Valuable Insight for Software Sales Reps and Marketers

I am pleased to announce that after a year of designing, developing and testing that our TestDrive™ INSIGHT service is now ready to offer what we had ultimately envisioned making possible.

Building on the services ability to record TestDrive™ online demo sessions and save them or review, now it’s an advanced service that can deliver quantitative and qualitative data to our customers. The improved service features offer many advantages to our customers whether it’s used for Sales, Marketing or Product Development/Product Management.

In this post my focus will be related to Sales and Marketing however if you are interested in reading more about how Product Development can benefit from TD INSIGHT you can check out Andy’s post.

TestDrive INSIGHT is a solution that can look at what a user did, identify each keystroke, mouse click and which dialogs and menus were accessed and then track certain patterns. Our system can be customized to flag user sessions that exhibit a certain pattern or search for them after the fact and then jump to the video playback to watch how a menu feature was accessed.

This is great for Sales and Marketing professionals alike. From a Sales perspective a conversation can be started that addresses what a user is most interested in purchasing the software for. This conversation can be based off the software demo summary the TD INSIGHT system automatically delivers to them when each lead has completed their online demo. This insight can also help a Sales representative to better assist a new lead to find a feature in the software that they may not have been able to locate initially in their demo, hence securing the sales opportunity.

For Marketers, TD INSIGHT offers a whole new range of opportunities specifically with user behavioral profiling. For example if a customer is using the TestDrive lead capture system and a lead answers a question that asks what new feature they are most interested in learning about. We can take that answer and track it to what menu features the user accessed during their software demo. This data can later be retrieved to find out how many leads answered the same feature to how many actually went looking for it and found it during their demo. This information can be valuable when sending out nurturing email blasts and developing tutorials to better assist and educate users about the software they are looking to purchase.

This type of insight allows Sales and Marketers to be the fly on the wall when it comes to better understanding how their leads evaluate their software. It takes the guess work out of not only when a lead has had a chance to look at your product but also when they need your help to identify the value of what it can offer them back.

E-books. How far can we take them?

I'm sure you're probably familiar with the term "e-book." The pioneer for this movement can be credited to the Kindle, which is one of Amazon's most highly toted products. There are other competitors out there, but none as popular as the Kindle. So, there are alternatives, some of which are cheaper, but the point is that this this isn't just a fad.

I recently read that for every 100 books sold on Amazon, they are selling 105 e-books. Three years ago when e-books were hovering around $300+ per device, it would have been hard to image this ever happening. As with most technology however, supply and demand has worked it's ways to be able to offer these devices at more than half of their price in 2008. With most tech products, the key is to get them to a price-point where the consumer believes they are getting a "good deal." The numbers speak for themselves in this case, but that just means that this doesn't stop here.

Remember when you were in school and you had to drag around those backpacks full of books and folders? Eventually we had lockers, but most of us had a significant amount of paper we were still lugging around. Let's be honest. Those suckers got heavy! At $114 a piece now, with the potential to go significantly lower, wouldn't it make sense to issue these in schools for a test run? Personally, I see these making a significant presence in schools, especially as a way to make sure that your curriculum is up-to-date. The 3G technology that is enable on most of these devices would allow us to be able to download new course books, rather than having to storm the book stores at the beginning of each semester. Another logical step if proven successful would be to include quizzes or tests within book chapters. This would allow software industries to get involved and possibly get a piece of the e-book pie as well.

The truth is, we really can take this convenient technology and run with it. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. I think we will be seeing a dramatic increase in cost for these devices over time as well as significant integration in our education. But, I guess only time will tell.

Marketing and Tech Events for June 2011

For those of you looking to put some new events on your radar here are a few taking place throughout the US and EMEA during June.


US Events

8th International Cloud Expo

June 6 th-9th, New York City, NY.

This event is the only Enterprise IT event in 2011 covering the entire scope of the Cloud Computing spectrum. Cloud Expo New York will feature 200+ technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty chosen from among the leading Cloud industry players in the world.

To learn more about this information content packed event visit http://cloudcomputingexpo.com/.


Measure Up

June 6 th-8th, Boston, MA.

Measure Up is the world's most comprehensive cross-dimensional view of marketing measurement best practices. THIS YEAR, the event is structured around integrating many fractured pieces of measurement analytics into one effective marketing strategy. The event will focus on return on investment (ROI) as it relates to online activities; specifically, Social Media.

Measure Up:  Agenda at a glance


The Corporate Social Media Summit

June 21st-22 nd, New York City, NY.

The Corporate Social Media Summit is the only social media conference catered exclusively for corporate practitioners.  Learn best practice and insight from an unrivalled line-up of leading corporate practitioners.  The agenda will be focused on all the key social media issues that a corporate practitioner needs to know.

Click here to see the summit agenda and download a brochure.



EMEA Events

Integrated Marketing Communication Conference

June 6th-7th, Joburg

Only top influential marketing gurus have been selected to deliver their Marketing Communication speeches at the 2011 IMC Conference. Each delegate will be able to attend up to ten, thirty minute marketing workshops per day, during the course of the conference. These interactive workshops will give delegates a far greater understanding of the particular marketing niche as well as offer delegates the opportunity to get their hands dirty by partaking in the workshop exercises hosted by the workshop hosts. For a complete details on this unique event visit http://www.imcc.co.za/


Cloud Computing World Forum

June 21st-22nd, Olympia, London

This free-to-attend event featuring all of the key players within the Cloud Computing and SaaS markets, and providing an introduction, discussion and insight into the future of the ICT industry.

Building on the success of the 2010 show, this two day conference will provide the most complete and comprehensive platform for the global Cloud Computing and SaaS industry.

To see the seminar agenda and attain a free expo pass please click here.


The Online Marketing Show 2011

June 29th and 30th, London, England

Chaired by the experts at New Media Age, the two-day conference explores the latest trends that are shaping the future of digital media and marketing.  From mobile location based services to online video and social media, there are so many avenues to explore.  This is the prefect opportunity to stay one step ahead of the game and make sense of this fast changing interactive world.  Click here for full programme details