http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0887307175/104-9252440-9062312

Crossing the Chasm : Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, by Geoffrey A. Moore

Amazon.com
Author Geoffrey Moore makes the case that high-tech products require marketing strategies that differ from those in other industries. His chasm theory describes how high-tech products initially sell well, mainly to a technically literate customer base, but then hit a lull as marketing professionals try to cross the chasm to mainstream buyers. This pattern, says Moore, is unique to the high-tech industry.

Moore suggests remedies for the problem that can help businesses meet their long-term goals. He coaches marketing professionals on how to move slowly through the gulf, teaching them to create profiles and target specific segments of the population rather than trying to plow right into the mainstream. He cites examples of successful chasm crossings by such companies as Apple, Tandem, Oracle, and Sun, showing what they all had in common and exposing the different weaknesses in their strategies. Moore also assigns responsibility for success to programmers and developers by suggesting they design a "whole product model." Here, because integration tasks are daunting to the mainstream market, all the components of a technological product must be in one package. Moore also describes strategies for competing with rival companies and assessing the best distribution channels for penetrating the target market.

Written not just for marketing specialists but for all employees whose futures ride on the success of a technical product, Crossing the Chasm delivers crucial information in an engaging, readable tone.

From the Publisher
High-Tech Marketing Expert Identifies the Greatest Challenge Facing New Ventures and Shows How to Address It

Every year, according to high-tech marketing expert Geoffrey Moore, millions of dollars invested in high-tech entrepreneurial ventures are lost trying to "cross the chasm" from early market success to mainstream market leadership. Moore, President of Geoffrey Moore Consulting, identifies and addresses the key challenges facing such ventures in the long-awaited paperback edition of Crossing the Chasm: How to Win Mainstream Markets for Technology Products

Targeted at venture capitalists, product managers, and tech marketers, Moore's book identifies a fundamental flaw in the standard high-tech marketing model, which postulates smooth sales growth through a series of well-defined, ever-larger markets. In fact, says Moore, there are really two, fundamentally separate phases in the development of any high-tech market: an early phase that builds from a few, highly visible, visionary customers; and a mainstream phase, where the buying decisions fall predominantly to pragmatists. Transitioning between these two phases is anything but smooth, and confidently assuming that success in the early market will translate into mainstream success is the fatal error that causes so many high-flying start-ups to crash into the chasm.

Crossing the Chasm grows from Moore's extensive consulting experience at Regis McKenna and at his own firm, working with hundreds of technology ventures struggling with these problems. The transition, he notes, is always perilous: typically, the new venture commits significant resources to modifications promised to secure its initial base of early market customers. The venture requires continued growth to support these commitments, growth into the lucrative mainstream markets. But these markets require a very different approach from that of the early visionaries; and if a company does not attack them properly, it will quickly fall short of projections and find itself in trouble. Moore's book presents specific strategies in marketing and all other areas of the business to help technology companies cross this critical chasm successfully.

Moore provides an invaluable service to high-tech entrepreneurs and investors: he has identified the weak link in the marketing chain which makes the success of such ventures so unpredictable, and he outlines proven, specific techniques to address this challenge. At a time when the high-tech community in the U.S. cedes much of its once-held manufacturing advantage to the Far East and elsewhere, it is critical that these U.S. enterprises must retain superior marketing as a competitive advantage. Crossing the Chasm provides critical information for achieving this end.

About the Author:

Formerly a partner with Regis McKenna Inc., Geoffrey A. Moore is now president of his own firm, Geoffrey Moore Consulting, and founder of The Chasm Group. He has consulted with over 30 high tech corporations, including Hewlett-Packard, Apple, AT&T, Oracle, IBM, and Samsung. Moore is also the author of Inside the Tornado ) which details market dynamics of hypergrowth, and explains how to pool resources, gain supporters during pre-tornado phase, then how to unleash them once the tornado hits. He holds a degree in literature from Stanford University and the University of Washington. Moore is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and trade shows and also lectures at business schools, where Crossing the Chasm is often a required textbook. He lives with his wife Marie in Palo Alto, California.

Book Description
Every year, companies gamble away millions of dollars and countless hours of technical talent on doomed efforts to market technology products that are greeted with enthusiasm by a few technologically literate consumers but ultimately fizzle in the wider marketplace.

With more high-tech products scrambling for the home market every day, it is essential that marketing professionals learn to transcend the outmoded marketing theories that have led to more failures than successes in the challenging technology marketplace.

