Analysis on Marketo

CRM Market Overview

1. Worldwide $10.6 billion CRM revenue in 2010 à $16.7 billion CRM revenue in 2015, CAGR 9.5%
2. CRM Market: Sales 43%, Marketing Management 24%, Customer Service & Support 32%
3. By 2015, 33% of new CRM spend will be SaaS
4. Marketing Management
• Executional Processes (MCCM): analyze customer data, segment customers, target communications to customers or partners across multiple channels
• Operational Processes (MRM): support internal marketing operations and management of resources (budgets, projects, HR, content/assets)
• Analytical Processes (MPM): Planning, optimizing outcomes and measuring performance
5. By 2014, companies that implement/execute marketing management will achieve 50% higher ROMI
6. Two ongoing Customer initiatives – 1) Closed loop marketing process and 2) Marketing and sales alignment
7. Growth in ecommerce, web analytics, CRM deployments in mobility solutions, customer loyalty management to improve cross-sell/upsell opportunities

 Key Trends of Marketing Management

1. Customer decision framework for selecting marketing platform
• TCO(capex, opex)
• Ease of use
• Maintenance demands
• Desired functionality
2. SMBs and B2B companies leveraging SaaS offerings from single vendor
3. Larger organizations may require multiple vendors in hybrid model
4. M&A and partnerships affecting competitive landscape

Marketo solutions for Marketing & Sales

Marketo Lead Management - marketing automation

Marketo Sales Insight - sales lead management

Marketo Revenue Cycle Analytics – ROI analysis

Marketo Social Marketing – social campaigns and viral promotions

Competitive landscape

1. CRM lead management

• Eloqua – Strong product functionality, User satisfaction, AppCloud
• IBM (Unica) – Strong financial backing, breadth and scalability
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Relative simplicity, support for user-defined workflows
• Oracle Siebel – Breadth of functionality, existing ecosystem
• SAP – Integrated with SAP CRM, Hana accelerator for large data sets
• Pardot, Silverpop – other players dropped from Gartner Magic Quadrant this year due to increase in minimum revenue level criteria from Gartner
1. Integrated Marketing Management
• Neolane – Support salesforce.com, MS Dynamics CRM, Oracle on Demand, Easy UI and campaign customization
2. MRM - On-premise/hosted/SaaS deployment models
• IBM(Unica), SAS, Teradata(Aprimo), Brandmaker, Orbis Global, SAP,  Adnovate, MarketingPilot Software

Four challenges to Energy Management (source: McKinsey report)
--- Large upfront investments to achieve savings that accrue later
--- Low mindshare
--- Opportunities fragmented across billions of devices in more than 100 million locations
--- Hard to measure efficiency

Web traffic to 4Home.com

Data from compete – 4Home has seen recent spike in traffic
4Home can increase traffic volume through partnerships

Partnership example - Leverage traffic from partner websites (PG&E)
Traffic statistics for pge.com
Unique visitors (estimated cookies) 1.5M
Unique visitors (users) 580K
Page views 21M
Total visits 2.1M
Avg visits per visitor 3.7
Avg time on site 7:30
Source: Data from DoubleClick AdPlanner by Google
--- pge.com generates 1000x number of visits compared to 4Home.com
--- PG&E accepts advertising on its website
--- 4Home could consider advertising on partner websites to increase brand awareness and acquire customers


Data from Google Insights
Google Insights search on the following terms highlighted on 4Home.com
Home security, home control, home monitoring, home health, home media


Key takeaway: Customer interest in health and security seem to be high compared to other areas

Survey on MP4 video camcorders

Conducted a survey on mp4 video camcorders.

Question_Number	Question
Q1	What is your primary occupation?
Q2	What is your age?
Q3	What is your gender?
Q4	How much do you spend on new electronics in a year?
Q5	Where do you shop for electronics in general? -Online retail websites (Amazon, Walmart etc)
	-Specialty electronic websites (Frys.com, onecall.com, buy.com)
	-In store (Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc)
	-Directly from company (Sony, Canon, HP, Apple etc.)
Q6	What is the average length of videos you shoot?
Q7	Please indicate how much you agree with the following statements - I prefer to have a high end digital camcorder
	- I prefer to have a pocket digital camcorder
	- I prefer to edit the videos before sharing them with others
	- I prefer to share photos and videos over email
	- I prefer to share photos and videos to sharing websites
Q9	Where do you learn about new electronic products? Check all that apply.-Websites
	Check all that apply.-Magazines
	Check all that apply.-Store visits
	Check all that apply.-Word of mouth
	Check all that apply.-TV/radio advertising
Q10	Are you aware of the MP4 category of camcorders?
Q11	What/Who influences your purchase decisions regarding video cameras? - Referral from friend or family
	- Price
	- Brand
	- Product look and feel
	- External memory vs internal memory
	- Zoom
	- Resolution
	- Store employees's recommendations
Q13	How much time do you spend on social networking websites in a week?
Q14	Do you share videos via email or social networking websites?
Q15	How long does it take for you to currently transfer videos from your camera to these websites?
Q16	What is the highest level of education you have completed?
Q17	What is your marital status?
Q18	What is your combined annual household income?

