Though the following blog post speaks about a specific product, I think the underlying insight has potential implications for marketers in a broader context.
Q: As a B2B business if you want to sell a product that is a more efficient work place management system, how do you do it?
Ans 1: By making a great presentation on how MORE efficient it is as opposed to other players?
Ans 2: By trying to convince that a client needs a work place management system (WPMS) by showing some case studies from past clients?
Arguably these might work in the case of those clients that already deploy a WPMS and as a marketer you could come across a a better vendor if you explain them what efficiencies you could bring in and what more costs you could help save and what better value you might help deliver.
But wait, what if this client is someone really big and who has never used any WPMS in the past? And worse still, what if your product is the new kid on the block? A challenge right? Everyone in this equation – you, your product and your customer are new and everything depends on how you would try to frame it, contextualize it, relate it and in summary position it in a more compelling and relevant way.
Though this sounds so obvious, just think about this paradox for a moment.
”a lot of people aren’t willing to embrace that they have a problem unless they also believe that there’s a solution… so part of selling a problem is hinting that there’s a solution that others are using, or is right around the corner.”
I think it’s an amazing insight – an insight on the basis of which roomtag operates as we speak.
“Imagine, for example, getting the data and publishing a list of the top 50 firms, ranked by efficiency of space use. All of a sudden, the bottom half of the list realizes that yes, in fact, they have something that they need to work on. If you knew that your firm was paying twice as much per associate as the competition, you’d realize that there’s a problem.”
Read this post by Seth Godin for further details.
For me this was a great insight about marketing a B2B and also B2C product. Now having read the above and having checked out Seth Godin’s post, what do you have to say about the recent $80 Million Office 2010 Ad Campaign?
Riffs on technology, marketing & culture 