saas gtm blueprint
DESCRIPTION
Exploit the SaaS window of opportunity. What are the barriers to moving to the cloud? Platform, Processes or People? Clearly at least to some degree all 3 play a role in a successful migration. As with any change initiative getting people fully on board and sharing a common vision of the future is vital and that means migrating mindsets and behaviours to ensure successful deployment and effective usage across the organsation.TRANSCRIPT
The SaaS windowof opportunity
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How do you get there?
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Create a GTM Blueprint
Rethink your business
Identify barriers to entry
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The Brain
Change your thinking
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8
1. Limiting beliefs
2. Constraint-based thinking
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Playful thinking
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Recognise the past
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13
Focus on the future
3 Time Horizons:
Paint a compelling picture
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Create a Value Innovation Curve
Target key customer groups
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18
Buyer Personas
Messaging and positioning
Mural’s 8 Key Success Factors
SaaS GTM Key Success Factors
Level
Competitive
Differentiation Messaging & Positioning Packaging & Pricing Web-Driven Demand Generation
Online Customer
Experience
Direct/Indirect Sales
Process
Organizational
Effectiveness Focus & Behavior
5
(Optimized)
Provider has created true Blue
Ocean (aka uncontested market
space) by differentiating along a
unique axis that reaches beyond
current market boundaries and
existing demand
Vertical (e.g. Real Estate),
Horizontal specialization (e.g.
Finance), or other micro-market
specific positioning. User focus
groups or surveys are pro-actively
used to incorporate customer
feedback into product life-cycle.
Micro-market specific
packaging/bundling of service
with vertically focused add-ons.
Market research used to
understand customer price-point
sensitivities.
Micro-market sales sites for
specific vertical markets (e.g. real-
estate). Fully integrated PPC/SEO
and pro-active analysis of web-
analytics
Micro-market specific demand
generation campaigns with
integration across all forms of
demand generation (e.g. PPC,
Banner Ads, email, direct mail,
print)
Integrated up-sell and cross-sell
activities into customer "control
panel". Pro-active and ongoing
customer feedback management
(surveys of customer panels by
segment to assess overall
customer experience, satisfaction,
and future needs).
Vertical or micro-market focused
channel partners with lead flow
integrated into micro-marketing
campaigns. Channel partner
branded sales sites. Integration of
channel partner into knowledge
base, live chat, etc.
Organization is designed and
internally aligned for change.
Specific processes for continuous
improvement. Healthy balance of
management (stability) and
leadership (fostering change).
Target Market
Focused w/
Continuous
Improvement
4
(Competitive)
Provider has differentiated with a
vertical market focus with vertical
(or micro-market) specific add-on
capabilities/features.
Best Practice positioning based
on a well-defined messaging &
position framework (see
template). Customer centric
positioning that blends customer-
benefit as the solution for the
customer pain point/problem.
Some type of unique
differentiation of packaging or
pricing that sets the provider apart
of the reset of the pack.
Differentiated sub-sites and/or
landing pages aligned with best-
practice positioning of value
proposition according to
messaging & positioning
framework
Demand generation campaigns
drive to a specific sub-site or
landing page. All campaign
activities are well coordinated and
integrated. Pro-active PPC/SEO
campaign management with
periodic (e.g. bi-weekly)
refinement.
Integrated online knowledge-base
and live-chat for both sales
support and post-sales support.
Pro-active email communication
during first 30-60 days provides
training, tips, tricks, etc.
Integrated lead/opportunity flow
for channel partners. Mature
process for lead qualification and
routing of leads. Customer
segmentation and qualification
"drives" the opportunity
management. Willing to "walk
away" from bad opportunities.
Strong executive sponsorship for
improving existing offerings and
adding new value-added service
offerings. Proven organizational
agility and rapid time-to-market in
response to competitive threats.
Transition Phase -
Focused on
Competitive
Differentiation &
Discrete
Improvements
3
(Predictable)
Provider has differentiated from
the competition by bundling
additional services or capabilities
not offered by the competition.
Customer centric positioning with
Benefits (e.g. Anytime, Anywhere
access), then supporting benefits
points, then features as
appropriate. Consistent
application of messaging
throughout ALL collateral.
