Episode 145 of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast features Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI.
- Identify the stages of the modern data center buyer’s journey and how to intervene earlier.
- Define ideal client profiles for various data center business models.
- Analyze primary and secondary buyer personas and tailor messaging accordingly.
- Segment sales and marketing playbooks for colocation, modular, and edge data center scenarios.
- Specialize go-to-market strategies by industry vertical and company size.
- Develop educational event strategies to build trust and drive engagement.
- Differentiate edge data center offerings through hyper-local and digital initiatives.
- Generate genuine, high-quality leads for hyperscale data center providers.
- Leverage learning content to enhance rack and enclosure sales processes.
- Integrate client and persona research into ongoing product and marketing improvements.
- Unite sustainability initiatives with sales and marketing to secure leadership buy-in.
- Foster company-wide alignment around educational content and event-driven marketing.
Host:
Joshua Feinberg, CEO
DCSMI
Joshua Feinberg discusses strategies for building strong sales pipelines in various data center sectors.
For colocation data centers, he emphasizes understanding the client's location, company size, and specific needs. He suggests using hyper-local and long-distance playbooks and hosting educational events to build trust and awareness.
For modular data centers, he recommends targeting specific niches and industries, and for edge data centers, he advises leveraging both hyper-local and long-distance strategies.
For hyperscale data centers, he highlights the importance of early engagement with decision committees through educational content.
Finally, for data center sustainability marketers, he stresses the need for leadership buy-in and integration of marketing and sustainability roles.
Action Items
- Determine the size and geographic footprint of the colocation data center business to identify the appropriate sales and marketing playbook.
- Define the ideal client profile for the colocation data center business, including company size, industry, and stakeholders.
- Develop an educational event strategy, such as webinars and in-person seminars, to position the colocation data center as an expert and build trust with key decision-makers.
- Identify the niche market and ideal client profile for the modular data center provider, and customize the go-to-market approach to that segment.
- Determine the primary use case (latency or governance) for the edge data center provider and tailor the local and digital marketing strategies accordingly.
- Ensure the hyperscale data center solutions operator is positioned as a trusted expert and advisor by providing high-quality educational content and events to key decision-makers.
- Leverage learnings from customer conversations, educational content, and events to continuously improve the data center racks and enclosures product roadmap and sales and marketing strategies.
- Integrate the data center sustainability marketing function with the overall marketing and leadership team to ensure alignment and buy-in for sustainability initiatives.
Outline
Building a Strong Colocation Data Center Sales Pipeline
- Joshua Feinberg discusses the importance of being involved early in the research and decision-making process for colocation data centers.
- He emphasizes the need to get in front of the right people, the right prioritized decision committee members, at the right time.
- Joshua outlines the different playbooks for lead generation and sales cycle acceleration, including hyper-local and long-distance/digital playbooks.
- He advises understanding the ideal client profile, including company size, location, and specific industries, to tailor marketing efforts.
- The importance of creating awareness, educating, and building trust in the local market and long-distance markets is highlighted.
Understanding Ideal Clients and Stakeholders
- Joshua explains the need to identify the ideal clients for colocation facilities, including their location, company size, and specific industries.
- He discusses the importance of understanding the goals and challenges of the primary and secondary buyer personas.
- Joshua emphasizes the need to get the ideal clients' words directly, either through surveys, face-to-face conversations, or studying CRM data.
- He highlights the significance of hosting educational events to build relationships and trust with multiple stakeholders within the same company.
- The goal is to create alignment across teams and drive alignment across the company, which can be a game-changer in the sales pipeline.
Standing Out in a Niche Market: Modular Data Centers
- Joshua Feinberg discusses how modular data center providers can stand out in a niche market by understanding their ideal clients and targeting specific industries.
- He emphasizes the importance of running experiments to figure out the unique value proposition and the most likely buyers.
- Joshua advises specializing the go-to-market strategy by industry, creating unique pages on the website, and hosting events tailored to specific segments.
- He highlights the need to understand the specific goals and challenges of the primary and secondary buyer personas in each industry.
- The importance of hyper-local playbooks for latency-sensitive use cases and long-distance playbooks for governance-related use cases is discussed.
Differentiating Edge Data Centers in a Crowded Market
- Joshua Feinberg explains the unique value of edge data centers due to their specific location and the hyper-specific needs they address.
- He advises running predominantly a hyper-local playbook for latency-sensitive needs and a long-distance/digital playbook for governance-related needs.
- Joshua emphasizes the importance of understanding the ideal client profile, including company size, location, and specific industries.
- He discusses the need to create educational events and content tailored to the specific goals and challenges of the primary and secondary buyer personas.
- The goal is to differentiate edge data centers by providing unique value and building trust with the right people in the right places at the right time.
Generating Genuine Leads for Hyperscale Data Center Solutions
- Joshua Feinberg discusses the challenges of generating genuine leads for hyperscale data center solutions, emphasizing the importance of being involved early in the buyer's journey.
- He advises focusing on professional development and learning opportunities to build trust and educate potential clients.
- Joshua highlights the need to understand the ideal client profile, including company size, job roles, and the nature of their responsibilities.
- He emphasizes the importance of creating conference-grade content that provides significant value and resonates with potential clients.
- The goal is to position the client-facing team members as go-to experts and provide educational resources that help prospects make informed decisions.
Improving Sales and Marketing with Learning for Rack and Enclosure Providers
- Joshua Feinberg discusses how rack and enclosure providers can use learning to improve sales and marketing by understanding the needs and challenges of their clients.
- He advises creating educational resources and events that provide value and build trust with potential clients.
- Joshua highlights the importance of using buyer persona research to identify the biggest goals and challenges of the primary and secondary buyer personas.
- He discusses the need to integrate feedback from customer conversations and content performance into the product roadmap.
- The goal is to continuously improve the product roadmap and sales and marketing strategies based on customer feedback and market insights.
Getting Leadership Buy-In for Data Center Sustainability Marketing
- Joshua Feinberg discusses the importance of getting leadership buy-in for data center sustainability marketing and the convergence of marketing and sustainability roles.
- He highlights the need for companies to invest in world-class educational content and events to support various teams, including sales, product, channel, HR, and finance.
- Joshua advises integrating sustainability into the company's mission, vision, and values, and aligning marketing and sustainability roles at the C-level.
- He emphasizes the importance of creating a culture of trust and collaboration across the organization to drive sustainability initiatives.
- The goal is to position the company as a leader in sustainability and provide educational resources that help stakeholders understand and support the company's sustainability efforts.
Resources
- Connect with Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI, on LinkedIn
- Follow DCSMI on LinkedIn
- Follow the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast on LinkedIn
- Learn About DCSMI
- Subscribe to the Data Center Sales and Marketing Newsletter
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