone in the middle of what no one but Washington would call a booming economy.
Most new businesses move in different directions once launched, and this one is no exception. Connecting with great clients was planned, and working with some great CEOs to help them achieve their goals is exciting. What was unanticipated is how many people have said “you should write a book” (more on that soon).
No one could be surrounded with a more supportive group of industry friends, comprising serial CEOs, C-level execs, VPs, VCs, private investors, consultants, and other computing industry leaders. Thanks to each of you for being so open and helpful with your advice and encouragement.
Finally, a special note of thanks goes to Mike Shultz, Infoglide Software CEO. His willingness to be a sounding board and continual idea source for 20/20 Outlook is deeply appreciated.
Important Indicators are Up
Because I help companies define an exit strategy and grow value accordingly, I’m always seeking better sources of data that capture the current state of the investment world. Pitchbook is one source that publishes particularly useful information about fundraising, investments, and exits. A recent Pitchbook presentation suggests that we’re on the verge of significant growth in private equity investment during the next year, and that’s good news companies moving toward an exit.
One factor mentioned in the Pitchbook prez is that capital overhang is high and growing. When that happens, valuations tend to increase because so much money is looking for a place to land and produce a return.
Additionally, chart below depicts that the number of quarterly private equity exits through corporate acquisitions, initial public offerings, and secondary sales is on the upswing after reaching a low in early 2009.
Finally, one of the best analysts in the business, Richard Davis of Needham and Company, commented in his newsletter that it’s been 25 years since he’s seen so many companies in a great position for an IPO.
Taken together, all these indicators suggest that, despite the continuing malaise in the broader economy, a CEO who keeps his/her company’s partnerships, product strategy, services, and partnerships aligned with potential acquirers can expect to see greater opportunity this year and through the next.
