Winning – 1
So, how can Indian martech companies crack open and win the US mid-market? There are 6 critical success factors to make this happen:
- Full stack solution
- Land and expand capability
- Product innovations
- Handholding of customers
- 20:80 staffing model pioneered by India’s IT services
- String of acquisitions to gain customers rapidly
A few additional factors can be:
- Pricing
- Marketing to build brand and drive inbound interest
- Targeting developers
- Free tools and utilities
- Cross-selling
- Changing the narrative
I will discuss each of these factors.
Full stack solution: The first era of martech has been about point solutions; the next will be about a full stack offering. Mid-market customers do not have the resources to integrate various point solutions for the unified customer view. Point solutions also create data silos, which limit the efficacy of AI-ML’s analytics and predictions. The US market is both wide and deep with the result that martech companies can specialise. That is very good for the big brands. Companies from geos like India have little option but to do everything as part of their stack because the market is narrow and shallow. Netcore has thus managed to build a full stack, which is good enough for most brands, and especially those with fewer resources to integrate best-of-breed solutions.
Land and expand capability: Even as martech companies offer the full stack, what they need are landing products to make inroads into the brand. Every brand will be using a patchwork of solutions, so entering with a full stack story may not be possible. Instead, even as the full solution is positioned, there is a need to get into the door with one or more products which are easy to integrate. Once the brand relationship is created, then the presence can be expanded. This can also be thought of as “seed and grow.” As Mentomics puts it: “Land and Expand means starting small with your customers, gaining their trust then expanding into other areas of their business to become a trusted partner. The key to any successful land and expand strategy is to deliver exceptional (not good or great, but exceptional) customer experience and customer service. Your aim is to build customer retention and long term customer value.” Keeping this in mind, Netcore has created email, personalisation and product experience (PX) as multiple landing products for the US mid-market.
Product innovations: The US is a market which loves to try out new ideas. Even mid-market companies are always looking for an extra edge against competition. To win early adopters before crossing the chasm, having some unique features can be a big help to make inroads into brands. The one advantage Indian companies can leverage is the app-centricity of their customers. Even in mid-market US, it should thus be possible to find brands whose customers are app-first (rather than web-centric). This way, they can leverage their app capabilities over US martech companies to craft a winning entry story.
