Situation: The CEO of a high tech company wants to improve the profile of his company for prospective clients. He also wants to diversify the company’s customer base. How do you improve a company’s profile and diversify the customer base?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Develop a good description that easily expresses the company’s value proposition.
  • Test this with potential customers to assure that they easily grasp what the company has to offer – and are interested in paying for!
• If the company is early-stage, focus on funding and proof of concept as early milestones.
  • If the company has a novel idea or capability, focus on proving the value of this capability to a buying customer base of sufficient value to interest investors.
• Study and define customers’ needs before trying to communicate what the company can do for them.
  • Similarly, define the channels that will be most effective in reaching these customers.
• To monetize the business focus on the seekers – those who need and will benefit from the product or services that is being offered.
  • If the company offers a free or low cost service, develop a premium offer for enhanced services.
• To market a core set of skills to different customer markets, focus on a theme of reliability.
  • Flavor this theme differently through a branding exercise to address the needs and desires of specific customer segments.
  • It is both feasible and desirable to market the same set of skills differently to different customer markets.
• Follow the money – it leads to the heart of customer purchase decisions.
• Growth, momentum and the ability to change are essential parts of a successful business model.

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