Based on the revolutionary model derived from Geoffrey Moore's extensive experience in high-tech markets, Crossing the Chasm is the definitive book on a vital, rapidly growing but capricious market.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887308244/qid=1002740425/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_3_2/104-9252440-9062312

Inside the Tornado: Marketing Strategies from Silicon Valley's Cutting Edge, by Geoffrey A. Moore

Inside the Tornado is the 1995 sequel to the 1991 book, Crossing the Chasm. Inside the Tornado repeats the arguments of Crossing the Chasm, and adds three new stages of how to manage a business during the lifecycle of a technology. While Crossing the Chasm was primarily about marketing with some strategy emphasis, this book reverses the emphasis. I recommend the 1999 paperback version because it contains a new introduction that serves better as a helpful afterword to the book, as Mr. Moore suggests, in updating it for the Internet.

In Crossing the Chasm, Mr. Moore successfully argues that new technologies first attract customers who love technology, and will try anything. If you succeed with that group, you will next attract visionary customers who will want to use the technology to steal a march on their competitors. After that comes the chasm, getting into broad acceptance. Many technologies never make it. The method to cross is described in Inside the Tornade as the bowling alley. You pick a few key segments that may reflect the needs of other segments. By providing custom solutions for these segments, you create a ricochet effect into striking good solutions for other niches. The analogy is to the way that after the bowling ball first hits the one and three pins (for right handers) and then continues on to take out the five pin, those three pins hit the pins behind them, which in turn go backward to take out the pins in the final row, until you have a strike.

The tornado is the period of mass market acceptance. This is when there is a lot of demand as everyone who decides about infrastructure adopts the new standard simultaneously. You have to standardize, get your costs down, and ship at low prices. Your strategy is just the opposite of the bowling alley period. The metaphor here is to the tornado in the Wizard of Oz that sweeps Dorothy, Toto, and her house from Kansas to Oz.

Then comes Main Street, when the market demand is now filled and you are looking at "aftermarket development, when the base infrastructure has been deployed and the goal now is to flesh out its potential." You once again focus on segments, and create custom solutions.

The final period is End of Life, when "wholly new paradigms come to market and supplant the leaders who themselves had only just arrived." In essence, you start a new technology cycle. The best companies (like Intel) will do this to themselves.

The book also describes the importance of becoming the gorilla who will have about 50 percent market share and earn 75-80 percent of industry profits as a result of dominating the tornado period. Gorillas are made during the tornado. Oracle is described as an example.

During the bowling alley your company needs to be very good at product leadership and customer intimacy, during the tornado you need to shift to product leadership combined with operational excellence, and in Main Street the focus is on operational excellence and customer intimacy. This thinking will remind you of the book, The Discipline of Market Leaders, and the work of Dr. Adizes. Most companies will not be agile enough to make these transitions. Examples abound in the book. Apple's example will hit home with you, I'm sure.

As to the Internet, things are different. In the original book, the Internet is only mentioned three times. In the introduction here, Mr. Moore says that the "Internet market tornado, however, is so powerful that it has sucked all four models into its vortex." Companies are succeeding simultaneously in different parts of the Internet space at the same time with each of the strategies outlined here.

In the future, I think technologies will evolve more like the Internet has. During these evolutions, I think that business model discontinuities will be more important than technology discontinuities. While you can only put technology discontinuities in during parts of the cycle (never during the tornado), business model shifts can occur at any stage. Also, it is easier to shift business models than to shift technologies. Business model shifts affect your own operations more than customers, while technologies have a large impact on customers. My current work is focused on how the two need to interact with one another, which is not addressed here.

After you have read this excellent book, I suggest that you consider the organizational planning issues required to create such a multi-faceted effectiveness. For example, you may find it easier to have two organizations. One will focus on creating custom solutions, while another focuses on mass market solutions. In that way, you can hedge your bets with predicting the timing of each phase.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0130136069/reviews/104-9252440-9062312

Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations, by Jakki J. Mohr

Marketing high-technology products and innovations is not the same as marketing more traditional products and services. For example, the marketing of a familiar product, such as Coca-Cola, is very different than marketing products with which customers are unfamiliar, such as new computer hardware, software such as a Pentium chip or customer relationship management software, or even a new computer video game. Customers' fear, uncertainty, and doubt about how to use and attain the full benefits of using the product contribute to the need for different marketing considerations. In addition, the competitive environment found in high-tech industries is different than that found in more traditional contexts: Often, innovations are introduced by industry outsiders that industry incumbents are not aware of. Yet another factor contributing to high-tech marketing challenges is the velocity of change: Due to technological breakthroughs, products change so rapidly that standard marketing concepts may not be sufficient.

