[Typo3-marketing] Another marketing paper

[Georg Kuehnberger]

Hey Michelle, team,

Just a few thoughts from the other side of the ocean, in the attempt to 
answer Michelles "question"
  > Let me know what your thoughts are on this, or if you have any questions or
  > concerns about marketing to the US market.

I'd like to suggest:

DO:
===============
- Create and take constantly care of a local/nationwide network of and for 
OpenSource- / Webdevelopement- / TYPO3-"affin"-persons / -organizations
	- Programmers, Web-Developers, SysOps, eBusiness- / Online-Managers, 
Marketing-Persons, OpenSource "affin" clientele (which-ever those are in 
your market
	[seems SME's])
	AND
	- organize meetings, events, and PR around it,
	AND
	- DO co-operate between agencies, rather than kicking each other's butt,
	AND
	- DO focus on professionals, rather than amateurs
	[ a Boing 747 is neighter flown nor landed by amateurs ]

- Team-Up with, or establish a DECENT Hosting-Service (with Help-Desk), 
offering the ASP-quality and cost-effiiency required by your clientele, AND 
make sure they "support" TYPO3 in professional manner.
	[ in AT, we feature qualified (following certain standards) TYPO3-Hosters 
in a special way on the TUGA-site ]

- Group up with OpenSource-, Linux-, PHP- ... minded people.
	[ translates into "business by likeminded spirit" ]

- Offer white-papers for and hold speeches at ALL web-related conferences / 
fairs / gatherings, attended by local IT- & management-staff.
	[ and push OpenSource and TYPO3 there ].

- Do active PR (viral AND classical).
	[ it's not THAT expensive, you might be surprised ]

- Write articles and offer them to local & national it- and 
business-magazines on ALL web-realted subjects you're expert in and TYPO3 
and its possibilities especially:
	[ that is "opensource" your know-how ]

- Talk to major advertising agencies, offering the perfect 
no-strings-attached CMS, called (you guessed it);
	[ I dislike this approach, but I do know it works ]

- Talk to major IT-companies
	[ offers quite a lot of fun, experience and even more good contacts & 
sometimes deals ]

- GO for larger / wellknown clients, nationwide-brands, organizations, 
rather than the S(M)B, who's requirements might be covered by something 
like Frontp*** or Contrib*** ....
	[ or start with a subsidiary of such larger clients ]

- ACT professional in all aspects of your TYPO3-related business and PR;
	[ clear to many, ignored by even more ]


CAUTION:  ;-)
===============
Following the above steps, you might be faced with a vibrant 
TYPO3-enthusiatic market withing 12 month - no guarantees, though ;-)



THINK:  [ a courageous outlook ]
===============
- A major nation-wide copmpany would launch a press-release about a recent 
project done with TYPO3 ( where the TYPO3 part was yours );
- A major IT-company (Redhat, IBM, .... ), would bundle (or recommend) 
TYPO3 with their product.


Hope you enjoyed the reading;


regards Georg, ( again, heavily tempted to move his place of residence back 
to the US; unfortune the current "nations spirit" does not match mine )