Find Your Market

Get from Idea to Product/Market Fit in B2B. The world has changed. Nowadays, there are more companies building B2B products than there’s ever been. Products are entering organizations top-down, middle-out, and bottom-up. Teams and managers control their budgets. Buyers have become savvier and more impatient. The case for the value of new innovations no longer needs to be made. Technology products get hired, and fired faster than ever before. The challenges have moved from building and validating products to gaining adoption in increasingly crowded and fragmented markets. This, requires a new playbook. The second edition of Lean B2B is the result of years of research into B2B entrepreneurship. It builds off the unique Lean B2B Methodology, which has already helped thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators around the world build successful businesses. In this new edition, you’ll learn: - Why companies seek out new products, and why they agree to buy from unproven vendors like startups - How to find early adopters, establish your credibility, and convince business stakeholders to work with you - What type of opportunities can increase the likelihood of building a product that finds adoption in businesses - How to learn from stakeholders, identify a great opportunity, and create a compelling value proposition - How to get initial validation, create a minimum viable product, and iterate until you're able to find product/market fit This second edition of Lean B2B will show you how to build the products that businesses need, want, buy, and adopt.

“Build it and they will come.” But what if they don’t? - - Find Your Market is a book that helps technology entrepreneurs and innovators find the right market for their innovations. It shows them exactly how to: 1. Evaluate if their product is aimed at the right market or customers; 2. Identify promising market opportunities derived from the unique strengths of their technology; 3. Lock in on their best market opportunity, confirm its potential, and mold the product positioning to get the growth engines going. Deciding which customers to target should never be an afterthought. Yet, 73% of startups get the wrong market first. You don’t need to get the market wrong, you don’t need to spin your wheels, and you don’t need to build a product hoping customers will come. Get on the right track with Find Your Market, a short, practical guide designed to help you find the best market for your innovation.

"Product management isn't about you and it isn't about your product. It's about solving problems for your customers, creating a solution, and taking it to market." When I started in product management, I had a lot of questions, like "What is product management?" It's a common question still, but most people don't have a good answer. After all these years, the same questions keep coming up. I see them on forums, I hear them when I talk to new and experienced product managers, and I still do not see them being answered well or usefully. So I wrote this book, with the answers to the questions I always had. You'll learn: The real reason people choose to buy a product - it's not about how "good" the product is! How to get the very best from your developers. The 5-word phrase that can accelerate sales and marketing. The best ways to talk to executives and customers about what you're building. Among other critical information, you'll find a powerful framework for thinking about product management - and even for talking to your Mom about what you do. The framework provides an infrastructure for most of The Secret Product Manager Handbook. I provide a concrete and explicit explanation of why product management is so important for businesses, including a calculation of the true business value of product management. And the book is full of specific techniques and practices for transforming your product management career. What People Are Saying "Nuggets of product management wisdom and ideas you'll want to hang on your monitor. The book is like having a conversation with a mentor." (Ken Hanson, Growth Product Manager) The summary of product management - identify market problems, guide the creation of solutions, and take the solutions to market - is powerful. As a former engineer, it's especially important to be reminded of the third point" (Frank Licea, Product Manager) "The intro is one of the clearest and smartest explanations of the value a product manager should bring to the table I've ever read." (Luca Candela, VP of Product Management)

Startup money is moving online, and this guide shows you how it works. The Art of Startup Fundraising takes a fresh look at raising money for startups, with a focus on the changing face of startup finance. New regulations are making the old go-to advice less relevant, as startup money is increasingly moving online. These new waters are all but uncharted—and founders need an accessible guide. This book helps you navigate the online world of startup fundraising with easy-to-follow explanations and expert perspective on the new digital world of finance. You'll find tips and tricks on raising money and investing in startups from early stage to growth stage, and develop a clear strategy based on the new realities surrounding today's startup landscape. The finance world is in a massive state of flux. Changes are occurring at an increasing pace in all sectors, but few more intensely than the startup sphere. When the paradigm changes, your processes must change with it. This book shows you how startup funding works, with expert coaching toward the new rules on the field. Learn how the JOBS Act impacts the fundraising model Gain insight on startups from early stage to growth stage Find the money you need to get your venture going Craft your pitch and optimize the strategy Build momentum Identify the right investors Avoid the common mistakes Don't rely on the "how we did it" tales from superstar startups, as these stories are unique and applied to exceptional scenarios. The game has changed, and playing by the old rules only gets you left behind. Whether you're founding a startup or looking to invest, The Art of Startup Fundraising provides the up-to-the-minute guidance you need.

