From 7b18b119bc076bc65ed16a15b3b1effa31e93ca3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: jester Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:58:30 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add go-to-market strategy and 90-day plan --- go-to-market.md | 491 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 491 insertions(+) create mode 100644 go-to-market.md diff --git a/go-to-market.md b/go-to-market.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..769e296 --- /dev/null +++ b/go-to-market.md @@ -0,0 +1,491 @@ +# Go-To-Market Strategy + +## Target Customer Profile + +### Ideal Customer Characteristics + +**Company Profile:** +- **Size**: 20-100 employees +- **Revenue**: $10-100M annually +- **Industry**: Discrete manufacturing, food/beverage, packaging, automotive suppliers +- **Operations**: 1-5 production lines +- **Infrastructure**: Some PLCs/SCADA, aging equipment +- **IT Resources**: Limited (0-2 IT staff) + +**Decision Makers:** +- **Primary**: Plant Manager, Operations Director +- **Influencer**: Maintenance Manager, Quality Manager +- **Budget Holder**: VP Operations, COO +- **Gatekeeper**: IT Manager (occasionally) + +**Pain Points:** +- "We have no visibility into what's happening on the floor" +- "Our data is trapped in PLCs" +- "We can't afford Siemens/Rockwell solutions" +- "We don't trust cloud vendors with our manufacturing data" +- "We need better OEE tracking for customer audits" +- "Our maintenance is reactive, not predictive" + +**Buying Triggers:** +- New plant manager wants KPIs/dashboards +- Quality issues requiring root cause analysis +- Customer audit requiring data/metrics +- Capital budget available ($15k-50k) +- Regulatory compliance requirements +- Production planning challenges + +--- + +## Messaging & Positioning + +### Core Value Proposition + +> **"I help small-to-mid manufacturers get visibility into their production data without expensive cloud platforms or vendor lock-in."** + +### Positioning Statements + +**For consulting (Phase 1):** +> "After 13 years programming PLCs and 4 years in cloud engineering, I bridge the OT/IT gap. I help manufacturers connect their existing equipment to dashboards that actually show what's happening on the floor - without forcing you into the cloud." + +**For platform (Phase 2):** +> "Edge-first industrial monitoring that keeps your data on-site, your costs predictable, and your operations running even when the internet goes down. Unlike cloud-only solutions, you own your infrastructure and your destiny." + +**For premium AI (Phase 3):** +> "Predictive maintenance and quality control powered by AI at the edge. Know about equipment failures 2-4 weeks before they happen, without sending your data to the cloud." + +### Differentiation Messages + +**vs Enterprise Vendors (Siemens, Rockwell):** +> "Enterprise solutions cost $50k-500k and take 6-18 months. We deploy in 2-4 weeks for $15k-40k. You get visibility without the enterprise price tag." + +**vs Cloud Platforms (AWS IoT, Azure):** +> "Cloud platforms force you into vendor lock-in with unpredictable per-message costs. We're edge-first: your data stays on-site, works offline, and costs are predictable month-to-month." + +**vs General IT MSPs:** +> "IT MSPs don't understand PLCs or SCADA. We speak both OT and IT. I've programmed Allen-Bradley, Siemens, and Modicon for 13 years - we understand your production environment." + +--- + +## Customer Acquisition Channels + +### Phase 1 (Months 1-3): Network-Driven + +**Primary Channels:** +1. **Personal Network** (Highest priority) + - Former colleagues from controls engineering days + - System integrators worked with + - OEMs and machine builders + - Manufacturing contacts from projects + +2. **LinkedIn Outreach** + - Profile optimization ("OT/IT Integration Consultant") + - Connection requests to plant managers + - Content: Case studies, "5 signs your production data is trapped" + - Direct messages to warm connections + +3. **Local ISA Chapter** + - Attend monthly meetings + - Network with controls engineers + - Ask for manufacturer introductions + +4. **Referrals** + - Each project: Ask for 2-3 referrals + - Offer: $500 referral bonus for paying customer + +**Activities:** +- 5 outreach