Sandra Malone, Director of Marketing at Marketing Moves, interviewed Nick Eades of Psion Plc.
About Psion
Psion specializes in making mobile workers more productive. Their rugged mobile computers drive down the total cost of mobility, improving task efficiencies and delivering information dividends. And by delivering change resilience that extends the life of every device, they help their customers cost – effectively cope with change, wherever it comes from: changes in networks, applications, technologies and markets.
Psion products are sold in over 80 countries through a third party network of systems integrators, value added resellers, application partners and distributors as well as via a direct sales force. In addition, the company has strategic relationships with a wide range of technology partners, including Microsoft®, Cisco Systems and SAP®.
The company formed in September 2000 as a result of the merger between UK based Psion Enterprise (division of Psion PLC) founded in 1980 by David Potter, and Canadian based Teklogix Inc., founded in 1967 by Rod Coutts. Psion is the main operating company of Psion Group, a public company on the London Stock Exchange. It is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with corporate offices located in Europe, the United States, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
About Nick Eades
Nick joined Psion in May 2009 and brings more than 20 years of marketing, strategy and leadership experience with established global technology leaders. Most recently Nick was Vice President, Marketing for Nortel where he covered the Europe, Middle East and Africa Region. Prior to Nortel, Nick held senior marketing roles for Avaya, BT Global Services, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Dell and IBM.
The Interview
SM: In April of this year, Richard Wray of the Guardian newspaper told us about one of your new marketing approaches – ‘mutualising’. Tell us about it.
NE: The idea is to use the internet to interact with all users of a particular product or service. Mutualising is becoming standard in quite a few businesses. For many companies it makes financial, rather than purely philosophical, sense. It’s a quick and efficient way to not only get in contact with your key communities, but to get all-important feedback in real time. We opened up an on-line community of customers and partners (our resellers) and they are talking directly to each other.
SM: Sounds like that could potentially be a bit dangerous!
NE: John Conoley, Psion’s Chief Executive thought it was a bit frightening too! But you have to remember, we’re in there too. So we learn, and sometimes we make mistakes but at other times you see a customer with a problem and one of our resellers – often from a completely different market – will chip in and deal with their issue.
SM: Mutualising, along with other new marketing approaches like crowd sourcing and using facebook as the new ‘email’ are coming along fast and furious. You must always be on the look-out for people who know how to leverage new marketing approaches or better yet, people who instinctively lead and create new approaches.
NE: You’re right there and I currently have a fantastic team working with me – they are innovative, creative and a lot of fun to work with, but we had a challenge getting them.
SM: I find that surprising-there must be a lot of talented people out there at the moment – the recession took no prisoners – I know a number of good people who ended up back in the market.
NE: The challenge was in three parts: 1.) We needed great people; 2.) very quickly; 3.) and we needed some to be on contract and some for permanent positions.
SM: Is this where we (Marketing Moves) came in?!
NE: (Laughs) I’ve been working with Marketing Moves over the last decade or so, for a very simple reason, ‘they get it’. Mel, one of the Directors, took the time to get to know me and to actually partner me during the recruitment process. There is real respect, calm and professional prowess throughout. They guide without selling and they add urgency without rushing it.
SM: I think we’ll hire you to do advertising copy for us! Nick Eades, Chief Marketing Officer for Psion, thank you very much for your time today.
NE: My pleasure.
(marketingmoves is a specialist IT recruitment company that recruits Only the best marketers.Only for IT and Telecoms.)
