Episode 167 of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast features Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI.
- Identify how major colocation operators can attract net new logos with a sharper ideal client profile
- Map out geography, size, and industry traits that define your best fit data center customers
- Segment your markets by vertical and deal size and align sales roles and playbooks accordingly
- Design education first campaigns that position your team as trusted advisors instead of vendors
- Use webinars, podcasts, and events to insert your brand earlier in the buyer’s journey
- Analyze your current customer base to clone your happiest, most profitable accounts
- Structure go to market for hyperscale deals with a tightly focused target account list
- Orchestrate multi stakeholder engagement to win over CFOs, CTOs, boards, and operators
- Turn commodity offerings like raised flooring into a thought leadership platform
- Build your own media or cause driven platform instead of hiding under event and vendor brands
Host:
Joshua Feinberg, CEO
DCSMI
Joshua Feinberg from DCSMI discusses strategies for various data center operators and related businesses.
For major colocation operators, he emphasizes the importance of understanding ideal client profiles, including geographic location, company size, and industry preferences. Edge data center providers should focus on sustainable, modular, and scalable solutions, leveraging past successes to target specific industries. Venture capital firms help early-stage companies find adopters through professional development and networking events. Hyperscale operators need to engage early with stakeholders like CFOs and board members. Raised flooring companies should be client-centric, understanding goals and challenges, and collaborating with channel partners.
Digital marketing agencies should build community awareness through deep engagement in the data center conference ecosystem.
Joshua Feinberg discusses how marketing and communications agencies are evolving to become media partners by setting up their own media brands and cause-related platforms. This strategy helps them barter relationships with media and sponsor companies, avoiding the need to buy ads. He notes the rise of podcasting and webinars as part of this ecosystem.
Feinberg highlights the significant investment in data center conferences, estimated at $400-$500 million annually, and emphasizes the importance of building strong agency brands to stand out from conference organizers. He suggests that agencies should focus more on their own branding to enhance their credibility and trust in the market.
Outline
Introduction and Overview of the Podcast
- Joshua Feinberg introduces the podcast, focusing on sales and marketing strategies for data centers.
- The podcast aims to address questions from various roles in the data center industry, including sales, marketing, account management, and executive sponsors.
- Joshua emphasizes the importance of tailoring sales and marketing strategies to specific segments, such as colocation, hyperscale, and edge operators.
- The podcast will cover topics like attracting new logos, improving marketing for edge data centers, finding early adopters for new technologies, and building community awareness.
Attracting New Logos for Major Colocation Operators
- Joshua discusses how major colocation operators attract new logos, emphasizing the importance of understanding the ideal client profile.
- Key factors include geographic location, company size, and industry preferences.
- Major colocation operators often have well-defined strategies for attracting large, global clients, which may involve board-level discussions.
- The importance of having a strong brand and being able to discuss client logos publicly is highlighted.
- Joshua mentions the competitive advantages and disadvantages of being a major colocation operator, such as brand recognition and the ability to move quickly versus the need for internal approvals.
Improving Marketing for Edge Data Centers
- Joshua explains the unique positioning of edge data centers as sustainable, modular, and scalable.
- The importance of understanding the ideal client profile for edge data centers, including geographic location, company size, and industry preferences.
- Joshua emphasizes the need for segmentation and personalization in marketing strategies, focusing on the specific needs and challenges of different buyer personas.
- The role of professional development and learning opportunities in building trust and educating potential clients is discussed.
- Joshua highlights the importance of leveraging channel partners and professional connections to facilitate introductions and lead generation.
Finding Early Adopters for New Technologies
- Joshua discusses how venture capital firms find early adopters for new technologies in the data center infrastructure space.
- Venture capital firms often invest in companies they understand well and look for opportunities for collaboration and joint development.
- Professional development and networking events hosted by VC firms can help portfolio companies connect and share ideas.
- VC firms may facilitate introductions through personal connections and host conferences to showcase their portfolio companies.
- The importance of building trust and providing unique value to early adopters is emphasized.
