marketing

Some of us like to name things in BI

January 6, 2009

Stephen Few’s damning review of a new BI tool prompted a weeks-long discussion-turned-scholarly-fistfight over definitions.

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Does jargon sell tech products or not?

November 25, 2008

Those of us in the tech world who shun jargon may forever remain an underclass. We may never rise to the mainstream, where today tech-centric vendors rule. So I’m delighted when I meet another one of our clan who declares proudly his rejection of tech-speak. Don Farber, vice president of sales and marketing at KnowledgeSync, [...]

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Play terminology by ear when selling to the mid-market

November 19, 2008

Those who sell BI software to mid-size companies get to be good at nailing down what shoppers want. These shoppers are smart and hard working. But when they shop for technology, the shopping list may be just a problem, a wish, or a fantasy—known only by a description. I just spent Monday and Tuesday helping [...]

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The trouble with IT marketing

September 23, 2008

Why does so much IT marketing put features out in front instead of benefits?

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A word from the marketing-crimes division

September 8, 2008

This public service announcement opens on a CSI-like scene. Let’s call it “CSI: Marketing Crimes Division.” The lieutenant asks the lab guy, “What have you got?” “It’s a tough one,” says the lab guy. Lying before them under bright lights on a stainless steel examination table is the weapon: an email printed on plain white [...]

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Tableau is the new Apple

July 22, 2008

It’s hard to watch Tableau Software CEO Christian Chabot and Tableau visual-analysis demos and not think of Steve Jobs and Mac OS X. Chabot has the same bright stage presence, and his product has the same simplicity and elegance. Like Mac, Tableau makes you love it. In Monday’s keynote, Chabot couldn’t pace. The conference’s overflow [...]

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My god, a BI ezine I’ve actually read

May 12, 2008

So many ezines, so many pitches, so much color, so much urgency, so much of so much. And then along comes—let me check the name—yes, Gordon Daly with a little ezine that’s nothing but a short letter (look it up: letter!) and I actually read it.

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Brutally amazing: how not to pitch analytics

February 12, 2008

I went to the post office box and found a rhinoceros. He should have been a bull, bulls being more at home in marketing, but let’s not be picky. He’s a rhino, in profile, with spots. He’s hawking analytics software.

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Counting flies and typos to find ROI

October 20, 2007

Ask anyone in marketing or journalism whether spelling counts, and you’ll get a resounding yes. We know intuitively that typos of any kind hurt—but I’d like to know how much.

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More BI writers need “Made to Stick”

July 24, 2007

I comb through a lot of business intelligence-related press releases and articles, so I was surprised to hear that the new book Made to Stick is popular among PR people. In fact, the fact that the book is more popular among PR people than any other profession is co-author Chip Heath’s main disappointment. Last Wednesday [...]

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