Small number (2-3) of different
customer/user "plans" that align
correctly with end-user or
customer personas. Value
differentiation between different
price plans is clear and
significant.
Best-practice site that allows
customers to 1) Search; 2) Find;
3) Self Qualify; 4) Try (Free Trial
where possible); 5) Make the
buying decision; 6) Buy; 7)
Activate. Web-site is the focal
point of the business.
Makes use of pro-active
PPC/SEO campaigns. All demand
generation activities lead to one
place -- the web-site.
Self-guided sales experience,
self-admin capabilities, no barriers
to sale via web, or phone. Easy
signup and activation.
Pro-active management of direct
sales, inside sales, and channel
partners. Focus on customer
segmentation and lead
qualification. Pro-active training.
Overlay sales team with deep
solution expertise supports all
channels.
Organizational alignment around
business objectives and customer
needs. Organizational ability to
repeatedly follow a relatively short
and defined life-cycle for the
successful introduction of new or
revised product offerings.
End-Customer
Focused &
Service-Driven
2
(Inhibited)
Provider's offering is functionaly
equivalent to that of other
providers, resulting in a "my
feature X beats your feature X"
competitive differentiation tactic,
but ultimately resulting in a price-
competitive sale.
Still product and feature centric
positioning with progress towards
customer-centric benefits
positioning. Typically a lack of
consistent application of
messaging across all channels
and collateral.
Competitive pricing and correct
packaging, but actively working to
eliminate other inhibitors (e.g.
contract minimums).
Customers can search, find, and
buy. Provider is actively working
to ensure that all of the
information required to make a
successful buying decision is on
the site and correctly presented,
eliminating any final inhibitors to
selling.
PPC/SEO and other demand
generation capabilities are
leveraged, but with some
inhibiting factors that limit their
effectiveness (e.g. mismatch
between PPC terms and landing
page positioning). Active progress
is being made to eliminate
remaining inhibitors.
Self-guided signup, support,
and/or self-administration but
inhibited in some way -- e.g.
overly complex registration
process, complex activation.
Active progress is being made to
eliminate remaining inhibitors.
Direct Sales, indirect channels,
telesales, but with ineffective
processes for lead qualification
and routing of leads to "best
qualified" channel. Provider is
actively working to train sales and
revise processes to improve
effectiveness.
Good executive leadership in
place and committed to drive
change and improve business
performance by driving
improvements in accordance with
the "key success factors". Transition Phase -
Focused on Initial
Change
1
(Ineffective)
Provider is offering the exact
same service offering as other
providers (perhaps based on
third-party technologies) with no
opportunity for true differentiation,
resulting in a Red Ocean in which
the only remaining competetive
differentiator is price.
Positioning is completely product
and feature centric. Positioning is
effective only for customers who
already know what they need and
are already familiar with the
specific application domain.
Typically characterized by
uncompetitive pricing, minimum
contract terms, minimum # of
users, confusing pricing, too many
tiers of service, multiple tiers
instead of "add-on" options.
Customers are unable to find
offering, presentation is confusing,
no online self-subscription is
available.
No PPC/SEO campaigns. Other
demand generation activities (e.g.
Print ads, direct mail, etc) do not
leverage the web-site.
No self-signup capability, direct
sales interaction required. No
offering self-administration.
Direct sales only. No pro-active
lead qualification. No customer
segmentation by size or industry.
Characterized by tendancy to
focus too far up-market. Long
sales cycles. Lack of "solution
specialist" capability results in
inability to overcome common
objections.
Ad-hoc organizational and
departmental behaviors with a
lack of internal alignment towards
achieving a common vision or
business objectives.Product-
Dependent Focus
& Ad-Hoc Behavior
The Mural KSF’s in Action
Level
Competitive
Differentiation Messaging & Positioning Packaging & Pricing Web-Driven Demand Generation
Online Customer
Experience
Direct/Indirect Sales
Process
Organizational
Effectiveness Focus & Behavior
5
(Optimized)
Provider has created true Blue
Ocean (aka uncontested market
space) by differentiating along a
unique axis that reaches beyond
current market boundaries and
existing demand
Vertical (e.g. Real Estate),
Horizontal specialization (e.g.
Finance), or other micro-market
specific positioning. User focus
groups or surveys are pro-actively
used to incorporate customer
feedback into product life-cycle.
