Case Study
- Established company launched new product into cybersecurity enterprise market
- Needed expertise and experience that was unavailable in-house
- Engaged with client and stakeholders to develop a strategy and product launch plan
- Developed a sales playbook and conducted sales training
- Achieved a successful launch, and continue to provide support with collateral and go-to-market guidance
"This was the most professional product launch I have ever been a part of. The task of keeping the product, sales and marketing teams focused on the goal was not simple, but these guys made it look easy. From strategy and modeling the market to delivering sales tools and content, the EMI team really delivered!"
Project Deliverables
- Product Launch Strategy
- Value proposition and messaging “Bible”
- Sales Playbook and Presentations
- Thought Leadership Whitepapers
- Customer Presentations
- Product Datasheet and Case Studies
Enterprise Cyber Security as a Service
Company provides a cloud-based solution for securing corporate email
Starting Point
The client provides cloud-based security products and works closely with OEM customers. The company needed help launching a new product offering to enterprises. Although they are an established company with a strong track record in selling indirectly and to SMB, this was their first major foray into the direct-to-enterprise market.
The business functions as an “agile startup” within the parent company. Consequently, the team lacked the in-house resources that could deliver marketing strategy and subject matter expertise experience required for ramping-up the new business direction. Their product offering was already being tested and was showing great success among early adopters. However, the enterprise security market is a crowded field, where it is difficult to stand out, even with a great product. Getting customers onboard and using the platform would be crucial to a quick sales ramp-up.
Destination
To ensure a successful launch, all teams would have to be ready to hit the ground running. To achieve this, they would need an understanding of what made their product different, with clear USPs, and a single, unified message, right from strategy to purchase order.
They wanted a consulting and marketing agency to analyze the market and make sure they had the perfect positioning and messaging to break through all the noise. To achieve this, the agency would need to work closely with all stakeholders to understand their needs, walk their walk and talk their talk. The goal was to put the right tools in the hands of marketing, sales and presales.
The Route
Developing the Value Proposition
The first step was to gain a complete understanding of the client and their stakeholders, to inform the strategy.
- A series of interviews was conducted with key stakeholders including sales, presales and management, and reviewed data feedback from early adopters.
- A cybersecurity market maturity model was built to justify the new product and establish how and where the product would fit and expand in the current enterprise cybersecurity strategy.
- A strategic study of external data revealed the impact of regulation and compliance indicated that how competitors and customers would react to current and pending regulations/compliance mandates would have a critical impact on our client’s goals.
- Through workshop and strategy sessions, the team was guided through a well-defined process to solidify the target market and customers, and the product features, values and benefits.
- A framework was developed for how the product should be positioned - the positioning “Bible”.
Constructing the Sales Playbook
Once the positioning Value proposition had been approved, a sales playbook was designed to provide the sales and customer-facing teams with a play-by-play guide on pitching and selling the new product. This included:
- the customer journey
- the sales process
- key messaging
- how to use the sales tools, and
- how to handle objections and competition.
Ready to Launch
- Pre-launch, product marketing and thought leadership collateral was developed to support launch.
- Prior to launch, weekly launch meetings were conducted to coordinate with the various teams and manage the project and deliverables.
- Sales training was conducted, and all the materials handed over in time for launch.
Results
- Following eight weeks of intensive collaboration, the product was launched successfully.
- The client has closed a number of sizable deals within the first four weeks after launch.
- The client continues to receive go-to-market guidance and collateral developed to support additional parts of their funnel.
