About WordPress in Finland(… and why WordPress Company Catalog has been created)

Perttu Tolvanen, Vierityspalkki.fi / North Patrol

Presentation given at WordPressCafe in Helsinki, hosted byExove.

13.1.2015 Helsinki

Three (3) stages of a market development(if everything goes smoothly)

Level 1: The fog

Level 2: The marketplace

Level 3: The amusement park

Some open source CMSs have reached this level, e.g. WordPress and Drupal in many countries. Also e.g. notably Typo3 in Germany.

Usually open source CMSs have a lot of trouble reachingthis due to lack of centralized support organisation.

Many established commercial vendors are excellent in creating ”a feeling of a vibrant marketplace” for customers.

Highest level of market development. Means reaching a stage where customers actually enjoy the process of evaluating partners and consuming additional offering(e.g. conferences, training possibilities and otheravailable activies/material).

Classic example is probably the market of ad agencieswhere choosing an ad agency is often considered a ’funprocess’. In IT world SharePoint and Microsoft havereached a very similar stage in many countries.

Risks in market development of (any) CMS(and why CMSs never get destroyed, but instead they are destroyed within)

Badreputation of

the CMS within IT

departmentsBad reputation

of the CMS within

communication/marketing

departments

Smalleragencies

start lookingfor other

alternatives

Technically-focusedagenciesdominate

Creative agencies dislike

the CMS and encourage

customers to change

Developmentpractisesbecomediverse

Differentagencies use

differentplugins to dosimilar things

Agencies startbad-mouthing

each other

Agenciessell thesystem

differentlyfor clients

2-3 big playersbecome

dominant and suffocate the

market

Possibilities in market development of (any) CMS(and what agencies need to do to keep their CMS as a popular tool)

Keeping a reputation of good usability

(among contentproducers)

Big players shouldnot try to win all

the projects, especially smaller

ones or specialcases

Keeping a reputation of

cost-effectiveness

Having a somekindof certification

system that helpscustomers to

”measure” partners

”Open source” yourknowledge of

possibilities, don’tcompete withknow-how of

plugins/services

• Give training, offer tips, educate your current clients

• Especially reach your end-users!

• Share tips and examples

• Be open about pricing and final prices that came true

• Many customers expect you to dothis in some way! It can be activity in community, achievements withplugins, etc. -> Make it measurable!

• Specialize, and recommendother agencies to customers

• Educate creative agencies and customers about possibilities, and instead compete with experience, process and attitudeHave a

common set of referencecases that

validate theplatform

• And share them with otheragencies – and make themScandinavian!

Bonus tip #2: If youwant to win bigger

projects, learn to sellyour process (not

just ”we are agile”) and software development

methods

• Most customers buy projects (=outsource) because they don’t want to do it themselves– make it easy for them – don’t make themmanage you!

• Most customers also buy projects becausethey are busy people – they probably don’thave the resources to lead your team as a product owner.

Bonus tip #1: If youcompete against

other CMSs, remember to show ”how it is done in

WordPress” – don’tjust say can it be

done….

Current status• 8 agencies• 2 agencies waiting for approval• Showing the revenue number and

percentage of overall revenue havegotten good feedback fromusers/customers

Future plans• Possibility to tell the price range of

reference projects• Possibility to tell about plugin

achievements or other majorcontributions

• Special badges

WordPress Company Catalog (at Vierityspalkki.fi)(current status and future plans)

Comments received also to include open sections aboutrewards, design, hosting and

support. Also testimonials couldbe added to reference cases.

Coming: Special badges(examples!)

1. Active conference/cafe host2. Active WordPress blogger3. Active WordPress community member4. Shipping specialist!• Criteria: minimum of three (3) published reference cases in last 6 months

5. Skilled plugin developer• Criteria: minimum of two published plugins that have a minimum of x downloads

6. eCommerce specialist• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases of eCommerce (in 2 years)

7. Integrations specialist• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases that include demanding

integrations (in 2 years)

8. Multilanguage specialist• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases that includes usage of

multilanguage plugins (in 2 years)

9. Media company specialist• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases that are media websites (in 2 years)

10. Specialist in projects below10 000 euros

• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases (in 2 years, in the specific price category)

11. Specialist in projectsbetween 10 000 and 30 000 euros

• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases (in 2 years, in the specific pricecategory)

12. Specialist in projects above30 000 euros

• Criteria: minimum of five (5) reference cases (in 2 years, in the specific price category)

Comments received to add a badge for ”Praised by customers”.

Thank You!

Other take aways from thediscussion with the audience: - Possible fast track to newcomer

companies (if proven capabilitywith reference cases)

- Pricing info could be only a background information thatwere to be used as a categoryinformation (small, medium, large).