Micro-market specific
packaging/bundling of service
with vertically focused add-ons.
Market research used to
understand customer price-point
sensitivities.
Micro-market sales sites for
specific vertical markets (e.g. real-
estate). Fully integrated PPC/SEO
and pro-active analysis of web-
analytics
Micro-market specific demand
generation campaigns with
integration across all forms of
demand generation (e.g. PPC,
Banner Ads, email, direct mail,
print)
Integrated up-sell and cross-sell
activities into customer "control
panel". Pro-active and ongoing
customer feedback management
(surveys of customer panels by
segment to assess overall
customer experience, satisfaction,
and future needs).
Vertical or micro-market focused
channel partners with lead flow
integrated into micro-marketing
campaigns. Channel partner
branded sales sites. Integration of
channel partner into knowledge
base, live chat, etc.
Organization is designed and
internally aligned for change.
Specific processes for continuous
improvement. Healthy balance of
management (stability) and
leadership (fostering change).
Target Market
Focused w/
Continuous
Improvement
4
(Competitive)
Provider has differentiated with a
vertical market focus with vertical
(or micro-market) specific add-on
capabilities/features.
Best Practice positioning based
on a well-defined messaging &
position framework (see
template). Customer centric
positioning that blends customer-
benefit as the solution for the
customer pain point/problem.
Some type of unique
differentiation of packaging or
pricing that sets the provider apart
of the reset of the pack.
Differentiated sub-sites and/or
landing pages aligned with best-
practice positioning of value
proposition according to
messaging & positioning
framework
Demand generation campaigns
drive to a specific sub-site or
landing page. All campaign
activities are well coordinated and
integrated. Pro-active PPC/SEO
campaign management with
periodic (e.g. bi-weekly)
refinement.
Integrated online knowledge-base
and live-chat for both sales
support and post-sales support.
Pro-active email communication
during first 30-60 days provides
training, tips, tricks, etc.
Integrated lead/opportunity flow
for channel partners. Mature
process for lead qualification and
routing of leads. Customer
segmentation and qualification
"drives" the opportunity
management. Willing to "walk
away" from bad opportunities.
Strong executive sponsorship for
improving existing offerings and
adding new value-added service
offerings. Proven organizational
agility and rapid time-to-market in
response to competitive threats.
Transition Phase -
Focused on
Competitive
Differentiation &
Discrete
Improvements
3
(Predictable)
Provider has differentiated from
the competition by bundling
additional services or capabilities
not offered by the competition.
Customer centric positioning with
Benefits (e.g. Anytime, Anywhere
access), then supporting benefits
points, then features as
appropriate. Consistent
application of messaging
throughout ALL collateral.
Small number (2-3) of different
customer/user "plans" that align
correctly with end-user or
customer personas. Value
differentiation between different
price plans is clear and
significant.
Best-practice site that allows
customers to 1) Search; 2) Find;
3) Self Qualify; 4) Try (Free Trial
where possible); 5) Make the
buying decision; 6) Buy; 7)
Activate. Web-site is the focal
point of the business.
Makes use of pro-active
PPC/SEO campaigns. All demand
generation activities lead to one
place -- the web-site.
Self-guided sales experience, self-
admin capabilities, no barriers to
sale via web, or phone. Easy
signup and activation.
Pro-active management of direct
sales, inside sales, and channel
partners. Focus on customer
segmentation and lead
qualification. Pro-active training.
Overlay sales team with deep
solution expertise supports all
channels.
Organizational alignment around
business objectives and customer
needs. Organizational ability to
repeatedly follow a relatively short
and defined life-cycle for the
successful introduction of new or
revised product offerings.
End-Customer
Focused & Service-
Driven
2
(Inhibited)
Provider's offering is functionaly
equivalent to that of other
providers, resulting in a "my
feature X beats your feature X"
competitive differentiation tactic,
but ultimately resulting in a price-
competitive sale.
Still product and feature centric
positioning with progress towards
customer-centric benefits
positioning. Typically a lack of
consistent application of
messaging across all channels
and collateral.
Competitive pricing and correct
packaging, but actively working to
eliminate other inhibitors (e.g.
contract minimums).
