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marketing question..please help

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    marketing question..please help

    We are preparing a marketing campaign for Alpha Five, and one of the questions that we have been asked is:

    What are the 5 top market niches that Alpha Five serves?

    Please reply to me as soon as possible to
    [email protected]

    Many thanks in advance for you thoughts.

    Richard Rabins
    Richard Rabins
    Co Chairman
    Alpha Software

    #2
    RE: marketing question..please help

    Hi Richard
    Thats a good question.

    For me I came to alpha software looking for a easy but inexpensive way to build a own database. so I would think do it yourselfer's would be at the top of the list.
    I started out doing this as a hobby and started a small software company useing only a5. One may say that small business is a market niche for alpha.
    I would hope that the newner versions would open up other markets.

    Nick

    Comment


      #3
      RE: marketing question..please help

      I'd agree, smaller businesses that need a networked database software are a prime market. I think the developers could do more in this market given the proper marketing of Alpha Five. I believe it will also become quite popular for in-house appication programmers, as it already is becoming.

      However, from what I have seen, size isn't an issue with Alpha Five in regard to its functionality. I have 100-record databases and 3 million-record databases that perform equally well. Perhaps mid-sized business needs to be targeted more heavily.

      Tom Lyon

      Comment


        #4
        RE: marketing question..please help

        Richard,

        You and I have discussed thios in the past. I think there are five main types of Alpha users:

        1. End users who have moderate database needs and require a simple interface.

        2. Power users who require Alpha Five's chutzpah.

        3. Corporate user-developers who are developing applications for their company.

        4. Independent developers and consultants who are using Alpha Five instead of Office Developer, Paradox or stand-alond languages to develop their own applications for clients or to sell.

        While Alpha Five can reach all of these user level requirements, the documentation and support options currently available, in my opinion, cannot -- yet.

        ? ? ?

        Best regards,

        Geoff Hollander

        Comment


          #5
          RE: marketing question..please help

          Ooops, I meant four main types...

          GH

          Comment


            #6
            RE: marketing question..please help

            Geoff,

            And the 5th one is a facility that is Not Microsoft centric! :-)

            Regards,

            Ira J. Perlow
            Computer Systems Design & Associates
            [email protected]
            Regards,

            Ira J. Perlow
            Computer Systems Design


            CSDA A5 Products
            New - Free CSDA DiagInfo - v1.39, 30 Apr 2013
            CSDA Barcode Functions

            CSDA Code Utility
            CSDA Screen Capture


            Comment


              #7
              RE: marketing question..please help

              One thing that struck me when I looked at the specialties described on the Developer's page, and when I chatted with people at the Developer's Conference last fall, was that there seemed to be a large proportion of "non-computer" Professionals - Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers, Engineers - developing their own applications for their own (mostly small?) businesses.

              Comment


                #8
                RE: marketing question..please help

                In my humble opinion, as soon as the A5 word processor has some extra functionality, especially emulating the MS Word "table" function, then A5 will compete with and beat MS Office for small businesses. For mid-sized businesses it will be necessary to have easy, full sql server connectivity.

                Comment


                  #9
                  RE: marketing question..please help

                  Does Alpha Five even have competition in solo professional/jack of all trades market? You can tell Access is too difficult by the number of books and courses out there. The others aren't up to the job that I've heard.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    RE: marketing question..please help

                    Re post here, where the REAL action is!

                    Ummm - top 5 niches out of what list?

                    I came to Alpha Five with limited programming background and have a sophisticated database solution for a small business.
                    1. End user developed custom database system (me now)
                    2. Consultant provided custom database solution
                    3. Network database solution
                    4. Core software integration - shell out to Excel, Word etc
                    5. Packaged Database solution (me in my dreams)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      RE: marketing question..please help


                      1.It is easier to get started with right out of the box.

                      2.It has the power to get the job done.

                      3.It's posting capabilities

                      4.It's multi-user set right out of the box.

                      5.It's report and letter capabilities right out of the box.

