In brief: What I'm reading now about technology trends that affect business.
What does mobile first mean?
Above the Crowd Bill Gurley explains the implications of transitioning to a mobile centric world. His core thesis: we're in the middle of a critical platform transition, a rare occurrence with broad consequences. We see this in our work. Extrapolating from the post:
- design takes a greater role
- simplicity rules
- native vs. html5 considerations -- a dangerous decision is where the developer is optimizing for themselves and not the user
- lack of search engine optimization (SEO) in mobile first
- "search" is how the app experience begins
- mobile app users are more valuable than desktop
- customer acquisition techniques are lacking and an area of opportunity for both Apple and Google
- payment could be a new platform battleground -- where is the one-button payment?
- platforms are still evolving -- competitive dynamics may force each provider “up the stack” eating into the app ecosystem
Consumers prefer mobile apps to the mobile Web. (Good comment thread, as well.)
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Good value for the money on data roaming and easy to do
SplatF Dan Frommer reports on data roaming using Virgin Mobile Canada deal for a local SIM card. I've long stopped purchasing the AT&T international plan when I travel. Instead, I use my laptop and Skype, or free WiFi on my iPad.
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How about calling it a maximally valued product?
Marketing strategy and pricing Rags Srinivasan flips the familiar startup term (minimum viable product) on its head by introducing considerations around Apple's MVP, or maximally value product.
When Apple builds its products it is packed with only those features that are valued by its customers and it can charge for it.
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What's the point and why does it need to be solved?
Chief MarTec Scott Brinker in defense of marketing technology point solutions explains a point solution is a product or service that addresses one very specific need in a marketing organization. It specializes in solving that one particular problem really, really well.
Some examples:
Products like Google Analytics, Sprinklr, IfByPhone, WordStream, ClickTale, Lattice Engines, Widen, Demandbase, Pixability, MailChimp, and my own company, ion interactive, are point solutions. Products like Adobe Marketing Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo, Oracle/Eloqua, HubSpot, SDL, SAS Customer Intelligence, and IBM Enterprise Marketing Management are examples of conglomerate solutions.
Says Brinker: There are generally two reasons why point solutions get a bad rap:
- They may require integration work to connect with your other software. (a cost)
- They may be used myopically without regard for the bigger marketing picture. (low impact)
Marketing is not about technology, though. It's about delivering awesome experiences and connecting with customers wherever they may be in their life stage, or customer journey.
Inability to parse through the options and choosing the most suitable to achieve that key objective means you're focusing too much on the object, not enough on the experience.
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I chose four smart posts that will teach you something useful. They are also an example of the range of writing styles that can deliver value.
From the very short and to the point post, to the long list format and engaging discussion it elicited, to the tight argument by way of example use case, and the long and focused article filled with detail and just enough analogies to paint a vivid picture and make the topic easy to digest.
Canned approaches are bunk. Develop your style and stick by your vision of both what you'd like to teach, process for yourself, and learn through blogging.
[image credit]
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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.