RE: e-server/i-series -- MIDRANGE-L


-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Daly
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2000 2:46 PM
Subject: RE: e-server/i-series

You may be right - but what do you suggest?

Why should I continue to write software that targets a platform that has
dwindling marketshare - and more importantly - mindshare - even if it is
superior?  It is almost becoming too risky to continue targeting the 400.

Something has got to jar them awake.  As to what that is....I'm open to
suggestions.



-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Daly
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2000 4:58 PM
Subject: RE: e-server/i-series

jt

How about an ad that does a head to head comparison between Wintel & the
400?  The idea is not to slam IBM but boost the 400.

Tom


-------------------------

Tom,

I had to think over these questions a bit to come up with a reply.

Again, you make excellent points which I can't argue with.  I think the 4:58
post is an excellent idea for an ad.  But I think it will be difficult to
execute.

As far as other approaches:  one approach is to hope, as Eric Kempter does,
that "If the renaming can rid the AS/400 of its legacy image, it is money
well spent."  You can hope, as IBM does, that if you spend $250M in
advertising, then sales of all the e-servers are going to increase
dramatically, and i400 sales will increase along with all the rest.

IMO, that's a dream.  The reality is that the RS/6000 and NetFinity brands
have been getting national TV exposure.  Everyone knows what a mainframe is.
Since these brands are getting renamed also, the i400 brand is just going to
get lost in the shuffle.  IMO, the confusion factor is just going to be
that-so confusing that it will actually work against improving sales of any
of the product lines.  (I could go into all the reasons I don't believe this
campaign will be effective, but that wouldn't answer the questions you
posed.)

The scary thing is the statement Tom Bittman made at the end of this
article.  http://www.as400network.com/nwn/story.cfm?ID=8465  He said he
believes IBM will continue to aggressively market the NetFinity and RS/6000
product lines, because IBM doesn't believe they will get the ROI on money
invested in getting new 400 customers.


I can't really make a suggestion about what to do to rectify this situation.
Instead, I'll just tell you what I did.  I wrote several letters to Mr.
Gerstner over the last 3 to 4 weeks.

I courteously, but firmly, stated that the iSeries 400 brand name was weak
and the ad campaign was not going to generate the sales it should.  I said
the 400 was the best computer on this planet (and if/when combined with the
RS/6000, would be the best computer in the known universe).  I said the 400
deserved a better brand name and ad campaign, one which would allow the 400
to absolutely carve up the competition.  _Even if it did cannibalize sales
from some of IBM's other product lines_.  I said that 400 customers are so
loyal, this approach will pay dividends for many years to come.  And I tried
to make the point that the 400 enjoys a good gross margin, so this would
produce the best profits for IBM *and benefit his shareholders the most*.  I
said quite a bit more, but the gist of it was that he should over-rule the
idea to rename the 400 to this iSeries 400.

Today, you see the effect these letters had.  That's why I can't make a
strong suggestion for you to write letters to Mr. Gerstner.

I would say though, that a wise man once told me this:  "Less than 1% of the
customer base ever takes the time to communicate, which makes correspondence
from the 1% extremely important!  One letter, phone call, etc. represents
the unspoken feelings of a very large group and they know it!"

So, even though my letters accomplished exactly zilch, they served to "put
the bug in IBM's ear", possibly in the ear of Mr. Gerstner himself.  I can't
guarantee that writing letters to Mr. Gerstner will _ever_ accomplish
anything.  But, if the wise man was correct (and I believe he was) then 1000
people could write letters on a given subject, and that would represent a
customer base of 100,000 to 200,000 or maybe even more.  Even if that didn't
"jar them awake" you'd think it would at least grab their attention!

I can say for sure that individuals writing letters is very do-able.
Raising the funds for and putting together an ad would be difficult.  Most
importantly, writing letters can (and should) be done constructively.

FWIW,
jt


+---
| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---