Congratulations. Your team has dedicated countless hours to research and development, successfully proven your concept, and secured the support of NGen to help bring a game-changing technology to the manufacturing sector. You have achieved a significant milestone.
But as you shift from the lab to the marketplace, a new and often unfamiliar challenge emerges: convincing customers to buy. A recent study found that while Canadian businesses are highly innovative, many struggle to scale. A key reason is a gap in commercialization, sales, and marketing know-how. The skills that validate a technology are not the same skills that generate revenue.
Success from this point forward hinges on a deliberate commercial strategy. To help you navigate this transition, let's address the foundational element you need before diving into the common mistakes:
The Blueprint for Growth: Your Commercialization Plan
The single most effective tool to prevent costly missteps is a formal Commercialization Plan. This is not a static document to be filed away; it is a living roadmap that translates your technical innovation into a viable business. It forces you to answer the tough questions early and provides a clear path for your entire team to follow. At a minimum, your plan should outline:
1. Market & Problem Analysis: Who is your ideal customer? What specific, costly problem are you solving for them? What is the quantifiable value of that solution?
2. Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy: How will you reach your customers? Will you use a direct sales team, channel partners, or a digital sales model? What is your pricing strategy?
3. Marketing & Sales Plan: What specific marketing activities will you use to generate leads (e.g., case studies, trade shows, digital advertising)? What does your sales process look like from first contact to closed deal?
4. Team & Resources: Who is responsible for the commercial success of the project? What skills do you have, and what skills do you need to hire for? What is your budget for sales and marketing?
5. Metrics & Milestones: How will you measure success? Define key performance indicators (KPIs) like lead generation targets, sales cycle length, and revenue goals.
Having this plan in place is the best defence against the following five common mistakes.
Mistake #1: Building in a Vacuum
You’ve achieved technical validation; your NGen project proves your innovation works. But this is not the same as market validation. The critical question shifts from "Can we build it?" to "Who will buy it, and why?" Far too many companies invest heavily in scaling production based on technical success, only to find the market’s needs are slightly—or vastly—different.
Actionable Steps:
Get Out of the Lab: Identify and speak with at least 10 potential customers who were not involved in your development project.
Conduct Problem-Focused Interviews: Don't lead with your solution. Ask about their current processes, biggest operational headaches, and the costs associated with those problems.
Test for Willingness to Pay: Frame the value proposition clearly. "If a solution could reduce your scrap material by X%, saving you approximately $Y per year, what would you consider a fair price for that solution?"
Mistake #2: Selling Features, Not Solutions
Your clients in the manufacturing sector don’t buy technical specifications; they buy business outcomes. They are under constant pressure to reduce costs, increase throughput, and improve quality. Your marketing must speak that language.
A Simple Framework: Feature-to-Benefit-to-Value
Feature: What your product is or has. (e.g., "An AI-powered sensor with 99.8% accuracy.")
Benefit: What the feature does. (e.g., "It identifies microscopic defects in real-time on the production line.")
Value: What the benefit means for the customer's business in dollars and sense. (e.g., "This reduces costly product recalls by 30% and decreases material waste, saving an average of $250,000 per year.")
Lead with the Value in every sales and marketing conversation.
Mistake #3: Assuming the Product Sells Itself
Having the best technology is not a market strategy. The belief that a superior product will automatically lead customers to your door is a dangerous assumption. Your Commercialization Plan must detail a deliberate go-to-market strategy.
Common GTM Strategies for Manufacturing Tech:
Direct Sales: Best for high-value, complex solutions requiring a consultative sales process. This involves hiring a salesperson or, in the early days, dedicating a founder to the role.
Channel Partners/Sales Agents: Leverages established distributors or agents who already have relationships with your target customers, accelerating market penetration.
Mistake #4: Hiding Your Success
While protecting intellectual property is crucial, operating in "stealth mode" for too long is a commercial death sentence. The goal is to build credibility and market buzz without revealing your core IP.
Best Practices for Buzz-Building, IP-Protecting Marketing:
Focus on the "Why," Not the "How": Market the problem you solve and the results you deliver. A press release or case study can be incredibly effective without detailing the proprietary technology.
Create a Compelling Case Study: Work with a trusted project partner to develop a case study from your NGen project. Structure it around their Challenge, your Solution, and the quantifiable Results (e.g., "15% reduction in downtime," "20% increase in production efficiency").
Secure Testimonials: A strong quote from a respected industry player can be more valuable than any technical data sheet.
Mistake #5: Lacking a Commercial Team
The skills required to manage an R&D project are different from those needed to build a sales pipeline. As you move towards a full market launch, it's critical to have dedicated commercial expertise. With over half of Canadian SMEs citing labour shortages and skills gaps as a barrier to growth, planning for this transition is essential.
Signs It's Time to Hire a Sales or Marketing Professional:
The Founder is the Bottleneck: You are spending more time on inconsistent sales efforts than on strategy and product development.
Leads Are Going Cold: You're getting inquiries, but no one has the time or expertise to properly qualify and nurture them.
You Lack a Repeatable Process: You've made a few early sales but can't articulate a clear, repeatable process for acquiring the next 10 customers.
When you hire, look for someone with B2B tech sales or marketing experience, ideally within the manufacturing sector. They should be a strategic thinker who can execute the commercial plan your company needs to grow.
Your NGen project was the launchpad.
Securing support from NGen is a testament to your team's ingenuity. By developing a thoughtful commercialization plan and avoiding these common pitfalls, you can ensure your innovation doesn't just succeed in the lab, but thrives in the market—delivering value to your customers and driving the future of Canadian manufacturing.