Then, performed a 3, 4 and 5 cluster segmentation to determine potential target segment for such a product.

3-Cluster Results:

Segment 1: 11 people; spends more on electronics (~$750); take longer videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; agree on email sharing; disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand not important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; Do not share videos on social networking; Take lot of time to transfer videos. NO

Segment 2: 21 people; spends very less on electronics (~$200); take very short videos; prefer not to edit videos; agree on email sharing; agree on website sharing; Price is very important; Brand reasonably important; Average time on social networking; share videos on social networking; Less time to transfer videos. MAYBE

Segment 3: 12 people; spends on electronics (~$500); take average length videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; disagree on email sharing; most agree on website sharing; Price not very important; Brand very important; Spend less time on social networking; share videos on social networking; Take very less time to transfer videos. YES

4-Cluster Results:

Segment 1: 9 people; spends on electronics (~$500); take longer videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; agree on email sharing; disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand not important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; Do not share videos on social networking; Take lot of time to transfer videos. NO

Segment 2: 15 people; spends less on electronics (~$200); take very short videos; prefer not to edit videos; agree on email sharing; agree on website sharing; Price very important; Brand reasonably important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; share videos on social networking; Less time to transfer videos.. YES

Segment 3: 8 people; spends on electronics (~$500+); take longer videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; disagree on email sharing; strongly agree on website sharing; Price important; Brand important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; Share videos on social networking; Take average time to transfer videos.. MAYBE

Segment 4: 12 people; spends on electronics (~$300); take longer videos; prefer not to edit videos; agree on email sharing; disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand very important; Spend very less time on social networking; share videos on social networking; very less time to transfer videos.. NO

5-Cluster Results:

Segment 1: 5 people; spends less on electronics (~$200); take very short videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; agree on email sharing; strongly disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand important; Spend very less time on social networking; Do not share videos on social networking; Take less time to transfer videos. NO

Segment 2: 4 people; spends lot on electronics (~$750); take long videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; agree on email sharing; disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand not important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; average sharing of videos on social networking; Very long time to transfer videos.. NO

Segment 3: 10 people; spends on electronics ($300+); take long videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; agree on email sharing; agree on website sharing; Price important; Brand not at all important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; average sharing of videos on social networking; Take less time to transfer videos.. NO

Segment 4: 14 people; spends less on electronics (~$200); very short videos; prefer not to edit videos; strongly agree on email sharing; agree on website sharing; Price very important; Brand important; Spend time on social networking; average sharing of videos on social networking; less time to transfer videos. YES

Segment 5: 11 people; spends on electronics (~$500); take longer videos; prefer to edit videos; strongly disagree on email sharing; agree on website sharing; Price important; Brand very important; Spend very less time on social networking; do not share videos on social networking; very less time to transfer videos. MAYBE

Result: Choose 4-cluster Segment 2

Who are they

Segment 2: 15 out of 44 respondents (34%)

40% student; 53% working professional

87% aged 21-30, 13% aged 31-40

73% male; 27% female

4-yr degree 67%

73% single; 27% married

Under $50,000 – 41%;

$50,000 - $100,000 – 40%;

$100,000+ - 20%

What do they want?

Shop at Online retail (Amazon, Walmart etc.); In store (Target, Walmart, Costco etc.); Shop directly at company websites; Desired Camcorder features -> Not high end; Prefer pocket; Learn about new electronic product from websites, word of mouth and store visits (not as much from magazines and TV ads); Relatively unaware of MP4 camcorders;
Purchase behavior -> Referral from friend or family; Product look and feel is important; Memory, zoom and resolution not as important; Value store employee recommendations

