Add Skills - Create Platform for Growth

A team with the needed skills and experience are a necessary platform to enable growth. Skills including Sales Management, Account Management, Product Management, Product Marketing, Marketing Communications and Project Management.

Enter Markets - Begin and Establish Growth

To achieve growth by Entering New Markets requires an understanding of the needs of target customer segment,A Value Proposition, a High Performance Go To Market Team, build Customer Relationships and generate Revenue streams to hit the require targets.

Diagnosis will determine the current status of the organisation and determine the detail of the solution required. An early stage organisation may only have a product in the lab and wish to take it to market. It will therefore have a requirement for all elements outlined above. A more mature organisation may have the product developed and a sales strategy in place with some early sales efforts. It will require the creation of a professional high performance sales team and the subsequent acquisition of customers that will become the first reference customers.

This is simplified to aid communication. Many more options would be evaluated an discussed during solution design.

Develop Markets - Optimize Growth

To achieve improved performance from existing markets first requires a thorough diagnosis to determine existing status and the specific challenges. This diagnosis will consider Sales Strategy, Sales Team and ability to Win New Accounts but also ensuring that the Value Proposition is delivered and Positive References exist and are utilised. It is important not to make assumptions such that a solid platform is created for the subsequent solution that is then developed to deliver business growth.

Diagnose the skills necessary and available to create and deliver solutions for growth. Build a clear profile of requirements and a plan to acquire. The skills required may include:

• Sales Management
• Account Management,
• Business Development,
• Product Management
• Product Marketing
• Marketing Communications
• Project Management
• Leadership

It may be that interim skills are required as the skills required for new market entry may be different to those required when in the relative status quo of the mainstream market.

Growth from new market entry is built on a clear understanding of specific customer needs.

To better satisfy customers, customers are grouped into segments with common profiles. Normally a business will target certain segments and ignore others. A customer profile must include:

• The customer needs and the distinct offer required
• What channel is required to reach them
• What relationship do they require, what buying process do they employ
• What is the likely profitability
• What are they willing to pay for different aspects of the offer

The Early market is characterised by early adopters and innovators and will accept a more technical sale. The segment is not very profitable but acts as a necessary base from which to enter the profitable Mainstream market.

A Value proposition describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific customer segment. It is why customers turn to one company over another.

It solves a customer problem or satisfies a customer need. A Value proposition is an aggregation or bundle, of benefits that a company offers customers

What value does it offer the customer. It may be quantitative (e.g. price, cost reduction, risk reduction) or qualitative (e.g. design, customer experience, convenience).

It may be developed totally in house or it may be a combination of in house and external products and services. It may require completely new development or may be need the configuration and assembly of existing units.

It is a complex undertaking and often requires a combination of skills and inputs with constant customer communication and feedback.

A Product manager often is designated to create a plan and execute using project management techniques. But in cases where a bespoke solution is being created for a customer this may well be lead by an Account Director or manager with project management assistance.

The Go To Market Team will include sales and marketing and potentially external channel partners. It may include both field sales and telephone or online sales. A direct sales team is an expensive undertaking and implementation will combine Leadership, Hiring the right sales people, a scalable Sales Model and Reward System to create a high performance sales culture.

The Go To Market Team provide the customer touch points that play an important role in the customer experience. It forms several functions:

• Raising awareness among customers about a company's products and services in the company's value proposition
• Helping customers evaluate a company's Value Proposition
• Allowing customers to purchase specific products and services
• Delivering a Value Proposition to customers
• Providing post-purchase customer support

What type of relationship is required to be formed with the target customer segment? This can range from personal to automated. The customer relationship may be driven by different motivations and objectives:

• Acquire Customers
• Retain Customers
• Upsell to customers

It is normal to break down the sales process and allocate to specific teams. Specifically thsale of complex solutions will be largely assumed and the the creation of an ability to win New Major Accounts to break into new markets and territories.

An objective will be to create repeatable positive references.

Diagnose the problems or the possibilities for optimization in an existing business. This diagnosis will consider:

• Understanding of Customer Need
• Value Proposition and comparison to competition
• Go To Market Team efficiency and effectiveness
• Ability to Build Customer Relationships and Win New Accounts
• Revenue Streams - Size, Pipeline, Forecast, Profitability etc.

Subsequently, a Development Solution will be created to improve or turnaround.