niche

Competition is good – Part II

competition, differentiation, Marketing, Positioning, Product Management, segmentation, value proposition

Yesterday I spoke about why competition is good for you.

Today we will look at what you need to be aware of in your competition.

In the technology space if you’re competing with a big player, you need to first of all be aware that they have a large customer base and they an ecosystem already in place. This could be the software developers, the reseller partners etc.

Due to this you get to know what is the surrounding “infrastructure ” that needs to fall in place, to make your product/service successful.

However going head-on into competition is never a good idea.

Each competitor would also have multiple areas of the market that they neglect because they’re not big enough for them to invest in.

Look at some of those and create segments and value proposition for dominating those before you decide to get into something else. Always get into the niche with an agenda to Dominate.

From a customer perspective also, since customers prefer to avoid taking risks, don’t try to initially target the same type of customers who have made your competitors successful because they will use you to get discounts from the leaders.

Competition is a very good learning experience and gets you prepared to Not do the same mistakes which the competitors have made.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

B2B Messaging – getting the message delivered

differentiation, Marketing, messaging, Positioning, Product Management, Sales, segmentation

We do a lot of testing continuously on the messaging that we send and we have observed that more that 90% of the times the messaging does not get a response the first time.

We have to continuously keep making changes and do iterations to figure out “what’s working”

If you however analyze the key things whenever you don’t get a response even after sending a sequence of mails, it would boil down to the following :

  1. We have not identified the pain point of the customer and therefore the messages are not resonating
  2. We have not identified the right person
  3. Our mails are not reaching the right person

For each of these one of the key thing is to segment the market so well to begin with, such that you can identify all the possible pain points and then test them.

Similarly if you have segmented the market well and niched it by usage as well, then you should generally be able to hone in on the function which is impacted by your services, quite well. However sometimes in B2B scenarios the challenge is also there because roles may be ill defined or there might be shadow responsibilities. So while there might be a CISO in a company and they may be the public face, the decisions are taken by the CIO or CFO. If you have selected aa small segment then these kind of patterns start coming up and you try to verify the data in advance or send to all the possible functions.

The third is on the deliverability issue if you have the mail id of the right person. I have mentioned this in my posts earlier also. The spam filters block anything which even smells like a spam message or will stamp it with a “marketing mail” stamp. So your message needs to reflect the pain in the least amount of words so that the spam filters think of it as a genuine conversation.

Lastly while email is the lowest cost mechanism to connect, it also has the least efficiency. Due to Covid a lot of the methods to send direct mail like letters and post cards has become tougher to deliver with so many people operating from home. On Linkedin, people may accept your connection request, but if they find that you are trying to sell them anything then they withdraw. So we are stuck with only using email.

If you’ll have come across any better delivery medium for your message, please share.

Till next time.

Carpe Diem!!!

B2B Messaging – sequences – Part II

differentiation, messaging, Positioning, Product Management, segmentation

In my last post on this topic,  I had written why its important to follow a multi sequence strategy in B2B messaging because of the inertia that people have because of the organizational structures they work in.

I had also spoken about how to put a wedge of dissonance and work on that.

In the technology area which I specialize in,  the other reasons for inertia are because people don’t know if the technology is just a passing fad or is it going to stay. So people want to see evidence that the technology you are talking about is getting adopted.

In addition to the above the next item is related to things on the “infrastructure ”  a term popularized by Regis Mckenna in his book relationship marketing.  This is quite an old book, so some of the technologies listed would seem obsolete,  but if you are involved in technology marketing then the concepts listed are very worthwhile.

The “infrastructure ” would relate to things like do we have the skills and capabilities, will we be able to adapt it in our environment. 

None of these things will change in a few messages that you send. You will need to keep driving the wedge deeper and deeper,  you will need to share success stories to help reduce the fear and figure out ways to be in front of them when either something goes wrong or there’s a new boss who arrives and wants change to take place.

However because you are relentless in reaching out,  you also become a fixture in their mind. I remember a customer who gave us a managed services order after more than a year of follow-up,  telling me that she had got so used to seeing my letters on her table every month that she had to call me when they thought of outsourcing.

That’s when you take your opportunity and strike and do a fabulous job. As I mentioned in my last post also, it could take you sometimes more than a year to make things happen.

Needless to say,  you can’t do this if you’re broad based in the beginning,  because the economics and bandwidth both will be an issue.  If you have identified a niche and then you do this, then its feasible otherwise its not viable.

Till next time.

Carpe Diem!!!

Marketing does not work on formulas

differentiation, Marketing, Positioning, Product Management, segmentation

I have the biggest challenge with people who use spreadsheets to work on a target and then break it down with formulas. If marketing or product management was so formulaic, no product would ever fail.

If you check my team also, you will find them telling you that my fundamental question is “Why will it happen”

Spreadsheets are very good, especially for making lists and milestones. However assuming that the market you operate in will behave like a formula in the sheet is fallacy and targets will never be met.

The reason for that is markets and customers have a mind of their own. As I have mentioned earlier also marketing is applied psychology.

While the demographics and psychographics will list out typical characteristics, each of these people in the B2B segments, operate in an environment, where they interact with different functions. Each function has different priorities.

Unlike the consumer market where the risk is low for most of the items, when it comes to B2B technology products there’s a lot of perceived risk and people don’t like to change the status quo.

Since technology changes so fast one of the first inertia points for the customer is – am I investing in the right technology, how will it impact my other operations. Then come other questions like, what if it doesn’t work, what if this company sinks etc.

For the product management folks its critical that they take into account all these inertia or resistance points. Think through as deeply from the customer’s point of view, write an autobiography of the customer.

You can’t do this if you take a broad spectrum of the market. That is why it’s important to identify a niche in the market and then a market in the niche. Then actually go out and meet customers and understand all the reasons, why they won’t buy, then continuously improve your offerings.

Never rely on spreadsheets to govern the actions for your product but use them to govern the milestones.

Till next time.

Carpe Diem!!!