introduction to solution marketing at productcamp connecticut

© 2011

www.SolutionMarketingStrategies.com

Introduction to

Solution Marketing

Steve Robins

October, 2015

www.SolutionMarketingStrategies.com p2 © 2009-2015

What is “it”?

What’s Happening What’s Needed

• Customers want it • Solutions make life easier

• Help customers • But most customers can’t do it on their own

• Technology is increasingly complex and customers lack in-house resources, time, expertise

• Apple, IBM and Chuck e Cheese sell it

• Each offers complete solutions to customers… Apple iPad ecosystem, IBM industry solutions, Chuck e Cheese birthday package • Provide discipline, rigor,

consistency – best practices • Most tech companies

claim to have it • Seems like everyone sells solutions today

• But none of them know what it is

• But there’s not a common definition

• Sales thinks they’re selling it…

• Many sales teams use the Solution Selling methodology

• Help Marketing to work with Sales

• Provide a solution methodology for Marketing

• …but they’re doing it without Marketing.

• But Solution Selling does not provide strategic guidance for Marketing

• It can be confusing • There’s little discipline around solutions • Solution Marketing Blog,

Group, Consulting

“It” = Solutions


What’s Happening What’s Needed

• Customers want it • Solutions make life easier

• Help customers • But most customers can’t do it on their own

• Technology is increasingly complex and customers lack in-house resources, time, expertise

• Apple, IBM and Chuck e Cheese sell it

• Each offers complete solutions to customers… Apple iPad ecosystem, IBM industry solutions, Chuck e Cheese birthday package • Provide discipline, rigor,

consistency – best practices • Most tech companies

claim to have it • Seems like everyone sells solutions today

• But none of them know what it is

• But there’s not a common definition

• Sales thinks they’re selling it…

• Many sales teams use the Solution Selling methodology



• …but they’re doing it without Marketing.

• But Solution Selling does not provide strategic guidance for Marketing

• It can be confusing • There’s little discipline around solutions • Solution Marketing Blog,

Group, Consulting

What is “it”? Solutions is It.



• Discipline, rigor, consistency – best practices


• How:

• Solution Marketing Blog

• Presentations

• LinkedIn Group

Steve Robins

15+ years in solution marketing

– Principal, Solution Marketing Strategies strategic marketing consultancy

– Expertise in solution, industry and product marketing

– Experience: FirstBest Systems, Solution Marketing Strategies, EMC Documentum, KANA, The Yankee Group

– SearchCRM – martech column

Founder, The Solution Marketing Blog, Top-rated solution marketing blog

Inbound Marketing Certified Professional

s.Robins [at] solutionmkt [dot] com

SolutionMarketingStrategies.com

LinkedIn.com/in/SteveRobins1

@SteveRobins

SolutionMarketingBlog.com

techtarget.com/contributor/Steve-Robins

Solution Marketing Pros LinkedIn group

http://www.solutionmarketingstrategies.com/

http://www.techtarget.com/contributor/Steve-Robins






mailto:[email protected]







http://www.linkedin.com/in/SteveRobins1

http://www.twitter.com/SteveRobins


http://www.solutionmarketingblog.com/




https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1826720


Solutions Everywhere

Device

+

Software

+

Content

+

Cloud

Device

+

Software

+

Content

+

Cloud

Kid food

+

Adult food

+

Entertainment

+

Activities

+

Party gifts


Solutions Everywhere


Agenda

Introduction

Beyond products

Solution marketing – Solution

– Education & engagement

– Value

– Access

Building your solution marketing strategy – Discovery

– Strategies for solutions, education & engagement, value, access

– Case studies

Next steps, Q&A

© 2009-2015 Solution Marketing Strategies

Beyond Products The Solution Imperative


Typical Company Wants…

Company

Tech-nology

Customer


What is a Solution Anyways?

so·lu·tion noun \sə-ˈlü-shən\

General definition:

a: an action or process of solving a

problem

b: an answer to a problem

so·lu·tion noun \sə-ˈlü-shən\

Business definition:

