Vignette Launches Rich Media Services July 14, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Enterprise Media, Streaming media , add a commentPossibly overlooked last month was a product launch announcement of enterprise video solutions from web content management kingpin Vignette (NASDAQ: VIGN). Vignette Video Services and the latest release of Vignette’s Rich Media Services is obviously aimed at companies who are already producing business video communications and want more strategic control over web viewership. Vignette says the new services are designed to help drive revenues using video to keep visitors glued to the site and increasing revenue opportunities.
The Straight Line: This announcement barely caused a ripple in the streaming media industry, but should cause rich media solution providers to take notice. Truly internet video is growing significantly and management of this content is the critical success factor.
Observations: Newly-forming Enterprise Multimedia Partnerships June 8, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Enterprise Media , add a commentOne of the positive signs I’m seeing in the enterprise multimedia market is the development of productive sales and marketing partnerships. Smaller, leaner tech companies are tapping into the large sales forces of vendors who are already calling on the same customers.
Partnering up with established players creates a win-win-win: up-and-coming firms gain critical distribution along with sales and marketing clout, while the established vendor adds a missing piece to their solution portfolio. The ultimate winner is the enterprise buyer who narrows the total vendor count but increases the variety of solution configurations.
The Straight Line: the enterprise multimedia vendor market is full of compelling application companies that should consider partnering with major vendors to shorten their time-to-revenue.
Enterprise multimedia application vendors should rethink the traditional IT channel strategy where a set of established resellers are recruited that are selling similar solutions. It’s tough to get mindshare in this channel.
A better approach is the asymmetric marketing model, developed by Joe Bentzel and detailed in his landmark book “Asymmetric Marketing: Tossing the ‘Chasm’ in the Age of the Software Superpowers”. This book demonstrates how early stage, disruptive technology solution companies can tie up with the established major players in the market in order to gain access to enterprise decision makers.
Creating an asymmetric partner strategy starts with a question: what companies are currently serving this market that don’t offer your solution, or may be missing a key ingredient to their solution strategy?
Stay tuned for additional posts as I dig into the anatomy of creating these high-value partnerships.
Outsourced Enterprise Webcasting Still a Viable Option April 19, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Enterprise Media, Marketing, Online Presentations, Streaming media, Webcasting, Webinars , add a commentFullview Media offers a complete suite of multimedia content creation services for companies who choose not to build their own. Despite the advancement and refinement of tools and systems to create webcasts and podcasts, outsourcing both the creative and technical processes still makes sense. The trick with webcasting services is to build scalable processes to manage costs while providing a high quality deliverable and customer service.
The Straight Line: ultimately the customer will push for lower costs, and unless the webcasting service provider can pass along economies of scale, profitability will suffer. (more…)
Getting to “No”: How to Vet Your Sales Process to Avoid Lost Deals April 13, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Enterprise Media, Enterprise Sales, Webcasting , add a commentThere’s a good post on SOCOM Sales about learning from a lost sales deal. In enterprise sales, losing a deal casts a harsh light on the sales rep, the sales manager and the sales process. So it’s rare that sales wants to deconstruct a lost sale as a learning exercise, and it’s even rarer that a buyer will want to share the reasons. That’s why it’s important.
The Straight Line: Buyers may not want to spill their guts about a buying decision. A better plan is to discipline your sales process so that you get to “no” faster. Contradictory? Read on… (more…)
Wreck at the Intersection of Sales and Marketing April 11, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Enterprise Sales, Marketing, Uncategorized, Webinars , add a commentAwhile back I was running a sales organization for a Nasdaq tech company and my marketing manager came to voice a complaint. Basically, the sales guys weren’t following through on the leads being created. “These leads are expensive”, I was told.
So I did what most sales managers do, and I went around and rousted the sales team. Their reaction? “These leads suck.”
The Straight Line: There’s a wreck, right at the intersection where marketing becomes sales. Lead handoff is still surpisingly out of synch with sales prospecting. (more…)
Cisco Survey Puts Science into the Art of Selling Enterprise Video March 29, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Content Delivery, Enterprise Media, Enterprise Sales, Marketing, Online Presentations, Online Training, Webcasting , add a commentAnecdotally we always knew that consumer demand for technology can push businesses into action. Now we have the data to back up this notion. As reported by W. David Gardner in Information Week, a survey of 850 IT decision makers by Cisco Systems shows that video and Web 2.0 are being adopted by businesses worldwide due to spiking consumer demand.
The Straight Line: enterprise multimedia vendors need to leverage this demand and help their corporate prospects build the internal business case. (more…)
Good Company Names Should Need No Translation March 28, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Branding, Enterprise Media, Enterprise Sales, Marketing, Positioning, Webcasting , add a commentAs if selling multimedia enterprise applications isn’t challenging enough, hanging a name on your company that’s meaningless to your targeted buyer just adds to the confusion. “Media Publisher” is a great name for a webcasting solutions company. Qumu, the new name, is not. (more…)
How to Sell Webcasting to a Major Global Corporation
Posted by Brian Berlin in : Enterprise Media, Online Training, Streaming media, Webcasting , add a commentIf you’re interested in learning how an enterprise can benefit from the adoption and use of multimedia technology, visit Best Practice Videos at the Interactive Media Strategies’ website. I recently viewed an excellent video case study about Raytheon, the giant government contractor on the evolution of their webcasting operations. It’s an excellent primer for other like-minded enterprises, but an even better sales tool for webcasting solution providers.
The Straight Line: webcasting provides tangible benefits which need to be highlighted up front in the sales process. (more…)
The Multimedia Manifesto March 8, 2008
Posted by Brian Berlin in : CBT, CDN, Content Delivery, Enterprise Media, Online Presentations, Online Training, Streaming media, Webcasting, Webinars , add a commentMultimedia Manifesto is the website for everyone involved in the buy-sell of multimedia solutions to the enterprise. A lot of ink is spilled on content creation, delivery and management. But not a lot about getting to the right enterprise buyer to start the sales process, or how companies are finding their way through the vendor maze to identify the right solutions. This site will memorialize the adventures of both.