introduction to solution marketing (steve robins) productcamp boston may 2013

© 2011 www.SolutionMarketingBlog.com

Introduction to Solution Marketing

Steve Robins May 4, 2013

© 2009-2013 The Solution Marketing Blog

C B O N D limits compe++on company yourself services products


Beyond Products:

Solu+on Marke+ng

THE Solution Marketing Blog

www.SolutionMarketingBlog.com p4 © 2009-2013

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


• 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

What is “it”? Solutions is It.


•  Provide a solution methodology for Marketing

• Discipline, rigor, consistency – best practices


• How: • Solution Marketing

Blog • LinkedIn Group

Steve Robins

�  VP of Marketing, FirstBest Systems

�  10+ years in solution marketing –  Expertise in solution, industry and product

marketing

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

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

�  Inbound Marketing Certified Professional

[email protected]

LinkedIn.com/in/SteveRobins1

Twitter.com/SteveRobins SolutionMarketingBlog.com


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


Beyond Products The Solu)on Impera)ve


Typical Company Wants…

Company

Tech-nology

Customer


What is a Solution Anyways?

so·lu·tion noun \səә-ˈlü-shəәn\

General definition: a: an action or process of solving a

problem b: an answer to a problem

so·lu·tion noun \səә-ˈlü-shəәn\

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

Rel

ativ

e %

of C

usto

mer

s

End of Life Early Life Bowling

Alley

Sources: E.M. Rogers, G. Moore

The Solution Opportunity

Main Street

The Tornado

The Chasm


Solu+on Marke+ng Customer-‐Centric

Marke)ng for Today


What is Solution Marketing?

so·lu·tion mar·ket·ing noun \səә-ˈlü-shəәn\ˈmär-kəә-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 Solu+on Marke+ng Strategy

Discovery

Strategies for: Solu)ons

Educa)on & Engagement Value Access


360o Discovery

What markets and solu0ons should we

target?

What will each solu0on do and include?

How will we educate and engage with poten0al users and buyers?

How will we incorporate and communicate value?

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

solu0on?

Internal • Revenue •  Current offerings •  Core competencies •  Solu4on maturity •  Sales-‐readiness

External

• Under-‐solved challenges

• Top market, solu4on opportuni4es

• Segment size • Market drivers • Compe44on

Solu+on Requirements

•  Use cases •  Revenue •  Business challenges •  Industry/func4on trends

•  Key components •  Buy vs build •  Tes4ng

Persona •  Titles • Business challenges •  Career goals •  Thought process

How to connect •  “Hang-‐outs” – communica4on channels, pubs, trade shows, social media

•  Industry jargon •  Influence levers (ex case studies?)

Value • Before/aRer process • Before/aRer challenge/gain

•  Customer’s value drivers -‐ dollar impact

• ROI •  Purchasing habits, budget

Access • Best channels • Op4mal role of VARs, SIs, direct sales, buying on contract

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

User Personas

Customer Value

Solution Access

Portfolio Strategy

Solution Development


Solution Needs Hierarchy

Components & integra+ons

Business value

Solu+on descrip+on – 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 þ Process þ Content/Data þ Technology þ Services þ


Education & Engagement: Message

Targeted Consistent/ True

$ Value-‐ Driven Jargon Relevant

Insured Agent

Carrier Loss ratio


Education & Engagement: Strategy

Market Educa+on

Market Engagement

Field Enablement/

Sales

Challenge & How to

Fric+onless Sales

Demand Gen

Buy Now!


Tuning the Solution Message

Technical Message

Business Message

GeekSpeak Credible

Does it exist? Vague

High Low

Low

High

B IT Business Mgr.

CFO Janitor

A

“SOA architecture

enables integration with legacy systems”

“Helps your company”

“Shortens mortgage cycle

time”

“Increases profitability”


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

$Dol

lars

Perceived Bene!t

Value

© 2011 www.SolutionMarketingBlog.com

Total Cost


Value = Benefit - TCO

Value-Based Pricing B

usin

ess

Ben

efit

($)

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 func)ons 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 soLware. ”

“ Chris Capossela

Senior Vice President Information Worker Product Management Group , Microsoft

NY Times 8/2/2009




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”


A Cau+onary Tale


Solution Marketing Failure

� Solution –  Don’t give customers what they want

� Education/Engagement –  Blame your offering’s failure on communication instead of admitting it was

just a really bad idea

� Value –  Base your pricing on what works for you, not for customers –  Nearly double prices for your best customers –  Decrease customers’ perceived value of your solution

� Access –  Make it more difficult to do business with you – split your offering into 2

websites –  Dis-incent customers from buying both of your services




� Convenient, inexpensive access to entertainment


BIZ CHALLENGE RESULT SOLUTION


� Inexpensive � All-you-can-eat � Video by mail � New: streaming � New pricing plans, July 2011:

streaming vs. video by mail � Focus on what’s good for Netflix,

not the customer




$494

$544

$594

$644

$694

$744

$794

$844

$894

$944

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

3/2010 6/2010 9/2010 12/2010 3/2011 6/2011 9/2011 12/2011

Rev

enue

($ M

illio

ns)

Subs

crib

ers

(Mill

ions

)

Unique subcribers Revenue Subscriber trend Revenue trend

$75

$107

$155

$176

$238

$263

$113

$69

Stock price Sources: NetFlix, Google



Netflix Dictates Customer Access


Next Steps


Ensure Alignment Throughout the Extended Enterprise

� Goal: Customers get what they were promised � How Do You Achieve This?

–  Consistent messages across entire company and ecosystem –  Sales – longer sales cycles; solution training; specialized sales teams –  Support from engineering/product management, services, tech support, consulting

teams –  Executive support

Customers Suppliers/ Partners

Tech, SI Partners

Front Office Marketing

Sales Service

Back Office

Manufacturing Engineering


Getting Started

1. Begin internal discovery 2. Know the customer 3. Define the business problem 4. Move from feature/benefit à 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

Q & A

Customer ---

Pain Points

Solution

Access Education Engagement

Value

Solution Marketing

Services

Customer ---

Pain Points

Tech-nology

User

Process

Content/ Data

Complete Solution


Thank You

LinkedIn.com/in/SteveRobins1

Twitter.com/SteveRobins SolutionMarketingBlog.com

VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING

Steve robins

www.SolutionMarketingBlog.com


Take the Next Step

Solu+on Marke+ng Pros LinkedIn Group

linkedin.com/groups? gid=1826720

THE Solu+on Marke+ng

Blog

www.Solu+onMarke+ngBlog.com


Beyond Products:

Solu+on Marke+ng

THE Solution Marketing Blog

introduction to solution marketing (steve robins) productcamp boston may 2013

Business

pain points tech

provide strategic guidance

tech companies claim

sells solutions today

solution marketing blog

solution selling methodology

offers complete solutions

ibm industry solutions