Re: iSeries (non-) Marketing - part 24,566

["Booth Martin" <Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A niche product is a specific product that is targeted at a specific
audience. 
 
Mercedes Benz, Hummer, and Jaguar are niche products for example. It would
be silly for Hummer to try to match Ford Truck advertising in dollars spent
or in ad placements. Ford Truck has the advantage of course. They can
advertise anywhere and everywhere because their customers are anywhere and
everywhere. Hummer on the other hand needs to be really careful with their
ad placements.
 
 
 
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Booth Martin http://www.MartinVT.com
Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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-------Original Message-------
 
From: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 11:49:08 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: iSeries (non-) Marketing - part 24,566
 
Booth,
 
At 9/10/03 12:23 PM, you wrote:
>the iSeries is a niche product that appeals to the organization that wants
a
>top to bottom solution and no finger pointing from the software supplier
>blaming the hardware supplier and vice versa.
 
Why does that make it a niche product? It is a general purpose business
system.
 
 
>On that basis the pSeries customer is a different breed, and there's a lot
>more of them. Equal time is not appropriate, but IBM could get the
>demographics for the iSeries breed and of the pSeries breed and spend
>equally, per capita.
 
How about starting by targeting industries / areas that are traditional
iSeries strongholds (e.g. apparel, distribution, banking, etc.), and branch
out from there. I think that it has the potential to surpass pSeries sales
in many areas, if only IBM would choose to do so.
 
BTW, I believe that should IBM choose to push the box they MUST train and
provide incentives to their sales people to sell the /400. I know of
several /400 sales that were "stolen" BY IBM SALES REPS to push the client
to an RS/6000.
 
If IBM doesn't "believe" in their own product, then how can the customer?
 
-mark