venture/go-to-market.md

# 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*