Your Online Weather Balloon

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Your Online Weather Balloon Natalie
MellingPresidentOpenCorporation nmelling_at_openco
rporation.comTuesday, July 31, 2001Toronto
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Ask, listen and refine!
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The Weather Balloon
Q. In todays market conditions, how can
organizations justify making long term
investments in e-marketing and e-business when
the short term potential results (revenue) is
often less than desirable? A. Launch a weather
balloon
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Weather Balloon Defined
Weather Balloon An initiative to test the
proposed project and gather market feedback that
can be applied to further refine your e-marketing
and e-business plan
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Atmospheric Data Radar Satellite Aircraft
instruments
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Weather Balloon Defined
Role of the Weather Balloon is to augment data.
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Value of Presentation
Building your business Planning a marketing
campaign Selling an idea internally to garner
support Selling concept to a prospective client
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Building for success
Market
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Building for success

• The social context / environment
• What are their needs?
• What do they value?
• What options exist that satisfy those
  needs?

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Building for success
Market

• The product, service or business
• What is it?
• Why is it valuable?
• What makes it different?
• How can it be defended?

Venture
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Building for success
Market

• The marketer, project leader or entrepreneur
• What is his/her expertise?
• What is his/her criteria for success?
• What is his/her personality type?

Venturer
Venture
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Building for success
Need to work on all of these areas to minimize
risk of launching a new initiative
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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
Goal To spin out the AEC Business Solutions
division by creating a new e-business
venture Challenge To have a clear direction for
implementation in 30 days
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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
Market

• The building industry
• 3.2 trillion market
• Highly fragmented
• Design cycle repeated for each product
• Information heavy process
• Very inefficient
• Global teams
• Products are commodities

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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
Venture

• Geac
• Worlds 5th largest ERP software company
• Company built on 15 years of successful
  acquisition
• AEC Business Solution Division
• Loyal Customer Base
• Profitable
• Valuable sales channel
• ERP Technical know-how

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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
Venturer

• Parent Company
• Huge financial acumen
• Entrepreneurial management
• Capital resources
• The team leader
• Expressive
• Risk taker
• Fast decision maker
• Domain expertise

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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
In a nutshell 1. Big market in need of technical
innovation to reduce cost and increase
efficiency. 2. Customers will benefit from a web
based solution 3. Company is an expert in ERP
construction technology 4. Company is
entrepreneurial in nature and comfortable with
risk
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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
Options 1. Build it 2. Merge it 3. Partner and
revenue share it
2. Merge it!
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Case Study Geacs AEC Business Solutions
Market
Weather Balloon Results To partner and develop
revenue sharing opportunities
Slow adoption
Venturer
Venture
Lack of Internet Expertise
Inertia
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Identifying the Key Stakeholder
Q. Who has the greatest impact on making the
venture a success? A. When you get an answer
focus on them!
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Case Study TAXI Advertising Design
Goal To extend TAXIs core business by creating
new interactive services Value
Communication Integration Challenge Seamless
integration, employee commitment
and revenue
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Case Study TAXI Advertising Design
Q Who has the greatest influence on making the
initiative a success? A The company
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Case Study TAXI Advertising Design

• Process Surveyed the company
• What they knew about the Web
• How they felt about it
• What did they thought about the initiative
• What kind of support did they need

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Case Study TAXI Advertising Design

• What we found
• Interactive services TAXI could immediately
  begin offering
• Who will most likely buy those services
• How to manage client expectations
• Determine revenue projections

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Case Study TAXI Advertising Design

• Weather Balloon Results
• Speed Fastest creation and integration of new
  services in the history of the company.
• Increased Revenue Within 60 days of announcing
  services, TAXI earned interactive business from
  one of their largest clients.
• Motivation and Support the commitment to
  continued learning gave employees an
  understanding of interactive services they
  accepted and adopted it.

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Conclusion

• Market is changing quickly with increased
  complexity
• Organization must maintain a continuous pipeline
  of business-building initiatives to sustain
  growth
• Business-building initiatives require regular
  attention
• Weather balloon adds value by adding to your
  understanding of the interplay between the
  market, venture and venturer

• Continuously ask, listen and refine the launch of
  any new initiative