Marketing on IT: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

October 27, 2008
I’ve recently had cause to notice the issue of marketing on  IT related products.  

 

THE GOOD. Whenever I was sitting at a cafe or at my desk typing on my loaned macbook air (see other post), anyone could clearly see that I’m using a Mac.   The brand is broadcast to the world as part of the technology.  I also feel a little bit cooler because I know the world knows that I’m using a Mac.  There aren’t little stickers all over saying that the processor is Intel and the sceen is made by X and Microsoft approves this computer like on my Leveno/IBM.

 

THE BAD. Several weekends ago, much to the dimay of my legs, decided to run a half marathon.  I showed up a day early to pick up my number and, rather than being handed just a typical .  As part of the “swag bag”  given to all runners I found a PDA.  Yes, you did not misread that.  I found a Personal Digital Assistant as part of a swag bag for running a half marathon in upstate NY.  While I didn’t finish last (1:38:52) I am not of the caliber of athlete used to receiving such sponsorship.  OK, below is a picture of the PDA front and back.  
Free PDA?
Free PDA?

 

I put this under “the bad” because of the waste.  I honestly can’t imagine anyone using this, and it is destined to end up in a landfill for 99% of the folks receiving them.  I find it actually amazing that an organization can basically provide a PDA in the same role they may provide a balloon or stress ball in the past. 

 

THE UGLY.    In looking around my office and in thinking about most of the server rooms that I’ve been in during the past, it is clear that the impact of the creative folds in the organization has had little impact on technology design.  The predominant design pattern of the day screams functional, both in form and style.  In a world in which markets for toasters and other kitchen appliances from famous designers are commonplace, it is surprising that the word of technology has remained so functional.  And it is true that when your significant other comments that your coat looks very functional what he/she really means is that it is ugly.  My Thinkpad and my wife’s Gateway are both pretty ugly.  I never really cared what a computer looked like till I borrowed a new Mac.

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Posted by Jason

Marketing of IT: Why Apple Gets It

October 17, 2008
First, some background.  I’ve always used Windows.  Though I was a chemical engineer, I took a real interest in computers and eventually pursued it as a career.  I was always a PC guy and thought that my in-laws (and everyone else) strange for their love of Apples.  Knowledge was part of the issue.  I could generally fix any problem with a Windows and even Unix while I had no experience with Apple.  Even now-though my practical knowledge has decreased with advanced degrees-I feel like I generally can fix just about any problem on a windows PC.  
I have however, become frustrated with my current system.  Despite doing everything possible (scanning for viruses, defragmenting, uninstalling unnecessary programs) my school issued IBM Thinkpad is still amazingly slow.  Rebooting can really be a 10 minute affair.  I also ended up getting an iphone and absolutely love it.  
My friend, who happens to be the educational rep for Apple, ordered me a MacBook Air to try for two weeks.  First the disclaimer.  I’m not being paid by Apple.  They haven’t offered me any free technology…..just a 2 week trial of an Air and a regular Macbook.   If Apple would like to offer me something in the future….please do…I’ll give you the address to send it!
So, about the Air.  I loved it.  It was amazing.  Sure, I had some switching problems.  I couldn’t get it to read my backup drive (NTSF format) and I never could get a remote drive to map.  I expected the switching problems.  
On the positive side, the MacBook Air is so wonderfully cool that I wanted to go places just so that people could see me using it.  I walk around just so I can feel how light it is….and I wondered if I would have to get a decidedly smaller bag if I were to own one.    I was cool and hip again, and it felt good.  
It was a fun 2 weeks, but unfortunately I just had to give it back.   
In the PC space,  competition has focused primaril on general functionality.  What is the best combination of RAM, HD space, video, etc. that I can get to fit me?  Sure, every company had the five different models and Dell provided the ability to customize to exactly fit customers.  Dell’s ability to customize while integrating supply chain efficiencies is a favorite case in many business classes and textbooks.
Apple, on the other hand, competes on cool.  THE ad campaign is one part of it, but I would argue that it goes down to the very foundation of the products that Apple puts out.  The silver finish and stylish precise nature of the keyboard design are just exuding coolness.  I am sure that among the high school crowds the MAC PC debate is less technology and more fashion.  Sure it costs more.  However, so do all good fashion brands.  

The technology aspects of the laptop exceeded my expectations.  It started up and hibernated very quickly (my two personal issues with my laptop) and was very stable.  

While the execution of my Mac experience has been great, it is still unlikely to convert me to a full time Mac user anytime soon.  First off, the organization that I work for  does not support Macs.  Supporting end user technology is a difficult and often thankless job.  Contact with end users is typically initiated only when problems occur, and there is a need to be able to offer a quick solution.  For this, adding an additional operating system to the mix complicates things for the support personnel.  

