Exploring The Context Of ICT

Foreword

However, when French economist Michel Volle asked me to work on this subject for a meeting that took place at the beginning of 2004, I was then forced to deal with a dilemma due to the amazing complexity of this subject. As I suddenly realised, ICT marketing was all things to all people. I have spent 15 years trying to market technology products and services at various levels (consumer, SMEs, MNCs, direct and indirect sales, France, UK, Europe, worldwide, alliances, etc.) but even that sort of experience does not suffice to cover the entirety of the scope of this subject. Most of the time, I have been involved with B2B products or services, and that was mostly done on purpose. Yet, I have tried to tackle other subjects on the fringe of consumer markets and in this document, you will be my judge for it.

I also want to add that this present work is by no means a proper research paper. On the contrary, I have intended to commit to paper some of my latest and most striking real-life experiments in order to share mere best (or worst) practices with the online marketing community. Such methods and examples are meant to serve my readers who wish to get ready for action. My aim does not go much beyond that humble ambition.

Above all a matter of definition

First and foremost, one should endeavour to define ICT Marketing. What are such technologies and what is their scope? Where do they begin? When do things cease to be ‘technological?’ What are the boundaries of ICT? These questions may seem trivial but they aren’t. A refrigerator is anything but ICT and that’s for sure. But an Internet-enabled fridge, which enables you to order more food automatically from the supermarket next door, certainly is ICT; besides, with an in-built service capability.

Likewise, all consumer stereo and TV products are not part of ICT, but what about Apple’s iPOD, Sony’s net MD or the Vaio PC-W1 which is a true media centre gathering a hi-fi, a TV set and a computer all in one appliance. Similarly with modern motorcars: are they still mere vehicles or have they become incredibly sophisticated and desirable technological objects?

To begin with, should we talk about technology or technique or even technicality? Isn’t technology a little grandiloquent a word for what is in fact a suite of technical products or services? Isn’t it a sign that we confer an almost sacred status to whatever is the fruit of our most advanced techniques? Perec had already pointed out the importance of objects in our lives in his book entitled Things [3] but our society has taken that to the extreme. Thus, behind technology, isn’t there a twinge of modern times ‘mythology’ as the consonance would lead as to believe?

Such thoughts are casting a different light on the subject of marketing of ICT products. The paramount importance of fashion and trends – mixed up with that post-modern passionate quest for immediate authenticity – is key to the understanding of our environment. Such contradiction in terms is best experienced when looking at the websites designed by anti-globalisation movements (cp http://www.left-links.com/global.htm) therefore proving how much such movements are in their turn using globalisation as a tool for promotion.

The next important issue is that regarding the scope of ICT marketing. Should we deal with B2C rather than B2B marketing as a priority? As far as B2B marketing is concerned, should it not be segmented between 3 main different types: MNCs [4] , SMEs [5] and SOHO [6] users? Marketing products or services to any of these targets certainly means different things altogether. One will have to bear that in mind and I will use some real-life examples to prove my point. Besides, one should establish a clear distinction between the marketing of products and that of services. Marketing services is very different from marketing products, which people can actually see and touch. This phenomenon is in fact even more obvious when it comes to selling online services. Buyer behaviour and buying processes will vary according to circumstances: for instance, marketing an Internet-based Message broadcasting service [7] or multimedia mobile phones will be two horses of a different colour.

Very few marketing specialists will be able to cover all those topics with authority and I believe it is easy to understand why. According to the context, approaches are radically different, mentalities are extremely diversified and therefore Marketing methods vary greatly. On top of everything else, trying to define Marketing itself is far from being a useless attempt. Judging from the example described later in this document, working on such a definition is quite rewarding when it comes to understanding what Marketing ICT products and services is about.

Lastly, whereas ICT is often pointed out as being fraught with novelty, one may rightfully regard the concept of ‘the new’ in the 21^st century as a subject for investigation. Are ‘new’ things so novel anyway? What does the word ‘invention’ mean today when almost any possible concept has already been invented and – maybe – re-invented a few times? What do people (customers, prospective customers, opinion leaders, etc.) understand when they come across so-called ‘new’ concepts? Thus, are service providers moving in the right direction when they brand their services as ‘new’? For instance, should we consider that pay-per-use downloadable music is new when Marcel Proust could already do that with his ‘théâtrophone' [8] as early as … 1881? So is all this hoo-ha about iTunes et al much ado about nothing?

Likewise for TV on DSL when we compare it to the vision expressed by French nineteenth century humorist Robida [9] (1876). To name but a few examples of not-so-new innovative concepts.

Figure 2 : Robida’s vision of TV on DSL,… as early as 1876!