Effective tech marketing - taking honesty as a starting point

Technology marketers need to be honest about their wares and see putting their companies' offerings in the hands of users as a way of convincing them of IT's enduring value.

When a Harvard Business Review article earlier this year asked whether IT can add value to a business anymore, given a string of failed projects and security scares, there was more than one CEO who took note.

Nick Barley, business and marketing officer, Microsoft UK, said: "I couldn't disagree more [with that position] but I see why they wrote that. It is incumbent on the IT industry to get the message across that technology has changed."

Barley was speaking at the Marketing Directors Forum event sponsored by Tidalwave. His opinions were shared by the head UK marketers at CA, Intel and salesforce.com.

Graham Palmer, country manager Intel UK, said: "Three years ago investing in IT just seemed the right thing to do. Now it's all about the bottom line, which is not to say it's all doom and gloom."

Instead, he and Barley are among those putting forward "experiential marketing", which might mean showing a business traveller how a Wi-Fi-ready laptop can work at an airport terminal or a consumer how the latest desktop software can help their lives.

salesforce.com VP marketing EMEA Phill Robinson agreed that many users have become "jaded" through a "negative perception of software and how it delivers" but that will change. His company is offering a new, ASP approach through browser-based sales force automation and CRM products.

There is a concern that marketing of technology can become over-simplified. However, Barley from Microsoft - a company famous for its effective marketing over the years - insisted the main problem is being disconnected from users. He promised upcoming campaigns that will focus on positive outcomes on people's lives of using Microsoft products.

What do you think? Can marketing ever be its most effective when it's without exaggeration? Let us know by emailing editorial@silicon.com.