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. Part of Entrepreneurship 101 http://www.marsdd.com/events/details.html?uuid=20ce3dd2-da9d-499d-a277-655f29487de6

2. Entrepreneurship 101!
Presented by: Jonathan Dogterom – Senior Advisor, Cleantech
March 2011!

3. Explore the key activities in attracting and
winning new customers employing a customer
orientated perspective.
How
will
we
create
value?
How
will
How
will
we
deliver
we
capture
value?
value?
Pg 3

4. Feed the Sales Pipeline!!
 Marketing strategy has defined who the customers are and what they are
being offered!
 GTM plan defines how the company will win new customers and feed the
sales pipeline!
– Including the process to guide customer interactions!
– Process to guide channels and connect with customers!
– Interface between sales, customers and product development!
 Plans differ from product to product and industry to industry!
 Factors in development of the GTM Plan include:!
– Complexity of the solution!
– Price level!
– Relative disruptiveness!
Pg 4!

5. The specifics 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, affinity 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!
Post-­‐
Problem
Informa7on
Evaluate
Purchase
Purchase
Recogni7on
Search
Alterna7ves
Decision
Evalua7on
Rela7onship
Proving
your
Company
and
Product
Nego7a7ng
Building,
Solu7on
the
Right
Product
and
Recogni7on
Tech,
Biz,
Partnership
Deal
Service
Improvement,
Pg 7!

8. Customer is in the Problem Recognition Stage!
 Identify your specific audience / champion / coach within the customerʼs
organization!
 Educate the target audience about the existence of your solution – they
already know the problem!
 Possible tools to develop include white papers, magazine articles,
keynote presentations and a company website!
 Need to get channels and partners involved at the beginning!
 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!
 The customer needs both the technical and business information in order
to access the relevance and feasibility of your solution!
 Understanding the various roles of the stakeholders in the purchasing
decision is critical at this stage!
 Time to prove your productʼs ability to solve their problem, methods
include:!
– Demonstration of the product or a prototype!
– Performance data from other deployments!
– Field Trial!
 Manage the risks and expectation!
 Ensure your resources are used wisely!
Pg 9!

10. Case Study – Backup Power!
• Field trials to test value proposition assumptions and prove capabilities to the
customer – 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 – Backup Power!
• Availability: A > 99.99909%
• Reliability: R = 99.920% per start-stop
cycle
• MTBF = 1255 cycles in cycling tests
• MTBF = 562 hours in timed tests

12. Customer is Evaluating Alternatives!
 Often your biggest competition is Do Nothing!!
 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!
 Know: deadline, scope, who it is going to (type of buyer), how it will be
evaluated and who else is bidding!
 Include:!
– Context!
– Solution!
– Pricing!
– Sample Contract!
– Supporting Documentation!
Pg 12!

13.  Show them you understand their problem!
 Materials need to clearly articulate the value you are offering!
 References:!
– Analyst briefing—seeking third-party validation for your strengths is key (i.e.,
appearing in Gartner, IDC or Forrester reports if you are in the IT industry)!
– Testimonials from similar customers!
– Well-documented reference projects which illustrate your strengths (can be
displayed on website or even published in industry magazines) !
 White paper done with the customer – shows their thought leadership in the
industry!
 Partnerships!!
Pg 13!

14. Moment of truth!
 People buy from people – cliché, but true – emotion plays a role in
purchase decisions!
 Negotiation:!
– You should be reasonable in your expectations, as should your customer in
their demands!
– Customer believes you can do the job and wants your product, just not at any
terms and conditions – example: price!
– 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!
– 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 customerʼs 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!
 Now you have established trust and a track record!
 Word of mouth and repeat buying are two of your best marketing tools!
 Use your new understanding of the customer and market – reference site,
data and customer feedback!
 Exceed expectations and build a strong “say do ratio”!
Pg 15!

16. Sales activities must focus on building a scalable, repeat sales process!
 Focus on the customerʼs perspective !
 Involve all of your functional groups !
 Fully understand the customers problem!
 Know where your technology is going!
 Use data to prove your capabilities!
 Differentiate your solution and approach!
 Build a strong relationship with an internal champion/coach!
Pg 16!

17. Jonathan J. Dogterom
jdogterom@marsdd.com!