According to recent research from Forrester and Enquiro’s 2007 B2B Survey, business buyers use search engines most frequently at the beginning of the buying process, during the awareness and research phases. Buyers actually use search engines less frequently when they are ready to negotiate and purchase a high-consideration product or service.

Excerpt from B2B Marketers Should Embrace “Tire Kickers” in SearchEngineLand.

Is it me or did I miss the point?

I’m guessing that they’re announcing the launch of InCharge for Wii (I have a Wii) and Xbox 360, right? What is InCharge? Why do I need it? How much does it cost? Where can I buy one?

Looks like a press release ginned up by an IR firm to me.

 

TeknoCreations Announces Product Launch

ALBUQUERQUE, NM–(Marketwire - April 10, 2008) - AccessKey IP, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: AKYI) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, TeknoCreations, will launch its unique InCharge™ product for the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360. In conjunction with initial sales to wholesale distributors, the company expects to deliver its first products in June 2008 both domestically and internationally.

Bruce Palmer, TeknoCreations’ President, stated, “Early sales results and interest in our Consumer Electronics products are extremely encouraging. Retailers are exhibiting quite an appetite for accessories that complement platforms such as gaming. TeknoCreations is now becoming a beneficiary of these market trends. We expect our products to begin appearing on retail shelves in June.” Palmer further stated, “The impact on AKYI should be apparent with these results and those of the next few months.”

About AccessKey IP, Inc.

AccessKey IP is a developer of cutting-edge technologies and best-of-breed products tailored to address the market opportunities created by the explosive growth of Digital Communications, Entertainment-related services and specific consumer electronics platforms.

AccessKey™ products, powered by the Company’s patented technology, provide complete access to the coveted “Triple Play” (voice, video and data) and “Quadruple Play” (voice, video, data and wireless) offerings of cable, telecom, satellite and broadband service providers. The Company’s AccessKey Home™ and portable flash drive-sized AccessKey PC™ allow subscribers to “channel surf” streaming “HD Quality” television content (IPtv), navigate the internet, watch Video on Demand (VOD) offerings, play video or internet-based games, listen to music, make phone calls (VoIP), video conference, run a full array of computing applications, securely store data and more, all from a single device and service provider network. Its wholly owned subsidiary TeknoCreations was founded to participate in the explosive growth of Consumer Electronics and Business security needs, TeknoCreations designs high quality products with attractive pricing to enhance the consumer’s favorite electronics products and the expanding security needs of corporate America.

Any PR folks out there want to comment on this?

UPDATE - AccessKey IP updated the press release on May 14.  I can’t believe I missed this!  Now I get it.  We have a Wii with the rechargeable batteries in our household and it is a pain to remove the silicon skins to recharge.  Very solid release now and I wish you all the best success with your product launch (my final suggestion is to allow visitors to see the relase in HTML so we don’t have to download the PDF.

–D

TEKNOCREATIONS UPDATES PRODUCT LAUNCH INFORMATION

May 14, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE–(PRIME NEWSWIRE)– AccessKey IP, Inc. (Pink Sheets:
AKYI - News) as previously announced its wholly owned subsidiary
TeknoCreations will launch its unique InCharge™ product for the Nintendo Wii
and Microsoft Xbox 360. With initial sales expected to be in excess of $200K, the
company expects to deliver its first 10,000 units on or about June 15th. The
product will initially be available domestically and in Canada with a suggested
retail of $34.99.

Mark Kasok, TeknoCreations’ Vice President Sales and Marketing, stated, “I am
excited with our early marketing results. Our InCharge™ products have begun to
show up for sale thru various search engines such as Google MSN and Yahoo .
Although we are a month from shipping, retailers and Etailers are taking
backorders. Our InCharge™ products are inductive contactless rechargeable
charging systems, for the both the popular Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360
remote controllers. They eliminate the need to replace batteries and eliminates
the open contacts, which can become faulty through tarnishing and dirt buildups.
It is the only charging system on the market that can work without removing
popular silicon skins and wrist straps that are included by Nintendo free with
every Wii remote and you no longer have to remove that batteries or plug in your
wireless Microsoft Xbox 360 remote to keep it charged. Our initial results will
give us a good indication of our Holiday Season, which is fast approaching.”

