From another vantage point however, the transferring of goods, advertising, sales, and the garnering of market share are simply a few aspects of the marketing continuum. That is, marketing can be more appropriately defined as "a process for achieving market leadership". It is the understanding of this process that paves the way to leadership. Attaining market leadership means being the leader in: quality people, satisfied customers, and financial returns.

This article provides some real-world experiences, guidance, and an applied process for helping high technology companies to achieve market leadership. Generally speaking, providers of software, computer, communications, and related products are referred to herein as high technology companies. However, much of what is offered here applies to all businesses offering products that are essentially complex in nature. This discussion offers a road to leadership based on a marketing process having three major steps. As a guide, below is a summary of those steps and their various phases.

Step One - First-Pass Prioritizaton of Market Opportunities:
Phase One - Matching Company Resources to Growth Markets
Phase Two - Initial Competitive Evaluations
Step Two - Market Opportunity Validation:
Phase One - Prospect Interviews (Surveys)
Phase Two - In-Depth Competitive Research
Step Three - The Five Page (No-Nonsense) Market Plan:
Phase One - Summarizing Information from Steps One and Two
Phase Two - Developing the Marketing Strategy
Phase Three - Top Level Objective Setting
Phase Four - Defining Market Action Programs

Many high tech companies try vainly to cling to current markets without considering the element of growth potential. They look solely to the most familiar (comfortable) market segments. Often, companies have skills in closely related markets that offer far more growth. They simply need to take the time to evaluate the market demographics and trends (the size) of various other opportunities.

This does not portend that market size estimates are based on pure science or that they need to be presented as an exact calculation. For practical purposes, a low-high range will do. Companies simply need to be sure that markets are not insufficient in regards to revenue potential, or worse yet, completely saturated for products they may be wont to offer.

Once markets have been sized and evaluated as to the match of your company resources to each, the second phase of prioritizing market opportunities, initial competitive evaluations, can begin. Competitive evaluation efforts are sometimes treated in a cavalier fashion, but this should not be the case. There is a lot to keep track of in high tech markets, but it's well worth the pain. In the initial competitive evaluation stage, a thorough effort should be made to gather readily available in-house, on-line, and other published competitive information. You simply want to move towards a market that is large, matches your resources, and in addition, is not obviously fraught with well entrenched and robust competitors. If you do this correctly, you will be ready to validate your leading (at this point) market opportunity(ies).

As stated above, market opportunity validation, step two in the marketing process can now be set in motion. Typically, market opportunity validation and step three in the marketing process (the five page market plan) are applied only to top rated opportunities. Top rated opportunities should be validated in sequence. Opportunity validation helps to substantiate market size estimates, refine the perception of customer needs (the solution they require), and more accurately define the competition. Contrary to step one in the process, opportunity validation is based more on input from outside of the company, that is, from prospective customers and further research of competitors.

Phase one of market opportunity validation, prospect interviews (surveys), first requires the development of a thoughtful customer questionnaire. Simply put, companies must talk to prospective customers in detail. More valuable input will likely be gotten from detailed one-on-one interviews (on the phone or face-to-face) than from focus groups. High tech products and services, being generally complex in nature, require more time from each interviewee and the elimination of any group pressure to concur. There may have to be follow up of the qualitative survey (detailed one-on-one interviews) with a broader quantitative mail survey or even a brief but broad based phone survey. This is dependent upon the number and consistency of the qualitative interviews.

Phase two of market opportunity validation, in-depth competitive research, is aimed at obtaining comprehensive competitive information. This should include: resources and skills, strategy, current and future product offerings, pricing, sales, profits, market share, customer satisfaction levels, why competitors win and loose sales, image, market awareness, distribution, and financial condition. In addition, you should be determining exactly which markets your competitors are aggressively targeting. The bottom line is that you must determine who your toughest competitors are and/or are going to be. Investigate the competition more thoroughly if you are entering new markets. In general, concentrate on the top three.

After validating market potential, customer needs, and competitive information by way of prospect interviews and in-depth competitive research, the final step in the marketing process can begin. This is a hard-hitting, no nonsense, five page market plan ( typically five to ten pages). Remember, you have already compiled market size, prospect needs, and competitive information. In the world of market plans, a forty page summary of what you have found out and what you plan to do about it, is surely overkill. There are four phases to the five page market plan.

The first phase of the five page market plan concerns the summarization of what has already been learned from steps one and two in the marketing process. This includes: the approximate size of the market opportunity, a profile of target customers including their application needs, and a competitive summary.

With this as a foundation, phase two of the five page market plan, the marketing strategy, can be developed. This crucial formulation will make or break all that has gone before. There are six interlocking elements in a successful marketing strategy, the "big six". They are: product, price, promotion, service (support), distribution, and sales. Each strategy element, when thoughtfully constructed, helps to differentiate your product and company from the competition. The big six behave like helium in a marketing balloon. If all six strategy elements are not effectively put into place, the balloon will not rise to desired heights. Even worse, it may never get off the ground.

It takes a goodly amount of right-brained marketing skills to develop a sound and cohesive marketing strategy. Additionally, in high tech markets, the window for developing a winning strategy keeps getting shorter and shorter. However, if a foundation of differentiation for the big six is carefully built, the chances for defining a sound strategy will increase.

Top level objective setting is the third phase of both the five page market plan. Objectives should be set for what market leadership is all about: quality people, satisfied customers (including sales goals), and financial returns, in that order. Experience shows that if the first two sets of objectives are attained, the financial returns will follow. Many organizations tend to set market objectives before they have invested in a full understanding of the market environment. Objectives set nearer to the end of the marketing process, specifically in conjunction with approved marketing action programs, increase a company's chances for dealing in realism.

To briefly summarize this article, marketing is a process for achieving market leadership. High technology companies that recognize and adhere to a holistic marketing approach will make the best use of their resources. Applying the three step process presented herein (sizing market opportunities, market opportunity validation, and the five page market plan) should serve as a foundation for enhancing present marketing techniques and paving the way to market leadership.

Once your marketing strategy has been crystallized, phase four of the five page market plan, defining marketing action programs, can get underway. This phase of the market plan puts the chosen strategy to work in the marketplace. The defined action programs must support all six elements of strategy. Once defined, these programs serve as a menu and timetable for the entire marketing effort. This is not to imply that marketing programs are static. No market plans have ever defined the precise marketing programs for achieving success. A market plan is a living document that must be regularly flexed to achieve market leadership over the long haul.

Employing marketing action programs is a matter of trial and error, an iterative learning experience. A note of caution is called for here. Companies should conduct a test run on every marketing program. As a simple example, when planning an advertising campaign, it should first be tested on a number of representative target prospects. Then, at the very least, it is likely that a more well advised promotion for the target audience at large will be developed.

For all marketing action programs, whether they support product, promotion, pricing, or any of the remaining strategy elements, clear and meaningful objectives must be defined. It is also necessary to have the tools in place to determine whether or not objectives have been achieved. Sometimes it seems difficult to capture the required data. However, with a little thought, simple but effective methods for capturing the results of any marketing program can be put into place.