Loved the opportunity to be a Guest Lecturer at University of Texas – Dallas!

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

During the Fall 2010 semester I had the honor of being a guest lecturer at University of Texas – Dallas in two of Principles of Marketing classes; one during the day (SOM campus) and an evening class (McKinney campus). I spoke at the evening class and the students enjoyed the discussion so much that word quickly spread and was then invited to the day class!

I shared with the students what my role at Sprint Nextel as the Product Manager for Premium Messaging entailed and also went into a larger scale discussion around challenges that the mobile industry faces due to the constant evolution of what the mobile phone really is. Devices such as the iPhone and the iPad are constantly disrupting the space and therefore becoming a strong catalyst for innovation.

We also discussed the importance of data and how one can use research data to manage their product strategy or evolution plan. For example Games, Music and Social networking are the top 3 “activities” on feature phones while the top 3 for smartphones is Games, News/Weather and Search/Navigation ( Neilsen 2010 Study – The State of Mobile Apps, Figure 1 ). With this in mind I also know that Games and Music are easier to monetize on from a Premium Messaging perspective. In addition, having a device that easily connects a subscriber to their news or social media sites creates a “sticky” customer which translates into a longer lifetime span and of course more $$$ (ka-ching!).

On career advice and I could probably sum up what I shared like so; be very deliberate about everything you do and avoid going with the flow. While I do believe in luck (or maybe being at the right place with the right tools as some would argue :) ) I also encouraged the students to have a plan or goal every single day when it came to their careers. It could be lunch with a work-mate, a networking mixer, a meeting with a mentor…the right time to do something is always the present time.

To wrap up the discussion I presented the students with two exercises as a round-table discussion. I was quite impressed with the responses and answers; one class was more interactive than the other but I will leave you to guess which :) . Another interesting observation was that the day class was predominantly finance oriented while the evening was more marketing oriented.

    Exercise #1:

• Your firm has scored a big contract to run the mobile & social media marketing strategy for a famous coffee company. They need to increase their leads (identifying, attracting and building a steady stream of prospects) by 50% over the next 12 months in order to stay in business.
• They want to use text messaging as one of their core marketing strategies. They also want to leverage the social media tools such are twitter, flikr and YouTube.
• What kinds of tactics would you suggest?

    Exercise #2:

• How would you calculate the value generated by your marketing strategy?
• Calculate the lifetime value of a customer for your product
• Calculate the value of a lead (text lead, twitter lead, You tube lead)
• Calculate how many leads become customers
• Calculate the ROI
• Tie it back to the marketing strategy…

Thank you Marina and Cesar for inviting me as a guest lecturer! It was an honor and would love to do it again!

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On disciplined and facts-based marketing…

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

Last week I attended ‘Don’t “Blink”! Use Facts-Based Marketing ’, an all day marketing conference hosted at UTD’s Morris Hite Center. The keynote was delivered by Dr. Kevin Clancy, Ph. D. and co-author of “Your Gut is Still Not Smarter Than Your Head: How Disciplined, Fact-Based Marketing Can Drive Extraordinary Growth & Profits”. Not only was it a conference that “told” you how to get it done, but there were several real life case studies by leading companies in their industries who shared HOW they are doing it. These guys are definitely not asleep at the wheel.

Dr. Faker Zouaoui with Sabre Holdings/Travelocity and his team are behind the killer algorithm that takes all the customer data such as time, flight, price sensitivity and from the billions of possible options available, figures which options are the best match….in a matter of seconds. Yes, he did have to dumb down his presentation for some of us :) !

Steve McElderry shared how Cisco leveraged virtual, viral and visual web 2.0 technologies and reduced the cost of their traditional launch efforts by 83%! They also managed to create 40M+ impressions from just their case study launch…can you imagine the number of leads that they generated out of 40M+ impressions? Calculate that ROI and chew on that!

