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Delivering a word-of-mouth advantage
COMSS
Notes from a
positioning
workshop
Onva Consulting
2/07/2012
© 2012 Onva Consulting
1. Introduction
This document is designed to capture the key output from the proposition development workshop carried out in
Longford on June 26, 2012. It records the contributions by delegates and also outlines a structure that will be adopted
to develop the proposition and messages further. This document is designed to prompt feedback from participants on
the proposition and the supporting messages.
The primary objective of the day was to isolate a headline value proposition that will provide COMSS with a
competitive edge as a result of the way in which the proposition is brought to life through sales and marketing and
day-to-day client interactions. It is the first step in a journey that will progressively move COMSS closer to achieving
its business goals.
The session was facilitated by Crispin and Matt Manners from Onva. The COMSS participants were:
 Brian Loughran – Founder
 Danny McLoughlin - CEO
 Brian Paul Loughran – Director
 Gareth Loughran – Financial Director
 Richie Loughran – Director
 John Tallon – Technical Director
 Noreen Kindregan – Sales
 Durgesh – Developer
The workshop was split into two parts:
 Discovery – capturing key information on which to base a proposition
 Creation – taking the facts from the discovery phase and using these to channel thinking into a stronger and
more compelling proposition.
The messages developed will be challenged using the following Onva message tests:
Cud Test
What is in your message that:
 Makes it compelling to the prospective customer. This is sometimes seen as the ‘so what’ test ie if the
customer can say ‘so what’ it is clearly not compelling.
Remember for messages to be compelling they must be expressed in the context of the needs of the
individual buyer and the role they perform in the buying process not be a description of what you do
 Makes it unique – or do you just sound like any one of your competitors
 Makes it defendable – in other words what processes support this message that allows your customer to
have a COMSS rather than a competitor experience. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TEST.
Mindset Milestones
Our experience demonstrates that when buyers buy they go through a cognitive process to reassure themselves that
it is a good purchase. We call these steps The Mindset Milestones. They are:
 Relevant – is the product or service relevant to my needs
 Understandable – does the product make sense and do I understand how it will help me
 Believable – Does the provider of this product have the proof to match their claims
 Aspirational – will this product or service deliver one of my dreams/goals
 Accessible – is it is easy for me to buy this product or will it cause me other problems
Robert Cialdini’s Cognitive Shortcuts
 Majority/Social proof – is there a sector that COMSS can lead – can it show that companies of a certain
type prefer COMSS solutions
 Popularity – what can COMSS do to make it liked and admired
 Reciprocity – how can COMSS create a sense of indebtedness
 Scarcity – what can COMSS offer on a limited basis to create demand
 Authority – how can COMSS assume Expert status
 Commitment and consistency – what goals are clients trying to achieve and how can COMSS demonstrate
that it would be consistent with these goals to select COMSS
Explicit versus Implicit
Too often organisations make prospects and customers work too hard to understand the value that will be delivered.
This is usually because companies focus on describing what they do rather than the value that they deliver – in the
belief that the value will be implicit in the way they describe what they do. While some customers may draw the
desired conclusion, most will not. It is therefore vital that the value of the COMSS proposition is Explicit at every step.
Finally, and most importantly, the proposition and the supporting messages must convey in active terms the value that
the customer will receive.
2. The Discovery Phase
2.1. Objectives
Objectives for the business were discussed at length and the following recorded:
Objectives - 12 months
 The company should generate sufficient revenue to cover costs c€500k
o 40 customers at an average deal of 14k (license and support)
o Represents 3-4 modules with multi-user usage
o Target customers will need €2 million+ in turnover
 Find an evangelist – that sings the companies praises
 Identify market sectors that can use key product functionality without too much change/software development
o Clearer focus on verticals
 Customer validation/endorsements/case studies/proof
 Exposure – brand recognition
o Web traffic
o Inbound enquiries
 UK and Ireland reference customers
Qualify for high potential start-up programme – Enterprise Ireland
Objectives – 3 years
 Increase revenue to €1.5 million euros
 Achieve recurring revenue (ie support revenues) equal to the costs – thus making licence revenue the profit
 Average deal size 25k – how many customers is that?
