The Total Solution Ecosystem?

People do not want products or services – they want results.   One of the biggest challenges businesses face in their go-to-market is how to identify and communicate the meaningful, compelling result they provide.  The reasons companies face this problem are numerous, and I’ve written about many of them in previous articles, as well as on thefastgrowthblog.com.  They range from a total lack of understanding of their customer to not having the confidence to make a compelling promise – and everything in between.

Recently I witnessed another major cause of the problem. This situation is most prevalent in a business-to-business or business-to-government environment, though it comes into play in the business-to-consumer market as well.  Frequently, an offering only provides a part of the ‘total solution’ that is required to fulfill the promise a company makes to its clients or prospects.  In marketing circles, this is called a ‘partial solution.’  It is rare that a company provides a true, ‘total solution’.  As a result, it is critical that those companies do an exceptional job of marketing and selling their partial solution.

In a previous article, I wrote that all clients want the same thing – a remarkable client experience.  I define that as giving clients what they want, when they want, how they want; preferably without having to ask for it.  Clients want results; they don’t want products, services or even experiences.  They don’t want to think.  Unfortunately, most company’s messaging and sales strategies force prospects to do exactly that – to think about how an offering can help them and then translate what a seller is telling them into information they can act upon.

This means that as a seller, the more ‘thinking’ you can do for your clients and prospects, the simpler you can make your offering.  By simplifying your offering and making it easier to understand exactly what you will do for them, you create more value for your clients. In contrast, when you make clients and prospects think about your offering, you reduce your value and ultimately commoditize yourself.

The term solution has always bothered me.  Too often, solution is merely a synonym for product or service.  Remember, if there is not a problem there can be no solution.  People want to get rid of problems and they don’t much care how they get rid of them (so long as it is legal, ethical, affordable and preferably not fattening).

That said, solutions come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Strategically, you need to make one determination and that is whether you are a ‘total solution provider’ or a ‘partial solution provider’.  Simply put:

• Total Solution Provider:  Your company provides everything necessary to support the promise that you make.

• Partial Solution Provider:  Your company does not provide everything necessary to support the promise that you make.  Your company, therefore, relies on other components, outside of your control, to deliver your promise.  To provide a ‘total solution’, your offering must interface with other offerings (from other companies) and/or functions (within your client company).