A complete and integrated

offering that includes everything

required to solve a customer

problem


Services

Typical Customer Wants…

Customer

---

Pain

Points

Tech-nology

User

Process

Content/ Data

Complete Solution Everything to solve the customer’s problem


Complete Solution

User • User interfaces

• Training

• Support

• Best practices

• Domain expertise

Process • Process optimization

• Reengineering

• Workflow

• Integrated experiences

• ROI studies

• Security

Content/ Data

• Content Documents

Images

Video

Music

Books

• Data

• External data sources

• Data security, data policies

Technology • Hardware/ infrastructure

• Software platforms

• Applications

• Complementary technologies

• Integrations

• Custom coding

Services • Strategy

• Project management

• Risk management

• Custom coding

• Integration services

• Communications services, hosting

• Support


Why Solutions?

Increasing complexity of technology

Limited in-house IT to support systems

Avoid in-house/SI build or integration

Business users drive tech decisions but don’t understand the technology

Mature markets


Why It Matters

Early Adopters

Visionaries

Innovators

Technology

Enthusiasts

Early Majority/

Pragmatists

Late Majority

Conservatives

Laggards

Skeptics

Time

Customers want technology

and performance Customers want solutions and convenience

Rela

tive %

of

Cu

sto

mers

End of Life Early Life Bowling

Alley

Sources: E.M. Rogers, G. Moore

The Solution Opportunity

Main Street

The Tornado

The Chasm


Solution Marketing Customer-Centric

Marketing for Today


What is Solution Marketing?

so·lu·tion mar·ket·ing noun \sə-ˈlü-shən\ˈmär-kə-tiŋ\

The process of defining,

educating, and providing access

to complete and integrated

solutions

that deliver value

by helping customers to solve

their problems.


Solution Marketing Adds Value To Marketing, Sales and Product Management

Frictionless Sales

Social Media

Field Enablement

Marketing Support

Product Management


The 4 P’s – All About the Company

Place

Product

Pro- motion

Price

Company

“Build it and

they will come”

Outbound,

interruption

marketing

Cost-plus;

margin is king

Best channels

for us to sell

the product


Strategy, Metrics

Place

Product

Pro- motion

Price

Company

Solution Marketing – All About the Customer

Customer

---

Pain

Points

Solution

Access Education

Engagement

Value

End-to-End Marketing for Today Customer-Focused Marketing

“How can I solve

my problem?”

“How can I

learn more

about it?”

“How will it help me and

what is my total sacrifice

to get this solution?”

“Where can

I find it?”


Building Your Solution Marketing Strategy

Discovery

Strategies for: Solutions

Education & Engagement Value Access


360o Discovery

What markets and solutions should we

target?

What will each solution do and include?

How will we educate and engage with potential

users and buyers?

How will we incorporate and communicate value?

How would the user/buyer like to buy and use the

solution?

Internal

• Revenue

• Current offerings

• Core competencies

• Solution maturity

• Sales-readiness

External

• Under-solved challenges

• Top market, solution opportunities

• Segment size

• Market drivers

• Competition

Solution Requirements

• Use cases

• Revenue

• Business challenges

• Industry/function trends

• Key components

• Buy vs build

• Testing

Persona

• Titles

• Business challenges

• Career goals

• Thought process

How to connect

• “Hang-outs” – communication channels, pubs, trade shows, social media

• Industry jargon

• Influence levers (ex case studies?)

Value

• Before/after process

• Before/after challenge/gain

• Customer’s value drivers - dollar impact

• ROI

• Purchasing habits, budget

Access

• Best channels

• Optimal role of VARs, SIs, direct sales, buying on contract

• Preferred delivery models… Software? SaaS? Business Process Outsourcing?

