280 Insider Newsletter
February 2006
- The 280 Insider
- Running Successful Beta Programs Part 4
- Marketing Fun: Ad Slogan Generator
- Cool Products, Hot Companies Blog
- New Product: Beta Program Toolkit
- 10 Steps to Global Launch Success Part 2
The 280 Insider
This month we are proud to announce the availability
of the Beta
Program Toolkit as well as our new "Cool
Products, Hot Companies" Blog. We
also continue our series on "How to Run A Successful Beta Program".
And we've included part two of a guest article on "Ten Steps To Global
Launch Success", written by Karina Jensen, Founder of Global Minds
Network as well as a link to a marketing site we think you'll find to
be fun,
Running Successful Beta Programs Part 4
In the first three parts of this series we covered
how to set appropriate goals for your beta program, timelines, who should
manage it, recruiting and incentives for participating. This part will
cover kicking off the program and keeping it running smoothly.
Kicking off the program
Once you've lined up all of your participants and gotten them to sign
a beta program agreement and NDA you are ready to kick off the program.
The most important thing at this point is to do everything that you can
to avoid a false start. If the participants have a bad first experience
with the product your chances of getting them to continue putting in effort
will be much lower.
Read all five parts of this article in the Beta Program White Paper (also included in the Beta Program Toolkit).
Marketing Fun: Ad Slogan Generator
Need a good slogan? No problem...give
this website a shot. I've started out with the word "Cheese",
but you can type in your product name and see what comes up.
Cool Products, Hot Companies Blog
Want to know what we think is interesting in the tech world? Check out
our new Cool
Products, Hot Companies Blog...
New Product: Beta
Program Toolkit
The Beta Program Toolkit is now available! It includes a narrated 37 slide
seminar/presentation on best practices and a white paper.
Also included are 17 templates to help you run an effective Beta program with less effort:
- Critical Decisions Checklist
- Deliverables Checklist
- Beta Program Plan Template
- Beta Program NDA
- Customer Beta Agreement
- Bug & Feature Database (Excel & FileMaker formats)
- Beta Customer Database (Excel & FileMaker formats)
- Beta Program Timeline
- Text for emails to participants
*Invitation
*Acceptance/ Rejection letter
*Kickoff, Weekly status update, Thank You - Bug submission form
- Exit Survey
- Beta Program FAQ
- Final Report Template
If you are responsible for running beta programs
you'll
want to check this out.
10 Steps to Global Launch Success Part 2
Continued from the previous newsletter...
6. Test your message and image
There are many global marketing mistakes that have been made by well-intentioned
global strategists who assumed similarity rather than difference. In Taiwan,
the translation of the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation"
was presented as "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead."
Nike offended Muslims when the "flaming air" logo for its Nike
Air sneakers looked too similar to the Arabic form of God's name "Allah".
Microsoft offended customers in Latin American markets when a Spanish
language version of XP Windows asked users to select their gender between
“not specified”, “male”, or “bitch” (for
example, “hembra” means woman in Venezuela while it means “bitch”
in Nicaragua). To avoid embarrassing and costly mistakes, ensure that
you work with a recognized translation service and review the final copy
and image with your country marketing manager for context and relevance.
7. Internationalize customer communications
One way to leverage resources and reduce localization costs is to internationalize
communications. This simply means that key international messages are
incorporated into global communication vehicles created at headquarters
in order to benefit international offices and local markets. The international
message supports local marketing efforts by country managers. It also
positions the company as a global player. This includes references to
a worldwide rollout and product availability in key geographic markets
in the worldwide announcement. References to country-specific success
stories and the use of analogies and examples that will be understood
by an international audience also need to be considered.
8. Ensure timely and localized deliverables
Since increasing global market reach is a growing priority, US companies
are starting to pay more attention to local marketing needs. A global
marketing strategy that succeeds in avoiding local customer rejection
needs to focus on localized products and marketing tools. A product needs
to address local requirements for design features, packaging, and pricing
among others. Marketing positioning and messaging needs to consider the
language, tone, and imagery. Internal teams need to select and design
culturally appropriate communication vehicles determined by language,
terminology, design, color, style, format, and delivery.
Timing is a critical component for ensuring effective support and execution on announcement day and post-launch. Many companies make the mistake of prioritizing US-centric and English language products and communication tools, with localized products and material delivered weeks (and sometimes months) after the global launch date. In order to provide the local marketing and sales teams with the means to succeed, ensure that translated and localized tools meet an early production timeline to guarantee delivery prior to launch.
9. Deliver effective support tools to ensure global
readiness
In order to achieve global readiness at launch, marketing and sales teams
need to be aligned in every corner of the globe. Sales team members need
to be engaged early in the launch planning process in order to achieve
launch objectives for sales readiness, sales tool development, and customer
engagement. An inventory of sales tools should be reviewed and selected
for relevance and value in supporting local marketing initiatives. An
important and often overlooked opportunity involves the development of
international customer references and local success stories. Active use
of quotes and testimonials from international customers helps the country
teams accelerate sales and positions the company as a global player.
10. Enable local sales teams through training
You're getting ready to launch and your sales team needs to speak the
same language. How do you ensure the same message in different countries?
When ensuring sales readiness globally, it's important to develop awareness,
understanding, and knowledge. This can be accomplished by targeting local
training needs and resources. When planning for local sales readiness,
don’t forget to secure time and availability from product managers,
trainers, and thought leaders who can travel to the regions. In addition
to field communication and support tools, a series of education activities
need to reach all members of the worldwide sales force. Rapid e-learning
sessions followed by live training for each region should ensure that
sales teams are ready to go at launch.
Time to market, efficient processes, and knowledgeable teams are at the core of global launch and market success. When reviewing your global readiness check list, ensure that you have the capabilities to secure timely delivery through strategic planning, effective communications, operational efficiency, and globally responsive teams. Can you create a global launch plan and roadmap for both global and local needs? Can you communicate effectively with teams across functions and cultures? And can you educate teams to connect with local and global customer needs? It's important to leverage internal resources while increasing understanding and participation within your organization. Make global launch readiness your competitive advantage and you’ll enjoy increased marketing and sales results around the world.
Karina can be reached at: karina@globalmindsnetwork.com
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