THE 1999 SOFTLETTER EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION SURVEY.(Industry Trend
or Event)
Getting a peek at the paychecks of the rich and famous (or anyone
elseOs pay, for that matter) is always fascinating. As a culture, we
sometimes seem obsessed by talk about prices--for groceries, . . .
WEB-BASED SUPPORT: THE NEW "VIRTUAL DIALOG".(Industry
Trend or Event)
Just a year ago, the rationale behind moving tech support to the
Web was largelya matter of money: By delivering "self-service"
on the Web, software companies could save buckets of the cash they . . .
DATA POINTS: SOHO DEMOGRAPHICS.(small office/home office markets
differ)(Industry Trend or Event)
[CHART OMITTED]
Software marketers often treat the small office and home office
segments as a single "SoHo" market, but the latest Technology
User Profile from ZD Market Intelligence suggests . . .
HOW TO BEAT UPGRADE FATIGUE.(software vendors combat downturn in
upgrade market)(Industry Trend or Event)
After years of upgrade sales that almost ran on auto-pilot, most
software companies have begun to see steep declines in response rates
for upgrade offers. There are probably dozens of reasons for . . .
HOW MICROSOFT MEASURES EMPLOYEES.(Company Business and
Marketing)
Microsoft is a company in love with competitive metrics, so
it's no surprise that Microsoft's 31,396 workers are
relentlessly measured, tracked, and analyzed. Bob Herbold, the
company's chief . . .
FINANCING: THE ADOBE KERITSU.(Japan's concept of tight-knit
families of companies reaches the US)(Industry Trend or Event)
As Japan-watchers know, a keritsu is a tight-knit family of
industrial companies, banks, and trading partners. In the U.S., the
keritsu concept has never really caught on among . . .
THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF FEE-BASED SUPPORT.(Industry Trend or
Event)(Brief Article)
Conventional wisdom suggests that service businesses are too
people-intensive for small companies, and in fact almost half (47%) of
our respondents report annual revenues of over $10 million. But . . .
MAINTENANCE AND PREMIUM SUPPORT PLANS.(Industry Trend or
Event)
There's a bewildering lack of consistency among fee-based
maintenance and premium plans that target corporate and enterprise
accounts. For example, some corporate plans offer unlimited . . .
HOW MICROSOFT SEGMENTS SUPPORT.(Microsoft Premier
Support)(Company Business and Marketing)
Inevitably, anything Microsoft does is bound to play a large role
in setting marketplace standards. The company recently overhauled its
fee-based support plans to align with a new . . .
CONSULTING & CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT.(Industry Trend or
Event)
Even for desktop applications, customers routinely request (and pay
for) a wide variety of consulting services, including requirements
analysis, custom application development, custom report . . .
TRAINING.(Industry Trend or Event)
Typically, software companies provide training in two formats:
On-site classes for major customers, and 'public' classes that
are open to attendees from multiple companies. Standard pricing . . .
PERSONAL SUPPORT PROGRAMS.(Industry Trend or Event)
Broadly speaking, fee-based support plans are designed for either
personal or corporate users. Corporate plans--which include annual
maintenance and most premium support programs--usually . . .
TRENDS IN FEE-BASED SUPPORT.(Industry Trend or Event)
[SOME CHARTS OMITTED]
As industries mature, prices collapse. That's one of the
textbook laws of economics that's been causing so much grief in the
software industry these days. But there's . . .
A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY.(Editorial)
Data for this report was compiled primarily through a survey
questionnaire that was sent by e-mail and postal mail to Softletter
subscribers, ASP members, and other support-related names in our . . .
DATA POINTS: TECH SUPPORT HOURS.
[CHART OMITTED]
Extended tech support hours have become standard for almost all
business and consumer software companies, according to a new survey by
the Association of Support Professionals . . .
HOW TO CAPTURE MORE TRAINING DOLLARS.(Industry Trend or
Event)
"Training is one of the most under-marketed services that
software companies offer," says consultant Dorene Sykes of Services
Marketing Partners. "Once a training session reaches breakeven,
every . . .
TRADE SHOWS: "EXHIBIT MEMORABILITY".(Industry Trend or
Event)
If sports car raffles and booth bimbos seem like a dumb way to get
attention at trade shows, here's good news: Serious product demos
and good pre-show marketing really have a greater impact on . . .
THE CHALLENGE OF PERSONALIZATION.(Industry Trend or
Event)
"...where everybody knows your name." --Theme song from
"Cheers"
"On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." --New
Yorker cartoon
The TV comedy "Cheers" aired its final episode long
before . . .
Changes.(quotes from industry executives)(People)
BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP analyst David Pecault on the future of
Internet retailing: "We're seeing a rapid convergence between
the virtual and real worlds, and the retailers who do the best have . . .
Data Points: CEO reputation.(survey by Burson-Marsteller)
[CHART OMITTED]
For better or worse, chief executives play a huge role in shaping a
company's reputation--often, a larger role than product quality,
service, or the actions of thousands of . . .
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