calls/emails per week (20/month) +- 1 LinkedIn post per week +- 1 ISA meeting per month +- Target: 3-5 discovery calls per month + +--- + +### Phase 2 (Months 4-9): Content + Referrals + +**Add to Phase 1:** +1. **Content Marketing** + - Weekly LinkedIn posts (case studies, tips, insights) + - Blog posts on website (2-4 per month) + - Topics: OT/IT gap, data sovereignty, edge computing benefits + +2. **Case Studies** + - Publish 3-5 detailed case studies + - Include before/after metrics + - Photos/screenshots of dashboards + - Customer testimonials + +3. **Webinars/Lunch & Learns** + - Partner with equipment suppliers + - "How to get visibility without cloud platforms" + - Recorded and shared on LinkedIn + +**Activities:** +- 1-2 blog posts per month +- 3-5 case studies published +- 1 webinar per quarter +- Continuous referral engine + +--- + +### Phase 3 (Months 10-18): Scale + Partnerships + +**Add to Phase 2:** +1. **Trade Shows** + - Pack Expo (packaging industry) + - Automate (automation/robotics) + - Local manufacturing shows + - Booth or just attending/networking + +2. **Partner Channels** + - System integrators (refer customers, we do the work) + - Equipment OEMs (bundle our monitoring) + - Industrial distributors + - PLC/SCADA vendors (non-competitive) + +3. **Paid Advertising** + - Google Ads (when economics proven) + - LinkedIn Ads targeting plant managers + - Industry publication ads + +**Activities:** +- 1-2 trade shows per year +- 3-5 partner relationships +- Test paid ads ($500-1k/month budget) + +--- + +## 90-Day Action Plan (Phase 1) + +### Week 1-2: Foundation + +**Day 1-2: Legal & Financial** +- [ ] Register LLC online + - LegalZoom or state website + - Choose: "[YourName] Industrial Consulting LLC" + - Budget: $100-300 +- [ ] Open business bank account (free at most banks) +- [ ] Get business credit card (optional) + +**Day 3-4: Website** +- [ ] Purchase domain (Namecheap, ~$12/year) + - Options: industrialiotconsulting.com, [yourname]consulting.com +- [ ] Set up website (Carrd.co or WordPress) + - Home: Value prop, services, CTA + - About: Your background (13 years PLC + 4 years cloud) + - Services: OT/IT integration, monitoring solutions + - Case Studies: (Empty initially, add as you complete projects) + - Contact: Form + phone/email +- [ ] Budget: $0-200 + +**Day 5: LinkedIn Profile** +- [ ] Update headline: "OT/IT Integration Consultant | Helping Manufacturers Bridge PLC Data to Dashboards" +- [ ] Update About section: + - 13 years controls engineering background + - 4 years cloud engineering + - Specialization: Bridging OT/IT gap + - Value prop: Affordable, edge-first, data sovereignty +- [ ] Update Experience: + - Add "Industrial IoT Consultant" as current position +- [ ] Add Skills: PLC Programming, SCADA, IIoT, Edge Computing, Data Analytics + +**Day 6-7: Contact List** +- [ ] Make list of 50+ contacts: + - Former coworkers (controls engineering days) + - System integrators worked with + - OEMs/machine builders + - Manufacturers you've interacted with + - Industry connections +- [ ] Categorize: Hot (5), Warm (15), Cold (30+) +- [ ] Prepare outreach messages (templates) + +--- + +### Week 3-4: Outreach Campaign + +**Daily Activities:** +- [ ] 3-5 LinkedIn connection requests (plant managers, ops directors) +- [ ] 2-3 emails/calls to existing contacts +- [ ] 1 LinkedIn post or comment + +**Week 3:** +- [ ] Monday-Friday: Email 10 contacts from "Hot" and "Warm" lists + - Template: "Hey [Name], after 13 years programming PLCs..." + - Ask: "Know anyone struggling with production visibility?" +- [ ] Research 10 local manufacturers (Google, LinkedIn) +- [ ] Join local ISA chapter (if exists) + +**Week 4:** +- [ ] Monday-Friday: Follow up with Week 3 contacts +- [ ] Email 10 more from "Warm" list +- [ ] Schedule 2-3 discovery calls +- [ ] Prepare discovery call script + +**Target Week 4 Results:** +- 20 contacts reached +- 3-5 discovery calls scheduled +- 1-2 proposals in discussion + +--- + +### Week 5-8: First Project + +**Week 5: Discovery & Proposal** +- [ ] Conduct discovery calls + - Current state: What PLCs? What data? What's manual? + - Desired state: What visibility do they want? + - Budget: $15k-40k available? + - Timeline: Urgency? Capital budget