Well stated (as usual)
Here is "my idea" to add to your list of "Value Add" and reducing cost /
investment...
Why does BMC/Remedy charge for the "2 days of education" prior to the
conference? I know that my companies have paid for the "Whats new in 5x" (or
6x or 7x and to be 7.5x) or "Best practices in CMDB" - these are half-day
classes in where you already need to "know your stuff" to keep up with the
discussion...
Look - we already BOUGHT the product and are trying to USE it. Give this to
us as a "Value add" - The company simply pays for 2 additional nights of
hotel and "poof" you get this value add training that you can do your
"School Report" on... (Provided you have a valid support agreement)
Like Kelly - I've never been "requested" (told) that I have to do the "Trip
Report" however as you might imagine am "Excited to spread the news" so to
say to my team(s) about - hey look at this - or do it this way because of
X...
In all honesty - the "value" of the conferences has been diminishing over
the last few years - same ole same ole so to say... how many times have you
attended a session just to have it a "Sales Pitch" for something?
I attend the conferences more for these following reasons - which add VALUE
to myself personally and my company
1). Pre-conference sessions - this is real education - not marketing
2). Vendor area - while this is a "sales area" it does show products with
"hands on touch" such as Panacea, NewScale,kenetic, AeroPrise, etc - this is
stuff that "you can use" and you leave asking yourself "geez how did I live
without this"...
3). Evening with Engineering - who could ask for more? - would be good to
have these twice a year! (or more! once a quarter - one afternoon - cheap
!!)
4). Social Networking - putting the "Face to the email", getting the "Real
world I did this"...
5). Social Networking - Just getting to know other ARS'ers - building
resource connections - adding more connections
I agree that if anyone's company considered the "Location" instead of the
"Conference Value" they are barking up the wrong tree. As you mentioned
"middle of the corn field" PROVIDED INTERNET ACCESS would be okay - we are
"never" away from work are we? conference sessions for 6 hours 2 or 3 hours
in the sales room - then online to catch up on emails / tickets / etc...
Vancouver (although I was not able to attend) was the first "Iternational
NAFTA User World" - Why not Mexico? There are TONS of Remedy Customers in
MX! How about Mexico City? Puerto Vallarta? Acapulco? all three of these
locations are easily accessable with direct flights from US AND CANADA...
Costs? Very Inexpensive! (Definately less than Miami Beach!)
The same "Concerns" could be stated about Vegas and San Francisco and
Baltimore - This is purely a "Employee Trust" issue - are they going to the
conference to "Play" or to "Learn"... Unfortunately everyone has been
burned by the "bad apple" that has caused this to be a concern for
management... It is up to the INDIVIDUAL to show (via a trip report, demo
CD, etc) that they returned WITH VALUE and just not a hang-over :)
The above is IMHO - take it for what it's worth - your ROI might vary
Robert Molenda
On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 7:49 PM, Carey Matthew Black <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> All,
>
> If we (customers) are trying to "watch the bottom line" then why not
> use the User Group conference as a "loss leader"? Total price ( ROI )
> is always a consideration for a smart company. ( I think both
> companies, BMC and the customer, can win on a conference.)
>
>
> BMC could do something like:
>
> Give every attendee _one_ "free" AR System Fixed (or maybe optional
> Float) license. (NOTE: To be added to your current support contract
> and all normal renewal fees applied at your next renewal.) With maybe
> a cap of "N" per year per "Support Contract"/"Customer Company".
> Or...
> If BMC wants to push a given product (Example: Non-AR System), then
> give away "1 year free use license" to all attendees. (Returnable at
> no cost, at any time during the first year, but you have to purchase
> it at the end of the year if you want to keep using it.)
> Or...
> Lower the customer cost to attend the conference and make the price of
> the hotel room much greater than the "cover charge at the door" for
> the conference.
>
> Those are all tried and true "loss leader" marketing techniques.
> For software companies the cost of generating a license is very low.
> (It is just data. It could also likely be done with the existing PO
> process if a special "BMCUW2008" PO number was introduced for the
> customer who attended. It could all be "self service" to generate the
> key just like they purchased the product.) BMC might even be able to
> get a "advertising" write off for the market purchase value of the
> license in their taxes as a business expense too. Sure they do not get
> the initial purchase cash from the license. (and does BMC really need
> the short term cash flow?) However, they increase the customers
> support cost every year after that. ( The customer may not take the
> "free" stuff and it is a wash for BMC. No cost to BMC, No cost to the
> customer.)
