Product market strategy: why narrowing your market expands revenue

Picture this: You're at a mining industry conference, and someone asks what your company does. Do you launch into a 10-minute explanation of your go-to-market strategy, covering every possible application of your technology? Or can you deliver a laser-focused message that makes execs sit up and take notice?

If you're struggling with the former, you're not alone. Many industrial b2b companies cast their nets wide, fearing they'll miss opportunities if they focus too narrowly. But here's the plot twist: the most successful product market strategy often involves saying "no" to good opportunities so you can say "yes" to great ones.

The double-whammy of market focus 

When you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to anyone. Let's look at the two biggest reasons why: 

1. Resource dilution

A manufacturing technology company with a $1M marketing budget targeted five different industries last year, at $200,000 per industry. Unsurprisingly, the company did not see much traction. This year, the company is focusing that same budget on two strategic sectors. This has resulted in deeper market penetration, stronger relationships, more compelling thought leadership, and a fast-filling sales pipeline.

2. Expertise multiplication

Here's where it gets interesting. When you focus on fewer markets:

• Your team develops deeper industry expertise
• Your case studies become more relevant
• Your product development becomes more targeted
• Your sales team speaks the industry language fluently

Three signs you need to narrow your focus 

Every industry leader initially worries about narrowing their organisation’s focus. Admit it, you’re feeling uncomfortable just reading this. But dig a little deeper, and you might uncover three clear indicators that reveal your product market strategy is actually holding your organisation back. 

1. Your win rates are underwhelming 

You're getting too tender but losing on "industry understanding", while competitors with a narrower focus are winning - even with higher pricing. Meanwhile, your sales cycle is getting ever-longer. 

2. Your marketing isn't resonating

Your content engagement rates are low, website bounce rates are high, and lead quality is inconsistent. 

3. Your product development lacks direction

Feature requests and innovation ideas are pulling you in different directions, with no clear north. You can't effectively prioritise your roadmap, and your customer feedback conflicts across sectors. 

If you recognise yourself in these symptoms, you should consider narrowing your focus. The good news is that you can test your decision before committing entirely, thus settling concerns about missing opportunities or alienating current customers. 

How to narrow your focus (without narrowing your potential)

Step 1: Data-driven market selection 

If you’re keen to explore narrowing your market focus, look at the markets with the best potential. You can do this by looking at: 

• Current customer profitability by sector
• Your win rates by industry
• Customer lifetime value patterns
• Market growth potential, and 
• Competitive landscape

This will likely give you some ideas about how you can narrow, which you can put into further research and review. 

Step 2: Capability alignment

Suppose you don’t see any emerging patterns in terms of markets. In that case, you can narrow your focus on particular capabilities, which can make you stronger in a specialist area. Even if you have chosen a market, you can narrow your focus even further by capability. The trick is to ensure there is enough of an addressable market in your focus area. 

To explore this, you can match your strengths to market needs by assessing: 

• Core technical capabilities you already have, and that is envied in the market 
• Team expertise, experience and passion for certain projects 
• Your potential partner ecosystem that could help you solidify your creds in a particular space. 

If this crosses over with profitability, win rates and growth potential, you might have found a viable focus area to test. 

Step 3: Strategic positioning

Positioning is essentially your promise to market - how you are differentiated in a valuable way from the rest. This is where you’re telling the market why they should choose you, and why you’re uniquely positioned to service their exact need e.g. "the leading automation partner for sustainable mining operations in Australia.’

Defining your positioning is a foundational and essential step in scaling your business, however, it can be hard to do it yourself. Get a specialist consultant or agency to help you discover your hidden magic and bring it to life for your audience. 

The revenue expansion paradox

So there it is. Your chance to reduce customer acquisition rates, improve win rates, command premium pricing and build a strong market reputation may just lie in doing less - not more. 

Narrowing your focus and specialising in an industry, capability, or both is a brave and bold move, but the risk can be mitigated through marketing intelligence research and testing. 

A Melbourne-based industrial software company recently shifted from serving six industries to focusing exclusively on mining and energy. Once repositioned and activated in market, their revenue doubled in 18 months, while their marketing costs decreased by 40%. Plus, they became the go-to thought leader in their chosen sectors.

What are your next steps going to be? 

You’re sold on exploring a narrowed focus. So what are the key steps? Well, we’re not gonna lie, there is a bit of work involved. And it comes with a warning: may include explosive growth, increased market authority, and the sudden ability to charge premium prices. 

If you’re ready to transform, here is a quick checklist: 

1. Audit your current market presence
2. Identify your most profitable sectors
3. Assess your competitive advantage in each, including your current capabilities 
4. Create a focused product market strategy that positions you strongly 
5. Realign your resources accordingly
   
   

And if you’d like a little help, give us a call for an initial consultation.