 Be recognised as a world class employer
o Make a difference to customers/employees and shareholders
o Employees – believe in the product and value
o Company cares for its employees
o Easier to hire people
 Be a sustainable/profitable business but good enough to sell
2.2 Competitors
Because of the range or functionality represented by the 16 modules, COMSS has a wide range of competitors, from
those that compete at a single module level, those that compete with multi-module products in a vertical market, to
general ledger companies like Sage.
 Sage
 Red Sky
 Exchequer
 ConQuest
 Coins
 Fast Estimate
 BuildSoft
 Access
There followed a discussion about how COMSS would try and outsell some of its main competitors ie what would be
COMSS competitive positioning. The following was offered:
 If trying to outsell Sage
o Sage is too big to care
o COMSS is more flexible – COMSS can create a bespoke product. This prompted a discussion about
whether COMSS wanted to become a bespoke development company and whether this would
enable it to deliver its goals. The conclusion was that it did not want to do that as it would
increase complexity and make it harder to scale quickly (but was only considering as it might
provide the opportunity to win some revenue in the short term)
o The conclusion was that COMSS would only outsell Sage in key verticals where the value of the
additional modules required the core financial module to perform
 If trying to outsell ConQuest (70% of UK marketing)
o COMSS offers much more functionality than just estimating – the link to an integrated job costing
module provides much more value
 If trying to sell outsell Redsky
o COMSS offers much better support
 If trying to outsell Access
o COMSS is a new product built on the same technology with single a single vision. Access in contrast
is old an old product with multiple versions which does not make for a good customer experience.
Selling points identified
The process of discussing sales positioning against competitors uncovered a number of strengths/values of the
COMSS offering. These can be summarised as follows:
 Financial and operational visibility – One of the core principles behind the original design was to enable
business owners/leaders to take better and quicker decisions and to avoid expensive mistakes such as
overpaying creditors or not recognising the potential for a bad debt before it is too late. As a result the
modules have a number of functions designed-in such as alerts and the ability to PO match at the point of
delivery to provide greater transparency, productivity and speed of decision-making
 Improving project profitability – because the system is designed with project-based industries in mind, it is
optimised to identify project profitability at key points in the project. The integrated design of the modules
means that these can be done more easily and quickly
 Because the COMSS system is designed around a single record it is possible to provide the user with a
‘single or integrated view’ of a customer. This would require a report to be created via a Dashboard but the
key point is that this is possible. Compared to older, siloed systems this is a strong benefit that increases
business visibility, decision-making, user productivity, the ability to innovate services/cross-sell and up-sell
and also customer service
 Improved management decision-making – The integrated architecture, the streamlined workflow, the ease
of use and a number of the embedded features combine to deliver the visibility and transparency at both an
operational and financial level to enable business leaders to make better informed decisions
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Excellent user experience – the COMSS system has been designed with the user in mind. Rather than just
finding a technological way to automate a process. As a result the COMSS system both presents the
applications in a user-friendly format and in a logical flow that enables the user to do their job more easily
Smooth/streamlined workflow – the modules have been designed to deliver an optimised workflow for the
business process that they automate. This is a considerable advantage over some competitor offerings which
have not been built with the user in mind
Eliminating waste through repetition – because all the modules draw on a common record, data only has
to be entered once – saving users – and the business significant time and money
Same integrated experience for all employees – because the COMSS system has been designed as an
integrated experience around a common architecture, users of different modules have the same experience.