timing? +- [ ] Write proposal for pilot project + - Scope: 1 production line, basic monitoring + - Price: $10k (discounted pilot pricing) + - Timeline: 3-4 weeks + - Deliverables: Edge gateway, 3-5 dashboards, training +- [ ] Send proposal, follow up + +**Week 6-7: Execute Pilot** +- [ ] Kick-off meeting +- [ ] Site survey (if local) or remote discovery + - Document PLCs (make, model, addresses) + - Network assessment + - Identify data points (20-30 tags) +- [ ] Deploy solution: + - Configure Raspberry Pi or customer PC + - Install MQTT broker, InfluxDB, Grafana + - PLC integration (Node-RED or Python scripts) + - Build dashboards + - Configure alerts +- [ ] Test and refine + +**Week 8: Deliver & Document** +- [ ] Final testing with customer +- [ ] Training session (2-4 hours) + - How to use dashboards + - How to modify alerts + - Basic troubleshooting +- [ ] Deliver documentation +- [ ] Get testimonial (written + video if possible) +- [ ] Take photos/screenshots +- [ ] Ask for 2-3 referrals + +--- + +### Week 9-12: Scale & Market + +**Week 9: Case Study** +- [ ] Write case study + - Customer name (with permission) or "Food Manufacturing Plant" + - Problem: "No visibility into line performance" + - Solution: "Deployed edge monitoring in 3 weeks" + - Results: "20% improvement in OEE visibility, found 3 production bottlenecks" + - Testimonial quote +- [ ] Publish to LinkedIn +- [ ] Add to website +- [ ] Share with contacts + +**Week 10-11: Next Project** +- [ ] Contact referrals from first project +- [ ] Resume outreach campaign (5-10 new contacts/week) +- [ ] Prepare proposal for second project + - Full price: $20k-40k + - More comprehensive scope +- [ ] Send proposals, follow up + +**Week 12: Close Second Project** +- [ ] Finalize contract +- [ ] 50% deposit collected +- [ ] Kick-off second project +- [ ] Begin planning Phase 2 transition + +**Target Week 12 Results:** +- 1 completed pilot project ($10k) +- 1 full-price project sold ($20k-40k) +- 1 case study published +- 5-10 new warm prospects +- Ready to begin Phase 2 platform development + +--- + +## Sales Process + +### Discovery Call Script + +**Introduction (2 minutes):** +> "Thanks for taking the time. I spent 13 years programming PLCs and the last 4 years in cloud engineering. I help manufacturers get visibility into production data without forcing them into expensive cloud platforms. Tell me about your operation..." + +**Questions to Ask:** +1. What equipment/PLCs do you have? (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Modicon?) +2. What data are you currently collecting? (Manual? SCADA? Nothing?) +3. What visibility do you wish you had? (OEE? Downtime reasons? Quality metrics?) +4. What's driving this need now? (Audit? New manager? Problem to solve?) +5. What have you tried before? (Why didn't it work?) +6. What's your budget range? ($15k-50k reasonable?) +7. What's your timeline? (Urgent? This quarter? This year?) + +**Qualifying:** +- Budget available? ($15k+ minimum) +- Decision maker on call? (Or need to present to someone else?) +- Timeline realistic? (Next 1-3 months?) +- Technical feasibility? (Can access PLCs? Network exists?) + +**Next Steps:** +- "I'll put together a proposal showing exactly what we'd deploy, timeline, and cost. I'll have that to you by [date]. Sound good?" + +--- + +### Proposal Template + +**Section 1: Executive Summary** +- Their pain point (in their words) +- Your solution (high level) +- Timeline (3-4 weeks) +- Investment ($15k-40k) + +**Section 2: Current State** +- What they have today +- What's manual/missing +- Estimated impact (lost visibility, downtime, quality issues) + +**Section 3: Proposed Solution** +- Edge gateway deployment (on their hardware or we provide) +- PLC data collection (specific tags, 20-30 data points) +- Dashboards (3-5 views: production, downtime, OEE, quality) +- Alerts (email/SMS for critical events) +- Historical data (30-90 days retention) + +**Section 4: Deliverables** +- Working edge gateway (configured, tested) +- Grafana dashboards (customized to their process) +- Alert rules configured +- Training (2-4 hours) +- Documentation (how to maintain, troubleshoot) +- 30-day support (email/phone) + +**Section 5: Timeline** +- Week 1: Site survey, discovery +- Week 2-3: Deployment, integration +- Week 4: Testing, training, delivery + +**Section 6: Investment** +- Project fee: $25,000 (example) +- Payment terms: 50% deposit, 50% on delivery +- Optional: Monthly support retainer ($1k-2k) + +**Section 7: Next Steps** +- Sign agreement +- 50% deposit +- Schedule kick-off meeting + +--- + +## Outreach Templates + +### Email Template 1: Former Colleague + +**Subject**: Quick question about manufacturing visibility + +> Hey [Name], +> +> Hope you're doing well! After 13 years programming PLCs, I spent the last few years learning cloud engineering and realized there's a huge gap - manufacturers want visibility but can't afford $100k Siemens projects or don't trust cloud platforms. +> +> I'm helping a few companies bridge this gap by connecting their existing PLCs to simple dashboards. It's like SCADA but affordable and doesn't require cloud subscriptions. +> +> Do you know any plant managers or operations folks who are frustrated with their lack of production visibility? Would love to chat if you do. +> +> Thanks, +> [Your Name] + +--- + +### Email Template 2: Cold Outreach + +**Subject**: Production visibility without the enterprise price tag + +> Hi [Name], +> +> I noticed [Company Name] is in [industry] manufacturing in [location]. Most manufacturers I talk to struggle with the same thing: their production data is trapped in PLCs, and enterprise solutions cost $50k-500k. +> +> I spent 13 years programming PLCs (Allen-Bradley, Siemens) and 4 years in cloud engineering. Now I help mid-sized manufacturers get production visibility in weeks, not months, for $15k-40k. +> +> Would it be worth a 15-minute call to see if this could help [Company Name]? +> +> Best, +> [Your Name] +> +> P.S. - I work on your hardware, no cloud lock-in, and you own everything. + +--- + +### LinkedIn Connection Request + +> Hi [Name], I help manufacturers bridge the OT/IT gap - connecting PLCs to dashboards without enterprise pricing or cloud lock-in. Would love to connect and share insights on production visibility. + +--- + +### LinkedIn Post Ideas + +**Post 1: Personal Story** +> After 13 years programming Allen-Bradley PLCs, I made a bet: I spent 4 years learning cloud engineering. Why? Because I kept seeing the same problem: manufacturers with great OT engineers who couldn't get their data into dashboards. And IT teams scared to touch the PLCs. I decided to bridge that gap. Now I help small-to-mid manufacturers get production visibility in weeks, not years. [Case study link] + +**Post 2: Problem/Solution** +> 5 signs your production data is trapped: +> 1. Your OEE is calculated in Excel +> 2. Your maintenance is reactive, not predictive +> 3. Root cause analysis takes days, not hours +> 4. Operators can't see real-time status +> 5. Customer audits require manual data collection +> +> The good news? Most of this data already exists in your PLCs. [Link to website] + +**Post 3: Myth Busting** +> Myth: "Industrial IoT requires cloud platforms" +> Reality: Edge-first architecture keeps your data on-site, works offline, and avoids cloud vendor lock-in. +> +> Myth: "You need Siemens/Rockwell solutions for monitoring" +> Reality: You can get 80% of the value for 10% of the cost. +> +> Myth: "This takes months to deploy" +> Reality: Basic production visibility can be deployed in 2-4 weeks. + +--- + +## Key Metrics to Track + +### Week 1-12 (Phase 1): +- Outreach activities (emails, calls, LinkedIn) +- Discovery calls booked +- Proposals sent +- Projects closed +- Revenue generated +- Referrals received + +### Month 4+ (Phase 2): +- MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) +- Customer churn rate +- CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) +- LTV (Lifetime Value) +- NPS (Net Promoter Score) + +--- + +## Success Checklist + +### By End of Week 2: +- [ ] LLC registered +- [ ] Website live +- [ ] LinkedIn updated +- [ ] Contact list created (50+) + +### By End of Week 4: +- [ ] 20 contacts reached +- [ ] 3-5 discovery calls completed +- [ ] 1-2 proposals sent + +### By End of Week 12: +- [ ] 1 pilot project completed +- [ ] 1 full project sold +- [ ] 1 case study published +- [ ] $20k-45k revenue generated + +--- + +*Last Updated: December 2025*