2 of 6 |  Six Key Factors for a Successful Launch

There’s a reason complex sales are named as such. Different people with different roles and motivations (emotional variables) get to weigh in. It’s critical to understand all who are involved in the process, and how their roles relate to one another. Research, observe. Then prioritize. Put the right person at the center of your bulls-eye and engage them accordingly.

Getting to Target:

Camp out. When conducting customer research, be sure to observe your customers and prospects in their natural surroundings. Better yet, get immersed. Be them for a week. Ethno-graphic research or “camping out” is valuable in unearthing the underlying decision-critical motivations, insights and ideas.

Bottom’s up? It’s popular practice to make a list of all of your audiences, then generate key messages, support messages, benefits, etc. for each—only then derive a positioning (umbrella message) that works for all. We call that bottom’s up—and it normally yields non-differentiated, non-relevant positioning. Vanilla. You don’t have 11 equally-weighted audiences nor should you have 11 different positionings. Prioritize, then focus on the needs of the core as the foundation of positioning.

Take closer aim. 100 is better than 1000 is better than 10,000. Don’t aim at the masses. Target people who are most likely to be passionate about what you have to offer and let them spread the word.

Perceptions are facts. It doesn’t matter what you think your customers think. What they believe about you and what you sell is fact. Most organizations would agree with the importance of understanding market perceptions. Make sure you’re listening. Those are the facts on which to base decisions.

Company behavior. Companies behave differently depending on what stage of the corporate lifecycle they’re in. Understanding how companies think and run at infancy, go-go, adolescence, prime, etc. can make a real difference in who you engage and how. For more on company behavior and corporate lifecycles, visit adizes.com.