About AccessKey IP, Inc.

AccessKey IP is a developer of cutting-edge technologies and best-of-breed
products tailored to address the market opportunities created by the explosive
growth of Digital Communications, Entertainment-related services and specific
consumer electronics platforms.

AccessKey™ products, powered by the Company’s patented technology, provide
complete access to the coveted “Triple Play” (voice, video and data) and
“Quadruple Play” (voice, video, data and wireless) offerings of cable, telecom,
satellite and broadband service providers. The Company’s AccessKey Home™
and portable flash drive-sized AccessKey PC™ allow subscribers to “channel
surf” streaming “HD Quality” television content (IPtv), navigate the internet, watch
Video on Demand (VOD) offerings, play video or internet-based games, listen to
music, make phone calls (VoIP), video conference, run a full array of computing
applications, securely store data and more, all from a single device and service
provider network. Its’ wholly owned subsidiary TeknoCreations was founded to
participate in the explosive growth of Consumer Electronics and Business
security needs. TeknoCreations designs high quality products with attractive
pricing to enhance the consumer’s favorite electronics products and the
expanding security needs of corporate America.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements, which may constitute “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or
current expectations of AccessKey IP, Inc. and members of its management as
well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective
investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that
actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forwardlooking
statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of
unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

FOR INVESTOR INQUIRIES: Please visit the Company’s website
www.accesskeyip.com, or contact: Bruce Palmer, 310-734-4254.

Contact:
AccessKey IP, Inc.
Bruce Palmer, 310-734-4254
www.accesskeyip.com

Source: AccessKey IP, Inc.

With all due respect to AireSpring, isn’t there an easier way to say what you do?

About AireSpring

Headquartered in Los Angeles, AireSpring is one of the fastest growing telecommunications carriers in the USA, with over 2 billion call records processed per year. AireSpring is a privately held, 100% debt free, diversified and full service communications company offering a broad range of innovative services at competitive prices to corporate and residential customers nationwide. AireSpring’s national local service offering makes AireSpring the nation’s largest CVNO (CLEC Virtual network Operator) and AireSpring has been mentioned favorably in such publications as Business Week and the Boston Globe as one of the leading discount telecom providers in the nation. AireSpring has been voted by its peers in the TelecommAssociation as the “Members Choice” top reseller for three consecutive years (2006-8). To date, Airespring has set the record for more Telecomm Association awards (11) than any other carrier/reseller. AireSpring has also received the Reader’s Choice Award from Phone + magazine.

How about

About AireSpring

AireSpring is one of the leading discount telecom providers in the United States, processing over 2 billion calls per year. We offer a broad range of innovative communications solutions at competitive prices to corporate and residential customers.

All the other stuff your customers don’t care about and gets in the way of figuring out how you can help them. Just a thought.

According to best selling author and consultant Kevin J. Clancy, Ph.D, 84% of marketing programs disappoint the creators and that the Marketing Science Institute found that advertising had to be doubled to increase revenue by 1%. Dr. Clancy spoke to the annual joint meeting of Boston chapters of SCIP and the Association of Strategic Planning on March 26, 2008.Why are marketing returns so low? “Decision making based on intuition—a habit that dies hard.” Also, “using competitors to guide decisions.” While these two reasons may appear to be contradictory, they both result from poor use of information.

Thanks to Knowledge is Power.

If you’ve done your homework, surveyed the market and have the data to prove your position, skip this post. If you believe you understand the market and don’t need to talk to the market to validate your opinions read on. Maybe it’s your ego or your arrogance that prevents you from talking to the market. Maybe it’s fear. Either way, statistically, you’re a train wreck waiting to happen.

