Re: Signing off our target audience (was Re: Example of targetted release notes)

[Claus Schwarm <c schwarm gmx net>]

Hi,

IMHO, your suggestion needs improvement: What should the Marketing Team
do, even it would agree on your proposal?

The problem with your approach (and Dave's) is that your so-called
target markets are NOT proper targets. Here's why.

In marketing theory, you should first segment a market before you pick
one or more of them as targets. A good segment is DAMAS [1]:

    * Differential: it must respond differently to a different
      marketing mix
    * Actionable: you must have a product/the resources for this segment
    * Measurable: size and purchasing power can be measured
    * Accessible: it must be possible to reach it efficiently
    * Substantial: the segment has to be large and profitable enough

Some of these criteria (S, M) don't apply to GNOME because it's not a
for-profit organization. Another one is rather academic by nature (D).

That leaves two important ones: Any segment (and thus target) needs to
be accessible and actionable. That means you need to have any idea how
you can reach the people who constitute a segment, and you need to have
an idea how to sell your product to them.

> From this point of view, let's look at your suggestion: You say we
should target "Linux distributions".

It's easy to identify them: Distrowatch has a list. However, who is the
decision maker for a specific Linux distribution? We all know who to
call for making GNOME the default desktop for Ubuntu, but who do you
call for, say, Debian? This is the first problem: Who should we talk to
when we decide to target "distributions".

The next step, however, is far more difficult: What arguments do you
have to make distributions use GNOME by default? Whatever it is:
Commercial distros may just answer: "Our clients request KDE!"
Volunteer distros will probably say: "No problem but we have no man
power. Provide packages and we'll include them." What are the chances
to find people who'd package GNOME for certain distributions?
Additionally, packages don't make GNOME the default desktop.

These problems are not new, they are well known. We have the question
in our Wiki for over two years now: "What leverage do we have?" and the
answer didn't change much.

So targeting "distributions" in such a general form is completely
useless. Similar arguments hold for the other "target" you mentioned:
"regular end users". Stated in such an general form, this is useless.
(BTW: The usual tool for reaching millions of people is advertising.)

Let's consider Dave's suggestions. He says:
 * for the platform, our target is ISDs
 * for the desktop, public administrations and distributions, and 
 * for applications, early adopters & hobbyists.

So, how do we identify "ISDs"? Where are they? How do we talk to them?
And just in case, we find some: What should we tell them? We don't even
have any basic support, or documentation for any library
higher the GTK+ (so I read). If you look into the development section
of our user forum, nearly no question is answered. Let's have a look at
just one complain, I accidentally stumbled upon today [2]:

"I am a commercial developer, with apps deployed in many businesses.
Linux is absolutely hostile to me and my customers, because it cannot:
 *  provide a binary install mechanism which works across all
    distros.
 *  give me binary compatibility over time.
 *  provide APIs which let me manage system needs at a high level
    and across all distros.
 *  provide an identical user experience across all distros."

I cannot say whether these claims are "true" in a scientific sense but
it might be an example of the impression other ISDs have about GNOME
(and Linux).

OK, let's move on: What about "public administrations"? We may identify
them. Maybe, we find the decision makers. But what should we tell them?
Is there any USP that makes GNOME better then all alternatives?

Dave's approach fails just like yours. Let's look at an rather
artificial example to see why: Try to sell Rhythmbox to a deaf PC
hobbyist. The example is covered by Dave's description but everybody
sees that this will fail. We better don't generalize certain products
such as Rhythmbox in a broad category such as "applications".

Theoretically, you'd would need to provide segments all for each of
GNOME's products (the development platform, the desktop, and each
application), and determine targets for each of them.

Of course, that's just the theoretical problems.


Regards,
Claus

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_segmentation
[2]
http://rudd-o.com/archives/2006/09/20/open-source-linux-and-the-importance-of-marketing-and-public-perception/