AGP Support: Growth Strategy, Market Research
Industry: Technology & Software
Industry: Technology & Software
IoT Prospecting Strategy Development
Client
The global marketing director of an embedded analytics provider saw an opportunity to extend their business into the IoT market.
Situation
An embedded analytics software provider had established a strong position in the e-commerce and finance markets. Recently they had been approached by a growing number of IoT software and integrated solution companies that were seeking an embedded analytics solution. They recognized the growth potential but lacked clarity on how to modify their value proposition and prospecting approach for this new market. In order to enter the IoT market successfully, the marketing director recognized the need to properly segment the market, identify customer requirements, and develop a sales strategy with a supporting communication strategy.
Approach
Asia Growth Partners worked with the marketing and sales teams to define four customer segments based on their unique needs for embedded software solutions: traditional OEMs, digital native OEMs, system integrators, and software vendors. Interviews with potential customers in these segments provided insight into their solution needs and their procurement decision processes. Based on these interviews, we identified typical buyer personas and user personas for each segment.
We next translated our understanding of buyer decision criteria into a sales playbook. This included specific value propositions for each segment, prioritized solution configurations, and customer prospecting kits with customized marketing language. Finally, we identified over 600 potential customers across these segments and tagged them according to size and other characteristics in order to accelerate the development of a sales funnel.
We next translated our understanding of buyer decision criteria into a sales playbook. This included specific value propositions for each segment, prioritized solution configurations, and customer prospecting kits with customized marketing language. Finally, we identified over 600 potential customers across these segments and tagged them according to size and other characteristics in order to accelerate the development of a sales funnel.
- Define customer segments based on their unique needs for embedded software solutions.
- Interview potential customers to gain insight in their solution needs and procurement decision processes.
- Document the typical buyer personas and user personas for each segment.
- Draft the sales playbook with value propositions, solution configurations, and customer prospecting kits.
- Identify potential customers across segments and categorize them by size and characteristics.
Results
- The customer successfully entered the IoT market and has developed it as a key growth pillar. The digital-native OEMs and IoT software providers emerged as particularly attractive markets.
- Following the development of a go-to-market strategy, Asia Growth Partners subsequently supported in building the sales funnel in both the EMEA and APAC markets. This helped the sales teams to quickly identify prospects and understand how selling to IoT solution providers differs from selling to their traditional e-commerce and financial service markets.