Acquiring Clients for Hyperscale Data Center Operators
- Joshua explains the unique challenges and strategies for acquiring clients for hyperscale data center operators.
- Hyperscale deals often involve large, global companies with deep pockets, requiring significant marketing and sales investments.
- The importance of understanding the decision committee, including stakeholders like CFOs, CTOs, and board members, is highlighted.
- Joshua emphasizes the need for early and frequent engagement with potential clients, providing educational and trust-building opportunities.
- The role of internal subject matter experts and channel partners in building deep relationships with clients is discussed.
Improving Sales and Marketing Messages for Raised Flooring Companies
- Joshua discusses how raised flooring companies can improve their sales and marketing messages.
- The importance of becoming experts in the field and providing educational resources and events is emphasized.
- Understanding the ideal client profile, including geographic location, company size, and industry preferences, is crucial.
- The need for segmentation and personalization in marketing strategies, focusing on the specific needs and challenges of different buyer personas, is highlighted.
- Joshua suggests leveraging channel partners and professional connections to facilitate introductions and lead generation.
Building Data Center Community Awareness
- Joshua explains how data center digital marketing and communications agencies build data center community awareness.
- Agencies often provide outsourced marketing and PR services to clients throughout the data center ecosystem.
- The importance of being deeply embedded in the data center conference ecosystem and leveraging professional services retainers is discussed.
- Agencies may barter services for exposure, such as email blasts and influencing client decisions on attending and speaking at events.
- The role of professional development and learning opportunities in building trust and educating potential clients is emphasized.
Emergence of Media Brands by Agencies
- Joshua Feinberg discusses how agencies often barter their access to prospects and clients, which is valuable to media and events companies.
- Over the last decade, marketing and communications companies have set up their own media brands to align themselves more as media partners than just agencies.
- Agencies used to create separate websites or blogs to gain visibility for multiple clients, occasionally exposing prospects.
- The emergence of podcasting as part of the ecosystem has helped agencies build adjacent brands to act as media companies.
Cause-Related Platforms by Agencies
- Many PR agencies have started building cause-related platforms in addition to traditional brands.
- One agency focuses on recruiting students for data center careers, while another emphasizes sustainability.
- These platforms are beyond traditional media platforms; they are missions to rally clients around specific causes.
- Agencies find like-minded people who support these causes, such as protecting the future of the industry or promoting sustainability.
Co-Marketing and Media Sponsor Relationships
- Joshua Feinberg highlights the emergence of co-marketing and media sponsor relationships.
- Agencies set up separate brands that started as blogs and have evolved into podcasting and webinars.
- These brands put agencies on par with smaller media companies, helping them barter relationships.
- Agencies also focus on top-of-funnel and middle-of-funnel activities from conference relationships.
Investment in Data Center Conferences
- Joshua Feinberg mentions the significant investment in data center conferences globally, estimated at $400-$500 million annually.
- This investment rivals other significant spending in the data center industry, such as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) solutions.
- Agencies help clients tap into this market by providing services to gain access to lucrative speaking opportunities and visibility.
- The brand halo effect of conference organizers is crucial for companies investing in these events.
Branding and Marketing Strategies
- Joshua Feinberg emphasizes the importance of building a stronger brand for agencies rather than riding along with bigger brands.
- He shares an analogy from his experience with managed service providers, where company logos were often smaller than vendor logos.
- Agencies should focus on their own brand to stand out in a self-driven buyer's journey.
- Trust signals and earning credibility are crucial for long-term success in the data center industry.
Challenges and Opportunities for Agencies
- Joshua Feinberg discusses the challenges agencies face in building their own brand while supporting clients.
- He highlights the importance of promoting the agency's brand to be more prominent than the conference organizers.
- Agencies should focus on their unique vision and company value to stand out in a competitive market.
- The shift towards AI-driven tools like LLMs and GPTs means that earning credibility and trust is more important than ever.
Final Thoughts and Call to Action
Resources
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