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Stefan Töpfer
CEO & Chairman of WinWeb Email Me |
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I'm passionate about very small business, it's positive impact on personal lives and for local communities. Reducing small business failure is my aim and that of WinWeb's services. |
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Is the SaaS industry cool-hunting?On my flight to Hong Kong I was watching the Quantas Business Channel (I know that is sad!), the topic was Coolhunting for marketing to teenagers. Reading Phil Wainewright the other day about what next for Web 2.0, I am wondering if the SaaS industry is also cool-hunting? Are our software clients looking to be cool, or do they just want to get things done. In the end-user arena I think it is important to be cool, like YouTube, MySpace, Google and others. But in my business sector the small (1-5 people businesses) that approach would be foolish, I think!? We need to concentrate on delivering simple, self-explanatory IT solutions in connection with Live! services that small businesses need. Cool-hunting would suggest that there is some sort of choice in what is needed ( cool ) and what is not needed ( out ). That would certainly not apply to small business needs. It is important that small businesses survive, that is cool. But you do not survive in business because you use cool business tools. Having worked in the IT industry for 30 years, I can’t help but wonder if it is not time to concentrate on our customers needs, rather then telling our customers what they need. Just a thought!
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5 Responses to “Is the SaaS industry cool-hunting?”Leave a Reply |
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Said on November 17th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Hmm cool software? Mass produced but distinguishable from the masses? YouTube, Myspace & Google seeem to fit the bill. I doubt if you can hunt it. What a truly dreadful idea - surely the best approach is if it is a by-product of a great idea made practical and contained in a distinctive wrapper.
http://www.winweb.com
Said on November 17th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
Philip, I agree with you. I was somewhat shocked to learn about cool-hunting. The only good thing about it is, that the same people who believe something to be cool are the ones who move on to the next cool thing.
But make no mistake about it, our kids and the B2C business is “cool-hunted”.
http://www.cannonmoorcroft.co.uk
Said on November 20th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
Cool software that doesn’t do its job, or doesn’t fit with what the customer is looking for, won’t be around for very long.
To know what the customer is looking for, I agree that we need to listen to them - but with the best will in the world, they will need some help to know what features they need in order to negotiate the red tape (sorry, on my soap box again).
That’s why we need well-designed, simple-to-use software to pass on. If it’s in a distinctive wrapper, as Philip says, and comes with features that set it apart from its competitors (e.g. Winweb’s live 24-7 chat support which I was using on Friday evening at 8pm), then so much the better.
But if the program doesn’t deliver, I would imagine the “cool” bit will be wasted.
M
http://www.appitas.com
Said on December 13th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
“Cool” never paid anyone’s bills (or for that matter, kept track of them). Good applications and services will have inherent value, while fads will get weeded out. When it comes to small businesses, SaaS vendors like Appitas are exploding not because of their cool factor but because they are very much needed in the sector. Affordability and convenience are key to SMBs’ success. There’s no trendy replacement for that.
http://black-labrador-retriever-labrador.blogspot.com/
Said on December 23rd, 2006 at 7:26 am
hello, good idea