Don't let software tools drive marketing activity

The availability of software tools tends to encourage some people to think they now possess the knowledge, capability and skills to successfully accomplish work they have no training in. Although paints, brushes and easels were readily available to anyone, few believed that the mere act of buying these tools transformed them into artists. But by a software package and suddenly they are graphic designers, web designers and accountants. The other side of the "technology" sale to non-experts is the leveraging of gullibility to sell supposed benefits  of a wonder product that somehow compensates for the purchasers lack of expertise. Taking the sale in isolation from its use as a tool for experienced users.

Some years ago chip makers Intel ran a powerful campaign aimed not at b-2-b customers who would actually buy their product, but at the general public who were invited to look for an "Intel Inside" label on the product. For buyers the business of comparing a whole range of specification points the task was now simple - they just had to look for a single label to know the product was "good". We even started to get feed back from sales people that this single parameter was being requested by b-2-b customers of electronic control systems. Forget that an R&D team had carefully researched the best electronic devices to meet the product specification and they actually knew what these things were. More recently we have encountered clients mesmerised with web technologies more interested in which CMS system (remind me, what does CMS stand for?) than the site content and navigation, or indeed the purpose.  

I was reminded of this selling "technology" to the non-technical when a client called excited about a new software product for marketing that had been demonstrated to him, something to do with e-mail he thought and just for a few tens of thousands of dollars it seemed like a bargain. Could I look into it? The web site he referred me to had no reference to the wonder software, just a series of hysterical messages inviting a call back - itself apparently worth $350 but offered free - and then a series of dead links.

Buying e-mailing software for its own sake is a bit like buying a car when you can't drive. Questions like do you have the e-mails of people you want to communicate with, indeed what is the message you want to send, do you comply with legislation, analysis, campaign tracking, your ISP etc. etc.? It is simply starting at the wrong end - learn to drive first, then once you have passed your test think about what car you need. There is a lot of knowledge and experience involved in using programs that goes on behind the scenes that a client does not have to get involved in. After all clients should be most interested in selling their own product, not managing software.  

Our philosophy at Technical Marketing Ltd has always been to start the marketing process from an analysis of business objectives, then to set goals and strategies that work to deliver those objectives. We develop marketing plans to describe the method, introduce a budgetary discipline for financial control  then work closely with our clients in implementing plans, measuring results and where relevant modifying activities.Technology in marketing is not an end in itself, but used by people with marketing knowledge can be a powerful tool. Driving a marketing plan to use one particular technology tool is not the most effective way to go.