>
> The more BMC can show _value_ to the customers that do choose to
> attend, then the better the customers feel about sending a
> representative (or 10) each year. If the cost of (travel + hotel) >
> ("free stuff they bring back") then the decision is defiantly one
> sided and based on an evaluation of "is it really worth it to us this
> year?". If you can flip that equality in the other direction (AKA:
> expenses for convention "less than" value of the stuff they bring
> back) then the decision becomes a no brainier for a company. They in
> effect "save money" by sending someone. :) If the "cost" to BMC also
> produces a longer term customer who has a slightly higher "year over
> year" bill, then I think we have a real win-win. If the conference
> experience also produces a more loyal, better informed, activist for
> the product(s) then BMC has a real world win that is not measurable,
> nor can it be purchased. The effect of an excited and engaged customer
> base can be measured, and IMHO, is what made Remedy as strong of a
> company as it was.
>
> I will also throw in that if the swag from the conference is a BMC
> license, then there is no "08 Miami" branded swag that you get stuck
> with in the closet, if something happens like the hotel deciding that
> they can not open on time for your event. :) I wonder how many
> backpacks or tee shirts, or what ever the gift bag was going to be
> this year were already made up and "non-refundable". Or even how many
> staff hours were spent trying to figure out and agree on the object
> and it's design too.
>
>
> Yes, location effects customer expenses, but so does time of year.
> Time of the year at the location, and in the customer/product business
> life cycles too. ( Which was part of why Oct 08 did not make as much
> sense as say Feb 09. With respect to ARS 7.5 release.) Personally, I
> do not care if the User Group is in the middle of a corn field. (As
> long as there is a reasonable hotel near by and my laptop can get a
> WI-FI signal. :) ) I know that I go for the content not the location.
>
> If the conference is worth attending for the content/value then
> the attendees should have no problem avoiding being distracted by the
> "shiny location" that happens to be outside the bounds of the
> conference. If employers really find that there employee's are
> skipping out on work to go play then there sounds like some
> disciplinary actions are needed to me. (But that sounds like is an
> internal personal issue to me.)
>
> I do think the most cost effective "place" for everyone is a
> virtual place. ( Not a trivial technical task, but maybe possible
> too.) You just loose something when you do not get to interact
> directly, in real time, with 1000's of other "fans"(AKA: fanatics).
> Meeting in the real world does have real value and it also has real
> costs. However, if the infrastructure for a mass meeting exists then
> it can also be leveraged for things like Alpha/Beta/Gama testing
> groups, tech support escalation calls, etc.. during the rest of the
> year too. Note: I am not advocating the discontinuation of yearly face
> to face meetings. But rather it might be an opportunity to meet more
> than once a year mass meetings too.
>
> As far as the time of year goes.... No single time of the year will be
> ideal for everyone. (Nor any single location will be ideal for
> everyone.) However, if the schedule, year to year, is more consistent
> then customers can begin to "expect what they get" and hopefully that
> stability will also add to their confidence in the software company
> too. Not to mention that if the conference is the "launch" for the new
> version, then the customers can plan (year to year) when they will
> need time to do their upgrades too. ( Which would be really nice to be
> able to do. )
>
> I guess I am trying to say that if BMC focuses on delivering quality
> (AKA:value to the customer) then I doubt they can go wrong.
>
> And if we (the customers) can tell BMC what we think is valuable, then
> maybe we can get them to focus on those things. ( If they agree that
> they will ultimately benefit more by keeping the customers happy than
> by not listening to them.)
>
> I also really like to try to keep ARSList as positive as possible.
> When I am critical I also try to remember to communicate what I think
> would have been better too. Even if their is still disagreement about
> my idea of "better", at least they know what I do want.
>
> IMHO: It is ok to express your feelings. However, it is better to
> communicate your plan with passion than to cry over spilled milk. :)
>
> --
> Carey Matthew Black
> Remedy Skilled Professional (RSP)
> ARS = Action Request System(Remedy)
>
> Love, then teach
> Solution = People + Process + Tools
> Fast, Accurate, Cheap.... Pick two.
>
>
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