NEWS RELEASE September 2018
Creating a Winning Strategy for the Air, Water and Energy Markets
Suppliers and purchasers of air, water and energy (AWE) products and services have the same basic questions but with different perspectives. The purchaser must select a process, the products to use in that process, and then choose the best supplier. Increasingly purchasers are conducting total cost of ownership (TCO) evaluations.
Supplier Questions vs End User Questions
The supplier of a high performance product needs to understand the processes and how his product will be used in those processes. He wants to know how big the market is for this product. He wants to know if he has the lowest total cost of ownership product and if so how does he create a winning strategy. An important aspect is competitor analysis and determination of market shares for the various players.
Publishers and conference organizers have the same questions but with their own perspective. They want to attract readers and attendees with answers to some of these purchaser questions. They need to know competitor market shares to create an advertising or exhibitor sales program.
The McIlvaine Company recognizes the potential benefits to suppliers resulting from detailed forecasts of the purchase opportunity for each product at each prospect. This opportunity needs to be clarified with a strategy which is specific to each one of the many prospects. This opportunity is tied directly to Lowest Total Cost of Ownership Validation (LTCOV). Determining the TCO for the product is only the first step. What is the TCO for each of the competitor products? What competitors initiatives or innovations can impact the SWOT analysis?
Validation is more than just a white paper which lays out the basis for the LTCO. Validation includes convincing the customer that the product is the best. This entails coordination with publishers, conference organizers, and associations.
There is now the opportunity to make market research and associated technical analysis the foundation of business strategy rather than a peripheral tool. Sales leads are used because the supplier does not understand the customer needs. If the supplier has detailed forecasts of the opportunity with each purchaser, understanding of the purchaser needs, the products to best serve those needs, and the optimum program with the publishers, and conference organizers he will have a winning strategy.
The McIlvaine program includes forecasting each AWE product or service opportunity for many thousands of individual prospects. This includes relevant product segmentation. This can include differentiating between PFA lined ball valves for corrosive but not abrasive service and urethane lined ball valves for corrosive and abrasive service. Relative to calcium based scrubbers for power plants the choice could be between the 50,000 gpm centrifugal pumps needed for limestone scrubbers vs the smaller pumps used if lime is the reagent vs PC pumps needed if there is natural oxidation and calcium sulfite slurries need to be transported.
Future as well as present market shares of competitors are needed. The future share is in part based on product improvements. It is also shaped by the sales activity. The McIlvaine Company can compare competitor advertising and exhibition expenditures by region and industry as well as product. This indicates the effort which the competitor is undertaking to capture market share or to hold it.
Publications, conferences and exhibitions are where revelations of new developments are likely and where the LTCOV can be established. This means inclusion of the most relevant material. Those suppliers who are confident that they have the LTCO will have every reason to make it financially attractive to the media to provide actionable analyses.
Purchasers, suppliers, publishers, conference organizers and market research organizations can be working in concert for outcomes which lower the cost of clean air, water and energy. The WEFTEC conference and exhibition has been used as a template for a way forward. This can be viewed at Municipal Wastewater Services
The McIlvaine program uses market reports as the foundation for business programs. These reports are described at http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets
The business program is outlined at www.mcilvainecompany.com
Bob McIlvaine can answer your questions at 847 784 0012 ext. 122 email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
