Commercial Integrator January 2023 - 11

accurate, and often conflicting - information.
Gartner (among others) tells us that
70% of a sale to buyers is made before a
salesperson is ever involved.
Understand Buyers
in a Detailed Way
We need to understand buyers in a more
detailed way than ever before. After all,
buyers are different. How they buy is
different, what they need to make those
buying decisions is different, and how we
should approach and sell to them must
be different, too. I would add to this that
it is not just about understanding buyers
and their behavior generally, but, more
narrowly, researching the market and
focusing our efforts on the buyers who
are most likely to buy specifically from us.
This is the cornerstone of the research
we need to conduct and, yes, it will take
time. However, I truly believe that this is
existential in nature.
From the foundation of the building up
to the pinnacle, we need to research the
market. We have all heard the acronym
" TAM, " which refers to the total available
market. This is the total market demand
for a product or service. What makes the
TAM more complex is the accuracy of the
data/numbers and what segments were
surveyed and included. Those of us in the
AV integration market have to dig deeper.
We have to take the TAM and then look at
the SAM, or serviceable available market.
This refers to the segment of the TAM targeted
by your products and services that
is within your geographical reach. But
I've left the most important part of market
research until the end - namely, the
SOM, or serviceable obtainable market.
That acronym refers to the portion of SAM
that you can and should capture. Once
assessed and understood, this is where
you must invest your time, marketing
efforts and sales initiatives.
'Just When You
Thought It Was Safe...'
To paraphrase the iconic movie " Jaws, " just
when you thought it was safe to go back in
the water, there is still more research to do!
Now that you know the scale and scope
of the market, you need to know - not
just know of - the customers. This journey
commercialintegrator.com
Integrators' research must explore individuals' motivations, pain points, buying
habits, etc. After all, commercial AV is still a human-relationship-driven business.
of discovery entails creating an ICP, or an
ideal customer profile. An ICP defines the
" perfect " customer for whatever your company
provides. An ICP is based on data
points like employee size, technologies
used, industry/vertical, etc. It is a representation
of the customers and prospects
who, you believe, will get the most value
out of your products or services.
Once defined and identified, an
ICP allows your company to focus on
selling to targeted accounts that fit your
organization. I've heard it put this way:
If you know your ICP, it can help define
the problems you're solving for, align
your product/service capabilities with
customers' needs, and assist in laying out
your future roadmap for product/service
updates and changes. The benefits are
significant! This research will improve
efficiency by enabling you to spend your
time and money on the places that matter
most, so you can focus on what works.
This stands in contrast to an ineffective
and expensive one-size-fits-all approach,
which might also be called a shotgun
approach. Focusing on your ICP will also
help ensure alignment across teams -
from management, to marketing, to sales,
to customer success.
Almost done, I promise! But there is one
final layer of the onion that we must explore.
The ICP is not personal. It describes
the type of " perfect " customer/business,
but it does not address the persona. The
term " persona " refers to the personal
representations and characteristics of
individuals residing and working in ICPs.
Personas are unique, and they include
both those who buy and those who use
your product or service. These are the
people at a company who are affected
by the problems you will help solve. This
research must explore those individuals'
motivations, pain points, buying habits
and more. After all, in the end, ours is still a
human-relationship-driven business.
The Four 'Keys to the Kingdom'
Faced with the new realities of our AV
business, let's bring this discussion to a
close with what I call the four " keys to the
kingdom. " These are your key takeaways
involving research and how to embrace
the concepts of target customers, target
marketing and target sales.
1. Quantifying the TAM, the SAM and
the SOM for your organization's
operations.
2. Identifying an ICP, recognizing that
one size does not fit all.
3. Understanding buyer and user
personas.
4. Employing marketing and sales methodologies
that fit the new realities of
the industry and its participants.
Let me be clear: This is far from an academic
exercise. Rather, this is an investment
of time and money that will fuel the growth
of your business...and of our industry.
Alan C. Brawn, CTS, ISF, ISF-C,
DSCE, DSDE, DCME, is the
principal of Brawn Consulting.
JANUARY 2023 Commercial Integrator
11
FIZKES/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator January 2023

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