Ep. 149 Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast

Episode 149 of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast features Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI.

Conduct customer insight research to identify and rank the top goals and challenges for your target segments
Map out winning webinar and event strategies based on real client needs and pain points
Analyze evolving buyer journeys and adjust your marketing and sales tactics to new digital realities
Segment and personalize your go-to-market approach for different roles, company sizes, and industries
Build detailed buyer personas and use their own words to craft resonant, high-impact messaging
Align your company’s content, events, and outreach with the evolving priorities of data centers, facilities, and IT professionals
Leverage non-traditional competition by mastering educational content and event marketing
Choose and implement the right mix of paid, earned, and owned outreach to maximize event ROI
Develop a powerful digital brand that establishes your team as trusted advisors and industry educators
Differentiate wholesale and hyperscale offerings by uncovering and communicating unique, defensible market advantages
Foster collaboration across marketing, sales, product, and channel partners to keep your GTM strategy agile and effective
Accelerate brand recognition and sales cycle progress by showing up early and often in your clients’ research journey

Host:

Joshua Feinberg, CEO
DCSMI

Joshua Feinberg discusses strategies for addressing sales and marketing challenges in the data center ecosystem. He emphasizes the importance of customer insight research to identify key goals and challenges, which informs the creation of targeted webinars and seminars.

For data center energy and infrastructure firms, he highlights the need to align content with client needs, understanding their geographic, company size, and industry preferences. He also advises on the significance of early and frequent engagement with clients through educational events.

Additionally, he stresses the importance of improving name recognition for data center infrastructure support and optimization companies by providing valuable educational resources and building strong relationships with key stakeholders.

Joshua Feinberg discusses the go-to-market strategy for wholesale data center providers, emphasizing the importance of branding and targeting key stakeholders like institutional investors and real estate companies.

He highlights the need for a focused approach, identifying the most influential stakeholders and understanding their priorities.

Feinberg notes that wholesale data center deals are typically large, allowing for more investment in touchpoints. He also stresses the importance of creating a unique market position through competitive advantages, such as sustainable energy, execution capability, and brand recognition.

The conversation concludes with strategies for differentiating in the hyperscale data center market, including educational resources and strategic alignment across marketing, sales, and product development.

Action Items

Understand the ideal client profile for the high-speed internet and connectivity provider, including geographic coverage, company size, and industry focus.
Conduct customer insight research to determine the top goals and challenges for the data center energy, cooling and infrastructure firm's primary and secondary buyer personas.
Evaluate the segmentation and targeting strategy for the data center conference and events company to attract the right attendees and exhibitors.
Develop a content and educational event strategy for the data center infrastructure support and optimization company to position its team as trusted experts.
Identify the unique competitive advantages and unfair advantages for the wholesale data center provider to differentiate its offering.
Align the go-to-market strategy for the hyperscale data center provider around its core strengths and ideal client profiles.

Outline

Customer Insight Research and Sales Strategy

Joshua Feinberg discusses the importance of customer insight research in identifying 10-12 goals or challenges for a particular segment.
He emphasizes the need to rank these challenges by frequency to determine the necessary webinars and breakfast seminars.
Joshua introduces the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast, focusing on sales and marketing challenges in the data center ecosystem.
He highlights the relevance of the podcast for various roles within the go-to-market team, including sales, account management, customer success, and product management.

Agenda for the Week's Show

Joshua outlines the agenda for the week's show, covering topics such as high-speed internet connectivity, data center energy, cooling, and infrastructure, data center conferences, and data center infrastructure support.
He mentions a break for a message from the sponsor and the focus on creating a unique hyperscale data center market position in the second half of the show.
Joshua introduces the first question about how a high-speed internet and connectivity provider addresses changing marketing and sales strategies.
He explains the importance of understanding the data center ecosystem and the role of telecommunications companies within it.

Changing Marketing and Sales Strategies

Joshua discusses the evolution of buyer preferences over the past decade, noting a significant increase in the percentage of the buyer's journey completed before vendor contact.
He emphasizes the need for a clear understanding of ideal client profiles, including geographic location, company size, and industry focus.
Joshua highlights the importance of segmentation and personalization in marketing and sales strategies, including the use of channel partners.
He advises on the importance of buyer persona research to understand the goals and challenges of ideal clients, using their own words to craft impactful marketing and sales strategies.

Data Center Energy, Cooling, and Infrastructure

Joshua explains the role of data center energy, cooling, and infrastructure firms within the data center ecosystem, focusing on facilities-related companies.
He discusses the importance of understanding ideal client profiles, including the types of buyers involved in retrofits, upgrades, maintenance, and pre-construction activities.
Joshua emphasizes the need for extreme empathy in understanding the goals and challenges of ideal clients, using their own words to create relevant content and events.
He highlights the importance of non-business model competition, including companies that publish and promote educational content, in shaping the competitive landscape.