Let me walk you through it. You worked in an industry for a number of years. That experience gives you a sense of intuitive understanding of the industry and what makes it tick. More than likely you were in a mid-level position where you had the benefit of seeing life in the trenches. During this time you saw a set of recurring problems and maybe even formulated some technical solutions to address them. You presented your ideas to management, who didn’t embrace your enthusiasm for the problem. You’re frustrated, hurt and maybe angry. You develop an “I’ll show them” attitude and strike off on your own.

In your spare time you develop a prototype and begin to show it to your peers. Your peers give you glowing feedback and reinforce your sense of importance. You are on your way to being rich.

You get introduced to angel investors who are struck by your enthusiasm and command of the problem. They give you the seed capital you need to take your idea to the next level. You hire a few developers with the goal of moving from prototype to commercial ready.

You spend the next 6 months heads-down developing the solution. You know what features need to go into the product. After all, you lived the problem and know how to fix it. There’s no time to survey the market and talk to decision makers. You know the problem and you have the answer.

Three months into the project you begin to get feedback from the team about specific features that might be missing. They’re smart guys so they’ve started poking around to identify competitive alternatives and what they’re offering. You’re annoyed by the distraction. The competitors don’t get it. You have the answer.

Your team delivers the product in 6 months on budget as planned. Investors are happy with your project management skills and assure you they can help raise more money when needed. It’s now reckoning time. The product is ready and you’re ready to launch.

You start your product launch carefully. Since you don’t have a big budget you prefer to do a soft launch and to get the product into the hands of a few customers. You reach out to the peers in your network, get a few meetings and demos. You are encouraged by the glowing feedback.

Then nothing happens. No sales. No interest. Nothing.

You panic. It must be the price. We must have the wrong sales guys. Marketing is a waste of money. The prospects don’t “get it”.

Money is running out and your team is demoralized by the lack of sales. They doubt your expertise in the problem and the market. Did they just spend 6 months of their lives building a product that no one wants to buy? How could this happen? They feel betrayed.

It’s happening everyday to startups and big companies. And it can be easily addressed by setting aside some of the arrogance and getting out to talk to the market before it’s too late. What is the problem (in their words)? What are they doing to fix it now (in their words)? How important is this problem in the grand scheme (in their words)?

Technorati Tags: product launch

The PDMA New Product Development Glossary supplies the following definition for New Product Introduction:

New Product Introduction (NPI): The launch or commercialization of a new product into the marketplace. Takes place at the end of a successful product development project.

Since this definition uses three more terms (new product, launch and commercialization) we need to dig further.

New Product: A term of many opinions and practices, but most generally defined as a product (either a good or service) new to the firm marketing it. Excludes products that are only changed in promotion.

Launch: The process by which a new product is introduced into the market for initial sale.

Commercialization: The process of taking a new product from development to market. It generally includes production launch and ramp-up, marketing materials and program development, supply chain development, sales channel development, training development, training, and service and support development.

Putting them together we arrive at

New Product Introduction (NPI): The process by which a new product is introduced into the marketplace. Takes place at the end of a successful product development project.

While the guys at PDMA have done a fairly good attempt of defining NPI, it is fundamentally flawed. The flaw lies in the orientation. It’s an inside out definition from a product development perspective.

Product launch is not the end of the development process it’s the beginning of the sales process.

What if there was no development process? Every day organizations introduce new products to market that are sourced from other parties. Every day established products are launched (or relaunched).

I use a business-oriented definition of product launch that is more encompassing and more accurately describes the desired outcome:

Product Launch is the process of introducing a product to a market in such a way it generates momentum.

That’s what we want to do right? Whether the product is new, a new version or sourced from another supplier our goal is to generate momentum.

Technorati Tags: New Product Introduction, Product Launch

In the old days when a software product reached a state where it could be sold, we referred to it as General Availability (GA).  You might still be using some of these terms in your shop: Beta, Release to Manufacturing (RTM), Release Candidate (RC) and GA.  These are states to help us understand where the product is in the development process.