My favorite was the case study presented by Jeffrey G. Jarrett, Kimberly Clark. When you think about product attributes for diapers it’s mostly about stretch, leakage, comfort and so forth. But the challenge is moms are super loyal to a brand thus making it a tough market for Kimberly Clark to steal market share from competitors like Pampers. But then they thought, Mom’s love dressing up their kids…hmmmm… let’s make some trendy diapers and maybe that might work? Wrap the launch with a serious social media strategy and voila…a great new product launch. If you have not seen the jean diaper ad…search for it on YouTube…it is genius.

Overall, the one point that came across loud and clear is that it’s anybody’s game right now. To be successful in today’s market (regardless of your space), you have to invest in the right research data, translate it correctly and MOST importantly, implement it correctly. A good strategy with bad implementation is just as bad as not having a strategy at all. In addition, use the data to try and gauge what the future holds for your products. Whether you like it or not, Gen Y and Millenniams have a totally different “value” system when they choose products. If your brand will clearly struggle in the future…REINVENT IT and do it now!

And oh, guess what, social media is NOT a goal. Some think of social media as something that they need to get done, as in a project per say. Or as a channel to help sales push a few more boxes of product. It’s more about way of “doing” business, it’s a business strategy that is not just about pushing products. It’s about voice of the customer, it’s about collaboration or co creation with customers, it’s about listening, it’s about free and rich research potential, it’s about community (the list goes on…) and it requires dedicated teams to manage it. Southwest Airlines even has an employee social media handbook! But listen, most importantly you need to ensure it makes sense for your product and do it well.

I walked away from the conference with my head spinning and could probably go on rambling about the random thoughts running around in my head. But like most great presentations…you just had to have been there. A big kudos to Professor Alex Edsel and the UTD staff for pulling together an outstanding group of presenters.

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Going from message nightmare to message delight – Part II

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

A BIG thank you to all who attended our last social mixer for 2010 and helped us wrap up on a high note. An even bigger thanks to our gracious November sponsors Lûcrum Marketing and ZigZag Marketing – the spread was delish and definitely brightened an otherwise cold and rainy fall Dallas evening.

Creating a product message that can be clearly articulated by various roles within the organization and that translates into the same value in the marketplace is a HUGE challenge. IMHO, Product (and Product Marketing if your organization has both roles) owns the responsibility of educating the company on the value of the product in such a way that when the “creative messages” are launched, there is no confusion on what the product is and its value.

Have you had the situation where Sales promises they can deliver additional features (Liars! ) and then asks engineering to add the features or worse, to “just build a quick demo” without really understanding what value they are trying to create? Or even if not having the said features is truly a deal breaker?

Tom Evans led us through an excellent exercise where we took the Kindle and pulled together what he refers to as a Messaging Grid. The messaging grid is a step by step process that can help you build you message by answering key questions such as
- Who is your audience?
- What are you selling?
- Why should customers care?
- What can you do for customers?
- Is it different from your competitors?
- Why should someone choose your product?

So using Kindle as an example, the audience could be a business traveler, a vacationer, a student and an environmentally conscious consumer. What does the Kindle do for these customers? It provides an opportunity to kill flight time, to travel light or to save a tree. In comparison to a book, it can carry 1000s of titles and probably at a cheaper rate than hardcopy reading material. This is where building personas really helps…remember personas…if used right, they can really help fine tune your message.

Another aspect that is important in creating your product and message is to target your market segment. No, don’t go with those generic “will streamline your process and improve profitability” type messages. For example our pre-paid brand (I work for Sprint Nextel), Boost Mobile’s messages are targeted to a very specific market segment…Hip and Edgy!

So, do you know how to get to message delight? Take a look at Tom’s presentation and you will be making the first step in the right direction!

Going from message nightmare to message delight

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2011 “agenda”: The future of the DFW Product Group…volunteers needed!

