Synopsis: Factory Automation – Programmable Controller – Targeting Early Adopters
Maxitron was the first company to marry the brains of the personal computer to the functionality of a PLC. This was an exciting technology advance. However, initial sales efforts generated substantial product development and engineering expense but few sales. There were many companies across different industry segments who were intrigued by the concept. In fact there were several asking for design modification and tests in their factory environments. The problem was that actual sales were scarce.
Maxitron had to find a way to focus on customers who would actually buy instead of asking for prototypes with different features – a cost, not a revenue enhancer.
Maxitron commissioned research to find the near-term market — the early adopters for its smart PLC product. QDI consultants conducted research across several manufacturing environments, with a focus on how they managed factory controls / relays at the time and what they were doing to link the controls to computers to automate their processes.
This research discovered a clear behavioral segmentation model that would work to Maxitron’s advantage. Two discreet manufacturer segments were identified. From the outside, the two segments looked the same. They were not found in any one industry segment or geography. Instead, they were scattered across industries and geographies, but shared an organizational approach to factory control and were experimenting with technologies to solve their control problems.
The key activity difference between these two types of organizations was that in the high near-term potential customers the IT department had already stepped in to link factory floor controls to computers. Their efforts were crude and rudimentary, but they were doing so because they needed the ability to control these processes. They were already spending money and quite open to adopting a solution that was designed to solve their problems.
By taking an in-depth look at the market and developing a segmentation strategy, Maxitron was able to jump-start its sales effort. Without sophisticated targeting, Maxitron would have continued to struggle using its valuable marketing dollars to attract shoppers instead of buyers.