We used the term "launch" to represent something big.  It meant more than a press release and a Powerpoint presentation.  But over time the marketing guys have hijacked "launch" and have overused it.  A new website is "launched".  Translation: a new design of our website has been uploaded to our server.  The get-rich-quick internet marketers have diluted "launch" to something quick and tactical.  Very smart on their part, I have to admit.  We still have a psychological connection to "launch" as being something big.  We launch ad campaigns, cars, drugs, beverages, airlines, ideas, programs, and all sorts of things.  Maybe "launch" should now be added to the gobbledygood of overused terms like scalable, enterprise class, robust, state-of-the-art, extensible, open architecture, cutting edge, and mission critical.

We borrowed the term "launch" from NASA.  NASA use "launch" in two ways.  One to refer to launching a mission (the big idea) and another to refer to launching a vehicle (the event).  When the rocket leaves the launch pad, the mission isn’t over, it’s just starting.

What are you launching?

I recently did a presentation at AIPMM’s PMEC West conference in San Diego and had the opportunity to speak with a lot of smart, energetic product managers and product marketing managers about product launch. It struck me that there’s a conventional wisdom that needs to be changed. Radically changed. It has to do with where product launch fits into the grand scheme of things.

It has to do with something I discovered a while back. Product launch IS NOT the end of the development process. It is the BEGINNING of the sales process. Noodle on that a little and then re-read what I just stated.

You probably have been in the situation where you scramble at the last minute to get ready to “launch”. To make matters worse you probably encountered a delay of some sort. It doesn’t really matter what it was. What’s important is that you discover late in the game there are material changes to the product that radically change the original assumptions you had about your product launch plan.

Now you have a serious delay. Marketing materials have to be revamped. In some cases a whole new approach is required. The sales team is up in arms because - yet again - the organization isn’t ready and they’ve already been given their quota. Of course it’s the marketing team’s fault again.

This is “end of the development process” thinking. Now change it to a “beginning of the sales process” thinking. Your goal in a product launch is generate momentum. What would you do differently?

Technorati Tags: product launch,launch clinic,selling process,development process,marketing

Day 1 at Product Management Educational Conference (PMEC)

AIPMM is the world’s largest professional organization of product managers, brand managers, product marketing managers and other individuals responsible for guiding their organizations and clients through a constantly changing business landscape. AIPMM represents those who manage the entire product life-cycle.

We are hanging out at the San Diego Sheraton Towers and Marina. Here’s a summary of Tuesday’s presentations I attended. There were two tracks so I only have a summary on what I attended.

The Art of the Demo

John Mansour - ZIGZAG Marketing

Tips on how to approach and orchestrate a demo. Made me laugh by reminding me of stuff I’ve been guilty of in the past. Demo styles included the old “Show Up and Throw Up” and the “Spray and Pray”. The point is that a one-size-fits-all demo doesn’t sell. Find out a little about your prospect’s business problems and needs, and then adjust accordingly. Oh, and drop the 50 slides about your company at the beginning.

Pricing Models

Linda Merrick and Mara Krieps - Pivotal Product Management. Linda and Mara provided good information on how to approach pricing.

Segmentation and Position

Lee Shaeffer - PLM Associates

Very nice presentation by Lee. I liked his methodical approach and use of graphics to illustrate important concepts. It was clear from audience response and the full room that this is an important topic to AIPMM members.

Science of a Successful Product Launch

David Daniels (Me) - Launch Clinic

Hot. Very hot. It was fun because the audience was great. Awesome questions and they were kind enough to laugh at my jokes. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that about 20% of the audience had documented launch processes. Very nice.

Technorati Tags: product launch,marketing

I’m pleased to announce that Launch Clinic has been nominated for a Product Management Excellence Award at AIPMM’s Product Management Educational Conference (PMEC) West. PMEC West is going to be held in San Diego, April 1-3, 2008 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina.

What makes this nomination extra special is that it was submitted by our customers, which we are honored to have received.

Technorati Tags: product launch,marketing