4-Cluster
Segment 1	Size: 9	9 out of 44 respondents (20%) 56% student; 44% working professional 78% aged 21-30, 22% aged 31-40 67% male; 33% female 4-yr degree 56% 56% single; 44% married Under $50,000 – 11%; $50,000 - $100,000 – 33%; $100,000+ - 55%	spends on electronics (~$500); take longer videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; agree on email sharing; disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand not important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; Do not share videos on social networking; Take lot of time to transfer videos. NO Shop at Online retail (Amazon, Walmart etc.); Specialty electronic websites (Frys.com, onecall.com, buy.com); Shop directly at company websites; Desired Camcorder features -> high end; Fine with pocket as well; Learn about new electronic product from websites, word of mouth and store visits (not as much from magazines and TV ads) Relatively unaware of MP4 camcorders Purchase behavior -> Memory, zoom and resolution very important;
Segment 2	Size: 15	15 out of 44 respondents (34%) 40% student; 53% working professional 87% aged 21-30, 13% aged 31-40 73% male; 27% female 4-yr degree 67% 73% single; 27% married Under $50,000 – 41%; $50,000 - $100,000 – 40%; $100,000+ - 20%	spends less on electronics (~$200); take very short videos; prefer not to edit videos; agree on email sharing; agree on website sharing; Price very important; Brand reasonably important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; share videos on social networking; Less time to transfer videos.. YES Shop at Online retail (Amazon, Walmart etc.); In store (Target, Walmart, Costco etc.); Shop directly at company websites; Desired Camcorder features -> Not high end; Prefer pocket; Learn about new electronic product from websites, word of mouth and store visits (not as much from magazines and TV ads) Relatively unaware of MP4 camcorders Purchase behavior -> Referral from friend or family; Product look and feel is important; Memory, zoom and resolution not as important; Value store employee recommendations
Segment 3	Size: 8	8 out of 44 respondents (18%) 75% student; 25% working professional 87% aged 21-30, 13% aged 31-40 100% male; 0% female 4-yr degree 25% 63% single; 38% married Under $50,000 – 25%; $50,000 - $100,000 – 38%; $100,000+ - 38%	spends on electronics (~$500+); take longer videos; agree that they prefer to edit videos; disagree on email sharing; strongly agree on website sharing; Price important; Brand important; Spend a lot of time on social networking; Share videos on social networking; Take average time to transfer videos.. MAYBE Shop at Online retail (Amazon, Walmart etc.); Specialty electronic websites (Frys.com, onecall.com, buy.com); Shop directly at company websites; Desired Camcorder features -> high end or pocket; Learn about new electronic product from websites, word of mouth and magazines (not as much from store visits and TV ads) Relatively aware of MP4 camcorders Purchase behavior -> zoom and resolution are important;
Segment 4	Size: 12	12 out of 44 respondents (27%) 58% student; 42% working professional 67% aged 21-30, 33% aged 31-40 75% male; 25% female 4-yr degree 58% 50% single; 50% married Under $50,000 – 17%; $50,000 - $100,000 – 32%; $100,000+ - 49%	spends on electronics (~$300); take longer videos; prefer not to edit videos; agree on email sharing; disagree on website sharing; Price not important; Brand very important; Spend very less time on social networking; share videos on social networking; very less time to transfer videos.. NO Shop at Online retail (Amazon, Walmart etc.); In store (Target, Walmart, Costco etc.); Desired Camcorder features -> high end; No pocket; Learn about new electronic product from websites, word of mouth and store visits (not as much from magazines and TV ads) Relatively unaware of MP4 camcorders Purchase behavior -> Product look and feel and Memory are important; Reasonably value store employee recommendations

Just playing around with the user interface of Canon ImageMixer product design

Figure 1: ImageMixer screenshot

Figure 2: ImageMixer screenshot with product enhancements

Introduction
This document covers product design enhancements to the Canon ImageMixer video editing software. It describes the idea behind the addition of new design features that will improve the users’ experience.

Product Description
Canon ImageMixer is video editing software used for processing videos shot using digital camcorders. The software is capable of post processing the video input in H.264 format and creating output video in H.264, mpeg or DVD formats. While there are many features that the product offers, the design of the user interface has significant scope for improvement. The rest of the document attempts to enhance the product through the addition of better and useful product design features.

Current user interface

Figure 1 represents a screenshot of the user interface. On the left is the library that allows the user to create multiple video albums from several video captures. On the right is a preview screen for the videos and below that is the graphical timeline of the video. It is evident from the picture that a lot of features expected from a video editing tool are missing from the organization and layout of this product.

Enhanced user interface
Figure 2 represents a screenshot of the user interface with new buttons and modifications.
The additional features and enhancements are described below.
1. Button to select additional videos to include in this movie
2. Tab to increase the width of the preview screen
3. Choose transition schemes from one clip to the next. Special effects button is used to add other effects to the video.

