"The post-boom years are proving that technological innovation is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for success. To build a real investment case for prospective customers, the IT providers must not only become more knowledgeable about their own products and services but also know how to use their technology to improve their customers' business. The vendors must also learn from companies that have made their IT investments pay and show less successful companies how to emulate them."

– Technology after the bubble, McKinsey Quarterly, 2002 Special Edition: Technology

Marketing Managers working for technology firms, large and small, are challenged by the need to develop clearly articulated and compelling messages that will resonate and help create demand for their products and services. How does one describe ease of use or greater efficiency? Simply declaring that we have a better mousetrap does not work anymore.
But crafting the message is only half the battle. Gaining assurance that the message is going to work can only be achieved by testing the message in the real world of customer reactions. Some of this is accomplished internally with an experienced marketing staff. Some of it can be accomplished with selective interviewing and Advisory Boards. But nothing can surpass the real feedback from customers’ voices that provide constructive criticism and eventual acceptance.
The TechPar Group (TPG) has developed a highly focused service offering designed specifically to assist senior Marketing Executives of technology firms to meet these challenges. Staffed by experienced and highly qualified CIO’s, CTO’s and business users of technology, TPG’s program establishes a customized forum that we refer to as “Blue Teams” to test the messaging developed by your organization. It has been our experience that this program can be conducted quickly, so that you and your organization can get immediate useful feedback.
Utilizing a well-defined but flexible methodology and set of practices, TPG will assist you in addressing key questions such as:

• Does my marketing message speak to the right audience?
• Is the message clear in terms of benefits and ROI for the customer?
• Does the message resonate with commonly understood challenges?
• Does the message relate to the right technology platforms & architectures?
• Is the message too long, or short or too complicated?
• Does the message address obvious alternatives or competitive solutions?
• Given the ongoing changes in the enterprise and industry, will your message be successful?
• What feedback from the field is required to monitor the message?

TPG’s professionals will work closely with you to address these and other critical issues that require exposure to the market to obtain reliable answers. Our goal goes beyond just the Blue Team Process of testing messages. It is to establish a long-term relationship with you – one that provides guidance and support beyond our initial engagement. It is this special commitment and unique capability that sets TPG apart from other advisors.

The TPG Blue Team Process delivers the following benefits:

1. Efficient market testing of complex technology messages.
2. Exposure to decision makers in the field that will help you decide the best way to position your offering.
3. Effective interaction in a peer group that will challenge and verify assumptions and conclusions.
4. Executive contacts that can be leveraged as the product or service is introduced.