Comments on Make Marketing History: Geek Marketing 101.

I was just looking for a way to market a techie un...

2008-04-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

I was just looking for a way to market a techie unconference to geeks, and instead I get an awesome confirmation of what's right and wrong with so much of the way my industry works. I love "it's not a department"! Thank you!

These comments have been invaluable to me as is th...

2007-06-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.

This is great stuff. I am working on an MBA in ma...

2007-01-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

This is great stuff. I am working on an MBA in management now and I am taking a Marketing Management class. This is some very useful stuff and I hope to bring it up in class tonight. I hope to start my own business one day and advice from these types of blogs has been very insightful.

I recently posted a related topic on my blog about a social experiment that I read about called "Tappers and Listeners" Technology folks need to change their attitudes toward users and these kinds of discussions on blogs is a great start. You have a new subscriber.

I also just found this post through Guy K.Brillian...

2006-10-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

I also just found this post through Guy K.

Brilliant stuff, John. Truly. Thanks for the tips. You've got a new feed subscriber.

Thanks to everyone for your comments - they're alw...

2006-10-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for your comments - they're always the best part of blogs and I hope you choose to read and comment on more recent posts too.

I came across your 'Geek Marketing 101' thru Guy K...

2006-10-24T02:44:00.000-07:00

I came across your 'Geek Marketing 101' thru Guy Kawasaki's blog .. Having reached the seventh iteration of a marketing doc for a VoIP product .. your 10 pointer definately cleared the fog.

Points 4 and 5 particularly helped me find the focus for my VoIP product document.

Can't even begin to imagine how I'd forgotten the value of point 7.

thanks so much for this John! I've been organizin...

2006-10-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

thanks so much for this John! I've been organizing a HUGE presentation to a local ad club out here in Western Mass on Wednesday, and your #2 item made me realize what I'm doing: acting as a translater between the world of the uncommunicative (where I have many friends) and the world of the untechnical(where I normally reside). It's certainly some job, I can assure you. I think translating from ancient greek to modern geek might be easier.

Excellent list..."Marketing is not a department......

2006-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Excellent list...

"Marketing is not a department..." a truth few understand. In the nineties we used to say "everyone is in sales" - but the real statement should be "Everyone is in marketing."

After 15 years of tech marketing, this is a super ...

2006-10-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

After 15 years of tech marketing, this is a super summary. I even venture that we don't have websites anymore, we have webfronts, communication points. Truly successful technology has been that which everybody just "gets" right away.
Thanks. Webconomist

John,Great list. Super smart. I'm totally bookmark...

2006-10-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

John,

Great list. Super smart. I'm totally bookmarking this one.

As for the 10 point lists...this is sage enough advice to not need a list of 10, but, unfortunately, the world of scanning readers relies on it. ;)

I usually hate my 10 point lists, but end up getting the most pickup from them. Can't wait to read more (lists or no lists).

What is real marketing?Hey guys I have what you we...

2006-10-21T03:11:00.000-07:00

What is real marketing?

Hey guys I have what you were looking for, since long.
It is a wonderful tool or way to finally do this and that...

All the rest is just technology...

Great post! Reminds me of two things said by Seth...

2006-10-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Great post! Reminds me of two things said by Seth Godin.

The first is from his "This is Broke" series. He said that once he showed you things that were broke, it was going to frustruate you, because you'd quickly find things all over your world that are just as thoroughly broke - and you'd want to fix them. I look at the marketing in the company I work for, and I'm frustrated because I see that parts of it are BROKE. Especially the product manual.

The second comes from a talk Seth gave at Google, where he said "Nobody cares about your product - unless you're Google!" Unless your company's name is Google, you can't assume anyone gives a flying flip about your amazing product at all. Creating that buzz is ALL up to you. Failing to create that buzz is not your product's fault (necessarily), it's probably yours.

Thanks for writing this - I'll be checking your feed from now on!

Good Article, i have read all, many thanks for you...

2006-10-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Good Article, i have read all, many thanks for your sharing

All your points are great and 1-3, 5 and 6 are esp...

2006-10-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

All your points are great and 1-3, 5 and 6 are especially excellent. Very much within the spirit of the agile method of keeping things simple. Keep up the great blogging you have a lot of good content.

@ FearStrategy for me lies somewhat outside the pu...

2006-10-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

@ Fear

Strategy for me lies somewhat outside the pure marketing remitof this post - although in another breath I am quite likely to say that the marketing mindset and the strategic one are very similar.

To some degree, when I talk about product development I am implictly if not explicitly doing so from a strtaegic perspective. Product development is not just about what colour the thing is, but all about the sort of competitive analysis to which you allude. It must answer the question "What needs will this product/service meet in a way that's better than anyone else can or is currently doing?"

For me, as you will see elsewhere in my blog - the way you beat the competition is by produing something amazing. Thanks for reading.

Great post!I think marketing is definitely the mos...

2006-10-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Great post!
I think marketing is definitely the most misunderstood function, not just to outsider, but even to marketing people themselves. I really like your list, but I don't think it's complete. A very important piece of marketing that is left out is strategy - what to do to win against all those competitors.

I'm a little late to this party, John. Sorry. You'...

2006-09-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late to this party, John. Sorry. You've got some great ideas on geek marketing. Hope you don't mind me thowing in a few more.

A) Got a good technology product? Get over it! Technology marketing is not about the product.

B) Technology marketing is about understanding your buyers -- the people who will pay money to solve problems with your technology. The challenge becomes reaching your buyers.

C) On the web, reaching technology buyers is easy. -- you are what you publish. The New Rules of Marketing and PR are about getting your messages into the market through web content of all kinds -- blogs, direct-to-buyer PR, great web sites, e-books and whatnot. And it is about participating in the online forums that your buyers are in.

That needed to be said!I think "web2.0" software c...

2006-08-21T03:23:00.000-07:00

That needed to be said!
I think "web2.0" software companies like Salesforce.com are successfully marrying geekery and sales & marketing well. They've realized that consumers (even biz conusmers) think "what not how" and "will, not can"... and there's hardly a need to RTFM, the benefits are very clear.

I love 7( Tech Support is Marketing) and 10( DeMys...

2006-08-20T23:38:00.000-07:00

I love 7( Tech Support is Marketing) and 10( DeMystifies)
Hat Tip to Ye From a Geek Learing Marketing.

Lauren - if productivity soars I will happily exce...

2006-08-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Lauren - if productivity soars I will happily except a bonus but otherwise I'd be interested in their reaction.

Dan - many thanks - but does that come from a geek or a marketer or just a slow reader?

Best post I've read all day.

2006-08-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Best post I've read all day.

Brilliant, my friend, and useful too!And glory be,...

2006-08-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Brilliant, my friend, and useful too!

And glory be, you now joined the ranks of "those who pontificate from 10 point lists."

It wasn't so painful, was it?

If you are successful at getting geeks to embrace marketing, we may just send you the Middle East. We could use some people who are truly skilled in harmonizing warring factions. Thanks for making the world a better place.

What perfect timing! My marketing niche has recent...

2006-08-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

What perfect timing! My marketing niche has recently changed to technology. Great list. I have printed copies for my team.

John,As a non-geek, this blog makes me very, very ...

2006-08-11T05:41:00.000-07:00

John,
As a non-geek, this blog makes me very, very happy. I hope all marketers will take your points to heart and apply them.

Thanks you.