What can you learn from AMD?

Over a long lunch with an AMD official waxing eloquent over the company's
achievements, I gained several insights underneath the hard sell that I was
being subjected to. This pertained to the company's plans and strategies. Let me
synopsize it for you.

Worldwide, AMD has been silently creeping up on Intel. According to IDC,
currently in India AMD holds around 25 percent share in the processor market.
Compare this with the scenario around a decade ago when Intel had an almost
total monopoly in the country. How did AMD gain ground in this volatile market
with a giant like Intel lording over it?

You can put it down to pure and simple strategy. AMD worldwide took a
conscious decision to concentrate on coming out with a good product every 18
months and let that product do the talking. Because it had realized that if your
product is good, over time customers will gravitate towards it.

Vinita Bhatia

AMD recognized that it could never beat Intel on the marketing front and
therefore stuck to its core competency, which is technology and innovating on
it.

Next, it decided that rather than go to the mass market, it would focus on
certain niche verticals. First, it decided to train its sights on high
performance computing. The second Param supercomputer runs on AMD processor.

Next, it moved to the government segment, partnering with agencies in the
defense and R&D. It then started working with enterprises. Now it is trying to
position itself in the mass market and there too it is trying to gain ground by
targeting children, as it believes they are the influencers in the most home
purchases.

Now, what learnings lie in these strategies for the channel? Several.

For starters, you need to identify and focus on your core competency,
whatever it may be. If you are good at offering pre or post-sales service, then
work harder on this aspect rather than mere fulfillment.

Next, identify the customer who is the most important for you. For instance,
don't focus on the enterprise segment if you don't have a robust service set-up
in place, because no company will tolerate downtime. Rather you could
concentrate on an SMB or even a SOHO. Once you are in a comfort zone within a
particular customer vertical, like AMD, aspire to move to the next level.

Don't be worried about competition. It will always be there and it is
necessary to keep you on your toes. Just outline your strategy and concentrate
on it.

And most importantly, make sure your strategy percolates to everyone in your
company. Let them understand it. Permit them to question. And lead them to
believe it. Just like the AMD representative I spoke to, who passionately
believed in his company's policy and is getting the channel to understand it as
well.

Your employees are the best route to your customers. Unless they believe in
you and your vision, no one else will.

Think about it.