In an age where so many people have so much, this is an incredibly common question. So much so that, according to many surveys, the most common gift received by adults is money/gift cards. Essentially, the message we're sending is "look, you've got a lot of stuff, so rather than spend the time and take the chance that you either already have, or won't like, the gift I give you, I'll just let you do it. Here's a gift card. Go nuts."
Now let's apply the question to the corporate world... what do you give the company that has everything? At this point you may be thinking, "uh, you don't give a company anything". And yes, sure, we're all in the business of making money but for the sake of my brief article, just go with it for a few minutes.
Large companies purchase software and services for seemingly everything. They have ever-growing budgets and global teams responsible for building proprietary tools in addition to supporting third-party tools. A list of vendors for, say, a large company is usually in the thousands. So, as a new entrant to a market, how do you get in somewhere where they likely have an existing solution in your space?
To answer, let's go back to the question...
So, what do you give a company that has everything?
Ok so I have some more colors
The short answer is
choice.
The long answer is
a good choice.
The right answer is
a better choice.
Large firms, like small firms, have to make decisions. They have to assess options, make a case, get stakeholder agreement, negotiate contracts, plan for onboarding, consider training, etc. It's almost never an easy process.
One can usually draw a causal relationship between the lack of compelling options and the interminable process of making a decision.
Customer choices can be limited, underwhelming or non-differentiated. There is weak product-market fit, lack of adaptability, overly complex pricing models and even a lack of alignment with company values (yeah, this is a thing even in software).
So now let's go back to the answer... a better choice. This idea of being better is a day-to-day obsession for our young company, yet one that must remain a constant as we grow.
Can we provide a better user experience?
Can we provide a better purchase experience?
Can we be seen as a provider who truly wants their customer to be awesome?
Can we be adopted more easily?
Can we adapt to anything our customer wants to do in the future?
Can we be easier to assess architecturally?
Can we prove our security capabilities more easily?
Can our customer service be seen as an extension of our customers' teams?
Can we be more cost-effective?
Can we be the perfect fit?
This list goes on but, at its center, there is always one question: Can we be a better choice?
Symmetrically, the team only has one answer: Yes... we can and we will.
Give your clients the gift of choice
If anything, because it is the one thing we should all strive to give our clients.
Let's be better choices.
John
P.S.
Yes, you can then charge your clients for your product.
P.P.S.
We're growing. Follow our page!
Comments