Steve Lubahn brings a breath of marketing expertise to the Forum. His background in web design as well as marketing strategy allow him to offer wide-ranging advice to fellow members. Read on to learn more about this interesting member.
Where are you based?
La Crosse, WI, USA
What do you do in real-life?
I am Vice President of Marketing for LockNET, Inc. at the headquarters in La Crosse, WI. My position is the only full-time marketing role in the company, I am involved in all aspects of marketing including product development, pricing, promotion, internet marketing, sales support and training, and PR. I use a local marketing firm extensively; they are in essence an extension of my “marketing staff”.
I also have a marketing firm I started in the mid-1990’s called Forward Marketing, I mainly serve local small business owners with website development and internet marketing activities. Not a lot of billable hours, but I covers the cost of my home PC and software.
Tell us about your company.
LockNET started in 1980 as Computer Bay, a reseller of software and computers. The company was renamed LockNET and refocused in late 2004 to concentrate on network security and compliance consulting. The company offers managed IT services and support in network security management, remote network management, and remote backup. We currently over 25 employees and 6 outside sales people covering Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and part of Illinois. (Note we had about 12 employees and 2 outside sales reps when I started November 1, 2005 – the growth has been exciting!).
LockNET focuses on the financial vertical market, also government, education, and small business.
Explain your Community Name and why you selected it.
The company name was chosen shortly before I started. Because we focus on network security, “LockNET” was chosen to reflect locking down your network and making it more secure. We also have brand extensions of products like “nfire” network security management and “nsentry” remote network management, these build off the “N” in the front of our logo (the “N” is for network).
What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most? I enjoy the strategy questions in industries not related to mine that help me stretch my thinking. I also enjoy when my experiences can be posted, sometimes in challenge to other posts, to help the question asker to see several sides of an issue or avoid a pitfall I may have experienced.
Describe a specific KHE discussion you learned something from.
Early on a LockNET I did some major rebranding and logo work. The input from KHE was invaluable in offering insights from others on graphical elements and marketing communications materials and our website design.
What networking or professional organizations do you belong to? I am involved in all the banking associations in the geographic area we cover. I am also a member of the MSP Alliance, a group of about 250 of the top IT services companies in the world. I am also a member of the financial vertical market end user outreach committee in that organization.
Did you study marketing in college?
I started out as an electrical engineer and worked in design for about five years before starting an MBA program. I then moved into product management, and later into more general sales and marketing positions. I have never had a graphic design or internet marketing class, both of those areas I have learned through experience and self-study.
As a side note, I LOVE the MarketingProfs forums, well worth the price of the subscription. I attend about 1/3 of them live, and watch most of the rest on the webcast replays. My boss likes the fact that I can learn and get inspired weekly with no travel costs. Being in the central time zone, they end up spilling into my lunch hour anyway, so he gets a free half-hour out of the deal.
What have you learned from your mentors?
I have had many mentors, one of the most memorable was John Gabbert who worked for me as a technical writer. John was an early pioneer in internet development and marketing, his passion for got us an early lead among industrial products firms starting in the early 1990’s (Watlow Electric).
What is your next career objective?
Long term I would love to own and operate a bed and breakfast. My backup plan would be to become a full-time marketing consultant at some point, until then I will continue to work as hard as I can enjoying applying my passion for marketing to my employer’s business.
Do you have a favorite gadget/tool that helps you do your job?
KHE of course!
Describe one of your non-marketing hobbies or interests.
I really enjoy cross country skiing, golf, and bicycling.
Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
Don’t be scared to jump in with a question, you will be pleased with the results and the speed of the response.
