Marketing MODx to Clients - quick question

Hi guys

I finally got around to checking out the slides from MODxpo 2010 and was thrilled to read DELL are using MODx.

Now, it’s really something to be able to say to potential clients that DELL use MODx, but what can we officially say? Most big companies don’t allow you to use their logos in marketing material without prior permission, and they can also be (understandably) touchy about what you say - especially when you start using words like "endorse" "sponsor" etc.

So what I’m asking is if there is a standard, short phrase that we can use along the lines of "supported by DELL" or the likes that DELL would approve of, and also if there is someone in the DELL team using MODx who can advise on logo usage?

Along similar lines, Microsoft sponsored the conference so it’s nice to be able to say MODx has been sponsored by someone so prominent and it’s always handy to be able to link potential clients who are awry about PHP to articles such as this: http://modxcms.com/about/team/rthrash/microsoft-sponsors-modxpo.html

Sorry to bump my own topic, but does anyone in the Modx team have a view on this?

I just think it will make getting the idea of PHP+Open Source=Quality && PHP >= ASP across to businesses. It’s usually the free, open source, PHP-not-ASP issue you run into when trying to get businesses on board as they generally bang on about ASP and Microsoft as that’s what they’ve heard of before. Being able to say bug companies use and are behind Modx can really help change that thinking for the better.

Hehe, well spotted. Typing in a hurry

We can’t mention Dell directly right now though we can repeat what they said at MODxpo: Dell plans to present how they use MODx as a critical part of their business, in documenting and creating their design library. Their design library is their rulebook on how they release and convert the millions of web pages on their web properties, and MODx makes this critical part of their business much easier for their different stakeholders. They are also trying to present the same information at SxSW this coming March, and hopefully will be authoring a case study.

a question comes to mind...

do you market MODx to your customers or do you sell
a solution using web technology?

and by this I mean that I do not think most of the customers
will care what do you use as a CMS or technology as long as
you solve their business problem...

maybe, just maybe, you can see it from a different perspective...

I think the answer lies in http://www.geekzone.co.nz/foobar/5204

In the matter of lock-in, consider what happens if someone is using a proprietary (or just about any other CMS) solution, and the client wants a major re-design. Same content, just totally different design. I have one client on a MODx site whose board of directors wanted to find a local design company to do a redesign to match a new print brochure they’re designing. The lowest quote they got was 13,000 euros. With MODx, all I’ll need to do is make a new template. Actually, this will be the third redesign I’ve done for this client over 6 years. Apparently they didn’t really appreciate how quick and cheap the other redesigns were.

Cheers all for the advice and link.

The situation I had in mind was regarding a potential client whose site is currently in ASP (well rather their contact form is in ASP, the rest is in separate HTML files but I think the people who built it even sold them a dedicated server to keep in-house just for that, so they’re also potentially suspicious of how cheap my quotes are ).

It’s often a little tricky convincing people using ASP that there is some other web language out there worth using. People fear change and often get suspicious of free. My aim with the initial question was to then be able to say "massive company X uses Modx and PHP" as a tool to allay their fears and suspicions, but your points certainly will help when tackling this issue in future - thanks!

Quote from: Pete at Sep 15, 2010, 01:50 AM

It’s often a little tricky convincing people using ASP that there is some other web language out there worth using.

Sure - only losers like Yahoo, Facebook, Digg use it for their main sites...

Swedish county: Västerås paid 30 million ($ 4.2 m) for this webpage: http://www.vasteras.se/Sidor/startsida.aspx
[ source ]

Then I googled http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2010/07/the_105m_website.html

Insanity.