IT Paves the Road to Higher Revenues Rich Bowers Tech Scout [email protected] Sponsored by the...
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Transcript of IT Paves the Road to Higher Revenues Rich Bowers Tech Scout [email protected] Sponsored by the...
ITPaves the RoadtoHigher Revenues
Rich BowersTech Scout
www.RABComm.comSponsored by the
EnterpriseOhio Network
January 24, 2008Columbus State Community College
AgendaToday – spotlight is on IT – but the techniques
we discuss can apply to any field
First, a traditional marketing approach
Second, a way to re-think your current offerings
Specific discussion of “seminar selling”
Sample mini-seminar
Discussion - sharing
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Ohio IT ClearinghouseComputer science
Nursing school surveys
Basic skills
Need more data
Who’s responsible? K-12 Employers Government, retraining Higher ed, community colleges, contract training
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What is it about IT?Mission critical
Source of risk and expense
High Tech aura Very specialized Mysterious – requires gurus
“IT training” – Old hat? Ineffective? Why bother? Constantly changing, doesn’t work.
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Education as a business
Classic Formula:
Expertise
Resources
Customers
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PROFIT
(excess revenues)
Education as a business3 Immutable Rules of Business
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Find out what your customer wants
Give it to him/her
Repeat
Elements of successful businessLow costs (e.g., costs lower than revenues)
Adequate pricing (e.g., revenues lower than costs)
Customer turnover
Repeat business
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Current productTraditional fare
Sequential
Calendar-paced
Appears to be a series, but really more a Chinese menu
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Classic marketing Idea stands on its own
Focus on benefits
Short term & long term needs
Sets up customer for better life and more products in the future
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Competitive marketingFocus on consequences of not buying
Compare favorably to the competition
Knock the competition
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Hard core marketingMore forceful messaging
Strongest appeals: Fear Uncertainty Doubt Sex
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FUDS
FUDSFear:
Does your competitor have better utilization of their computing resources?
Uncertainty:Can you survive a recession without better IT?
Doubt:Are your IT resources really adequate?
Sex:The more you can get done in less time, the more time you have for LOVE!
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The essence of marketingFind out what is remarkable about your
product, and let the world know
If you can’t find anything remarkable, make a change
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin
Free Prize Inside: How to Make a Purple Cow, Seth Godin
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The essence of marketingSeth Godin: The 5 P’s of Marketing
Product, Pricing, Promotion, Positioning, Publicity, Packaging, Permission, Pass-along
What’s remarkable about this list?
“Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.”
“Finding new ways, more clever ways to interrupt people doesn't work.”
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Generating a customer baseFind a parade and get in front of it
Make the customer’s experience memorable and quick, increase turnover
Give your customer a reason and a way to come back and buy again
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Deep understanding of your customer?What do YOU think your product is?
Education?
Communication?
Technology transfer?
Power?
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Deep understanding of your customer?What does YOUR CUSTOMER think your
product is? Community/Student Perspective
Education?
Credential?
Respect?
Power?
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classroom
Traditional educationhighly simplified
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Teachers
Students
Application/“Real World”
Assessment – “Proof of learning”“Passing the test makes me qualified …”
Did you get the info? Can you remember the info this long?
Can you apply the info? Can you apply the info in our constructed
environment?
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Success Advancement
Community/student view
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JOB
Expectations
New JOB
Exceed Expectations
Purpose of formal education?Get knowledge to meet expectations
job personal
How to get knowledge to exceed expectations? Intermediate? Advanced?
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Opportunity – change, re-purpose
Re-design the process?
Re-design the product?
Re-design the Goal?
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Assets in place
Facilities Know-how Talented teachers and “knowledge
people” Curriculum/syllabus Resources (tho they may be hidden) Outside the “for-credit” structure &
limits
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Community
Students
Not to re-invent …But to re-package
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-- Invaluable assets
• Facilities• Know-how• Talented teachers and “knowledge people”• Resources• Outside the “for-credit” structure & limits
• Community• Students
• Community• Students
Re-thinking the problemRealizations:
You have more knowledge than the student needs At all Immediately Perceived
You have more knowledge than the student can absorb (in the “class” context)
The market expects everything at a fast pace “Long” term planning is hard to visualize (1 year
out?)
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Re-thinking the objective
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JOB
Expectations
Employees judged not merely by what she knows …
But mainly by what she can do.
Student’s real goal – Functionality
Student’s real need – Independence(to exceed new expectations)
RecapYour Goals:
Provide education Product: educated student
Customers Goals Functionality Product: higher pay/status, better job
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New Strategy
Teach the basics
Teach how to learn this subject independently
Provide community - resources
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New tactics
Provide short courses
Provide structure and sources of additional and future resources
Offer a community of students, faculty and the community for help
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New Tactics – Short coursesBased on functional model, not product model
Mail-merge – invites discussion of database understanding, via e.g. Excel or Access – open source alternatives
Presentation – invites discussion of graphics via photo software, Photoshop Elements - open source alternatives
Create documents – invites discussion of search engines, info literacy – even if focused on formatting the results
How to use the Web for work – when do we move beyond the threat to get to the value?
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New Tactics – How to learn moreHow to use the menu structure
How are “Help” files organized – how to search for an answer
Where are the online resources for this function or product
What/where are the forums / communities – how to gauge trustworthiness
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New Tactics – Your Support CommunityCommunities are increasingly easy to establish
online
Discussion Boards, blogs offer discussion capability
Each student is registered in the community, each faculty member – anyone else you can productively bring in
The community provides specific support, offers a test market for ideas, spotlights needs for new courses, identifies potential instructors
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New Tactics – Your new education productBecomes a part of your campus’ community
On-going continuing, life-long education
Makes education a wholistic program – demonstrates how it lives beyond the classroom
Springboard for new products, new techniques, new resources
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How?
3 Immutable Rules of Business
Find out what your customer wants
Give it to him/her
Repeat
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How? Learn the concerns of your local
customer market Security Privacy Productivity/Costs Basic skills
Mine your inventory Expertise Resources
Self-Train to fill the initial gaps
Involve a committee of insiders and outsiders to help design
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Re-think the structure of courses Does it really make sense to spend 10 weeks on Word I? Quick seminars, smaller chunks
Re-think the idea of class leaders
You don’t need a PhD, you need a basic understanding, good communication skills, instincts & CURIOSITY
The net change
Now: Classes, relatively long duration, structured,
individual help is a struggle, no follow-up
Soon: Learn basics, learn how to self-train, learn where
to find help resources, access to a support community
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RevenueNew idea – Age-old sales model
Re-package product into smaller units Lower prices, more customers accessing more
product Faster turnover More likely repeat business
Additional revenues Subscription Advertising Grants (for basic education in name of “Workforce
Development”) More?
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Radically new?Education has an opportunity to meet the new
challenges of information overload
Radically new result of the Information Age?
Well, not exactly:
People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)
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Promotion – Heralding your Purple CowGive your initial series a special name
Advertising
Word of mouth
Non-traditional support
Samples Invite your friends – throw a party
“The Essentials of …” “How XXX Can Save Your Life” “Answers to Questions You Don’t Want the Boss to
know You had to Ask About XXX”
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Computing in the CloudSample “short course”
Introductory seminar – Meet your CC
60 – 90 minutes
Relaxed, soft sell
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