it paves the road to higher revenues rich bowers tech scout [email protected] sponsored by the...

ITPaves the RoadtoHigher Revenues

Rich BowersTech Scout

[email protected]

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

1/24/08IT Paves the Road

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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.


4

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


7

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


28PARADIGM SHIFT

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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it paves the road to higher revenues rich bowers tech scout [email protected] sponsored by the...

Documents

customer basefind

customer wantsgive

better life

passalong whats remarkable

computing resources

better utilization

people doesnt work

community colleges