Marketing

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General introduction

Conventional marketers develop a marketing mix (product, place, price and promotion), this begins with creating a product the customer needs, then ensuring proper distribution at a price the customer agrees with and promoting the product appropriately. The marketing mix is influenced by the marketing environment with contains the following factors to take into account:

• Competitive
• Economic
• Political
• Legal and regulatory
• Technological
• Socio-cultural
• Environmental

Organic Design marketing

For us, marketing is concerned with creating two-way open communications channels between the organisation and the community it is part of, so that the organisation can better serve said community. There are a number of interrelated activities and strategies we can use, which will allow us to become more aware about what the needs of the community are, so that we can adjust our products and services to those needs. At the same time we need to refine the way we communicate about what is being offered and ensure that the people who might be interested in our services are informed about them.

The competitive situation is somewhat different to what it is for a proprietary business model. After all, Organic Design is not a business in the conventional sense but rather a set of values, procedures, a certain way of doing things; and a community developing and using said way, for mutual benefit. See also the about Organic Design document. Organic Design strives to be an open source organisation, which in the context of a competitive analysis from a marketing perspective means that "the competition" is a paradigm and a way of working that is proprietary and top-down and at times uses ethically questionable methods to further its agenda, this is often referred to in the vernacular as "the corporate model". The most concise description of this paradigm might be that it is "top-down", whereas Organic Design wishes to further the "bottom-up" agenda, this being grass roots collaboration and sharing of knowledge for mutual benefit. More on this can be read in the Organic Design manifesto.

The implications are that citizens and organisations are encouraged to use any of the documentation or procedures found on the Organic Design wiki in whichever way they see fit, they are free to engage in projects with any of the contributors and comments are always welcome. At the same time we understand that specific client data should not be public and will exercise discretion according to the principle of public notion, private instance. Our challenge then, is not to build a fence around our business model and knowledge, but rather to ensure that what we develop here is useful and that it is shared widely, therefore giving rise to opportunity for all contributors (peers) and those who cannot afford proprietary tools or who value their freedom too much to use them.

The current situation is that various products and services are being developed, which will enable small teams of associates to provide things like IT systems set-up, staff training and various workshops for the public. We are striving to provide a fully-integrated solution that covers workstation and server set-up, using Ubuntu and Debian, along with all the LAN or web-based IT systems required to run a small business.

We are using and developing free software solutions because we believe in freedom from corporate control for us and our community. Apart from that, we could not technically and legally provide our products and services in the way we do if we used proprietary software. However, not many people are aware of the quality of solutions provided by the international community of developers that exist as alternatives to corporate and un-free software, these solutions have not been promoted widely by our mainstream media or other corporate interests.

We are following the approach of creating solutions for ourselves which we refine until we are satisfied with them, generally meaning they are documented and being used for collaboration and business purposes. Many of these solutions begin as projects on the Organic Design wiki before they turn into products or services.

A further approach, which has not been developed yet, is for us to identify worthwhile projects that will help us move toward our bigger picture goals and to create proposals for them, which would involve finding partners and financing for said projects. Much of the technical support and skills required for such projects may be sourced through Organic Design. The advantage of this approach is that we can propose projects which we know are possible and worthwhile, rather than simply waiting to be approached by clients, however a lot of unpaid up-front research and "sales" activity will be required for this approach. This approach is also worthwhile because it would give rise to synergy, whereby we would strive to align multiple stakeholders around a shared vision, each contributing on an area of expertise, with the outcome benefiting all. Surely such a way of working would be preferable to simply being paid to render service or supply product.

Products and services

The first goal for our marketing efforts is to ensure we have functioning solutions which can be demonstrated to potential customers. What are those solutions?

• Workstation setup
• Office LAN server
• Wiki
• CRM software
• Email server
• Workshops

Documentation

We also want to provide useful information around our bigger picture goals and values, this involves having presentable background documents as well as clear descriptions of our products and services and terms and conditions. What are the key documents required for effective communication?

• About the project
• About Organic Design
• Manifesto
• Wiki Organisation
• Best practices

Marketing systems and procedures

With products and services as well as documentation in place, we still need to make sure we can deal with enquiries and gather leads which can turn into sales. What are the required marketing systems and procedures?

• CRM --> http://crm.organicdesign.co.nz
• Enquiry form on website connects into CRM for feedback
• Newsletter?

Public meetings

• Friday meetings

Our marketing values

• Marketing is not about pushing product
• Creating more opportunity far all stakeholders
• Promotion: Materials need to be cheap, easy to access and produce
• Reuse entails marketing materials should be easy to adapt to other locations or languages
• Use word of mouth where possible
• Promotion: Offer something of value to the potential customer

S.W.O.T. analysis

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

One challenge for our marketing efforts lies in part in educating the public about the values underlying free software and the quality of solutions that exist, such as Ubuntu, Firefox and Thunderbird. We could provide informational material about free software which also has local contact information for a business offering free software solutions.

The other challenge is demonstrating what is available to people, this is where public meetings and presentations are useful, also making available discs with Ubuntu for word of mouth marketing will help with this.

Even once people know that there is something that gives them more freedom and may even be easier to use, many are wary of making a switch because they have never switched operating systems before and it seems like a big hassle. This is where we can communicate that there is support available for this process, via user groups or training sessions.

Partnerships

If we can align ourselves with other organisations that have similar values we may be able to create synergies for mutual benefit. One marketing activity is to identify organisations in the community that would make suitable partnership organisations and to create relationships with these.

• Internet cafe (shopfront/model setup)
• Systems thinking seminars company (seminar and workshop development)
• Arts sponsorship trust (contacts,promotional possibilities)

Promotional materials

• Free software brochure‎
• Ubuntu CDs/DVDs --> Packages
  • Make ourselves or order runs
• Diagrams
  • Wiki Organisation diagram
  • LAN setup diagram
  • IT Systems diagram

See also

• Seth Godin on viral marketing
• NZ Site for startups