One of the things that I learned early when I first started my career in the semiconductor industry was the reference design. At the time modems were all the rage and I was working for a company that was late to the market with their modem chipset. In order to get some consideration and acceptance, the company designed a complete modem with their chipset. It was a reference design. Realistically, it was a completely cloneable product design. Anyone wanting to design, build and sell their own modem could source the exact bill of materials and be in the modem business. And in fact, that is what customers did.
In the electronics industry, reference designs are now all over the place. Whether it is graphic chips, or ARM chips, there is a reference design. From a marketing perspective, they are quite effective in that they provide a simple and well-defined starting point. The designer can start with something that works. And this removes that huge objection that roots itself around the uncertainty of whether the thing will work as advertised. A reference design removes that objection and permits a stronger starting engagement with the prospective customer.
Outside of the electronics industry, there is a wide assortment of vendors who endeavor to achieve the same effect. An out-of-the-box method to show something that is representative of the result that the customer will attain. Of course, in cases where it is just not an out-of-the-box type of solution, there is the reference customer. The reference customer is someone who has adopted the solution and has achieved the desired results. “Do for me what you did for them” is the stage that the new prospect will be most comfortable with.
When you are selling complex solutions, there is more than one way to implement, and there is more than one dependency on implementing that solution. A good understanding of the problem that you are solving is certainly a powerful way to get the attention of your target customer. But that by itself does not translate into real demand for your solution.
Real demand is created when your prospective buyers believe that you have a complete understanding of the problem that you are solving; and that you can provide a testament to the benefits that your solution will realize. This scenario trumps all guarantees. Guarantees by themselves are simply not as strong as the meaning of the word itself. They guarantee something, but never seem to account for the time, resources, or other opportunity costs borne by the customer. I am sure that you will find all those exclusions somewhere in the fine print.
Well you may say that you have that all covered nicely with professional sales reps. But the real challenge is to be able to effectively parlay these skills to the online channel. This is where the buying process begins more often than not. Whether your prospective buyers will order your solution through the web is really secondary. What they will do is go online to learn more about the problem that they are having. They will seek out how others are addressing the same type of situation. And if you can’t put that “reference design” forward in some form, don’t expect the phone to ring.