User

Personas

Customer

Value

Solution

Access

Portfolio

Strategy

Solution

Development


Solution Needs Hierarchy

Components & integrations

Business value

Solution description – what it does

Target audience and business problem

Intelligence: templates,

rules etc

Mature

Less

Mature

2

3

5

1

4


Solution Strategy

• General strategy: • Target markets/functions, solutions

• Solution maturity

• Partner

• Buy vs build

• Completeness: Platform > Framework > Templates > Application

• Portfolio management • Revenue goals

• Cross-functional team

• Metrics for success

• Cross-functional alignment, organizational support • Development/engineering/product management

• Channel/SI partners

• Marketing

• Sales

• Support

• Services


BIZ CHALLENGE SOLUTION

PowerAdvocate Offers Complete Solutions

Business challenge: Optimize procurement in the energy sector (power plants)

Company challenge: Differentiate the company from larger players like Ariba


BIZ CHALLENGE SOLUTION

PowerAdvocate Offers Complete Solutions

Products: SaaS solutions for procurement spend, cost, market, sourcing

Services: Industry experts provide services to lower costs

Data: Market-specific procurement data and analysis

Differentiator: industry-specific data

Solution Assessment

User

Process

Content/Data

Technology

Services


Education & Engagement: Message

Targeted Consistent/

True

$

Value- Driven Jargon Relevant

Insured Agent

Carrier Loss ratio


Education & Engagement: Strategy

Market Education

Market Engagement

Field Enablement/

Sales

Challenge & How to

Frictionless Sales

Demand Gen

Buy Now!


Value = Benefit - Cost

Benefits (Improvement)

Profit, expense, revenue drivers

New business

Time savings

Productivity improvement

Headcount reduction

Soft benefits

Total Cost of Ownership

External…

– Software

– Hardware

– Services

Internal… – Training

– Change management

– Desktop upgrades

– IT management

Value to the user

or buyer

$D

oll

ars

Perceived

Benefit

Value

© 2011 www.SolutionMarketingBlog.com

Total

Cost


Value = Benefit - TCO

Value-Based Pricing B

usin

ess B

en

efi

t ($

)

C B A

Poor Value

Unneeded

features

Fair Value

Price matches

benefit

High Value

Lost software

revenue

Assume that vendor charges fair price

for features provided

D

Customer

Benefit

Fair Value

Price matches

benefit

Lost revenue

Unneeded features

Customer

Benefit

Customer

Benefit Customer

Benefit

Price

Solution use-case drives benefit and value


BIZ CHALLENGE SOLUTION RESULT

Microsoft SharePoint Delivers Value with 50% of the features

Share information with other people in the enterprise


BIZ CHALLENGE RESULT SOLUTION


We don’t claim we do everything. If we do 50 percent of the functions that these other companies do, but they’re the ones customers really want, that’s fine. The magic is that end users actually like to use the software. ”

“ Chris Capossela

Senior Vice President

Information Worker Product Management Group , Microsoft

NY Times 8/2/2009


BIZ CHALLENGE SOLUTION RESULT


Significant growth at expense of mainstream ECM vendors

Lesson: Customers gain value by buying only the features they need

E


Access

Be flexible

Provide seamless experience

Enable frictionless sales

Complete/close the sale quickly

Ensure success thru “the last mile”


Next Steps


Getting Started

1. Begin internal discovery

2. Know the customer

3. Define the business problem

4. Move from feature/benefit business value

5. Think about solution completeness

6. Bonus: how are market/tech forces changing solution requirements?


Strategy, Metrics

Place

Product

Pro- motion

Price

Company

Solution Marketing Strategies

Solution Marketing Frameworks™

Customer

---

Pain

Points

Solution

Access Education

Engagement

Value

Solution Marketing

Services

Customer

---

Pain

Points

Tech-nology

User

Process

Content/ Data

Complete Solution


Thank You

Steve Robins Principal / Consultant Solution Marketing Strategies

www.SolutionMarketingStrategies.com

s.Robins [at] solutionmkt [dot] com

SolutionMarketingStrategies.com

LinkedIn.com/in/SteveRobins1

@SteveRobins

SolutionMarketingBlog.com

techtarget.com/contributor/Steve-Robins

Solution Marketing Pros LinkedIn group










http://www.linkedin.com/in/SteveRobins1







https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=1826720