Part 2 Monkeys on a Ladder

Category: Read, Richard Bliss, GWAVA, Novell GroupWise
By: Richard Bliss

Law #7 of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is the Law of the Ladder.

Law #7 of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is the Law of the Ladder. I already spoke briefly about this in a previous blog but wanted to touch on it again, specifically on how GWAVA and Novell fit into their markets and where they occupy a rung on the ladder. 

The law states that each vendor occupies a rung on the ladder, with the vendor higher on the ladder having a larger marketshare/mindshare than the vendor below them on the rung. 

For example, for years, the US Auto market was identified by the big three, GM, Ford, and Chrysler. But within each of these companies, they occupied different rungs on different ladders depending on the product or category. 

In the GroupWise market there are a list of companies that occupy different rungs on the ladder of the GroupWise market. 

GWAVA, The Messaging Architects, Advansys, Notify Technologies, Nexic, Omni, Toffa, GroupLink, GW Unify, BrainStorm, Concentrico, Computhink,, and Caledonia. 

There are others like RIM, Nokia, but the majority of the activities lay outside the GroupWise space. 

The law of the ladder says that each category has its own hierarchy and that all products/companies are not created equal. 

In the category of GroupWise, the hierarchy is: 

#1 GWAVA

#2 The Messaging Architects

#3 Nexic, Advansys, Omni, GroupLink, BrainStorm, Notify Technologies

#4 Concentrico, Caledonia, Computhink, Toffa, GW Unify 

That is my very unscientific analysis based on factors such as brand recognition, installs, customer base, revenue, and employees. 

BUT... 

This all changes when we talk about categories within the GroupWise market. 

For the category of GroupWise Training the list looks like this: 

#1 BrainStorm

#2 There is no number two 

For the category of GroupWise Mobility non-BlackBerry 

#1 GMS/Nokia

#2 Notify Technologies

#3 Toffa, Nexic, Omni

For Anti-Spam/Anti-Virus 

#1 GWAVA

#2 The Messaging Architects

For GroupWise Books 

#1 Caledonia 

The GroupWise space has developed into small niche markets that often sustain only one or two vendors. 

Recently there has been a new category that is emerging, Email archiving. This one does not have an established hierarchy yet.

The players include:

Nexic, The Messaging Architects, GWAVA, Computhink, and Advansys. 

Each vendor is seeking out its own position and the market leader is not easily identified. 

What is important to realize with the Law of the Ladder is that depending on the rung you occupy, your marketing efforts must be tailored accordingly. 

For example, a few years ago, The Messaging Architects decided that they wanted to enter the GroupWise training market. BrainStorm had been in the business for more than a decade and occupied the top rung of the hierarchy ladder for the GroupWise training partners. 

The Messaging Architects waged an aggressive war, hiring the old president of BrainStorm to come in a build a training team. They went after price by giving away training material, and did everything they could to unseat the number 1 position on the ladder. This is very similar to Pepsi going after Coke. 

After several years of trying, The Messaging Architects retreated from attempting to unseat BrainStorm and instead settled into their position of a #2 on the ladder.

Mobility 

Another great example of adjusting to your position on the ladder is the GroupWise mobility space. Notify Technologies through an aggressive marketing campaign captured a large portion of the Novell GroupWise Mobility market. BrainShare 2003, Notify Technologies gave away 140 PDA devices to attendees, brought nearly a half of dozen other vendors to BrainShare for the first time and established themselves as the top rung of the GroupWise mobility ladder. 

Then Novell signed a deal with Nokia making the GroupWise Mobile Server a free product. Notify was now pushed down the ladder, removed from their top spot by Novell themselves. 

In response, Notify began positioning themselves as the alternative solution for those that had needs not met by GMS. They didn't attack Novell, nor did they attack the capabilities of the GroupWise Mobile Server. Instead, they recognized their new role as a number 2 choice, and began acting accordingly. Rather than fight the inevitable, they adapted. 

My advice then to each of the vendors in the GroupWise space is to determine where you are on the ladder and then to position yourself accordingly. 

Follow my blog at gwbliss.blogspot.com

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