Customers can search, find, and
buy. Provider is actively working
to ensure that all of the
information required to make a
successful buying decision is on
the site and correctly presented,
eliminating any final inhibitors to
selling.
PPC/SEO and other demand
generation capabilities are
leveraged, but with some
inhibiting factors that limit their
effectiveness (e.g. mismatch
between PPC terms and landing
page positioning). Active progress
is being made to eliminate
remaining inhibitors
Self-guided signup, support,
and/or self-administration but
inhibited in some way -- e.g.
overly complex registration
process, complex activation.
Active progress is being made to
eliminate remaining inhibitors.
Direct Sales, indirect channels,
telesales, but with ineffective
processes for lead qualification
and routing of leads to "best
qualified" channel. Provider is
actively working to train sales and
revise processes to improve
effectiveness.
Good executive leadership in
place and committed to drive
change and improve business
performance by driving
improvements in accordance with
the "key success factors".
Transition Phase -
Focused on Initial
Change
1
(Ineffective)
Provider is offering the exact
same service offering as other
providers (perhaps based on third-
party technologies) with no
opportunity for true differentiation,
resulting in a Red Ocean in which
the only remaining competetive
differentiator is price.
Positioning is completely product
and feature centric. Positioning is
effective only for customers who
already know what they need and
are already familiar with the
specific application domain.
Typically characterized by
uncompetitive pricing, minimum
contract terms, minimum # of
users, confusing pricing, too many
tiers of service, multiple tiers
instead of "add-on" options.
Customers are unable to find
offering, presentation is
confusing, no online self-
subscription is available.
No PPC/SEO campaigns. Other
demand generation activities (e.g.
Print ads, direct mail, etc) do not
leverage the web-site.
No self-signup capability, direct
sales interaction required. No
offering self-administration.
Direct sales only. No pro-active
lead qualification. No customer
segmentation by size or industry.
Characterized by tendancy to
focus too far up-market. Long
sales cycles. Lack of "solution
specialist" capability results in
inability to overcome common ob
Ad-hoc organizational and
departmental behaviors with a
lack of internal alignment towards
achieving a common vision or
business objectives.
Product-Dependent
Focus & Ad-Hoc
Behavior
Mural's SaaS Key Success Factors ©
2 + 6 m.
Level
Competitive
Differentiation Messaging & Positioning Packaging & Pricing Web-Driven Demand Generation
Online Customer
Experience
Direct/Indirect Sales
Process
Organizational
Effectiveness Focus & Behavior
5
(Optimized)
Provider has created true Blue
Ocean (aka uncontested market
space) by differentiating along a
unique axis that reaches beyond
current market boundaries and
existing demand
Vertical (e.g. Real Estate),
Horizontal specialization (e.g.
Finance), or other micro-market
specific positioning. User focus
groups or surveys are pro-actively
used to incorporate customer
feedback into product life-cycle.
Micro-market specific
packaging/bundling of service
with vertically focused add-ons.
Market research used to
understand customer price-point
sensitivities.
Micro-market sales sites for
specific vertical markets (e.g. real-
estate). Fully integrated PPC/SEO
and pro-active analysis of web-
analytics
Micro-market specific demand
generation campaigns with
integration across all forms of
demand generation (e.g. PPC,
Banner Ads, email, direct mail,
print)
Integrated up-sell and cross-sell
activities into customer "control
panel". Pro-active and ongoing
customer feedback management
(surveys of customer panels by
segment to assess overall
customer experience, satisfaction,
and future needs).
Vertical or micro-market focused
channel partners with lead flow
integrated into micro-marketing
campaigns. Channel partner
branded sales sites. Integration of
channel partner into knowledge
base, live chat, etc.
Organization is designed and
internally aligned for change.
Specific processes for continuous
improvement. Healthy balance of
management (stability) and
leadership (fostering change).
Target Market
Focused w/
Continuous
Improvement
4
(Competitive)
Provider has differentiated with a
vertical market focus with vertical
(or micro-market) specific add-on
capabilities/features.
Best Practice positioning based
on a well-defined messaging &
position framework (see
template). Customer centric
positioning that blends customer-
benefit as the solution for the
customer pain point/problem.
Some type of unique
differentiation of packaging or
pricing that sets the provider apart
of the reset of the pack.
