It’s easy to become enamored with technology for technology’s sake – especially if you’re the one who created the technical solution. But, in the same way, your customers and prospective customers need to see how your technology provides them with a business opportunity from their perspective. Even with a cross-industry solution, it’s important to show how your solution applies to specific business processes and business challenges unique to their industry.

Reflecting on several of our recent projects, a common theme has been how technology has increased the ability to process massive volumes of data. This has opened new capabilities that have enabled our clients to create new software products across an interesting array of solutions – from the Internet of Things (IoT) to data visualization and exploration, cybersecurity monitoring, customer journey personalization, service management, and process mining. 

As we work with our clients to explain their solutions and their unique potential, translating their technical capabilities into their customers’ business value is critical. To do this, we take advantage of our outside perspective and our broad business knowledge.

For example:

Then, the solution capabilities can be described through customer value examples and proof points which become part of the package to enable the marketing and sales teams. Finding the best customer examples requires understanding not only the software product’s capabilities but also which examples will be understandable, relevant, and of most value to new prospects. What are the top issues in the customer’s industry or business process? Who is the potential buyer and what motivates them? Quite simply, it’s the ability to speak their language before you ask them to speak yours.

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Jerry Linden is an independent marketing consultant affiliated with FC360 Marketing (formerly Full Circle Communications). With decades of experience in enterprise tech and management consulting, he specializes in sales enablement for B2B software and services companies.