As a result it is easy for people to move between modules without the need for significant user training
Better interface – optimised to improve the user experience
Ideal for construction and project-based industries. Because of the background of the original architect of
the modules, they are optimised for these sectors
Growth and scalability built-in – because the modules are designed around an integrated architecture, it
provides customers the opportunity to add services supported by additional modules without needing to
change the underlying system
Enhanced cash management – Because the system provides better financial visibility and decision support
– and draws on a powerful integrated accounting module – the COMSS system enables businesses to
manage their cash better
Designed to be best in class – the following comments were made – which also point towards key
strengths
o ‘To save customer huge amounts of time and money by not repeating data inputs’
o “No limits business software – designed for growth”
o “Software designed for the user rather than to automate process”
o “COMSS family of products – provides integration”
o “Driver initially was the business man – don’t overpay creditors and keep in control of costs”
o “Real-time data – quicker flagging for Profit and Loss on a project”
o “Gives businesses manoeuvrability”
2.3 Target sectors
Target audiences across vertical and horizontal markets were discussed. The main conclusions were as follows:
 The COMMS system is optimised for:
o Projects-based industries
o Sectors that have to manage a mix of the following:
 People time and productivity
 Sub-contractors
 Freelance staff
 Bought-in supplies and the associated stock control
o Sectors connected to the construction industry
As a result the following sectors were identified
 Vertical
o Construction
o Drawing Management (competition don’t have costs management facility)
o Plant management
o Property/Estate management
o Consulting
o SME – Manufacturing
o Local authorities for their maintenance arms etc
o PR and Marketing

Horizontal
o General accounting
o HR
o Office/Business Management
o Health and Safety
2.4 Purchase types
The types of purchase modes that buyers are likely to be in were discussed and the following identified:
 Primary mode – Because of the economy the primary mode was identified as ‘trouble’ mode – ie
organisation wants to do more or the same for less. The strengths identified in 2.2 above are compelling for
this kind of buyer
Buying motivators in general were discussed and it was agreed that these fall into three main areas:

Strategy led purchase – ie a step change or a desire to move the business forward by creating something
new. Because of this, current systems are not seen as capable of supporting this step change.
o COMSS can satisfy this need by selling the way the system provides the financial and operational
visibility necessary to achieve the desired transformation

Improvement led purchase – ie desire to improve rather than transform what already exists
o The strengths identified in 2.2 above enable COMSS to sell against this need by accentuating the
productivity and decision-making improvements

Cost led purchase ie desire to release value by reducing costs
o Again the strengths identified in 2.2 above enable COMSS to sell against this need
Tiering of product modules
The likely order in which the modules would be sold was discussed and the following agreed
 Tier 1 - Single accounting module – (need accounting functionality to enable the clear visibility message)
 Tier 2 - Next modules would then be subcontractor, job costing, plant management, expense management
and cash management as these reinforce the projects-based strengths of the product suite
o Then a list of other potential modules depending on the customer – time management, expenses
 Tier 3 - Health and Safety, HR, Time management and estimating
 Other – drawing register, works orders, project appraisal, insurance claims and project assistant
It was agreed that although the business was not set up to create a suite of general financial ledgers, the functionality
of the core accounting module was essential to provide the financial transparency required for the other modules to be
compelling.
2.5 Barriers to achieving objectives
Barriers to achieving the objectives were discussed and split between internal and external factors.
2.5.1
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Internal barriers
No customers – a massively important barrier as it means that the messaging created is not based on actual
sales activity with customers
No customer validation
Price – the market is price sensitive and lesser products are available at lower cost
Brand awareness/Visibility – there is none
Marketing/Experience
Ability to attract employees in Longford
Ability to differentiate against a complex list of competitors – so agreeing an initial market focus is key
Gaps in product suite – such as robust cash management and a management dashboard
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2.5.2
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3 day installation (migration of data, training and install)
o With current resource – capacity of 4 installs a week this currently equals 200 installs a year
External barriers
Competition
Economy
Legislation
2.6 Strengths
Strengths were discussed in detail. Two categories were identified:
 Things COMSS does well, but others might do as well or better
 Things COMSS does well and few others would do significantly better
The list is detailed below with the strengths that few competitors would do significantly better distinguished by a pink
font.
