Small Business Case Study

Challenge: When you are ready to launch a new service in an emerging market, how do you convince investors that the market is ready, without initial customers??

Situation: A team of entrepreneurs was on the fast path to development of a new technology which they felt could revolutionize how organizations deploy time-critical information. At the time, their options for customers who might need the product stretched across the horizontal axis of a white board. Pursuing all of them was a sure path to succeeding with none. When Gildea Communications was called in to help, the focus was on groups with a common association or interest, such as community or industry associations. Validating the customer need and demonstrating their commitment to purchase were key components in closing the next round of financing. For this small firm, how the results of the market investigation were presented was of critical importance in differentiating their ideas. They knew that the venture community would be looking for a clear articulation of their vision and how it would be realized. However, there was no time to wait until the product was ready to ship to gather more evidence. Gildea Communications was engaged to investigate the following questions for the founders;

• Which market segments have the greatest potential for success?
• How do we validate interest in these segments and structure the product offering to meet their needs?
• How do we communicate a compelling marketing strategy, with associated tactical programs, to demonstrate that we can succeed?

Process: Gildea Communications conducted an analysis of each customer segment under consideration and concluded that community associations, although numerous, lacked the resources and compelling need to buy. Instead, the recommendation was made to shift the focus to large businesses where time critical communications were imperative. Within the constraints of a tight budget, a limited number of focus groups with key individuals from these organizations were organized. The resulting feedback from these groups provided critical data to establish an initial pricing and functionality model and to validate the intention to purchase when the service was available. Gildea Communications synthesized the data gathered from the focus groups and documented a compelling marketing plan to demonstrate the path to success.

Results: With a convincing marketing strategy and tactical plan, the company raised $3 million from the venture community to grow the business. Today, this organization has successfully launched their service and has blue chip customers including major airlines, insurance providers, utilities, and government agencies.

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