Marketing Technology as a Service: Proven Techniques that Create Value

Written by two marketers with long experience of these services, this book explores the developing expertise of leaders in this field. With an explorative and sometimes sceptical tone, it weaves sound academic research, developing concepts and fascinating case studies into a profound and challenging picture of a group of companies undergoing remarkable change. It demonstrates that the best are not only putting in place the essential basics of good service marketing; they are also developing organisational expertise and harnessing innovative, creative insight to offer attractive, profitable, and branded services to their customers.
“I really enjoyed the book From Products to Servicesby Mr Laurie Young. Encouraged by it, Haier accelerated its changeover from a traditional product–driven to a more customer–centric company. This new book Marketing Technology as a Service is another major contribution to technology companies for the cultivation of service needs worldwide.”
Mr Zhang Ruimin, CEO and Chairman, Haier Group, Beijing
“Young and Burgess describe a shift in mindset and pragmatic techniques that are quite doable.”
Rae Sedel, Managing Director, Global Technology Practice, Russell Reynolds Associates
“This book provides practical and insightful advice on how to use services to turn technology into value add solutions for real people.”
Rudy Provoost, CEO, Philips Lighting
“Business leaders in India have been remarkably successful at offering technology based services like outsourcing across the world. Current $60 billion, India’s outsourcing business is targeted to grow to $300 billion in the next ten years. In order to achieve these objectives, the Indian business community has to offer new value propositions and adapt to new trends that impact the outsourcing world, like cloud computing. Burgess and Young have put toge ther the first comprehensive and practical guide for business leaders to meet their challenges of exponential growth.”
Dr Mukesh Aghi, Chairman and CEO, Steria (India)


Spis treści:
Foreword
1 Technology Companies, Services and Networks
Introduction
The growth of the service sector
The different types of service
Services in technology or engineering sectors: A neglected category?
Engineering and service
Common characteristics and issues among service businesses in technology sectors
Is this really a distinct market or category?
Summary
2 Marketing Services
Introduction
One more time: What is marketing?
Different manifestations of marketing
The evolution of marketing in an organisation
Marketing services
Marketing in technology sectors
Summary
3 Gaining Strategic Insight into Service Markets
Introduction
Why market understanding is essential
Important market dynamics to understand
Means of gaining an objective market perspective
Opportunity analysis
Summary
4 Internal Perspectives and their Strategic Impact
Introduction
Strategic context
Strategic intent: The need for clarity of purpose
Methods of determining strategic focus
Brand equity as a source of strategic advantage
Customer equity
Portfolio strategy
‘Go to market’ capability
How does the company develop strategy?
Summary
5 Creating and Positioning a Service Brand
Introduction
What brands are and the effect they have
The basics of brand strategy
Corporate branding: The brand strategy for service companies
Practicalities: How to create a brand where none exists
Practicalities: Repositioning and brand extension strategies as a means of entering service markets
A note on political will and leadership vision
Summary
6 Innovation and New Service Design
Introduction
Service vision
Common mistakes in service design
The role of innovation and service development
Innovation in service businesses
Value propositions
Differentiation and how to achieve it
Categorisation and its implications for new service design
Practicalities
Summary
7 Selling Services
Introduction
How people buy
The sales strategies of technological service companies
Creating a ‘service’ sales force
Generic sales structures applicable to services
The practicalities: Managing the sales process
Summary
8 Marketing and Selling Services to Major Customers
Introduction
Prioritising customer accounts
Major customer sales strategies: Account management
Partnership selling: Major account management in consultancies
Cultural variations and their effect on account management
Account planning
Service quality for major accounts
Summary
9 Communicating with Service Markets
Introduction
Effective communications strategy
Aspects of communications strategy
Communications techniques particularly important to service companies
Managing the creative execution
Media planning
Practicalities and management basics
Communications during a crisis
Summary
10 Service Quality
Introduction
The importance of service quality
Service quality and customer care: A recent history
Terminology and perceived wisdom
Analysis
Service strategy
Planning service quality
Service recovery
Satisfaction measurement
Summary
11 Service on the World Stage
Introduction
The challenge of working across borders
International strategic considerations
International market analysis and perspective
International brand strategy
International marketing communication issues
International sales and account management strategy
International service design
Different international strategic choices
Summary
Appendix Marketing Tools and Techniques
References
Index

Nota biograficzna:
Laurie (Laurence) Young is a business man who likes to write. During his line career he held senior positions at BT, Unisys and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also founded, built and sold a company. Yet, as his education includes a postgraduate business diploma and an MBA, his writing combines practical experience with sound business thinking. He has extensive experience of the marketing of technology companies having, in addition to his line jobs, advised companies like: Ericsson, Motorola, Energis, Hitachi Data Systems, Cable & Wireless, Datex Engstrom, Phillips and Nokia. This is his sixth book.
Bev Burgess has spent twenty years in technology companies, specialising in services marketing in roles at British Gas, Epson and Fujitsu and through postgraduate study. She has also built a service business. As Managing Director of the IT Services Marketing Association in Europe, Bev created the European programme of research, publications and events and headed the company’s learning and advisory activities in the region. She personally supported companies like Atos Origin, BT, CSC, EDS, HP, Microsoft, Orange, Steria and Xerox. Today, Bev continues to help companies like these to focus on their best opportunities for growth and take creative, competitive value propositions to market.

Okładka tylna:
Written by two marketers with long experience of these services, this book explores the developing expertise of leaders in this field. With an explorative and sometimes sceptical tone, it weaves sound academic research, developing concepts and fascinating case studies into a profound and challenging picture of a group of companies undergoing remarkable change. It demonstrates that the best are not only putting in place the essential basics of good service marketing; they are also developing organisational expertise and h arnessing innovative, creative insight to offer attractive, profitable, and branded services to their customers.
“I really enjoyed the book From Products to Servicesby Mr Laurie Young. Encouraged by it, Haier accelerated its changeover from a traditional product–driven to a more customer–centric company. This new book Marketing Technology as a Service is another major contribution to technology companies for the cultivation of service needs worldwide.”
Mr Zhang Ruimin, CEO and Chairman, Haier Group, Beijing
“Young and Burgess describe a shift in mindset and pragmatic techniques that are quite doable.”
Rae Sedel, Managing Director, Global Technology Practice, Russell Reynolds Associates
“This book provides practical and insightful advice on how to use services to turn technology into value add solutions for real people.”
Rudy Provoost, CEO, Philips Lighting
“Business leaders in India have been remarkably successful at offering technology based services like outsourcing across the world. Current $60 billion, India’s outsourcing business is targeted to grow to $300 billion in the next ten years. In order to achieve these objectives, the Indian business community has to offer new value propositions and adapt to new trends that impact the outsourcing world, like cloud computing. Burgess and Young have put together the first comprehensive and practical guide for business leaders to meet their challenges of exponential growth.”
Dr Mukesh Aghi, Chairman and CEO, Steria (India)