The missing manual on how to apply Lean Startup to build products that customers love The Lean Product Playbook is a practical guide to building products that customers love. Whether you work at a startup or a large, established company, we all know that building great products is hard. Most new products fail. This book helps improve your chances of building successful products through clear, step-by-step guidance and advice. The Lean Startup movement has contributed new and valuable ideas about product development and has generated lots of excitement. However, many companies have yet to successfully adopt Lean thinking. Despite their enthusiasm and familiarity with the high-level concepts, many teams run into challenges trying to adopt Lean because they feel like they lack specific guidance on what exactly they should be doing. If you are interested in Lean Startup principles and want to apply them to develop winning products, this book is for you. This book describes the Lean Product Process: a repeatable, easy-to-follow methodology for iterating your way to product-market fit. It walks you through how to: Determine your target customers Identify underserved customer needs Create a winning product strategy Decide on your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Design your MVP prototype Test your MVP with customers Iterate rapidly to achieve product-market fit This book was written by entrepreneur and Lean product expert Dan Olsen whose experience spans product management, UX design, coding, analytics, and marketing across a variety of products. As a hands-on consultant, he refined and applied the advice in this book as he helped many companies improve their product process and build great products. His clients include Facebook, Box, Hightail, Epocrates, and Medallia. Entrepreneurs, executives, product managers, designers, developers, marketers, analysts and anyone who is passionate about building great products will find The Lean Product Playbook an indispensable, hands-on resource.

Marketing guru Philip Kotler and global marketing strategist Milton Kotler show you how to survive rough economic waters With the developed world facing slow economic growth, successfully competing for a limited customer base means using creative and strategic marketing strategies. Market Your Way to Growth presents eight effective ways to grow in even the slowest economy. They include how to increase your market share, develop enthusiastic customers, build your brand, innovate, expand internationally, acquire other businesses, build a great reputation for social responsibility, and more. By engaging any of these pathways to growth, you can achieve growth rates that your competitors will envy. Proven business and marketing advice from leading names in the industry Written by Philip Kotler, the major exponent of planning through segmentation, targeting, and position followed by "the 4 Ps of marketing" and author of the books Marketing 3.0, Ten Deadly Marketing Sins, and Corporate Social Responsibility, among others Milton Kotler is Chairman and CEO of Kotler Marketing Group, headquartered in Washington, DC, author of A Clear-sighted View of Chinese Marketing, and a frequent contributor to the China business press

The small business guru behind Duct Tape Marketing shares his most valuable lesson: how to get your customers to do your best marketing for you. The power of glitzy advertising and elaborate marketing campaigns is on the wane; word- of-mouth referrals are what drive business today. People trust the recommendation of a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger with similar tastes over anything thrust at them by a faceless company. Most business owners believe that whether customers refer them is entirely out of their hands. But science shows that people can't help recommending products and services to their friends-it's an instinct wired deep in the brain. And smart businesses can tap into that hardwired desire. Marketing expert John Jantsch offers practical techniques for harnessing the power of referrals to ensure a steady flow of new customers. Keep those customers happy, and they will refer your business to even more customers. Some of Jantsch's strategies include: -Talk with your customers, not at them. Thanks to social networking sites, companies of any size have the opportunity to engage with their customers on their home turf as never before-but the key is listening. -The sales team is the most important part of your marketing team. Salespeople are the company's main link to customers, who are the main source of referrals. Getting them on board with your referral strategy is critical. -Educate your customers. Referrals are only helpful if they're given to the right people. Educate your customers about whom they should be talking to. The secret to generating referrals lies in understanding the "Customer Referral Cycle"-the way customers refer others to your company who, in turn, generate even more referrals. Businesses can ensure a healthy referral cycle by moving customers and prospects along the path of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer. If everyone in an organization keeps this sequence in mind, Jantsch argues, your business will generate referrals like a well-oiled machine. This practical, smart, and original guide is essential reading for any company looking to grow without a fat marketing budget.

Over the past quarter century, Seth Godin has taught and inspired millions of entrepreneurs, marketers, leaders, and fans from all walks of life, via his blog, online courses, lectures, and bestselling books. He is the inventor of countless ideas and phrases that have made their way into mainstream business language, from Permission Marketingto Purple Cowto Tribesto The Dip. Now, for the first time, Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one accessible, timeless package. At the heart of his approach is a big idea- Great marketers don't use consumers to solve their company's problem; they use marketing to solve other people's problems. They don't just make noise; they make the world better. Truly powerful marketing is grounded in empathy, generosity, and emotional labour. This book teaches you how to identify your smallest viable audience; draw on the right signals and signs to position your offering; build trust and permission with your target market; speak to the narratives your audience tells themselves about status, affiliation, and dominance; spot opportunities to create and release tension; and give people the tools to achieve their goals. It's time for marketers to stop lying, spamming, and feeling guilty about their work. It's time to stop confusing social media metrics with true connections. It's time to stop wasting money on stolen attention that won't pay off in the long run. This is Marketingoffers a better approach that will still apply for decades to come, no matter how the tactics of marketing continue to evolve.