The Client:
VA Linux, a
post-IPO company redefining itself and
launching a new software product.
The Situation:
VA Linux had
one of the most successful IPOs in
technology history, but its business model
was failing. They dropped their entire
hardware-focused strategy and reinvented
themselves as a software company - VA
Software - launching a single product and
creating a new market in the process.
Silicon Strategies Role: Marketing
strategy consultant in SourceForge Enterprise Edition's pre-launch phase.
The Processes: Silicon Strategies
led VA Software's marketing group and
executives through structured processes
covering:
These processes involved members of all
major departments within VA Software, and
were designed to create a company-wide
consensus on marketing strategy. The
process deliverables became the foundations
for their "go to market" plan and recruiting
of early adopter buyers. Secondary market
research later confirmed and refined the
marketing strategy.
Silicon Strategies Marketing used these
processes to educated VA Software's
marketing department on:
- Enticing early majority buyers
- Chasm crossing strategies
- Product launch planning
- Whole product planning
The Strategy: VA Software was
creating a new market. With any new market
you need to sell to early adopters
(visionary people with time-critical issues)
while developing a whole product definition
for early majority buyers. To accomplish
this, Silicon Strategies Marketing led VA
Software in defining:
- Market segmentation strategy and
prioritizing segments
- Core messages for early adopter
buyers
- Whole product definitions and
preliminary enhancement roadmaps
- Market descriptions for industry
analysts
Our strategy was based on defining the
market before the media or analysts could,
and making VA Software's product the obvious
choice for buyers. Defining a new market and
a new product are essential pre-launch
activities that accelerate market acceptance
and early adopter buys.
The Results: Initial results
appear promising. In the first year, early
adopters bought the product for large scale
deployments, and VA Software brought IBM in
as a strategic partner. As of 2005,
SourceForge is used by more than 130 marquee
customers including British Telecom,
E*Trade, Los Alamos National Laboratories,
Eli Lilly, and Hewlett Packard.
The Lessons: New markets and
products need more diligence than mature
ones. Defining the market is a key
strategy element. Getting broad
internal consensus is necessary to insure
that the entire company communicates
consistently to the buyers, media and
analysts. No company is too small or
too large to ignore the rigors of market
definition, segmenting, and whole product
design prior to a product launch.
Contact Silicon
Strategies Marketing for a telephone
consultation on strategies for your product
launch. |
