In this, third part of my checklist, for launching a Technology based B2B business – we will look at figuring out how is the customer presently solving the problem. If you are reading my blog for the first time, I would suggest , you read Part 1 of the checklist and Part 2 of the checklist to get a better picture of the process.

That will give you a background to my thinking process and see whether it resonates with your thinking.

Companies find solutions to the problems they are facing. So even though you may have a unique product/service, they may not find it useful, if they are already solving the problem in a different way. It may not be the most elegant, it may not be the most efficient, but nonetheless it is still solving the problem for them.

Knowing this is important because as Perry Marshall says – if its not a “bleeding neck” problem, people will not move to solve it.

In a B2B scenario, this is all the more important, because there is an inherent inertia in the case of B2B. This could be because of the fact that the person responsible does not have the “power” within the organisation, or it could be because she has been given other priorities by her boss and she is trying to close those first or a plethora of hundred other things.

Another issue for the inertia , is the allocation of budgets in B2B. Most companies work on a budget which gets decided at the beginning of the financial year. Generally new things are not incorporated into the budget in the middle of the year, until and unless it’s critical.

So let’s assume that you have understood the “how” the person is solving the problem. You now need to figure out if your solution will give them incremental improvement over the existing solution or will it be dramatic.

If your solution is just incrementally better, the next issue is to figure out the amount of disruption your solution will cause to the existing process and the cost of your solution. If the improvement is incremental and the disruption is large and the cost is also considerable (relatively) then the chances of you being able to sell your solution are very limited because of the lethargy I listed above.

On the other end of the spectrum, if the solution can cause dramatic improvement in the way the problem is getting solved and the disruption to the existing process is also not much, then you may get some early adopters. If you succeed with the initial prospects then you can document the success and take it to others.

There can be many ways to skin a cat, I have shared mine above. Test it in your environment and if you think it suits you, please go ahead and use it. If you succeed, I would be glad to hear about it.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

P.S: If any of you , is however interested in receiving my 12 point checklist right now , to help you plan your marketing strategy for a new launch, just message me with your email id and I will send it out to you.