Finale: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Building a $100m Blue Ocean Geospatial Business

This article series has become far longer than I had originally planned. I realized that I had more material than I had anticipated, and I wanted to present that content in bite-sized chunks.

Before we jump into this; our final article, let's briefly summarize where we have been in our journey to building a $100m Geospatial Blue Ocean business.

We began by defining Blue Oceans (uncontested market spaces) and comparing them with Red Oceans (competitive blood in the water). With a lofty goal of $100m, Blue Oceans will need to be our target. Luckily our timing is good, thanks to Geospatial 2.0, Blue Ocean opportunities abound.

In our second article, we set the stage. Providing key definitions, foundational elements needed before you get started, and discussion of the Geospatial 2.0 Blue Ocean Triad; our overlapping/interlinking set of guiding frameworks.

In articles three and four we walked through 2 of the 3 core elements of the Geospatial 2.0 Blue Ocean Triad. Rather than making this a theoretical exercise we made this real by discovering and building out a strategy for an actual Geospatial 2.0 Blue Ocean opportunity.

That brings us nicely to this article; part 3 of the Geospatial 2.0 Blue Ocean Triad - Go-to-Market.

Introducing Go-to-Market

In our last article we stepped through our overarching business strategy. Go-to-market (GTM) is a second level of this overall strategy. It outlines how a company will sell its product or service to customers. Sales, marketing and product teams are key to both constructing and executing the GTM strategy.

Our Go-to-Market Strategy

Below are the key elements which make up our go-to-market strategy:

a) Business Overview and Value Proposition

Our intelligent dynamic digital twin solution provides utilities with real-time, AI-driven insights for disaster risk management and resilience planning, significantly improving their ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to severe weather events like hurricanes.

b) Target Audience and Personas

Primary: Chief Technology Officers and Emergency Response Directors at medium to large utility companies in hurricane-prone regions.

Secondary: State and local government emergency management officials.

c) Market Entry and Expansion Plan

• Phase 1: Partner with 2-3 innovative utility companies for pilot projects
• Phase 2: Expand to other utilities in high-risk hurricane zones
• Phase 3: Broaden to utilities in other severe weather-prone areas

d) Competitive Analysis

Primary competitors: Traditional GIS providers, general-purpose geospatial platforms, with a heavy focus on 2D maps.

Our advantage: Specialized focus on utilities and severe weather events, digital twin expertise combined with advanced AI capabilities

e) SWOT Analysis

Strengths: Unique intelligent dynamic digital twin technology, deep geospatial expertise

Weaknesses: New entrant in the utility sector

Opportunities: Growing need for disaster resilience solutions

Threats: Potential entry of large tech companies into the space

f) Brand Messaging and Positioning

Positioning: The most advanced, utility-specific intelligent dynamic digital twin solution for disaster resilience

Key message: "Empowering utilities to predict, prepare, and prevail in the face of severe weather events"

g) Organic Digital Marketing Channels

• LinkedIn for top of funnel content
• SEO-optimized blogs. In-depth articles. Opt-in eBooks
• YouTube channel for in-depth content - Education, product demos, expert interviews etc.

h) Content Strategy & Organic Sales Funnel Strategy Awareness:

Focus on educational content about intelligent dynamic digital twin technology, best practices in disaster resilience, and success stories from pilot projects.

Mixed content will be the focus. This will include, written, video, podcast, newsletters etc. Content length will vary depending on type and channel (eg. LinkedIn content will be short attention grabbing. YouTube content longer and more in depth).

Content will be created targeting each part of the sales funnel, with embedded calls to action (CTA's) guiding potential customers through the funnel.

Sales Funnel Organic content:

• Attention: Thought leadership content, industry conference presentations, social media shorts
• Consideration: Case studies, webinars, personalized demos
• Decision: Pilot programs, ROI calculators

i) Sales Enablement

Develop comprehensive training programs for sales team on intelligent dynamic digital twin technology, utility operations, and disaster response best practices

j) Partnership Strategy

• Technology Alliances: Form partnerships with complementary technology providers (e.g., IoT sensor manufacturers, satellite imaging companies) to enhance data inputs for the IDDT solution.
• Industry Associations: Collaborate with utility industry associations to gain credibility, access to potential customers, and insights into industry trends and needs.
• Academic Partnerships: Establish relationships with universities conducting research in geospatial technology, AI, and climate science to stay at the forefront of innovation.
• System Integrators: Partner with established system integrators in the utility sector to facilitate smoother implementation and integration of the IDDT solution into existing utility systems.

k) Pricing Strategy

• Tiered subscription (Basic, Professional, Enterprise)
• Value-based pricing tied to utility cost savings
• Module-based options for customization
• Discounted pilot program pricing
• Performance-based component linked to KPI achievements

l) Performance Metrics and KPIs

• Number of pilot projects initiated
• Customer satisfaction scores
• Reduction in utility downtime during severe weather events
• Increase in speed of power restoration post-event
• Market share in target geographic regions

m) Implementation Plan

• Month 1-3: Finalize MVP and secure pilot partners
• Month 4-6: Launch and iterate on pilot projects
• Month 7-12: Expand sales efforts based on pilot results
• Year 2: Scale operations and expand to new geographic regions

n) Budget Allocation

• 40% Product development and innovation
• 30% Sales and marketing
• 20% Customer success and support
• 10% Operations and administration

As discussed in the last article, we looked to use best practices in strategy construction. I have leaned heavily on the work of Roger Martin; being guided by both his thinking and the Strategy Catalyst framework he has constructed.

The GTM strategy we have outlined above aligns with Roger Martin's approach by making clear, integrated choices that support our overall winning aspiration. This go-to-market strategy is tightly linked to and supports the broader business strategy, ensuring coherence across all aspects of the business.

Closing Thoughts

If you made it here; congratulations. My hope is this series provided you all the building blocks to make your $100m Geospatial business dream a reality. It is based on my geospatial experiences over 25 years: What I have seen done well, and very poorly. As I have mentioned geospatial has entered a new phase; one of growth enabled by Geospatial 2.0.

Blue Oceans abound, my goal here has been to help you find your Blue Ocean.

Good luck in your journey. If you need help, advice, guidance feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn Matt Sheehan or fire me an email at [email protected]

Matt Sheehan is a Geospatial Growth Strategist who helps companies succeed in the evolving world of Geospatial 2.0.