When you don’t know your own products

Submitted by Corey Smith on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 20:11

What does it say about your company when your CTO doesn't know your core product offering?

image Scobleizer had a great interview with Xerox's CTO, Sophie Vandebroek. It was a great interview... he did a great job, but one thing struck me as odd.

Sophie said, "We no longer make copiers."

I have spent a lot of years in the "copier" industry and what management of manufacturers say about what they sell is always different than what the down the street sales reps actually sell.

Here are some quick stats about Xerox from Marketlineinfo.

Fiscal Year Ending December 2006 Xerox Recorded $15,895 million. 89% of that was made up of their office division, production division and developing market operations. These divisions are made up primarily of color multifunction products, black & white and color printers, production level equipment like digital presses, and post sales supplies (like toner and support).

Moreover, their recent acquisition of Global Imaging Systems (a very copier centric company) point them to them selling copiers. Their key competitors are Canon Inc, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Oce, Ricoh and Sharp. (just look at their home page at http://www.xerox.com/ and you will see it mostly related to copiers.

Okay... so why do I bring this up? If 89% of your business is made up of one product type (in this case a copier), why would you say that you don't make that product anymore?

I know in the copier industry, everyone is trying to push beyond the thought of being a copier sales force, but right now, that is the core and the heart of the business. There are plenty of euphemisms for that transition but it doesn't change the fact they sell copiers... they design copiers... they build them (or outsource the building of them)... they make copiers.

So, what does it say about you when your own management doesn't understand your core business offerings for the sake of a promotional opportunity.

Hey Scobleizer... you did a great job in the interview, but it just got me to thinking a bit.



Corey Smith is the president of Tribute Media a web development firm providing high performing, industry specific websites. He is a businessman, writer, technology fanatic, graphic designer and web developer. His greatest passion is teaching, consulting and speaking.

You can find him on Twitter, FaceBook, FriendFeed, and LinkedIn.

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Submitted by Greg (not verified) on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 21:02.
ok wait - a couple of weeks ago, I slammed someone for stating that "Xerox no longer makes copiers..." http://thedeathofthecopier.blogspot.com/2008/05/testing.html and now the CTO just said the same? Perhaps Xerox really doesn't make copiers?

Submitted by marieclaire20 (not verified) on Fri, 05/23/2008 - 05:37.
well that is really bad if your own management doesn't know your own products. how would they sell and how would they promote the products?.. well that is a big problem that should be solve as soon as possible. everyone involves in the company should know what is their main product all about. so that if someone would ask about their product they could answer and give the right information to the customers.

Submitted by sophie vandebroek (not verified) on Mon, 05/26/2008 - 15:33.
Hi Corey, after 16 years with Xerox, I certainly know what the company is all about and what our products and services are. Our brand is one of the strongest in the world and we're well aware that it remains synonymous with copying. Fact is, our customers rarely want standalone copiers anymore. Our technology has evolved significantly since those analog days. The vast majority of our office products are multifunction devices, they're networked; they also print, fax, scan, flowport, link to applications via EIP, etc... Maybe my statement was too broad brushed -- but the intent was to say that we're really not a copier company anymore. Our customers demand much more and that's what we give them. Our R&D is focused on continuously differentiating our color printing and production publishing technology; and is also focused on innovation in smart document technologies and services that enable our customers to deal effectively and efficiently with their document-intensive business processes. But, yes, if a customer wants a basic standalone copier, we remain the right choice. The reality is that's not as common a request these days anymore.

Submitted by Corey Smith (not verified) on Mon, 05/26/2008 - 15:46.
Sophie, I appreciate your feedback on my comments. Your clarification is something that I can understand. You are right... very few people want a copier anymore... there are some... but not very many. All "copier" manufacturers are trying to find the right way to differentiate right now with the various software offerings they have. They are trying to step beyond the "box" to provide end users with so much more. The struggle, as I see it, is that so many dealers in the mix aren't willing to offer the software straight from the manufacturer. They are willing to offer the hardware, but go elseware for the software integration. The incredible success of companies like eCopy and EFI are spectacular examples of that. Even with the industry pundits (like me) pushing the total solution for end users, the majority of the sales reps in front of customers still focus on copiers, MFPs and printers. It is going to take some significant changes in the way the up-and-down the street sales reps view this industry before the dealers shift from a "copier company" to a "technology solutions provider" actually takes place. A copier is a copier, but the software provided by the manufacturer can be the difference between a successful relationship with the end user and a bomb. You'll know you have made it when the down the street rep (and most of your competitors as well) stops comparing warm-up times, first out speeds and whether or not hole-punching is included. I personally think that we are a few years away from that.

Submitted by Corey Smith (not verified) on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 05:03.
Greg Walters at The Death of the Copier has some interesting comments on this. Check it out. The Death of Xerography
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