I came across a great summary of an all-too-common problem on the MarketCulture blog. The article recommends that companies focus “on a demand that needs to be met (rather) than a tech that needs to be sold.” Well said!
Apple is a great example of what happens when a company switches from product to market focus. Apple started as a product-focused company. And almost disappeared, despite its loyal following among creative types. Its computers were easier to use and better designed, but the mass market who needed easy-to-use computers wasn’t there until later, by which time MS had introduced Windows, washing away Apple’s design superiority. While Apple was still focused on cool product design, MS wooed a broad community of application developers to meet the growing demand for specialized applications. The need was for a broad range of software functionality, and Apple missed that completely.
But Apple learned. When music sharing came along, launching wars between record labels and music enthusiasts, Apple saw the need, and designed around it. This time, Apple focused on the demand side, with savvy marketing and even more savvy ecosystem creation. Significantly, Apple didn’t give up its leading-edge product design competency in order to become market focused.
To all the entrepreneurs with great ideas, and the larger vendors touting product features: Spend time with customers to find out where they really will spend money. Then DO make “products so good they don’t need sales and marketing.” Then market and sell like crazy.
As a follow-up to the previous post, here are some practical differences to keep in mind when planning for solutions marketing.
Solution marketing differs from traditional product marketing. This is a partial list, of course, but 7 is supposed to be a lucky number, right?
- Solutions marketers understand what motives customers to allocate budget within the broader context for a purchase
- Solutions marketing content is focused on the buyer and their objectives, not the product or its features
- Solutions-oriented value propositions focus in on specific use-cases or situations in which the customer is involved.
- The solutions marketing process and programs provide information or resources that are valuable to the customer
- Thought leadership and value creation are critical components of solutions marketing
- Solutions marketing activity often involves collaboration with other companies (see broader context in #1)
- To ensure that all of the above are truly relevant, current, and valuable to your audience, Solutions Marketing must engage the customer in conversation and dialogue at every available opportunity.
Speaking of dialogues, please add to the list with your comments!
by Lilia Shirman on January 27, 2009
in Solutions
Companies used to selling products struggle to shift to “solution selling”. There are lots of obstacles – product-oriented habits, the never-ending argument of “what’s a solution, anyway?” (more on that in a future post), sales reluctance to adopt new techniques, etc. Before we put the big strategy and sales kickoff program in place to “transform Sales”, however, lets first look upstream at marketing.
As any sales approach, solution selling starts with customer-relevant content, programs, and ultimately (we hope) leads. All supplied by marketing. In this case, by Solution Marketing. Understanding how its different from product marketing can pave the way to a smoother transition and solution selling success.
Solutions Marketing is about shifting your perspective and context. A solutions approach to marketing places your offerings within the context of the customers’ broader situation and needs. It starts with the customer and their desired outcomes, instead of with you and your products. (Note – their objective is NOT to buy a product.) Focusing on the customer’s broader context means solution marketing can encompass aspects of the customer’s needs that your own product or service may not solve. The value prop IS the customer’s desired outcome, not your product’s superiority.
Let’s be really clear – “Solution Selling” and “Solution Marketing” are not the same as actually selling and marketing solutions. They are approaches to how your customers become aware of, learn about, interact with, and commit to your business. They don’t require that you actually offer a complete solution – only that you understand the role you play in helping customers achieve their objectives.
Ultimately, solutions marketing must support solution selling. That means giving sales reps and channel partners the knowledge and tools they need to carry the customer-centric view through the entire sales process and beyond.