Data Center Conference and Events Companies

Joshua introduces the topic of how data center conference and events companies attract the right clients, explaining their role within the outsourced marketing segment of the data center industry.
He discusses the importance of understanding the targeting and segmentation strategy for different categories of stakeholders, including end users, technology and facilities professionals, and commercial stakeholders.
Joshua explains the concept of paid, earned, and owned media and events, and the importance of hosting one's own educational events to build strong relationships with ideal clients.
He highlights the need for a granular approach to demand generation, including financial incentives to attract preferred categories of prospects and clients.

Improving Name Recognition for Data Center Infrastructure Companies

Joshua discusses the importance of improving name recognition for data center infrastructure support and optimization companies.
He emphasizes the need to understand the types of companies that have been a great fit for working with the company in the past and the commonalities among these clients.
Joshua highlights the importance of getting in early and often with educational resources and events to build strong relationships with ideal clients.
He advises on the need for a strong commitment to providing hyper-specific value to ideal clients, using their own words to create impactful content and events.

Differentiating Wholesale Data Center Providers

Joshua explains the role of wholesale data center providers within the data center ecosystem, operating adjacent to colocation, hyperscale, edge, and modular providers.
He discusses the importance of understanding the business model and the types of clients that wholesale data center providers typically work with.
Joshua highlights the need for a strong understanding of the competitive landscape, including the role of data center technology and facilities companies, construction, real estate, and investment firms, and outsourced sales and marketing companies.
He advises on the importance of building strong relationships with community stakeholders, including elected officials, regulators, utility companies, and community activists, to ensure the success of large wholesale data center projects.

Wholesale Data Center Provider Strategy

Joshua Feinberg explains that wholesale data center providers are typically not involved in operations, but closely linked to datacenter developers, construction companies, REITs, and investors.
The primary strategy for differentiation is to brand the wholesale data center company like a hyperscale or colocation provider.
Building deep relationships with institutional investors is crucial, as individual investors are less common in the data center market.
Identifying and focusing on key stakeholders, such as real estate companies and construction firms, is essential for success.

Targeting and Segmenting Stakeholders

Joshua emphasizes the importance of identifying the most influential stakeholders and focusing marketing efforts on them.
Wholesale data center providers need to understand their target audience, whether it's a single large tenant or multiple smaller tenants.
The role of intermediaries like real estate brokers in the marketing and sales process is discussed.
The conversation highlights the need for a targeted approach, focusing on a few key segments rather than trying to reach too many simultaneously.

Unit Economics and Target Account List

Joshua discusses the differences in unit economics between colocation and wholesale data center deals, noting that wholesale deals are typically much larger.
The target account list for wholesale data centers is smaller, usually consisting of a couple dozen potential clients.
This allows for a more personalized and intensive approach to marketing and sales.
The importance of understanding the job functions and roles of key stakeholders in the decision-making process is emphasized.

Building a Digital Brand and Educational Resources

Joshua advises creating a digital brand that caters to self-service buyers, who are likely to be well-informed about the industry.
Educational resources and events should be designed to help potential buyers navigate the complex decision-making process.
The role of internal and external subject matter experts in creating these resources is highlighted.
The goal is to build trust and differentiate the brand before potential buyers are ready for a real estate-related conversation.

Creating a Unique Hyperscale Data Center Market Position

Joshua discusses the competitive nature of the hyperscale data center market and the importance of creating a unique market position.
Factors that can give a company an unfair advantage include sustainable energy, execution capability, capital, and brand.
The conversation touches on the increasing capital intensity of the data center industry and the trend of mergers and acquisitions among smaller colocation companies.
The importance of strategic decisions at the board level in determining competitive advantages and market positioning is emphasized.

Alignment and Collaboration in Go-to-Market Strategies

Joshua highlights the need for alignment and collaboration between marketing, sales, account management, product, and channel partnerships.
Insights from sales and channel partners should be fed back into the go-to-market strategy.
The conversation covers the importance of competitive analysis and understanding the competitive landscape.
The role of educational resources and events in influencing potential buyers and building trust is reiterated.

Final Thoughts and Best Practices

Joshua concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding the goals and priorities of potential buyers.
The conversation highlights the need for a personalized approach, focusing on the most likely segments and prioritizing segments.
The role of educational resources and events in differentiating the brand and building trust is reiterated.
Joshua encourages listeners to subscribe to the Data Center Sales and Marketing Newsletter for more best practices and tips.

Resources

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