Differentiated sub-sites and/or
landing pages aligned with best-
practice positioning of value
proposition according to
messaging & positioning
framework
Demand generation campaigns
drive to a specific sub-site or
landing page. All campaign
activities are well coordinated and
integrated. Pro-active PPC/SEO
campaign management with
periodic (e.g. bi-weekly)
refinement.
Integrated online knowledge-base
and live-chat for both sales
support and post-sales support.
Pro-active email communication
during first 30-60 days provides
training, tips, tricks, etc.
Integrated lead/opportunity flow
for channel partners. Mature
process for lead qualification and
routing of leads. Customer
segmentation and qualification
"drives" the opportunity
management. Willing to "walk
away" from bad opportunities.
Strong executive sponsorship for
improving existing offerings and
adding new value-added service
offerings. Proven organizational
agility and rapid time-to-market in
response to competitive threats.
Transition Phase -
Focused on
Competitive
Differentiation &
Discrete
Improvements
3
(Predictable)
Provider has differentiated from
the competition by bundling
additional services or capabilities
not offered by the competition.
Customer centric positioning with
Benefits (e.g. Anytime, Anywhere
access), then supporting benefits
points, then features as
appropriate. Consistent
application of messaging
throughout ALL collateral.
Small number (2-3) of different
customer/user "plans" that align
correctly with end-user or
customer personas. Value
differentiation between different
price plans is clear and
significant.
Best-practice site that allows
customers to 1) Search; 2) Find;
3) Self Qualify; 4) Try (Free Trial
where possible); 5) Make the
buying decision; 6) Buy; 7)
Activate. Web-site is the focal
point of the business.
Makes use of pro-active
PPC/SEO campaigns. All demand
generation activities lead to one
place -- the web-site.
Self-guided sales experience, self-
admin capabilities, no barriers to
sale via web, or phone. Easy
signup and activation.
Pro-active management of direct
sales, inside sales, and channel
partners. Focus on customer
segmentation and lead
qualification. Pro-active training.
Overlay sales team with deep
solution expertise supports all
channels.
Organizational alignment around
business objectives and customer
needs. Organizational ability to
repeatedly follow a relatively short
and defined life-cycle for the
successful introduction of new or
revised product offerings.
End-Customer
Focused & Service-
Driven
2
(Inhibited)
Provider's offering is functionaly
equivalent to that of other
providers, resulting in a "my
feature X beats your feature X"
competitive differentiation tactic,
but ultimately resulting in a price-
competitive sale.
Still product and feature centric
positioning with progress towards
customer-centric benefits
positioning. Typically a lack of
consistent application of
messaging across all channels
and collateral.
Competitive pricing and correct
packaging, but actively working to
eliminate other inhibitors (e.g.
contract minimums).
Customers can search, find, and
buy. Provider is actively working
to ensure that all of the
information required to make a
successful buying decision is on
the site and correctly presented,
eliminating any final inhibitors to
selling.
PPC/SEO and other demand
generation capabilities are
leveraged, but with some
inhibiting factors that limit their
effectiveness (e.g. mismatch
between PPC terms and landing
page positioning). Active progress
is being made to eliminate
remaining inhibitors
Self-guided signup, support,
and/or self-administration but
inhibited in some way -- e.g.
overly complex registration
process, complex activation.
Active progress is being made to
eliminate remaining inhibitors.
Direct Sales, indirect channels,
telesales, but with ineffective
processes for lead qualification
and routing of leads to "best
qualified" channel. Provider is
actively working to train sales and
revise processes to improve
effectiveness.
Good executive leadership in
place and committed to drive
change and improve business
performance by driving
improvements in accordance with
the "key success factors".
Transition Phase -
Focused on Initial
Change
1
(Ineffective)
Provider is offering the exact
same service offering as other
providers (perhaps based on third-
party technologies) with no
opportunity for true differentiation,
resulting in a Red Ocean in which
the only remaining competetive
differentiator is price.
Positioning is completely product
and feature centric. Positioning is
effective only for customers who
already know what they need and
are already familiar with the
specific application domain.
Typically characterized by
uncompetitive pricing, minimum
contract terms, minimum # of
users, confusing pricing, too many
tiers of service, multiple tiers
instead of "add-on" options.
