A growing number of b-to-b marketing and sales leaders are incorporating the concept of Segmentation and relative targeting into their planning strategies. Ensemble BtoB et Siruis Decisions have seen some confusion around what factors should drive a relative targeting exercise.

1. Relative Targetting &
Demand Type
Julian Archer, Research Director
18th December, 2014

2. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 2
The Demand Creation Process
Identify Target Market
Determine the segments with the
highest potential and chance of
success and understand pain points
and relevant product value propositions
• Relative Targeting
• Demand Type
Understand
Buyers
Identify and
develop
personas for all
relevant buyers
• Persona
Development
Create
Campaigns
Create
campaigns and
messaging
designed to
address buyer’s
needs
• Campaign
Framework
Create Tactic
Mix
Identify
influencers and
create marketing
plans with
effective tactic
mix
• Degree of
Influence
• Nurture
• Pipeline Accel
Measure &
Refine
Create a
framework to
measure results
and continually
optimize efforts
• Tactic
Measurement
Framework
• Segmentation Strategy
• Contact
Database
Management
• Campaign
Measurement
Framework
• Marketing
Attribution
• Aligned
Measurement
Framework
Who to Target How To Create Demand
How to
Measure
How to Organize

3. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 3
The Demand Creation Process
Identify Target Market
Determine the segments with the
highest potential and chance of
success and understand pain points
and relevant product value propositions
• Relative Targeting
• Demand Type
Understand
Buyers
Identify and
develop
personas for all
relevant buyers
• Persona
Development
Create
Campaigns
Create
campaigns and
messaging
designed to
address buyer’s
needs
• Campaign
Framework
Create Tactic
Mix
Identify
influencers and
create marketing
plans with
effective tactic
mix
• Degree of
Influence
• Nurture
• Pipeline Accel
Measure &
Refine
Create a
framework to
measure results
and continually
optimize efforts
• Tactic
Measurement
Framework
• Segmentation Strategy
• Contact
Database
Management
• Campaign
Measurement
Framework
• Marketing
Attribution
• Aligned
Measurement
Framework
Who to Target How To Create Demand
How to
Measure
How to Organize

4. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 4
Most Common Targeting Mistakes
Not involving sales in
the development and
evolution
of your targeting
strategy
Ignoring the facts: Do
you have a solution
for them?
Company or
individual focus,
instead of both
Lack of periodic
review
Lack of customized
messages
Quantity over quality
BAD
TARGETING

5. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 5
The SiriusDecisions Relative Targeting Framework
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
Solutions Delta
Domain Knowledge
Messaging
Sales Readiness
Database
INTERNAL
FACTORS
Trend
Category Spend
Offering Use
Competitive Presence

6. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 6
External Factors
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
Trend
Category Spend
Offering Use
Competitive
Presence
Are there trends that will make buyers more
likely to purchase your product?
Is this target segment growing?
Are there regulatory issues?
Are buyers spending money in your
category?
Have they increased or decreased
this spend?
Is the product in question critical to buyers?
Do they tend to view it as a nice-to-have?
Are there multiple strong competitors selling
in this space?
Is competitive presence relatively weak?

7. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 7
Banking
Insurance
Brokerage
External Factors
INTERNAL
FACTORS
Solutions Delta
Domain Knowledge
Messaging
Sales Readiness
Database
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
Trend
Category Spend
Offering Use
Competitive
Presence
Banking
Dormant
Insurance
Brokerage
Banking
Insurance
Brokerage

8. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 8
External Factors Scorecard
ACTIVE NURTURE DORMANT
Key Trends Current trends exist that
indicate likelihood to buy
 We are able to list three or
more trends specific to this
market that we believe will
drive targets to make a
purchase in the short term
 We are able to list one to two
trends specific to this market
that we believe will drive
targets to make a purchase in
the short term
 We cannot list any trends
specific to this market that we
believe will drive targets to
make a purchase in the short
term
Target Health General health of the
target
 Growing  Stable  Shrinking
Pending
Triggers
Are there any pending
triggers that can be
identified in the target
market that will force
targets to purchase
imminently?
 Yes, and we are aware of
their specifics and how our
product/service aligns with
them
 Yes, but we are not aware of
their specifics and how our
product/service aligns with
them
 No
Category
Spend
Has there been an
increase in your product’s
category spend in the past
12 months?
 Moderate to significant  Minimal to moderate  Minimal to none
Leading
Company
Adoption
Has there been adoption
of the solution by leading
companies within the
target market?
 We can identify a number of
industry leaders that have
adopted the solution
 We can identify a few industry
leaders that have adopted the
solution
 We cannot identify industry
leaders that have adopted the
solution
Category
Perception
How your product category
is currently perceived
 Necessary  A nice-to-have  No established perception of
use and importance
Competitive
Presence
Are there existing solutions
and competitors that target
this segment?
 No  Yes, but our offering is
generally accepted to be
superior
 Yes, and our offering is
generally accepted to be
comparable to others
TrendsOfferingUse

9. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 9
Internal Factors
Solutions
Delta
Domain
Knowledge
Messaging
Sales
Readiness
Database
How much of the
problems does
your solution
solve?
What is the gap
of current
offering to meet
the buyer need
fully?
Knowledge of
needs and nuances
of the target?
Are the buyer and
user personas
defined, as well as
buying process and
buyer needs?
For vertical
solutions, is there
industry domain
expertise?
Are the buyer
personas
understood?
Is there specific
messaging by
audience
segment?
Is demand type
understood?
Can the sales
enablement
program be
executed on
(training, tools,
collateral)?
Is the sales force
aligned and
focused?
Do viable
channel partners
exist?
Access to data?
Do you have lists
and data insights
on these prospects
or customers?

10. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 10
Banking
Insurance
Brokerage
Internal Factors
INTERNAL
FACTORS
Solutions Delta
Domain Knowledge
Messaging
Sales Readiness
Database
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
Trend
Category Spend
Offering Use
Competitive
Presence
Banking
Dormant
Insurance
Brokerage
Banking
Insurance
Brokerage
Active
Nurture

11. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 11
Internal Factors Scorecard
ACTIVE NURTURE DORMANT
Solution
Delta
How has the
product/service in question
been designed?
 Our product/service is
designed specifically for the
target market
 Our product/service has been
altered/enhanced
to address needs within
the target
 The product/service is
designed for generic use
across markets
Domain
Knowledge
How knowledgeable are
marketing and sales about
the target?
 We have deep domain
expertise in regard to
the market
 We have limited domain
expertise in regard to the
market
 We have no domain expertise
in regard to the market
Messaging Has your organization
developed specific
messaging that addressed
known needs within the
target?
 Yes, we have a built a
complete messaging
approach for the target
 We haven’t built a messaging
approach, but have the
resources and expertise to do
so
 We haven’t built a messaging
approach, and don’t have the
resources/expertise to do so
Sales
Readiness
How well prepared is the
sales team to sell into the
target?
 The sales force can access
a complete set of tools
and collateral to help
build knowledge and
competency
 The sales force can access
a limited set of tools and
collateral to help build
knowledge and competency
 We cannot identify industry
leaders that have adopted the
solution
Database Do you have the database
capability and/or list
procurement ability/budget
to market to this target?
 We have a significant,
complete number of records
in the market
 We have a significant number
of records, but many are
inaccurate or incomplete
 We have few records in
the target, and it would be
difficult to secure them
from a third party

12. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 12
SiriusPerspective: The type – or types – of demand an organization is trying to create play
a significant role in its approach.
Demand Type Impact on New Market Approach
Established
Market
SiriusDecisions Demand Spectrum
New
Concept
• Disruptive product / service
• No budgetary line item
• Requires issue creation
New
Paradigm
Market Leadership
• Retools existing process
• Solves current problem
better
• Replaces current line item
Process / Solution Change
• Necessary product / service
• Highly contested market
• Trying to steal market share
Competitive Positioning
DEMAND TYPE KEY CHARACTERISTICS KEY REQUIREMENT

13. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 13
Impact of Demand Type on Buying Cycle
Solution
Loosening
of the
Status Quo
Committing
to Change
1. 2.
Education
Exploring
Possible
Solutions
Committing
to a Solution
3. 4.
Justifying
the
Decision
Making the
Selection
5. 6.
Vendor Selection
New Concept
New Paradigm
Established Market

14. Segmentation Strategy Discussion

15. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 15
Guiding Principles
Practically Useful
Homogeneous Populations
Objectively Measurable
and Identifiable

16. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 16
Dimensions – Commonly Used/Easy to Obtain
• Company size
• Geography
• Industry
• Ownership and financial mission
• Types of offerings
• Consumption
• Customer type and purchase patterns

17. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 17
Dimensions – Less Common/More Difficult to Obtain
• Location
• Age
• Technology/systems used
• Buying center attributes
• Credit rating/debt
• Growth rate
• Profitability
• Market position
• Revenue and sales models
• Geographic activity
• Direct vs. indirect
• The company’s customers

18. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 18
Dimensions – Least Common/Most Difficult to Obtain
• Corporate culture
• Technology adoption
• Decision making structure
• Growth strategy
• Corporate governance

19. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 19
Recommended Approaches
• Limit segments to a manageable number
• Don’t attempt to cover everything
• Use criteria that are easy to identify
• Identify segments that are stable
• Look beyond the obvious

20. © 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 20
Thank You – Let’s Keep the Conversation Going!
Julian Archer
Research Director
Demand Creation Strategies
julian.archer@siriusdecisions.com
@JulianArcher
Floriane Malot
Sales – Marketing – Product
Alignment Evangelist – France
Floriane.malot@siriusdecisions.com
@floriane_ma_fr