%0 Journal Article %J Open Source Business Resource %D 2010 %T Editorial: Go To Market (July 2010) %A Dru Lavigne %A Corien Kershey %X Historically, the concept of going to market is fraught with misinterpretation, doubt, and anxiety. In Canada, the term "go to market" typically means the task of readying a product for market. In this context, it is interchangeable with "commercialization," which is another concept suffering in Canada from a definition that generally does not go beyond a software maker's front door. In other parts of the world, and specifically in the U.S., the term "go to market" is clearly interpreted as meaning all the activities required to successfully launch a product into the marketplace and realize both market share and profit. Going to market is about bringing the right benefit to the right market at the right price through the right channels. Ideally, the entire go-to-market process begins with the identification of a problem or sought-after benefit that a market segment has deemed a priority. More realistically, though, it begins with identifying the segment that best suits the software offering and then determines the business model, positioning and message, pricing, channels, and engagement techniques that will work best in building share in that segment. This issue attempts to take some of the doubt and anxiety from what seems to be the daunting task of pushing a product out of the door and into the harsh realities of a demanding market. It provides clear-eyed discussions of some of the main components, tips and advice from the "battle-scarred," and useful tools that can be readily used. %B Open Source Business Resource %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %8 07/2010 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/361 %N July 2010 %9 Editorial %1 Talent First Network Dru Lavigne is a technical writer and IT consultant who has been active with open source communities since the mid-1990s. She writes regularly for O'Reilly and DNSStuff.com and is the author of the books BSD Hacks and The Best of FreeBSD Basics. %2 Marketing Magnitude Corien Kershey is a partner in Marketing Magnitude, specializing in strategic market and communications planning and execution. Corien has more than 20 years of marketing and executive management experience, and before Magnitude most recently with HBS, one of Canada's foremost agencies in technology marketing. Corien has developed successful brand and communication programs for technology accounts such as Mitel, Borderware, Compugen, Omnivex, and Pyrophotonics. Before joining HBS, Corien held CEO and Vice-President roles with satellite carrier TMI, Simware, NetManage, Buystream, FuseTalk, Serviceswitch, and Trigence. Corien served as Director of the Marketing Certification Program at the Sprott School of Business and continues to actively teach in Lead to Win. She holds three degrees from the University of Waterloo and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. %0 Journal Article %J Open Source Business Resource %D 2010 %T Go-to-Market Targeting: Know the Market and Whether It Cares %A Corien Kershey %X This article explores the importance of good segmenting and targeting to early-stage companies. Most software companies fail within the first three years, and one of the prime reasons is a lack of a focused approach to a single, carefully-chosen target market. Most software companies take the approach of attacking multiple segments simultaneously to see which will work out best, but run out of time and money before they reach an answer. A concentrated strategy that focuses resources on a single segment that the company can win and dominate quickly significantly reduces go-to-market risk. Choosing a segment in the right direction is more important than choosing the right segment. This article provides a series of six steps to help companies work through a segmenting and targeting exercise that will give them the best chance of success. The article provides real-world tools to help deal with an essential issue. %B Open Source Business Resource %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %8 07/2010 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/362 %N July 2010 %9 Articles %1 Marketing Magnitude Corien Kershey is a partner in Marketing Magnitude, specializing in strategic market and communications planning and execution. Corien has more than 20 years of marketing and executive management experience, and before Magnitude most recently with HBS, one of Canada's foremost agencies in technology marketing. Corien has developed successful brand and communication programs for technology accounts such as Mitel, Borderware, Compugen, Omnivex, and Pyrophotonics. Before joining HBS, Corien held CEO and Vice-President roles with satellite carrier TMI, Simware, NetManage, Buystream, FuseTalk, Serviceswitch, and Trigence. Corien served as Director of the Marketing Certification Program at the Sprott School of Business and continues to actively teach in Lead to Win. She holds three degrees from the University of Waterloo and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.