While a standard approach to marketing, such as the "four Ps" of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion) is still relevant, the standard approaches must be modified to account for the inherent uncertainty in high-tech environments. My primary aim in this book is to provide a framework for making marketing decisions in a high-tech environment. Using a framework to manage the marketing decision-making process will foster greater understanding of the common characteristics in high-tech environments and help manage the riskiness of marketing in a high-tech context.

Based on theories and research from both academics and industry experts (including both venerable hallmarks in the writings on high-tech marketing and more recent articles), the concepts covered in this text represent best practices in the field of high-tech marketing. Although high-tech marketing is an emerging field of study (and because of this, some believe it would be hard to identify right or wrong answers about how to market high-technology products and services), I believe that using the frameworks developed in this book will help high-tech firms to maximize their odds of success. Naturally, as in any emerging field, there will be some tools and concepts that may challenge one's own ideas and beliefs. I encourage readers to draw on the material that is useful and incorporate their own experience and insights.

I use examples from a wide variety of industries and technologies to illustrate the marketing tools and concepts covered in the book. This variety not only captures the richness of the high-tech environment, but also proves the utility of the frameworks and gives the reader experience in applying the frameworks to diverse situations. Some of the industries and contexts covered include telecommunications, information technology (hardware and software), biotechnology, and consumer electronics such as high-definition TV and digital videodisks.

The Internet is an important context in which the frameworks are applied. This book is the first to provide a systematic approach, grounded in relevant theories and empirical research, of marketing on the Internet. Each chapter applies the pertinent concepts to e-commerce and marketing on the Internet.

Marketing does not occur in isolation in any firm but rather is cross-functional in nature. This book brings together marketing with other business disciplines (for example, research-and-development, legal, and management and strategy) to offer insights on how marketing is inter-related and dependent on interactions with other disciplines. Issues for both small and big business will be addressed. The book provides a balance between conceptual discussions and examples, small and big business, products and services, and consumer and business-to-business marketing contexts. Who Should Read This Book

The book will prove useful in a variety of venues, including

Upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on the marketing of high technology and innovation Technology institutes, engineering management programs, biotechnology centers, and telecommunications programs Executive education courses Managers in high-tech firms Training programs in high-tech firms Technology incubators Pedagogical Intent

The book is written as a twelve-chapter handbook. Chapter 1 begins with an introduction to high-technology products and industries, offering a definition of high technology based on common characteristics found in empirical research: market, technological, and competitive uncertainty. Chapter 1 also introduces the notion that high-tech marketing strategies must be tailored to the type of innovation (incremental or radical). This notion is carried through subsequent chapters.

Chapters 2 through 4 address issues related to strategy and corporate culture in high-tech firms: core competencies/core rigidities, organizational learning, a culture of innovation, product champions, venture capital funding, relationship marketing, market orientation, and R&D-marketing interactions. Coverage of these issues lays a foundation for marketing effectiveness.

Chapters 5 and 6 address marketing research tools and customer behavior considerations, respectively. One of the particularly challenging aspects of high-tech marketing is understanding customers and markets. Topical coverage in Chapter 5 includes empathic design, lead users, quality function deployment, competitive intelligence gathering, and forecasting. Customer considerations in Chapter 6 include customer decision making for high-tech products, and how marketing to early adopters must be different than marketing to late adopters. This chapter draws heavily on the work of Geoffrey Moore (Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado).

Chapters 7-10 provide coverage of the 4 Ps of marketing: product, place, price, and promotion:

Chapter 7, Product Development and Management Issues in High-Tech Markets, begins with the framework of the use of a technology map to guide product development. Pertinent considerations include decisions about technology transfer and licensing, product platforms and derivatives, protection of intellectual property, and so forth. Chapter 8, Distribution Channels and Supply Chain Management in High-Tech Markets, provides a framework for making distribution decisions. Focus is given to the use of the Internet as a new channel, and the need to manage the transition and resulting conflict. Chapter 9, Pricing Considerations in High-Tech Markets, provides a framework for pricing decisions, with heavy emphasis given to the need to be customer-oriented in managing this element of the marketing mix. Moreover, in light of the rapid price declines in many high-tech industries (the most extreme of which is a price of $0 for many digital products available on the Internet), focused attention is given to strategies used to generate profits in light of the "technology paradox" (how to make money when the price of product is declining rapidly). Chapter 10, Advertising and Promotion in High-Tech Markets: Tools to Build and Maintain Customer Relationships, emphasizes the importance of using advertising and promotion tools to develop a strong brand name (as one mechanism to allay customer anxiety), the need to manage product preannouncements, and communication tools used in managing customer relationships.