 Architecture of product suite– integration and focus on a record level enables COMSS to provide (with
creation of report dashboard) an integrated view of an organisation or individual within an organisation
o Central Master Control Panel (CMCP)
 16 modules – family of applications for integration. No other vendor provides this exact mix
 New software – ie it does not have several iterations and workarounds that build-in inefficiencies
 Good work flow
 Most of suite is optimised for project-based businesses
 Well designed – unique and easy to use user interface
 Software development capability
 Flexibility
 Good people
 Depth of knowledge
 Good customer support
 Irish
 Stability of the company
 Security
As indicated in section 2.2 above these core strengths can be summarised as follows:




Financial and operational visibility – One of the core principles behind the original design was to enable
business owners/leaders to take better and quicker decisions and to avoid expensive mistakes such as
overpaying creditors or not recognising the potential for a bad debt before it is too late. As a result the
modules have a number of functions designed-in such as alerts and the ability to PO match at the point of
delivery to provide greater transparency, productivity and speed of decision-making
Improving project profitability – because the system is designed with project-based industries in mind, it is
optimised to identify project profitability at key points in the project. The integrated design of the modules
means that these can be done more easily and quickly
Because the COMSS system is designed around a single record it is possible to provide the user with a
‘single or integrated view’ of a customer. This would require a report to be created via a Dashboard but the
key point is that this is possible. Compared to older, siloed systems this is a strong benefit that increases
business visibility, decision-making, user productivity, the ability to innovate services/cross-sell and up-sell
and also customer service
Improved management decision-making – The integrated architecture, the streamlined workflow, the ease
of use and a number of the embedded features combine to deliver the visibility and transparency at both an
operational and financial level to enable business leaders to make better informed decisions









Excellent user experience – the COMSS system has been designed with the user in mind. Rather than just
finding a technological way to automate a process. As a result the COMSS system both presents the
applications in a user-friendly format and in a logical flow that enables the user to do their job more easily
Smooth/streamlined workflow – the modules have been designed to deliver an optimised workflow for the
business process that they automate. This is a considerable advantage over some competitor offerings which
have not been built with the user in mind
Eliminating waste through repetition – because all the modules draw on a common record, data only has
to be entered once – saving users – and the business significant time and money
Same integrated experience for all employees – because the COMSS system has been designed as an
integrated experience around a common architecture, users of different modules have the same experience.
As a result it is easy for people to move between modules without the need for significant user training
Better interface – optimised to improve the user experience
Ideal for construction and project-based industries. Because of the background of the original architect of
the modules, they are optimised for these sectors
Growth and scalability built-in – because the modules are designed around an integrated architecture, it
provides customers the opportunity to add services supported by additional modules without needing to
change the underlying system
Enhanced cash management – Because the system provides better financial visibility and decision support
– and draws on a powerful integrated accounting module – the COMSS system enables businesses to
manage their cash better
Designed to be best in class – the following comments were made – which also point towards key
strengths
o ‘To save customer huge amounts of time and money by not repeating data inputs’
o “No limits business software – designed for growth”
o “Software designed for the user rather than to automate process”
o “COMSS family of products – provides integration”
o “Driver initially was the business man – don’t overpay creditors and keep in control of costs”
o “Real-time data – quicker flagging for Profit and Loss on a project”
o “Gives businesses manoeuvrability”
3 Summary and conclusions of discovery phase
The discovery phase was very helpful in refining thinking and identifying where COMSS was most likely to succeed if
it focused on accentuating its core strengths. The following are the main conclusions:
 Although some modules would work well for businesses that were not projects-based, the overall suite was
optimised for this sector. Consequently messaging that developed this strength would make COMSS more
compelling than trying to compete in other sectors
 The integrated architecture, workflow and usability of the products combined to provide excellent financial
and operational transparency and decision support. The messages need to accentuate this
 All the strengths of the integrated suite combine to provide a financial advantage to customers – through
more efficient operations, more effective people and asset utilisation and more informed decision making.
-END-
KT19 0HD
© 2011 Onva Consulting
www.onva.co.uk