Customers are unable to find
offering, presentation is
confusing, no online self-
subscription is available.
No PPC/SEO campaigns. Other
demand generation activities (e.g.
Print ads, direct mail, etc) do not
leverage the web-site.
No self-signup capability, direct
sales interaction required. No
offering self-administration.
Direct sales only. No pro-active
lead qualification. No customer
segmentation by size or industry.
Characterized by tendancy to
focus too far up-market. Long
sales cycles. Lack of "solution
specialist" capability results in
inability to overcome common ob
Ad-hoc organizational and
departmental behaviors with a
lack of internal alignment towards
achieving a common vision or
business objectives.
Product-Dependent
Focus & Ad-Hoc
Behavior
Mural's SaaS Key Success Factors ©
3 + 12 m.
1. Take the Mural KSFs and refine them based on the type of provider (pure play, hosters, telcos) and specific environment.
2. Implement changes against each KSF based on the provider’s current target customer (SMB, Enterprise, Consumer) and product portfolio.
3. Evaluate product additions and updates to fill gaps and enhance differentiation in the market.
4. Translate lessons-learned from the current target customer to alternate markets/customers and channels.
Level
Competitive
Differentiation Messaging & Positioning Packaging & Pricing Web-Driven Demand Generation
Online Customer
Experience
Direct/Indirect Sales
Process
Organizational
Effectiveness Focus & Behavior
5
(Optimized)
Provider has created true Blue
Ocean (aka uncontested market
space) by differentiating along a
unique axis that reaches beyond
current market boundaries and
existing demand
Vertical (e.g. Real Estate),
Horizontal specialization (e.g.
Finance), or other micro-market
specific positioning. User focus
groups or surveys are pro-actively
used to incorporate customer
feedback into product life-cycle.
Micro-market specific
packaging/bundling of service
with vertically focused add-ons.
Market research used to
understand customer price-point
sensitivities.
Micro-market sales sites for
specific vertical markets (e.g. real-
estate). Fully integrated PPC/SEO
and pro-active analysis of web-
analytics
Micro-market specific demand
generation campaigns with
integration across all forms of
demand generation (e.g. PPC,
Banner Ads, email, direct mail,
print)
Integrated up-sell and cross-sell
activities into customer "control
panel". Pro-active and ongoing
customer feedback management
(surveys of customer panels by
segment to assess overall
customer experience, satisfaction,
and future needs).
Vertical or micro-market focused
channel partners with lead flow
integrated into micro-marketing
campaigns. Channel partner
branded sales sites. Integration of
channel partner into knowledge
base, live chat, etc.
Organization is designed and
internally aligned for change.
Specific processes for continuous
improvement. Healthy balance of
management (stability) and
leadership (fostering change).
Target Market
Focused w/
Continuous
Improvement
4
(Competitive)
Provider has differentiated with a
vertical market focus with vertical
(or micro-market) specific add-on
capabilities/features.
Best Practice positioning based
on a well-defined messaging &
position framework (see
template). Customer centric
positioning that blends customer-
benefit as the solution for the
customer pain point/problem.
Some type of unique
differentiation of packaging or
pricing that sets the provider apart
of the reset of the pack.
Differentiated sub-sites and/or
landing pages aligned with best-
practice positioning of value
proposition according to
messaging & positioning
framework
Demand generation campaigns
drive to a specific sub-site or
landing page. All campaign
activities are well coordinated and
integrated. Pro-active PPC/SEO
campaign management with
periodic (e.g. bi-weekly)
refinement.
Integrated online knowledge-base
and live-chat for both sales
support and post-sales support.
Pro-active email communication
during first 30-60 days provides
training, tips, tricks, etc.
Integrated lead/opportunity flow
for channel partners. Mature
process for lead qualification and
routing of leads. Customer
segmentation and qualification
"drives" the opportunity
management. Willing to "walk
away" from bad opportunities.
Strong executive sponsorship for
improving existing offerings and
adding new value-added service
offerings. Proven organizational
agility and rapid time-to-market in
response to competitive threats.
Transition Phase -
Focused on
Competitive
Differentiation &
Discrete
Improvements
3
(Predictable)
Provider has differentiated from
the competition by bundling
additional services or capabilities
not offered by the competition.
