Amazing Software Marketing going on at Zendesk

I just love to see Technology Marketing in action when it’s really done right.

I’ve been writing and tweeting about Zendesk’s Customer Service Hero Tour  - not because I’m affiliated with the company in any way, but simply because I think they have just hit the marketing ball out of the park on this one.

You can read the whole article on Cloud Computing Journal at http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/2276055 or Check out the “registration page”.

But to make a long story short, I love this because it’s Marketing that brings VALUE to people.  It’s not just a bunch of words or a snazzy web page.

Why the Tour is Valuable – and Awesome Marketing.  Yeah, Educational too.

Here’s why I love this marketing (errrr… education) event:

1) They are coming to us.  Yup.  I’m in Austin, and they’re coming here.  None of that superior “west coast software” attitude.

2) They are making it interesting.  5-star (on Amazon.com – including a review from Steve “Woz” Wozniak) author Micah Solomon is coming along on the tour.  He’s the author of “High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service: Inspire Timeless Loyalty in the Demanding New World of Social Commerce”.

I’d visit a toilet-bowl cleaner marketing event to listen to this customer service celebrity speak.

3) They help me do my job better.  Zendesk is sharing best-practices benchmark data from their 15,000 customers and is also hosting a Customer Service interactive panel discussion.

4) They’re making it fun.  Everyone always hosts these events at some boring Marriott or Hilton.  Nothing against those hotels, but they’re not very fun – I’ve had beers in about 10,000 Marriott “Champions” bars and none of them are fun.

I don’t know about other cities (they promise a “Hero Party” in every city), but the Austin event is being held at “The Parish” – an ultra-cool live music venue in the heart of Austin’s hot 6th St. district. Super smart – playing on Austin’s reputation as the “Live Music Capital of the Planet”.

5) It’s free.  If Zendesk wanted to, they could easily charge for this event.  People pay hundreds of dollars (or much more) all the time to attend various “symposia” that are less educational and valuable than this.  Call it a “Seminar” or “Symposium” and get rid of the super-hero graphics, and they could turn a profit on this tour.

What’s NOT to love about this event?  Check it out….see you there – if you go to the Austin one.

Note:

Hollis Tibbetts is a Software Strategy Director for Dell Inc.’s Global Mergers and Acquisitions organization.  He writes on a number of software marketing and technology topics, including marketing “best practices”, growth strategies, Data, Integration and Legacy Modernization (aka IT Modernization, Application Modernization, Software Modernization, etc.).

Amazing Customer-focused Marketing by Zendesk

This is an awesome approach to marketing by Zendesk.

Note: I’m not connected to Zendesk. Don’t work there, don’t have any equity interest, not applying for a job there.

I’m promoting this because I like their approach. Heck, I’m director for software strategy in Dell’s Global Mergers and Acquisitions organization – and a customer service software package called KACE is part of our portfolio…and I’m STILL promoting this event. Yeah, I’ll probably have to explain that to someone. And if I win the trip to Vegas, I’ll have to turn it down

http://www.zendesk.com/product/features/hero-tourCustomer

Zendesk is excited to bring you the 2012 Customer Service Hero Tour – a FREE event.

Join us along best-selling customer service author, Micah Solomon for a jam-packed day of learning and networking with fellow customer support and help desk heroes.

ONE lucky attendee in Austin will win a trip to Las Vegas to tour the heart of customer service – Zappos!

Don’t miss this opportunity to come hear from the best in customer service – space is limited!

The Parish
214 E. 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701

register at: http://herotour-austin.eventbrite.com/

IT – Solving Business Problems

Modernization of IT: Solving a Legacy of Business Problems & Applications



— I talk to a lot of CIOs. I met with one recently who oversees the IT operation of a $6 Billion yearly entertainment-related company with about 7,000 employees. This top-notch exec was all about transforming a huge investment in existing IT infrastructure into a new dynamic, extensible and agile platform that would propel the business forward – not hold it back. This guy is busy figuring out how to keep a Boeing 777 up in the air while simultaneously re-fitting aircraft to make it best-in-class.

That’s what IT should be all about.

Read the full article at:

Modernization of IT: Solving a Legacy of Business Problems & Applications

Technology vs. Business Problems – like Legacy Modernization

One of the most challenging things about being an advocate for a broad horizontally applicable technology is that it does not solve a particular business problem. Instead, it solves about 100,000 business problems.

I’ve been writing about application and data integration technology for quite a while. Lots of people “get it” and even more don’t.

I’m going to take a bit of a break from writing on the technology and instead focus on the business problems that the technology solves.

One of the first areas that i’ll be focusing on is “Legacy Modernization”.

I’ve written a bit of an ice-breaker on ebizQ

I’ve also created a legacy modernization site where I’ll be attempting to aggregate interesting/worthwhile content on the topic.

Legacy Modernization

Note: Hollis works as a Director for Software Strategy in Dell, Inc.’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions organization.

Gartner Research Enables Category Confusion – with “iPaaS”

“Categories” are supposed to help.  But sometimes they hurt.  When they help, they reduce confusion.  When they hurt, they cause confusion.  Helpful categories is one of those “Marketing Best Practices” that is high on my list of important things.

When properly applied, categories help us, um, categorize otherwise difficult, unfamiliar, new, abstract and sometimes seemingly arbitrary things into various discrete buckets in a way that “makes sense”.

When applied to similarly functioning software,  a category – like Business Intelligence or Relational Database software helps us make sense out of things.  Good categories do.  But some categories just confuse things.

Gartner’s latest category – iPaaS is the confusing kind.

For more detail on this, take a look at three articles I’ve written for ebizQ’s Integration Edge:

• Where Do I Buy Gartner Research’s iPaaS? Cloud & SaaS Integration Confusion
• Damn the Gartner iPaaS, Full Speed Ahead on SaaS & Cloud Integration
• iPaaS – Gartner Further Complicates Cloud & SaaS Integration with Multiple Distributed iPaaS and CEIP Options

Apple’s Surprising and Disappointing Marketing Fail – Software Malpractice?

Apple’s Surprising and Disappointing Marketing Fail – Software Malpractice?
— Apple’s Surprising Marketing Blunder. Along with hoards of other people, I upgraded my perfectly good iPhone 4 for the new iPhone 4S. Am I happy? No. It’s a Product and Marketing #FAIL. Shocking – coming from the best marketing and product development company in the galaxy.

I “listened” to the iPhone 4S launch – from live blog streams. I was honestly quite disappointed. A faster processor? The iPhone 4 was fast enough for me. Same “defective” exposed-glass design that is guaranteed to shatter the first time you drop it (my first iPhone 4 lasted two days). Heck, you can’t even show your new iPhone off because it looks identical to the old one. No crowds of people asking you “what do you think of your new iPhone????”

Why Settle for Success When You Can Guarantee Failure?

How to Wreck a Good Product in 90 Days or Less
— The purpose of this article is to tell you how to take a perfectly good (or even a great) product that you’ve potentially spent years and millions of dollars creating – and thoroughly and efficiently ruin it in the shortest amount of time possible.
“Why would I want to do that?”, you might ask. Honestly, I don’t know why. But there must be a good reason because I see it happen with shocking regularity.