Chapter 11 focuses exclusively on e-commerce and Internet marketing. Using the case of Charles Schwab's successful foray into the world of on-line brokering, the chapter discusses issues unique to marketing and managing business on the Internet.

Chapter 12, Realizing the Promise of Technology, concludes with regulatory and ethical considerations high-tech marketers face.

The book's flexibility lets it be used in several ways. First, it can be used as the primary textbook in a full-semester course on the marketing of high technology and innovation. In addition to covering the material in the text, instructors can add cases, semester projects, class presentations, and industry speakers for a very full semester. The companion Instructor's Manual provides suggestions for cases, as well as ideas for semester projects that have worked well in the class I teach. The Instructor's Manual will also provide Powerpoint slides for class lecture and answers to end-of-chapter discussion questions. Instructors and students will also have access to a text Web site, providing updates and current events on a timely basis.

Second, the book can also be used for classes of less than a full semester in duration. The twelve-chapter format makes the material accessible in a compressed time period.

Third, in addition to being used as a stand-alone text in a full-semester course, the book can also be used as a companion text for other courses, including

The management of technology and innovation Business-to-business marketing New-product development Internet marketing and e-commerce Marketing management A Caveat: What This Book Is Not

First, this book is not meant to be the only marketing reference

From the Back Cover
This book provides a systematic approach which is grounded in relevant theories and empirical research. Marketing of Technology and Innovation provides a framework for making marketing decisions in a high-tech environment. It covers such industries and contexts as telecommunications, information technology (hardware and software), biotechnology, and consumer electronics. The book provides a balance between conceptual discussions and examples, small and big business, products and services, and consumer and business-to-business marketing contexts. Marketing of Technology and Innovation provides readers with a solid conceptual framework. The book covers such topics as strategy and corporate culture in high-technology firms, market orientation and R&D/Marketing interaction, marketing research tools, understanding customers, product development and management issues, distribution channels and supply chain management, pricing considerations, advertising and promotion, and high-technology marketing and the Internet. Ideal for those interested in learning about Marketing of Technology and Innovation, as well as Marketing Management, Business-to-Business Marketing, New Product Development, E-commerce and Internet Marketing.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/002907990X/ref=pd_sim_books/104-9252440-9062312

Marketing High Technology : An Insider's View, by William H. Davidow

Marketing is civilized warfare. And as high-tech products become increasingly standardized -- practically identical, from the customer's point of view -- it is marketing that spells life or death for new devices or entire firms. In a book that is as fascinating as it is pragmatic, William H. Davidow, a legend in Silicon Valley, where he was described as "the driving force behind the micro processor explosion," tells how to fight the marketing battle in the intensely competitive world of high-tech companies -- and win.

Blunt, pithy, and knowledgeable, Davidow draws on his successful marketing experience at Intel Corporation to create a complete program for marketing victory. He drives home the basics, such as how to go head-on against the competition; how to "plan products, not devices"; how to give products a "soul"; and how to engineer promotions, market internationally, motivate salespeople, and rally distributors. Above all, he demonstrates the critical importance of servicing and supporting customers. Total customer satisfaction, Davidow makes clear, must be every high-tech marketer's ultimate goal.

The only comprehensive marketing strategy book by an insider, Marketing High Technology looks behind the scenes at industry-shaking clashes involving Apple and IBM, Visicorp and Lotus, Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor. He recounts his own involvement in Crush, Intel's innovative marketing offensive against Motorola, to demonstrate, step-by-step, how it became an industry prototype for a winning high-tech campaign.

Davidow clearly spells out 16 principles which increase the effectiveness of marketing programs. From examples as diverse as a Rolling Stones concert and a microprocessor chip, he defines a true "product." He analyzes and explains in new ways the strategic importance of distribution as it relates to market sector, pricing, and the pitfalls it entails. He challenges some traditional marketing theory and provides unique and important insights developed from over 20 years in the high-tech field. From an all-encompassing philosophy that great marketing is a crusade requiring total commitment, to a careful study of the cost of attacking a competitor, this book is an essential tool for survival in today's high-risk, fast- changing, and very lucrative high-tech arena.

Links

10 minutes' research on mobile computing:

A look at the concept of "Momentum":

A handful of technology marketing agencies:

A sampling of top high-tech media web sites:

Policy Statement | Back to Syllabus | Student Projects | Assignments | Home