Customer centric positioning with
Benefits (e.g. Anytime, Anywhere
access), then supporting benefits
points, then features as
appropriate. Consistent
application of messaging
throughout ALL collateral.
Small number (2-3) of different
customer/user "plans" that align
correctly with end-user or
customer personas. Value
differentiation between different
price plans is clear and
significant.
Best-practice site that allows
customers to 1) Search; 2) Find;
3) Self Qualify; 4) Try (Free Trial
where possible); 5) Make the
buying decision; 6) Buy; 7)
Activate. Web-site is the focal
point of the business.
Makes use of pro-active
PPC/SEO campaigns. All demand
generation activities lead to one
place -- the web-site.
Self-guided sales experience, self-
admin capabilities, no barriers to
sale via web, or phone. Easy
signup and activation.
Pro-active management of direct
sales, inside sales, and channel
partners. Focus on customer
segmentation and lead
qualification. Pro-active training.
Overlay sales team with deep
solution expertise supports all
channels.
Organizational alignment around
business objectives and customer
needs. Organizational ability to
repeatedly follow a relatively short
and defined life-cycle for the
successful introduction of new or
revised product offerings.
End-Customer
Focused & Service-
Driven
2
(Inhibited)
Provider's offering is functionaly
equivalent to that of other
providers, resulting in a "my
feature X beats your feature X"
competitive differentiation tactic,
but ultimately resulting in a price-
competitive sale.
Still product and feature centric
positioning with progress towards
customer-centric benefits
positioning. Typically a lack of
consistent application of
messaging across all channels
and collateral.
Competitive pricing and correct
packaging, but actively working to
eliminate other inhibitors (e.g.
contract minimums).
Customers can search, find, and
buy. Provider is actively working
to ensure that all of the
information required to make a
successful buying decision is on
the site and correctly presented,
eliminating any final inhibitors to
selling.
PPC/SEO and other demand
generation capabilities are
leveraged, but with some
inhibiting factors that limit their
effectiveness (e.g. mismatch
between PPC terms and landing
page positioning). Active progress
is being made to eliminate
remaining inhibitors
Self-guided signup, support,
and/or self-administration but
inhibited in some way -- e.g.
overly complex registration
process, complex activation.
Active progress is being made to
eliminate remaining inhibitors.
Direct Sales, indirect channels,
telesales, but with ineffective
processes for lead qualification
and routing of leads to "best
qualified" channel. Provider is
actively working to train sales and
revise processes to improve
effectiveness.
Good executive leadership in
place and committed to drive
change and improve business
performance by driving
improvements in accordance with
the "key success factors".
Transition Phase -
Focused on Initial
Change
1
(Ineffective)
Provider is offering the exact
same service offering as other
providers (perhaps based on third-
party technologies) with no
opportunity for true differentiation,
resulting in a Red Ocean in which
the only remaining competetive
differentiator is price.
Positioning is completely product
and feature centric. Positioning is
effective only for customers who
already know what they need and
are already familiar with the
specific application domain.
Typically characterized by
uncompetitive pricing, minimum
contract terms, minimum # of
users, confusing pricing, too many
tiers of service, multiple tiers
instead of "add-on" options.
Customers are unable to find
offering, presentation is
confusing, no online self-
subscription is available.
No PPC/SEO campaigns. Other
demand generation activities (e.g.
Print ads, direct mail, etc) do not
leverage the web-site.
No self-signup capability, direct
sales interaction required. No
offering self-administration.
Direct sales only. No pro-active
lead qualification. No customer
segmentation by size or industry.
Characterized by tendancy to
focus too far up-market. Long
sales cycles. Lack of "solution
specialist" capability results in
inability to overcome common ob
Ad-hoc organizational and
departmental behaviors with a
lack of internal alignment towards
achieving a common vision or
business objectives.
Product-Dependent
Focus & Ad-Hoc
Behavior
Mural's SaaS Key Success Factors ©
1 BDS
When done: time to party
David EdniePh: +33 676 600 925 (FR)Ph: +61 415 94 51 57 (AUS)Email: [email protected]
Adrian SandersPh: +33 (650) 95 28 87Email: [email protected]: www.value-migration.com
MigrationValue