Marketing Role

Strategic Marketing
Strategic marketing is more than a title one acheives after doing product marketing for while. Strategic marketing is the ability to “see” the opportunities for products and services that may or may not currently exist. It is the ability to “cut through” the minutia of the day-to-day operations of the organization, intense market hype, and analysts predictions to determine the core needs and issues related to the product and service.  It’s also understanding the customer needs, sometimes before the customer knows them, and translating them into opportunities.   Strategic Marketing is part structured analytical approach, part clear vision, part common sense and part creative genius. While an MBA can help with vocabulary and underpinnings of the process, strategic marketing is something that comes with experience.

Technology or market experience is not the critical component to successful strategic marketing, and in some instances, it can actually be a hindrance..  The critical component is being able to apply a structured, well-designed approach to solving complex marketing questions and issues.  With nearly seven years of experience consulting in two of the most highly acclaimed marketing and consulting organizations in Silicon Valley, The McKenna Group and USWeb/CKS, I had the opportunity to develop and hone these skills. I worked on numerous client engagements and directed and managed the consulting process to deliver Strategic Marketing directions and programs for numerous markets (e.g., Cellphones, 3D graphics boards, a cutting-edge video technology, PCs, 3D games, ASIC devices, Network ICs).  These project ranged from $35K to $350K and in many cases drove the future strategic plans for the company. Through this experience, I have learned how to develop and implement a structured approach to get to the critical questions and answers.

However, a structured approach is only part of the answer. The difficult part is to transform the findings and opportunities into actionable marketing initiatives that lead to success.   I used this structure approach to develop and implement strategic marketing initiatives at both InsuranceNow and ClickCollect. At ClickCollect, I used a thorough and structured approach to position the company, raise investment and drive the marketing and branding of the site. I developed an internal marketing system to track and measure the effectiveness of all outside partners and other marketing initiatives, without expensive CRM software and on-time and on-schedule.  While ClickCollect became a casualty of the dotcom bust, it was the most effective, user-friendly and informative site in the collection industry. 

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Product Marketing
Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish the boundaries between strategic marketing and product marketing.  For the purpose of illustrating direct product development and management experience, I will try and differentiate.

I have had direct product marketing experience for products and services.  While at Hitachi America, I had the responsibility for three major ASIC product introductions.  These were new families of ASIC devices.  included in these responsibilities were the introduction of a number of technology advancements, including ultra thin packages and high density pinouts.  When I left Hitachi these products represented nearly all of the ASIC product revenue and design wins. I drove the development of all documentation and support material, and my group was the only group within Hitachi to control their own material development. I personally handled press tours and developed articles and information for the press. However, I took on many other responsibilities.  I also conceived and developed a internal salesperson and applications engineer training program titled, ASIC University.  Through that project, that coincided with regional sales meetings, we trained and educated the sales force on the complexities of our product and the needs of the customer.   I also conceived of a lighthearted comic strip that was used to drive home the key value propositions of some of the ASIC product features.  This was extremely well received by the internal target audience.

I also was responsible for closing some of the largest deals in the ASIC department. I personally developed and nurtured the largest customer (by design wins) from initial quote to completed designs.

While a marketing consultant, many of the product marketing manager responsibilities became my responsibility. On numerous occasions, I had responsibility for defining the target audience, the compelling reason to buy, the whole product requirements, distribution strategies and the product and brand positioning. While the list is numerous and too lengthy to discuss in any detail here, the range of product cuts across the spectrum, from semiconductor components to OO software development tools to new video technologies.

I also drove product marketing for the online collection service at ClickCollect.  For this service, I conceived of the business and marketing plan, drove the partnership strategy and conceived and developed the brand.  Basically, I conceived and developed the whole enchilada.   Included in this marketing effort was an internal marketing tracking and measurement system. Based on promotion codes, we could track the effectiveness of every marketing promotion and activity, including the effectiveness of the sales team.  This was developed using standard technologies and code, without the use or expense of extremely expensive CRM software.  We carefully determined our needs and developed a tailored solution to those needs. I developed and tracked numerous marketing programs including: e-mail campaigns, direct mail pieces (to customers and partners), handout pieces, ad banners, and more.

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Corporate Marketing and Branding
All too often, corporate marketing and branding gets confused with image and advertising.  Brand is much more complex than that, and encompasses the whole experience when interacting with a company and product.  A company may have the slickest commercials and the greatest claims, but if you call their customer support line and cannot get an answer that create a much stronger brand experience.  The greatest challenge is create a clear and concise brand image that is thoroughly and consistently delivered in all marketing material and customer experiences. 

Many of the marketing consulting projects that I delivered where designed to help clients understand what their brand opportunities were and how to deliver their messages in a clear and consistent way.  To understand and define the message, you first have to know the target audience, the compelling reason to buy, the “whole product” or solution, the competition, the distribution challenges, and the pricing issues.  Often times this is not a simple exercise.  At Insurance Now, I defined what the brand was to be, outlined the market and competitors and structured the marketing organization to capitalize on the opportunities available.

With ClickCollect I took it a step farther, I implemented and developed the brand. At ClickCollect, we were creating a brand that was cost effective and informative and built on trust. We developed this trust by having a noted, friendly authority in collections as our spokesman, Len Sklar.  I recruited and negotiated the terms of Len’s contract.  In addition we provided the most comprehensive, and instruction information about collections on the web.  We also were the only collection agency to have a Truste seal.  Our site was not just informative, our site was user-friendly and extremely cost effective. I developed the user interface ad structure all of the content of the site.  I defined the look and feel and made all of the branding decisions.

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