Initial Target Market

The first three months focused on exploring the young driver training school market in the local region, as stated in driving simulator start-up business plan.  In a nutshell, we researched and compiled a calling list of all the driving schools in the region.  Subsequently proceeded to call out and prospect to these young driver training schools as the best approach to uncover demand given most of these client operations still used fax and phone primarily rather than email.  Reached out to just over 600 young driver training schools to determine: one third had no interest in purchasing as they were planning for retirement.  Another third simply had no interest in innovating their enterprise.  While the last third were clearly passionate driver trainers open to innovating their enterprise but without the funds to purchase.  Even a creative purchasing business plan that we built for them failed to sway their bankers.

New Market Research

Therefore the following month our next step was to go back to square one and open up a new market research project.  We research two perspective: one who currently buy driving simulators?  And two, who had a problem that our simulator solution answers?  Our next challenge was educating the market about the value of professional driver training similar to professional pilot training.

The largest buying segment for driving simulators was research customers, at 66 percent share.  Next was professional driver training (in contrast to young driver training), at 23 percent. Finally, the last buyer segment was entertainment at 11 percent.  The professional driver training segment was divided by military training and commercial training both of which had an incumbent competitor leading the way.

The founders of the driving simulation start-up may be able to address a certain cross section of the research market.  They had no interest in meeting the needs of the entertainment sector.  They were not able to meet the needs for military training customers, which left us with determining how to target commercial training, or largely the  truck transportation sector.

Not surprisingly the profile of many truck driver training schools mirrored our experience with those in the young driver training schools market.  Effectively a few, usually the larger ones were open to innovating their operations.  There were enough of them to target across North America within an annual plan.  While there was another target within the commercial training sector which were the transport companies themselves of which they are 1.2 million.  Effectively 90% of these companies operate less than six trucks.  Again there was enough of a cross section of them who had their own driver training operations.  What all of them had in common, however is that there are surprisingly few requirements to become a commercial driver.  While they are in constant shortage of drivers since they were underpaid against average blue collar work.  Contrast this to you can only fly a commercial plane if you had proven training hours in a simulator of the plane that you will be flying.

Re-Focus Revenue Growth Target

For the balance of the year of this project, our client, the driving simulator start-up invested in product development for this market.  We in turn began to put a strategy to address this market inclusive of but not limited to related marketing and sales playbook and qualifying lead/prospecting messages:

• Develop and implement marketing plans, including trade show calendars and association programs, new product introductions and other marketing projects
• Oversee improvements to the company’s website or email marketing program and provide analytics review
• Develop and manage marketing and sales budgets
• Develop marketing and sales forecasting and product branding plans
• Establish and grow a target market share
• Conduct customer, brand and product research initiatives

Breaking the Code

As we continued to conduct customer research regarding the trucking transportation sector.  We continued to sell simulators opportunistically during this period.  Our first to a very passionate young driver training school. Another to a traffic accident research facility.  And another to an unexpected market, or ‘Driver Rehabilitation Center’ helping their patient return to driving.  These were okay results but we were looking to bridge the gap to revenue growth and attended, participated, presented and demonstrated our offer to a range of Trucking Transportation industry associations,  conventions, trade shows.

What happened next illustrates the value of non-selling conversation with the prospective client about their pain. It was not what our  market research initially suggested or promoting professional driver training.  Or how our driving simulator is less expensive than using a real truck for training.  Or how our driving simulator improves driver quality and professionalism. 

The answer to breaking the code was modifying our pitch with how our driving simulator improves their daily operational costs and resulting profits.  Truckingresearch.org provided us with the fact based foundation:

Providing the above market insight to the founders of driving simulator start-up led to development of driver-training programs that address all four operating costs line items by addressing driver behavior with ‘How to’ drive:

• Fuel efficiently while maintaining client and corporate commitments.  For example, driving 65 mph instead of 55 mph can use up to 20 percent more fuel, and driving with the engine rpm too high can waste several gallons of fuel each hour. Other common habits that reduce fuel economy are frequent or improper shifting, too-rapid acceleration, too-frequent stops and starts from failing to anticipate traffic flow, and taking circuitous routes.  All of which are addressed with driving simulator. Depending on the driver profile this program will help them be more fuel efficient between 4-24 percent after training
• Fuel efficiently for impacting repair and maintenance as well, for example you will use less brakes by 80 percent
• Rural roads and highways properly given 60 percent of truck accidents are on rural roads or 25 percent on highways leads to 30 to 60 percent claims reduction
• Slowly and properly when backing up will reduce tire wear and related repair and maintenance costs leads to 4 to 16 percent savings.