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In This Issue: |
Stage 4 Solutions In Action |
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Client Success Story
Stage 4 Solutions Presents Strategy On A Shoestring
>> Back to List |
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Client Success Story:
Technology Forecasters ("TFI") has engaged Stage 4 Solutions for the past 3 years to conduct an annual
industry benchmarking study for presentation at TFI’s Quarterly Forum for Electronics Manufacturing
Services Providers, OEMs and Suppliers. The study, entitled, 2006 EMS/ODM Industry Financial Benchmarking Report,
provides an in-depth analysis of industry growth rates and changes in operational metrics of the EMS and
ODM industries over the last 3 years.
Each year, Stage 4 Solutions has incorporated new components to the study that have increased the depth of
analysis and usefulness of the research for Electronics Manufacturing Service Providers, Original Design
Manufacturers, OEMs and Suppliers. This year, the Stage 4 Solutions’ team included a detailed discussion of
company classifications and the blending of the EMS and ODM industries. In addition, Stage 4 Solutions
introduced industry scorecards - an invaluable comparison tool - and enhanced financial metrics calculations.
"Stage 4 Solutions brings a wealth of industry expertise, financial analysis strength and an ability to decipher
the industry trends that are most critical for the Technology Forecasters' audience to recognize," says Pamela Gordon,
President of TFI.
Technology Forecasters’ Quarterly Forum attendees provided incredibly positive feedback that the study and
presentation imparted valuable industry knowledge. "Niti Agrawal is an engaging and dynamic speaker who creates
a collaborative exchange of ideas, thoughts and insights. The audience found Niti and the study to be one of
the highlights of the two day conference. We look forward to working with the team again next year",
said Pamela Gordon.
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Stage 4 Solutions Presents |
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On September 15th, Stage 4 Solutions will present at The Women’s Technology Cluster’s 2006 Catalyst Program.
The Catalyst Program prepares entrepreneurs for their fundraising effort and helps them to attract VC investment.
Visit them at
http://www.wtc-sf.org/vc/2006/vc2006_catalyst_tech.html
Stage 4 Solutions has been asked to lead the session on Defining Your Market to help entrepreneurs select and
quantify the market opportunity they address.
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Strategy On A Shoestring |
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Jumpstart your Product & Market Strategy with 6 Targeted Steps
As a product marketing firm, we often work with clients that have a great product or solution,
and customers within a specific vertical market. These clients have received positive results, and they want to
transition their product into new markets or define next generations of their solution. Many clients assume that
creating new market and product strategies takes a lot of time and money, but it doesn’t have to.
Stage 4 Solution’s core strength is in developing these strategies, and we’ve come up with 6 targeted steps to create
successful product and market strategies on a shoestring budget. With a 3 month timeframe and focused internal
resources, or the help of Stage 4 Solutions, these steps can be followed to develop a targeted plan.
Below is a summary of these 6 steps. If you are interested in more detail and information on key resources,
please contact Stage 4 Solutions.
Step 1: Define the Decision Making Criteria: Begin by defining the decision making criteria that the strategy
options will be evaluated against. This is your scorecard with which to compare the strategy options against your preset
company priorities. Areas to consider include:
- Market size
- High customer pain
- Immediate customer need
- Customer allocated IT budget
- Clear problem owner/executive
- Competitive advantage-strategic initiative for customers
- "Fit" with current product line
Step 2: Identify Strategy Options: Your second step is to brainstorm all potential strategy options
being considered. Identify the product and solution as well as target markets, verticals, company size and
the targeted executive within a market. You will typically have several possibilities.
Step 3: Define Target Markets and Competition: Begin with identifying what you already know within each
area, then further define the target markets for each strategic option. Areas to further define include:
- Market size & growth (if known)
- Company business model
- Company size
- Verticals
- Target executive
- Executive pain point
- Value to target market of solving pain point
You’ll then want to identify possible competition for each strategy option. Define the competitors and products,
identify substitute offerings and in-house developed solutions.
Step 4: Investigate/Research the Markets & Competition: In this step you will conduct a "deep-dive"
investigation on the markets and competition. Areas to research include:
- Quantifying the target market size and growth rates
- Identifying the number of target companies
- Learn about the market and industry characteristics
- Conduct competitive analysis
Finding these data elements can be time consuming - especially if the sources of data are not known.
Stage 4 Solutions has put together a list of accessible resources to help you in this process.
Please
click here to request the resource list.
Step 5: Target Customer Interviews: After all of the secondary research is collected and understood,
you need to set up 5-10 target customer interviews for each market or solution you are still considering as options.
You’ll want to target who you would consider a great customer if you were to break into this market segment,
and then identify the target executive. But remember, this is not a sales call! You’ll want to focus on market
research questioning to gather information. We recommend developing a discussion guide to cover key questions
and to keep all interviews consistent. We also recommend using an objective 3rd party to conduct the interviews.
Step 6: Develop Strategy Recommendation: Now that you’ve completed all of this information gathering,
go back to your decision making criteria and compare it against all of the options and research you’ve
pulled together. Rank your strategic options as low, medium and high and evaluate the pro’s, con’s and
risks associated with each strategy option. This analysis will result in a top strategic choice to
pursue - though there are risks and unknowns associated with any strategy.
Your next step is to develop your strategy recommendation and document the strategy in a Marketing Requirements Document.
Define the recommended strategy by including solution capabilities and features, the value proposition
and benefits to customers, target market and executives, the competition and competitive advantage, price,
distribution and sales channels.
Remember that these 6 targeted steps can be executed against with minimal resources and time, but they
require a focused effort to be successful. If you would like help in developing and executing targeted
product and market research, please contact Stage 4 Solutions at (408) 868-9739 -
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