                      A lot of people use FileMaker because it's easier to use than Access but Filemaker does not have the power of Access. Alpha has the best of both ease of uses and the power to get the job done. If we are talking about V.5 being able to save a report or letter in pdf and then e-mailing it with a click of the mouse. Saves time and money.
                      Documentation right the box is better how many of us got that much documentation out of a Microsoft box or FileMaker box. In depth documentation on FileMaker and Access from (other sources), I paid a good price for.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        RE: marketing question..please help

                        I started using Alpha software way back with Alpha 3 (or maybe it was 2). At the time I was using spreadsheets to manage all my data. I knew intuitively that I really needed a database but was reluctant to use one because of the difficulty involved. Your marketing thrust at the time was that Alpha was quick and easy to use for non-experts. I bit and have been hooked ever since.
                        It worked way back then, so why not now?
                        Also maybe some emphasis on the power of field rules; particularly for someone who wants to use the software - not program it.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          RE: marketing question..please help

                          Seems to me that the target market is the same market that led to the PC boom in the first place: People with a simple problem to solve that are looking for an inexpensive solution that they can control exclusive of the corporate control freaks who are too slow and way to expensive.

                          The developer types that inhabit this board are, I think, a minority of the potential customers.

                          Stress quick solutions without needing expertise (but you would need instructions, i.e. manuals).

                          Stress independent solutions for problems without corporate control. (but you need to get at the data that may be in a corporate database, i.e. odbc or sql)

                          Stress low cost.

                          Stress how much improvement it is over the spreadsheet that they are probably using now, ie flexibility and expandability.
                          Pat Bremkamp
                          MindKicks Consulting

                          Comment


                            #14
                            RE: marketing question..please help

                            Marketing is a big word. It is not just advertising. It encompasses the whole experience of the product from buying it to recommending it. As you go through the process remember it is a game of "Who you know, not What you know". If you pay the big bucks for the big marketing machine you create a marketing experience that speaks for itself, but if you miss the mark won't pay for itself. So keep it simple.

                            Since it encompasses the whole experience you have actually completed the majority of the marketing in the way you built the product. You built it for easy, rapid development of complex database solutions. You rang the bell big time. While the printed support has slumped, you recovered with this amazing online forum.

                            I got Alpha Three after a computer tech suggested it as an easy alternative to dbase III. It appealed as I could do my own thing. Alpha Five is a totally satisfying product for the small business owner willing to spend time doing hs own thing. This seems to be a large portion of existing users (my perception of the board) yet I bet you only have a small portion of this market. This works, you do it well, get more of it.

                            It also seems ideal for a corporate type environment where information needs to be shared - to create and control internal operation systems. It's ability to be customized by relatively inexperienced users should appeal, along with its speed of development and scalability. I don't work in this environment, but if you are not there don't blow your wad unless you are sure you will get it back. However, I would bet you could really deliver some goods in this environment.

                            For the frustrated converted from these two groups (folks who liked the promise, can see it, taste it, but are too busy to truly DO it) there is a market for developers. These folks are great for recommendations. Get them to write articles and publish them anywhere anytime give them as much incentive as you can they are your A1 triple AAA unpaid salesmen. Could you give them a kickback for product sold based on their recommendation?

                            It seems a little shaky at version 4 for making a database package. It is not secure enough to stand up to the rigors of idiot savants. Lets get version five out and play with it before selling this option. If it works, market this as part of version 6, building these tools into the product to deliver the promise.

                            There has been a flurry of User group activity recently. We just had a West Coast meeting, planning a second one for August. I suggested it to Sylvia Tobias as I foresee a marketing blitz with version 5 and if the curious go to the website and see lots of user groups they will immediately feel they are joining a crowd. They may well want classes, and a user group is the natural way to facilitate this, while letting the frustrated converted meet potential developers. Alpha Software ought to allocate marketing dollars for these groups, especially with respect to class material. Maybe create a set of teaching tools and give them out to user groups.

                            I look forward to developments.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              RE: marketing question..please help

                              I agree with all the ideas listed above. I would also encourage you to "bundle" sample applications that novice users can use right out of the box. I remember buying an optional disk back in the Alpha Dos years that had many valuable Alpha applications aimed at a variety of preofessional and personal uses. The best part is you could use these as a starting point. This group of users are the non-database programmers that can use A5 to solve a database need for their organization. Could you market A5v5 this way by listing a variety of "out of the box" applications that users could use immediately, but with the power of A5 the user could customize them as they gained experience.

                              Thanks for your efforts Richard.

                              Dave

                              David Theoharides
                              Principal
                              Mattanawcook Junior High School
                              Lincoln, Maine 04457
                              David Theoharides
                              Assistant Superintendent of Schools
                              Sanford School Department
                              917 Main Street - Suite 200
                              Sanford, ME 04073
                              [email protected]

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