Re: AS/400 marketing Is it Needed

John Carr wrote:

>
>
> Chris
> Aren't you the one who had the tag line 'Get OS/2 or Get Bent' ?
> What ever happened to that tag line?
>

<<snip>>

> How did it Lose??????????  I mean anyone who made an Analytical decision
> back then(With all those Facts) would surely have chosen OS/2 right?

You're right, technical people look at the technical merits.....I used OS/2 and
didn't care who knew it ;-)

> <<snip>>
> Make Them Want It and They will justify it themselves, even if they
> have to make up the facts to do it.

> If you don't believe that, you've never been in sales.
>

We have countered the "Gee, let's get NT" with reminding them that M$ is in the
consumer products market, not the commercial user market, and that even THEY use
an AS/400 because it's a more appropriate fit for the task it's designed to
perform.  Not that they wouldn't like to become king of the hill in the
commercial market, NT is still a departmental bit player in the big picture.

We avoid the "this vs that" positioning either/or as a cure all, IMHO it's 
better
to stick with the "this is better suited than that at the task at hand".  
Windows
is very accepted on the desktop, don't even go there.  Applications run on that
little black box in the back room.

Someone mentioned IBM could try ads along the line of the Maytag repair man, I
kinda like that idea.  There's nothing inherently evil about a M$ product at the
desktop, keep it there.  The AS/400 is the loyal, quiet, reliable butler that
'serves' your every request.

I prefer the 'rock solid' label for IBM's products, but this has to have 'solid'
applications and 'solid' support.  We don't help our own cause when BP's are
continually changing their staff.  I've always been under the impression that 
the
user likes to develop a support relationship with a person, not necessarily a
firm and if the support firm 'appears' unstable, the whole solution 'appears'
unstable.

nuff said.

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