This document discusses strategies for marketing niche technological products. It begins by defining niche tech as technological products designed for small, specialized markets like IoT security or aircraft health monitoring. These products are in early stages of adoption with limited user bases. The document then discusses challenges in sustaining business with niche tech and strategies for how these products and markets evolve over time. It provides examples of case studies and outlines approaches for niche tech companies to partner with other organizations or rely on strong partners to penetrate markets. Finally, it proposes a roadmap and metrics for niche tech marketing.

1. NICHETECHMARKETING
Getting the basics right
Prayukth KV | 2019

2. What is it all about?

3. Technological products that are designed for a particular
small area of a market such as IoT security, Aircraft Health
monitoring etc.

4. 01
02
03
04
05
Are in early stages of adoption
Early days
User base is limited to early adopters
Tiny user base
Usually
Start-up dominated
People are still figuring out what to do with it
Evolving value proposition
Expect turbulence
May or may not turn mainstream
Characteristics

5. 05
04
03
02
01
Sustaining business
conversations
Lead nurturing
Outreach and RoI
Market insights and pricing
Building credibility
The challenge

6. Saturated Initial
ActiveStagnation
How they evolve

7. The prospect doesn’t even know
she needs my solution…

8. Winning with niche tech
STRATEGY

9. Carpet bombing Vs
field combat
• There is little/no choice for niche tech
companies
• Even if one works, the other cannot be
ignored
• Ideally we need to figure out a mix

10. Case study
one: blood
bank tech
First instance of IoT adoption in a critical
sector

11. Key stats
• Market size >50 mn USD
• Strategy: carpet bombing
• Core channel: media
• Effort timeline: quarter
<45 days
• Order booking: 40th day

12. Creating an Impact
ET published our
story on deficient
blood bank
management
practices leading
to wastage and
how IoT can help.

13. Then this happened
Sales enquires followed…

14. Case study
two: asset
tracking
Penetrating a saturated sector

15. Key stats
• Market size >500 mn USD
• Strategy: Field combat
• Core channel: media
• Support: feet on the
ground
• Effort timeline: 90 days
• Order booking: 27 days

16. Building a brand
Growth
Brand safety
Existential branding
Complexity of
marketing activities

17. Tackling the challenges
Approaches

18. Approach one: building an enabling ecosystem
Non conventional
partners –
government bodies,
analysts, media and
resellers
Onboard freelancers
and industry veterans
Promote adoption at
the lower end of the
scale
Build cross-ecosystem
synergies
Be an SI; stich it all
together

19. Own: lead
efforts and
prove value
Synergize,
build a
joint GTM
approach
Leverage
their
marketing
muscle
Treat
your
partner
as a
customer
Develop
best
practices
Build a
model
Win
Approach two: rely on a strong partner
Examples analysts, big enterprises and huge resellers

20. Media as a partner

21. Under the hood: planning and running a jGTM

22. 22
▪ Segment identification, research, influencer outreach
▪ Profiling, DB, messaging, targeting
▪ Swoop, demo, lock
▪ PO
▪ Review, revise, rinse, repeat
Tactics – go to market in < 45 days
For small to medium opportunities
Week one
15 Days
20 days
24 days
Beyond
Live

23. 23
Programming 0 – 60 days (mid-large opps)
Resource alignment
Market diligence
Positioning
Outreach plan
Channel alignment
Messaging
Content lockdown
Pilots
Campaign automation
Analysis
Inside sales enablement
Opportunities
30 day block 30 day block
Review
Repeat
NTP Driven
Partner Driven
Activity ownership
Joint ownership

24. 24
Enablement model – co-investment
Value messaging
Deriving the pitch
Demonstrate value
leadership
Demonstrate
differentiation
Agree on the vision
Onboarding
Synching on next
steps
Develop and
integrate
messaging
Develop joint profile
Budgeting
Forecasting
Profitability modeling
Sales enablement
Formulate joint
campaign
calendar
Tactics to revenue
mapping
Resource
allocation
Channel strategies
Pilot campaigns
Effort mapping
Campaign
automation
Marketing enablement
Measurement &
Monitoring
• Develop joint
solution-
oriented
assets
• Joint selling
workshop
• Sales pilot
• Case study
• Quarterly
scorecard
• Performance to
plan
• Course
correction
• Forecast
• Lead waterfall
forecast
• Revenue
analysis
• RoI

25. 25
Effort mapping
Positioning
and
messaging
Sync
marketing
ops
‘Toolize ‘
Run and
review
Pipe
Intensity of NTP effort - HIGH
Intensity of NTP effort - LOW

26. 26
Niche tech marketing roadmap
Credibility
Conversations
Growth
Don’t complicate things
Keep your messaging simple and
easy to relate to..
Be prepared to cede
ground where needed
Keep an eye on the long term
Focus on building credibility
It’s the single biggest factor
Lead
Fail early

27. 27
High level metrics/Engagement scorecard
▪ Cost
▪ Volume – of leads
▪ Pipeline velocity
▪ Conversion
▪ Velocity – of sale and deployment
▪ Value capture – Preparing and
publishing case studies

28. 28
Final use case plus roadmap
Know what you need to do and do it.
Gain momentum and climb
1
Stay steady, focus on pipeline and
conversion; keep partners happy2
Invest in understanding
failure and success;
build your core and
peripheral models
3
Achieve Altitude and Capacity
Get off the runway and stay in the air
The Sky is the Limit

29. linkedin.com/in/prayukthkv/
@blogus_maximus
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