SuiteWorld: my 12 point plan

Over on the right hand side you’ll maybe see SuiteWorld User Conference: What Would You Like to See in San Francisco? I like this idea. Vendor events are all too often larded with self congratulatory promotion that are really a glorified flogathon. The fact NetSuite is taking this approach well in advance of the event speaks volumes for the changes that are occurring in the marketplace.

Towards the end of last year I saw several examples where it was clear that delighting customers was the number one priority. Vendors surprised me by asking: what could we do better? how can we plan differently for the future? As I have said to every vendor who asked advice: get your customers to tell their story. Customer story telling always speaks louder than the massed combination of blog posts, press releases, analyst prognostications and adverts. So what would you like to see? Here’s my list for the first day:

1. The CEO will do his thing but can we keep it to 30 minutes? Too many CEOs are overly fond of the sound of their own voice and drone on for hours. He should provide a conference roadmap that emphasizes customer success.
2. Then bring on customers. This is an old trick that TIBCO pulls off to incredible effect. Customers present their slide deck or whatever with no rehearsed coaching from the vendor. Neither does the vendor get to do a Q&A. Four should do the trick. Each with a 15 minute slot. 10 minutes presentation, 5 minutes Q&A. Don’t cherry pick questioners as I saw happen at one conference.
3. That should take us to a short networking break.
4. Run a customer panel but choose a moderator who is independent of the vendor. By independent I mean that they have an arms length relationship with the vendor that does not involve shilling on the vendor’s behalf. The vendor gets to pick the panel but doesn’t get to pick the questions. A good panel moderator will know what a user audience wants to hear: benefits, values, challenges. 45 minutes is sufficient.
5. Include a panel of people with expertise (note I did NOT say experts, there aren’t any) in the technology area – in this case cloud based enterprise solutions. These people will ideally be practitioners but could also include analysts who have worked on the buyer side of the house. It could even include resellers. The vendor could moderate that but I find these work best when it is moderated by a knowledgeable media person. I’d keep this to 45 minutes.
6. Networking lunch.
7. Get the CEO to summarize the morning events, talk to any issues that cropped up. 30 minutes should do it but please don’t make the mistake that Oracle made last year when the CEO stood up and delivered the same speech twice, wrecking the program in the process. It was a disaster that attracted wide criticism including that of otherwise Oracle fans.
8. Run a session on new stuff. What’s in the roadmap, how is this going to help customers, do a live demo. At the 2010 SAP TechEds, executive board member Vishal Sikka connected really well with the technical audience. He didn’t do a demo but he did talk about what’s coming from a thought leadership view. The feedback I got was largely positive. The trick is in keeping it simple enough that the company doesn’t fall into the geek speak trap while at the same time showing differentiated smarts. It’s not an easy one to pull off but it can be done. 45 minutes
9. Run an industry solutions session. This wont be of interest to everyone so might need to be broken into pieces. 45 mins
10. Short break
11. Then get into the education sessions. The company will know where the bottlenecks occur, where the biggest pain points are in implementing a solution. They should offer concurrent but repeating sessions that deal with at least three major topics.
12. Final networking event. Keep it informal.

I’m not a fan of bringing on some talking head or pop star I’ve never heard of so you can demonstrate how well connected you are politically, socially or whatever. I know it’s a US ‘thing’ but I just don’t find that appealing. I’d much rather we kept the theatre stuff where it belongs – in the art house. But then I’m a bit old fashioned that way. Find other ways to differentiate. If you’ve got happy customers, they’ll be the draw.

What would you add/amend/take away?

Endnote: for the cynical out there. This is not a piece of cleverly disguised self promotion. I rarely do front of house stuff except on highly restricted terms. But I do know some amazingly bright and entertaining people who can do a fantastic job.