By Knowlton Thomas
The AQT’s ninth Big Bang ICT Sales & Marketing Forum held in May was attended by 200 leaders and partners from the technology industry. Major topics of discussion at the event were the Internet, the Web, and mobility—and how these three intertwined game changers have forced companies to implement new customer acquisition strategies. These new business models have a direct impact on human resources, the role of management teams, and even corporate structure.
Ally Motz of SiriusDecisions gave a presentation on the results of a recent B2B marketing survey highlighted this rapidly changing landscape: 58 percent of prospects originated from the web and this is estimated to rise to 71% by 2015, and companies that use social media generate 30 percent more information requests. The research also found that elements of mobility should be incorporated into the business immediately.
Entrepreneur Denis Lavallée called a number of industry practices into question. He called for a shift in the corporate structure that would focus all departments on the customer experience. He also noted that we should now be focussing on the five Ps of marketing, with Participation (conversation, community, collaboration, etc.) joining the already familiar Product, Price, Promotion, and Placement.
Nicolas Arsenault, CEO of Inovacom, spoke of mobility’s increasing influence, particularly with the constantly connected Generation Y. He encouraged participants to integrate mobility into their preferred media.
Reposted from Techvibes Media
Knowlton Thomas is the Associate Editor of Techvibes Media. He is also the Web Editor of The Other Press, a weekly newspaper, and a regular columnist for them as well.
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