Are there any regulatory clearances to be taken to implement your product/solution

You may have heard , from time to time , issues that ride aggregator apps like Uber face , from local governments in various countries. Some countries have laws which require cabs to be commercial vehicles – private cars cannot be used for this business. In some states there are laws, where dynamic pricing is not allowed.

If you have been reading my blog thorough this whole series, I have taken up one issue at a time, that you need to keep in mind before launching either a new business itself or a new service / product line within an existing business.

While the Uber example above is a consumer related business, the issue remains the same in case of B2B businesses as well. In case of B2B business the added complexity happens because people are anyway averse to change anything which is “not broken”.

There was a time, in India, when we had to fill multiple forms and file with the government agencies, when changing the bandwidth on leased lines. So each time our requirement for bandwidth would go up, we would have to question all the concerned departments on “why” the need for more bandwidth. It was just the hassle of filling up and signing forms and then going through the government departments to close the issue.

So in case your solution requires certain government clearances, before it can be deployed, then figure out how it will be done, without the customer having to go through the hassle of applying to government agencies. If the customer is expected to do it, then rest assured, you have brought a resistance point in your business.

Make the process as frictionless as possible. As an example, drones need clearances from multiple agencies, before they can be deployed by commercial entities, because they can hamper aircraft traffic or can cause national security issues etc.

So some companies came up with drones which had a limitation on the height they could achieve and now drones are being used to spray pesticides on crops, in so many parts of the world, without having to take permission, because they don’t have the ability to cause any challenge to aircraft traffic.

Whenever regulatory issues are involved, either find a way to solve it for the customer or better still create the product or solution in such a way that the regulator doesn’t need to get involved.

In all sales, especially more in case of B2B, you have to remove all points of friction, which can make a customer avoid taking the solution. That will be the only way, you will be able to scale.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!