By Marc Hausman, Strategic Communications Group
Interview with Barbara Bernard, Director of Americas Marketing at Pitney Bowes Software
In 1970 folk rocker Stephen Stills saw his single “Love the One You’re With” rise up the Billboard Top 100 charts eventually peaking at number 14. The hit song has since been covered by an eclectic mix of artists including The Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin and Engelbert Humperdinck.
Stills’ musical message of remaining true to those who believe in you is equally applicable for sales and marketing executives at fast-growth and innovative technology and software companies. All too often the lure of a new client and the next deal can consume focus, resulting in neglect of the existing customer base.
That’s certainly not the case at Pitney Bowes Software, a business analytics, data quality and location intelligence software provider with offices in Lanham, Maryland. A business line of Fortune 500 mainstay Pitney Bowes, this group was formed through a series of strategic acquisitions of market leading software firms..
Last week I caught up Barbara Bernard, Pitney Bowes Software’s Director of Americas Marketing, to learn how her company is taking care of its customer base. With the company’s user conference entitled Insights 2012 scheduled for the week of June 13th through the 15th in New Orleans it was the perfect time for our conversation.
Please share with WashingtonExec’s readers background about Pitney Bowes Software’s user conference.
We’ve taken the best in terms of content and community from a series of more intimate user events managed by the firms we acquired to establish a broad and highly interactive annual event that is themed Insights.
One of our goals is to build a comprehensive understanding among our customers of Pitney Bowes Software’s full portfolio of solutions. The conference’s speakers, presenters and panelists will focus on best practices and applications. We’ll also provide a product roadmap to help our customers understand what new functionality and features are in casino pa natet development.
Of course, in crafting the agenda, we included plenty of time for casino online our customers and partners to network. We have also lined up a series of keynote speakers who we believe will be informative and entertaining, such as MSNBC columnist and futurist Michael Rogers.
You mentioned the importance of best practices in developing the agenda for the Insights User Conference. Can you share a specific example?
For the past seven years, we’ve recognized a select set of our customers for their innovative use of Pitney Bowes Software solutions. Called the Meridian Awards, we solicit nominations in categories such as organizational impact and technical achievement.
The ceremony at the conference culminates with a “People’s Choice” award online casino which is an opportunity for our own customers to highlight a peer who has applied our technology in a truly unique and innovative way.
In addition to your customers, I suspect a set of key partners will also be in attendance at Insights. What will you offer them?
At Pitney Bowes Software, we’re all in when it comes to supporting the success of our partners. They include complimentary technology providers, systems integrators, professional services firms and consultants.
We have organized a set of unique sessions specifically for partners that will be held just prior to the Insights Conference. Then, at the event, our partners have access to presentations, panel discussions and networking that will help them connect and build relationships with their existing clients, as well as prospects.
In your career as a corporate marketer you have helped organize and present a myriad of user conferences. What is different today as compared to past years?
For starters, the realities of the global economy shape what is included at the event and how it is promoted to attendees. Our focus with the Insight Conference is on making everything professionally relevant and then clearly articulating how participation at the event will help our customers be more successful on the job.
There is also the significant impact of social media which allows us to extend the networking, relationship building and sharing of best practices into an online environment.
At Insights, we will have two dedicated resources at the event who will capture content and then distribute it to customers and partners through a mix of channels, such as blogs, Twitter, and social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.
We’re also providing a 360-degree view of the event by empowering our customers, partners, speakers and panelists to share content through their own social participation. The result is a more dynamic experience for everyone.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marc Hausman is president and CEO of Strategic Communications Group, a social media and public relations consultancy based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Read more at http://www.strategicguy.blogspot.com