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

As I wind down 2010 for the Dallas/Fort Worth Product Group, I am very appreciative of the support and enthusiasm that you have all shown for the group and its mission. Thank You :) ! The group has grown to 100+ vibrant members and we have successfully hosted 3 excellent social mixers and meet-ups with a 4th one to go!

For much of 2010, this has been a “one-lady” show…but that is about to change! For 2011 we need to take the group to a totally new level…but I must confess – I could use the HELP!!!

Below is a preview of what’s in store for 2011:-
- A designated “lead” team that is 100% volunteer driven
- Product Camp….yes, FINALLY! This is in the works for sometime late Spring 2011!
- Innovative online interaction driven by leading edge social media tools
- Blog posts featuring randomly selected group members
- A laser-like focus on Product Management in DFW (Case Studies, Training, Webinars, etc.)
- And more…

The mission of the group remains simple; to connect, interact, network and learn from our peers.

If you are interested in volunteering or being part of the lead team please send me a note.

In the meantime, don’t forget to come out and network @ Blue Mesa Grill in Addison, TX for the last social mixer of 2010.

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Going from message nightmare to message delight!

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

You have a killer product and you are thinking you are going to absolutely KILL the competition with this one! They will not even know what is coming…and then reality sets in; yes, they really don’t know what it is. Why? Because they are seeing and hearing conflicting messages about the product…and you are thinking…why are sales, marketing and executives teams having a hard time expressing the value in this “killer product” to the market?

Telling the world why they should care about your product should be an integral part of your product strategy. How are you going to get to “message delight”?

Join us on November 2nd for our final 2010 social mixer as we continue this conversation.

Our meet-ups are always FREE and open to all. We are an “unconference” group that relies on the spirited participation of all attendees while creating an invigorating evening of dialogue and debate.

We would love to have you!

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Worried about protecting your intellectual property?

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

MJ, Diane & Prof. Edsel

A big thank you to everyone who made it to The Dallas/ Fort Worth Product Group September roundtable meet-up (the 3rd since we launched group)! And an even bigger thanks to our sponsors, University of Texas at Dallas and Hanes and Boone, LLP.

Over the course of the evening, I quickly realized why this topic is so debatable and why people sue and get sued left and right!

Copyrights are counterintuitive so you basically have to think from different angles and different elevations all while looking through a crystal ball that tells you what your competition has in their goody bag. One group member almost fell off his chair and when he realized his satirical web address that he bought could be an infringement case! You know, like the fire-such-and-such-coffee-company.com type address…do you have one? If someone can prove fair use…you might have a problem!

Mark Twain probably said it best as taken from his notebook entry in 1902-1903; “Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet”. Enough said!

So how knowledgeable are you in terms of protecting your intellectual property? Well let’s see if you pass this simple quiz -

True or False?
- If I paid a programmer or designer to make something for me, then I own the copyright.
- A trademark gives me the right to make that which I have trademarked.
- If I you want to design a knock-off (not that I would encourage such thievery :) ) your design can be similar but not an exact replica.
- The symbol ™ has legal significance so you should put it on all your branding labels and such.
- A copyright protects the idea.

The overwhelming feedback from the group indicates yet another successful round-table discussion. The topic of Trademarks, Copyrights and everything in between can appear boring at first but Purvi did an excellent job in delivering her presentation and encouraging lively and engaging discussions. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did…for those who missed out, you can get a copy of the presentation here.

Oh by the way, all the above are FALSE!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our next meetup!

Tuesday, November 2nd @ 5:30pm
Blue Mesa Grill in Addison, TX
RSVP Now!

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Join us tonight @ UTD – School of Management

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

It’s not too late to register for the DFW Product Group September meetup! Just click on the “Register” button to the right and follow instructions…it takes less than 5 mins and helps with logistics :) .

Registration and attendance is FREE and OPEN to the public.

Be sure to pick up your parking permit at the Visitors booth on the UTD campus.