In addition, I have a great deal of existing technology and work process built into the way I work.  For example, I store articles in pdf forms in a directory on my computer which are connected to a local web server.  This enables me to link the articles directly from endnote, a bibliographic management software.  In other words, it would probably take me a good bit of work to duplicate the things I can already do.

The third reason is that I don’t have any money left in my IT budget.  If I did…then I may just be willing to look past 1 and 2.

For discussion and comment:

1. Does your organization support both Mac and Windows software?  If so, how do you justify the additional expense associated with supporting more than one operating system?

2. How much do you consider or value the coolness factor when considering a laptop purchase?

3. How large to you consider the switching costs between Mac and Windows?  Are the switching costs lower now than in the past?  What are they likely to be in the future?

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Posted by Jason

Marketing of IT: Keep End Users in Line or Support Your Customer?

October 16, 2008
Effective marketing of technology can generate demand for the latest technologies among employees.  These priorities create inherent conflicts between the end users and the individuals tasked with providing support.  As marketers, we are thrilled when our customers support the bleeding edge.  As IT support personnel, it terrifies us.  

 

The question of the role of the IT organization in personal support is a difficult one.  As a key task, the IT support department must insure that licenses related to propriety software are strictly adhered to.  In addition, the IT department wants to be able to resolve 100% of problems in a reasonable amount of time.  Standardization of technology can help the IT support department meet each of these goals.  However, standardization also can potentially limit the productivity of employees as well as limiting the organizational knowledge of how well a particular technology will work in an organization.  For example, a company standardizing on the Vista may not know that within their organization salespeople utilizing a Mac are more satisfied and require less support.

 

Consider the following scenario:
The Acme company supports all Dell laptops throughout the organization.  One senior VP of marketing decides that he needs to order a stylish new red Toshiba tablet that better supports his/her personal brand than the Dell.  When it comes in, the laptop can’t be given the standard image used for machines throughout the rest of the organization.  As a result, the configuration and support of the machine ends up taking up approximately 10 times what support for a normal machine usually does.  

 

In the same organization a group of ten contractors have been recently hired to fill out the creative end of the marketing department.  These users petition the CIO for permission to purchase 10 MacBook Pros.  Having worked in the creative field for most of their lives, these individuals feel they can be more productive using Macs, have had bad experiences with Vista, and are able to do most of their own support.  Having just heard about the problems with the Dell laptop, the CIO forbids them from purchasing the Macs and, in an official memo to the entire organization, states that all nonstandard technology will not be supported.  

 

The individuals do not relent and with the permission of the VP of Marketing, the individuals purchase 10 MacBook Pros.  While the individuals do most of their own support, there is a significant additional challenge to handle issues of hardware failure.
     

  1.  What is the function of IT desktop support management within an organization? Provide key insights into IT decisions for end users?  To set and enforce standards throughout the organization?  To support end users at all costs? 

    2.  

  2. How does the IT manager justify the costs of supporting multiple operating systems?  This added complexity is likely to have an added costs.

    3.  

  3. What do you do when individual departments have the capability to purchase their own IT?  Do you disown unsupported technologies or support only until the support becomes too expensive?   

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Posted by Jason

Price Discrimination on the Web

October 16, 2008

Since the emergence of electronic commerce, the web has been used as a way for organizations to segment the market and enable price discrimination — i.e., offering different prices to individuals shopping online compared with individuals shopping offline.  This has typically resulted in a situation in which consumers shopping online for books, CDs, and even cars pay a lower price than individuals shopping offline.

In one of our recent studies of the auto indudustry, we identified a mechanism that involves price discrimination within the online channel rather than between the online and offline channel.  By examining the search process of consumers and specifically the use of online buying services (OBS, websites specifically focused on providing information) as part of the purchase process, we found three distinct clusters—price OBS, product OBS, and portals—which were associated with significant differences in the price paid.  Individuals utilizing product OBS paid more than individuals utilizing price based websites or portals. We further found that underlying differences in search behavior were associated with consumer demographics.  

What is the take away here?  Obtaining information about the type of site a consumer is coming from may provide you with a way to price descriminate based on information—with those individuals who are likely to be more concerned with quaility information generally willing to pay a higher price.  

 The full paper associated with this post has been published in the Journal of Marketing.

Viswanathan, S., Kuruzovich, J., Gosain, S., and Agarwal, R. 2007. “Online Infomediaries and Price Discrimination: Evidence from the Automotive Retailing Sector,” Journal of Marketing 71(3) 89-107.

 

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Posted by Jason