You’ll Never Succeed in a Complex Market Unless You Try These Strategies

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You’ll Never Succeed in a Complex Market Unless You Try These Strategies

By Tim Johnson | Entrepreneur Magazine | Mar 29, 2024

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An issue many marketing teams face today is how to successfully differentiate their company and product suite in a complex and ever-evolving industry. Achieving this differentiation results in multiple benefits, including a shorter sales cycle and higher margins. But success requires taking a new look at all aspects of the company’s brand and marketing program.

According to the author he was thinking about this article last April as he walked through the RSA conference, one of the cybersecurity industry’s flagship events. A remarkable number of companies in different segments of cybersecurity made similar claims, to the point that despite serving a wide range of cybersecurity companies over approximately 25 years, they had difficulty discerning the differences in their value propositions.

There are multiple factors that can cause a marketing team to consider their market a complex one. Three of these include:  the market has multiple, discrete sub-segments; such industries have significant revenue potential, and they are fiercely competitive.

Some approaches to create differentiation are obvious, others are more subtle. In brief, three ways to make your organization stand out in a crowded pack are: define anew who you are, look for competitor weaknesses, and find unmet customer needs.

And then the question becomes how to communicate your organization’s differentiation. Several proven, effective suggestions are:  update your value proposition and ensure it is included prominently in all customer touchpoints; define your market graphically; consider independent testing of your product; keep your messaging simple; and maintain a high profile.

The most obvious benefit of creating differentiation is ensuring customers and prospects understand your value proposition when they are making purchases. Other benefits can include:  better quality leads, reduced sales cycle, higher margins, better recruiting, and more effective fundraising.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. An issue many marketing teams face today is how to successfully differentiate their company and product suite in a complex and ever-evolving industry – a market defined by multiple, discrete sub-segments; but having significant revenue potential, however they are fiercely competitive.
2. Three ways to make your organization stand out in a crowded pack are: define anew who you are, look for competitor weaknesses, and find unmet customer needs.
3. Several proven, effective suggestions on how to communicate your organization’s differentiation are:  update your value proposition and ensure it is included prominently in all customer touchpoints; define your market graphically; consider independent testing of your product; keep your messaging simple; and maintain a high profile.

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Topics:  Growth, Opportunities, Competition, Strategy, Entrepreneurship