The following features are related to the preview/edit video screen on the right in order to make it easy for the user to perform these functions. It is expected that a user will perform these tasks on the video very often.
4. Add color effects to the video
5. Adjust brightness and contrast to the video clip
6. Incorporate external audio input into the file
7. Preview the edited video file
8. Button to create the final movie
9. Cut portions of the video that are not needed
10. Add captions to the video at specified times
11. Button to add credits to the video file
12. With so much video content on websites and blogs, this button makes it easy to upload the current video to any webpage.
13. Preview the video on external monitor display output
14. Repeat the preview in continuous loop

The following additions are made to the graphical timeline of the video.
15. View time markers on the previewed video
16. Zoom timescale
17. Display frame information of the video to help user analyze the video frame by frame
18. Keep clip from current marker to end of video
19. Keep from beginning of clip to current marker

Summary
This document details simple product design enhancements to the ImageMixer software tool. These additional features will help the user perform often repeated tasks with the click of buttons that are readily available and easily accessible. These will greatly enhance the user experience by making things very intuitive in their minds through the use of appropriate icons and thus promote product penetration in the market.

Analysis on BillShrink

BillShrink is a Silicon Valley startup providing web service to customers to find out the best gas, phone and credit card deals by analyzing individuals’ lifestyle and spending behavior. A brief analysis of BillShrink and proposal for future growth from an outsider’s perspective follows.
Consumer spending can be categorized into recurring spending and discretionary spending. Recurring spending includes such items as cell phone and gas while credit card usage could include discretionary spending such as travel, dining and entertainment. BillShrink has developed internal algorithms to match consumer behavior and spending patterns with the best possible deal. Some of the other markets that can use similar algorithms would be car insurance, rental insurance and financing options. In all these cases, the markets are very similar with a large number of service providers from which consumers can choose from. The partnerships needed to deliver the best deals to the consumers need to extend on the technology developed for the gas and phone markets.

It is clear that all the cases of recurring spending need an aggregation point at various levels. The insurance markets (auto, home, rental, travel, and healthcare for visitors) provide a lot of choice to consumers with varying levels of coverage, liability and other options such as rental and towing coverage. An insurance agency such as Progressive also claims to provide people with their rates against the rate of the competition. However, customers typically use insurance agents to obtain their policy selections. BillShrink could serve as an aggregator of information about insurance companies, rates and service and provide matching criteria based on customers’ preferences. The revenue model of BillShrink is based on lead generation to service providers. With no insight into its current business relationships, it is clear that the model is based on significant volume in terms of the number of referrals. Hence, markets such as insurance with potential for significant volume provide good revenue growth opportunities.

BillShrink can also use its technology to provide services that might not have much aggregation but can generate volume through repeat users and referrals. One such example would be to provide the consumers with the best bang for the buck at a particular product level. Let’s consider the case of Hi-def televisions. Based on the customers’ budget, BillShrink would direct them to the right mix of product and cost. This would require partnerships with categorization search engine companies such as Kosmix.

On the discretionary spending of consumers, BillShrink’s approach to provide savings requires detailed analysis of credit card usage. Once the expenses are analyzed, it can be used to provide customers with alternate options that provide better value based on customer preferences such as reliability, quality, and other personal preferences.

Thoughts - news on inflation

Found this interesting article on inflation. I had a few questions which were clarified by a Phd student in finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Goldman-Sachs-fails-to-excite-apf-879362838.html?x=0

1. Why did treasuries tumble on news of inflation

One of the Fed’s primary responsibilities in implementing its monetary policy is to guard against high inflation. It does this by acting to influence short-term interest rates. By buying or selling Treasury securities itself in the open market, the Fed is able to increase or reduce the money supply, for example. It is possible that investors, seeing news of higher-than-expected inflation, fear that the Fed will act sooner than they had expected to combat inflation, which would entail increasing rates. If investors believe that rates will be higher in the future, prices of Treasury securities must fall.

Practically speaking, however, the Fed might be constrained in its ability to raise rates, as doing so would be counter to the goals of promoting expansion of the economy in order to more quickly end the current recession. They’re in a particularly tough spot right now!

2. Long-term government debt tends to be sensitive to reports of higher prices, as inflation erodes the value of fixed-income securities over time - what does this mean.

Second question, think about how inflation affects lenders. Suppose that you lend me $100 today (interest-free, for simplicity), and I pay you back one year from now. Any inflation over that period reduces the purchasing power of the $100 that I return to you at the end of the year. The higher the inflation, the less I’m paying you back in real terms—the less you’re able to actually buy with that $100. This is good for me, as the borrower, but horrible for you, as the lender.

Holders of Treasury bonds are, in effect, loaning money to the government. Higher inflation means that the principal repayment to bondholders won’t be worth as much in real dollars, making the bonds less valuable, and leading to lower prices. The problem is worse for bonds with longer time to maturity, since inflation has an affect over many more periods for long-term bonds. Thus, one might expect long-term treasuries to suffer disproportionately from this report.