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How was the August social mixer?

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

When Jeff Kavanaugh shared with me that he was about to attend his company’s (Infosys Consulting) annual leadership conference in Vegas I thought, hmm…it would be awesome if he would share his personal take with the Dallas Fort worth Product Group…and he graciously obliged!

The roundtable discussion was quite informative and encouraged lively feedback from products professional representatives from industries like consumer products (toys!), communications providers, aerospace, software, and academia.

A few market trends that we discussed were:

the digital consumer – with consumers who have access to information literally at their fingertips, who do they take the “buy” advice from? TV ads or recommedations from their social media groups such as the “like” feature on Facebook.

emerging economies (frugal innovation) – remember the $100 laptop project? How do companies develop innovative but inexpensive products that give them access to emerging markets?

healthcare economy – this was particularly interesting, imagine doctors giving medical advice over video conference or even training doctors in another continent.

smarter organization – simple, nimble, and constantly learning

pervasive computing – “things that think”; at their core, all models of pervasive computing share a vision of small, inexpensive, robust networked processing devices, distributed at all scales throughout everyday life and generally turned to distinctly common-place ends.

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See Jeff’s blog for more on the roundtable discussion.

Come join us for the next meetup! September 28th @ University of Texas – Dallas 5:30 – 7:30…see you then!

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August Social Mixer

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

Join us on August 24th for the Dallas/ Fort Worth Product Group monthly social mixer at the Blue Mesa Grill in Addison from 5:30 – 7:30pm.

This is an open event. RSVPs are appreciated!

If you would like to help coordinate or sponsor any future DFW Product Group event contact us via the form on the JOIN US page.

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My first ProductCamp experience…it was worth the 3+hr drive!

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Joyce Schofield

It’s a Saturday morning and I am up at 3am out of the house by 4am and on my way to Austin for my first ProductCamp “unconference”. Having offered to volunteer with registration, I needed to be there by 7:30am…what was I thinking! But honestly, I was very excited and even woke up before the alarm went off!

After a pleasant 3.5 hrs drive (no one was hogging the fast lane) I arrive at the AT&T Conference Center and wow…it is a pretty snazzy state of the art venue. So anyway, my immediate job (along with a few other volunteers) is to help separate name labels, alphabetize and once attendees arrive – check them in, give them a goody bag, map, answer questions and direct them to the main meeting room…sounds easy right…did I mention how many people attended? We had close to, if not more than, 500 people attend; 700 registered! The ProductCamp Austin team pulled together an excellent production.

I could not help but notice the energy in the atmosphere; friendly but charged…it kind of felt like a game day. You could tell that attendees were there to meet others, participate, learn and to have as much fun as possible. All the sessions I attended were relaxed, very interactive and I learnt a ton. I also met some pretty impressive professionals. Choosing which sessions to attend was the hardest part, they all sounded great and there were 7 choices for each time slot! Of course I had to attend the “Mobile Strategy and Product Development” session. “My PowerPoint sucks! Now What?” sounded really intriguing while “Seven Foundational Practices to Creating a Compelling Product & Market” was another great option…choices, choices, choices!

What did I think about the “Mobile Strategy and Product Development” session? I think it was an excellent workshop for application developers who are wondering what OS (WinMO, Symbian, Android…) and business model to use. Beyond the OS, developers should also have a business plan, expecting the app store or mobile carriers to develop one for you is not a good strategy :) . But of all the sessions I attended, my best session vote was for “Enterpreneurship in a Down Economy” by Yuen Yung, Owner of the How Do you Roll sushi franchise. Part of his strategy was based on filling gaps in a market that is fragmented and at best only regional. He talked about one of the best advice he received was from his grand pa (or dad); ‘if there is no plan B, plan A works a whole lot better’…isn’t that the truth!

But all good things come to an end and it was time to haul myself back home…this time the drive was really long…we need a ProductCamp Dallas!

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