280 Insider Newsletter
In This Issue: March 16, 2004
• The 280 Insider
• Brian Lawley Speaking at AIPMM
• AIPMM Discount for 280 Readers
• Companies to Watch: FireTide
• Books to Read: PM Handbook
• New From 280: QuickSurveys (tm)
The 280 Insider
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Dear 280 Group Subscriber,
This month's issue of the 280 Insider covers the AIPMM (Association of International Product Marketing Managers) conference, a hot new company named FireTide and a very useful new Product Marketing Handbook you won't want to miss. Additionally we discuss our new QuickSurvey (tm) offering for our clients who need to do effective customer surveys with minimal turnaround time.
Have an idea for an article you'd like to contribute or a hot company
we should cover? Contact us.
Brian Lawley Speaking at AIPMM
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Brian Lawley, President of the 280 Group, will speaking at the upcoming
AIPMM (Association of International Product Marketing & Management)
conference on March 22nd and 23rd in San Francisco. His session will cover
"How To Get Phenomenal Product Reviews", and will include tips,
tricks and techniques that learned over the years for influencers reviewers.
For more information go to www.aipmm.com.
AIPMM Discount for 280 Readers
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Subscribers to the 280 Insider newsletter can receive 10% off the regular
AIPMM conference price. Featuring Guy Kawasaki as the keynote speaker,
this is the only conference and expo designed especially for product marketers
and product managers. To sign up and receive the discount simply call
the AIPMM at 520-275-0628 and mention that you are a subscriber to our
newsletter.
Companies to Watch: FireTide
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One of the hot companies we've been watching is Firetide. Funded by Menlo
Ventures, HMS Ventures, and Hawaiian Electric Industries, FireTide is
a wireless networking company. They have just shipped their first product
and have brought on a talented new CEO by the name of Bo Larsson. Additionally
they also just won the Best of Show at the Wi Fi planet show.
At first glance FireTide appears to be yet another mesh networking company. But when you look a little deeper you realize that they provide a very unique and compelling solution. The HotPoint Wireless Mesh Router, their first product, completely eliminates the need to pull Ethernet cables. Anyone who is familiar with setting up networks knows that when you set up a network one of the biggest hassles is getting Ethernet ports to where you need them. Even if you are setting up a Wi Fi network, you still need to have an Ethernet port to plug in your access point. Thus if you want to network a building larger than a few hundred feet (802.11b only supports about 300 feet), you have to pull wire, which makes it expensive and time-consuming.
FireTide HotPoint routers provide a simple and reliable alternative to standard LAN cabling, forming automatic, self-healing networks. For situations where a network must be set up rapidly (emergency hospitals, army command and control centers, trade shows) or where it is impractical or too costly to pull wire, FireTide has a very compelling solution.
The company has dozens of customers up and running with the HotPoint
router, and have even provided Wi Fi for the downtown area of Los Gatos.
Just go to the park area at the end of North Santa Cruz Boulevard and
you can log on.
Books to Read: PM Handbook
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The Product Marketing Handbook for Software, 4th Edition
Review by Brian Lawley
This week I received one of the first copies of the 4th edition of the Product Marketing Handbook for Software, by Merrill Chapman.
Initially I was skeptical that the book would have much to offer me. Given that I've spent the last 15+ years building my career around Product Marketing and Product Management, I thought there wouldn't be much that I hadn't learned on my own over the years. In spending a little time with it, however, I found that it actually includes many valuable insights and information that I hadn't uncovered before. Weighing in at 690 pages, this book is an extremely valuable resource for anyone doing Product Marketing or Product Management work.
The handbook is incredibly comprehensive, covering positioning, pricing, naming, distribution, research, direct marketing, PR, sales promotions, advertising, bundling, trade shows, product marketing and management processes (MRDs, product road maps, beta programs), web and internet marketing and more. It includes case studies, checklists, and even a CD with sample budgets, forms and charts and videos of the author being interviewed. Also included is an appendix with estimated costs for marketing programs, which is invaluable when crafting your marketing plans.
Given the wealth of information it contains, at $69.95 this book is a
bargain. It will help you save money, increase revenues, avoid costly
mistakes and launch and market your products far more effectively. To
order a copy visit http://www.aegis-resources.com.
New From 280: QuickSurveys (tm)
Need to do some quick market research? We are proud to announce a new
service that we are offering to clients called QuickSurveys. Using Zoomerang,
the leading online survey tool, we can now help you create and execute
highly effective surveys via email and the web very quickly. We recently
performed a QuickSurvey for one of our clients, and within 48 hours of
sending it out we had gathered some very valuable data and gotten a response
rate of over 8.5%. As a result the client now can use customer opinions
(rather than their own) to plan their marketing efforts for the upcoming
year.
To find out more about QuickSurveys give us a call or take a look at www.280group.com/quicksurveys.html.
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