This lecture provides practical tips on how to prepare to enter the marketplace with your product. It is relevant for all start-ups that are still in a development phase and contemplating the various pieces that need to be in place for product launch. Case studies are used to emphasize the importance of taking a customer-centred approach to market entry and illustrate the barriers to scaling and selling your product.
3. Explore the key activities in attracting and
winning new customers employing a customer
orientated perspective.
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Pg 3
4. Feed the Sales Pipeline!!
¨ď¨âŻ Marketing strategy has deďŹned who the customers are and what they are
being offered!
¨ď¨âŻ GTM plan deďŹnes how the company will win new customers and feed the
sales pipeline!
â⯠Including the process to guide customer interactions!
â⯠Process to guide channels and connect with customers!
â⯠Interface between sales, customers and product development!
¨ď¨âŻ Plans differ from product to product and industry to industry!
¨ď¨âŻ Factors in development of the GTM Plan include:!
â⯠Complexity of the solution!
â⯠Price level!
â⯠Relative disruptiveness!
!
Pg 4!
5. The speciďŹcs of the value proposition determine the direction!
Relative market size of different
segments/applications!
!
Colour represents the strength of the
$ / Unit! value proposition (green being
strongest), when taking into account
other factors!
Volume and Timeline!
Pg 5!
6. Segmentation!
Adaptors differ by economic status, afďŹnity for risk, knowledge and interest !
!
Transition points require different organizational competencies and product
characteristics (example: service and support) !
Units! Early Majority! Late Majority!
Early ! Crossing the Chasm!
Adaptors!
Innovators! Laggards!
Time!
Pg 6!
7. The customer oriented approach!
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Pg 7!
8. Customer is in the Problem Recognition Stage!
¨ď¨âŻ Identify your speciďŹc audience / champion / coach within the customerĘźs
organization!
¨ď¨âŻ Educate the target audience about the existence of your solution â they
already know the problem!
¨ď¨âŻ Possible tools to develop include white papers, magazine articles,
keynote presentations and a company website!
¨ď¨âŻ Need to get channels and partners involved at the beginning!
¨ď¨âŻ Review which activities yielded the best results in terms of leads
generated and attempt to replicate or scale up similar activities!
Pg 8!
9. Customer is in the Information Search Stage of the Buying Process!
¨ď¨âŻ The customer needs both the technical and business information in order
to access the relevance and feasibility of your solution!
¨ď¨âŻ Understanding the various roles of the stakeholders in the purchasing
decision is critical at this stage!
¨ď¨âŻ Time to prove your productĘźs ability to solve their problem, methods
include:!
â⯠Demonstration of the product or a prototype!
â⯠Performance data from other deployments!
â⯠Field Trial!
¨ď¨âŻ Manage the risks and expectation!
¨ď¨âŻ Ensure your resources are used wisely!
Pg 9!
10. Case Study â Backup Power!
â˘âŻ Field trials to test value proposition assumptions and prove capabilities to the
customer â product performance, cost and logistics
10
9
8
Failure Duration [hr]
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Pg 10!
11. Case Study â Backup Power!
â˘âŻ Availability: A > 99.99909%
â˘âŻ Reliability: R = 99.920% per start-stop
cycle
â˘âŻ MTBF = 1255 cycles in cycling tests
â˘âŻ MTBF = 562 hours in timed tests
12. Customer is Evaluating Alternatives!
¨ď¨âŻ Often your biggest competition is Do Nothing!!
¨ď¨âŻ If the customer is prepared to go forward at this stage you will need to
write a proposal to enable the customer to make a formal review!
¨ď¨âŻ Know: deadline, scope, who it is going to (type of buyer), how it will be
evaluated and who else is bidding!
¨ď¨âŻ Include:!
â⯠Context!
â⯠Solution!
â⯠Pricing!
â⯠Sample Contract!
â⯠Supporting Documentation!
Pg 12!
13. ¨ď¨âŻ Show them you understand their problem!
¨ď¨âŻ Materials need to clearly articulate the value you are offering!
¨ď¨âŻ References:!
â⯠Analyst brieďŹngâseeking third-party validation for your strengths is key (i.e.,
appearing in Gartner, IDC or Forrester reports if you are in the IT industry)!
â⯠Testimonials from similar customers!
â⯠Well-documented reference projects which illustrate your strengths (can be
displayed on website or even published in industry magazines) !
¨ď¨âŻ White paper done with the customer â shows their thought leadership in the
industry!
¨ď¨âŻ Partnerships!!
Pg 13!
14. Moment of truth!
¨ď¨âŻ People buy from people â clichĂŠ, but true â emotion plays a role in
purchase decisions!
¨ď¨âŻ Negotiation:!
â⯠You should be reasonable in your expectations, as should your customer in
their demands!
â⯠Customer believes you can do the job and wants your product, just not at any
terms and conditions â example: price!
â⯠There is a give-and-take process in play whereby the seller can ask for an
increased level of commitment every time the offer is improved!
â⯠Preparation is the biggest success factor in negotiation. You should have: !
!1) analyzed your own position on all key items (price, quantity, quality,
timelines, etc.) to understand what your limits are!
!2) analyzed the customerĘźs position along the same lines so that you can
anticipate their demands and defend your position !
Pg 14!
15. Sales and marketing feeds into service and product development!
¨ď¨âŻ Now you have established trust and a track record!
¨ď¨âŻ Word of mouth and repeat buying are two of your best marketing tools!
¨ď¨âŻ Use your new understanding of the customer and market â reference site,
data and customer feedback!
¨ď¨âŻ Exceed expectations and build a strong âsay do ratioâ!
Pg 15!
16. Sales activities must focus on building a scalable, repeat sales process!
¨ď¨âŻ Focus on the customerĘźs perspective !
¨ď¨âŻ Involve all of your functional groups !
¨ď¨âŻ Fully understand the customers problem!
¨ď¨âŻ Know where your technology is going!
¨ď¨âŻ Use data to prove your capabilities!
¨ď¨âŻ Differentiate your solution and approach!
¨ď¨âŻ Build a strong relationship with an internal champion/coach!
Pg 16!