BESPOKE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

In the early years of the photonics industry, when lasers, optics and photonics solutions were leaving the university laboratory and finding applications in industry, the photonics sales professional and their customer were usually quite similar in background. Often both the sales professional and the purchaser or user had advanced degrees in physics, physical chemistry or an engineering discipline and regularly had hands on experience with the products in question. These expert to expert conversations were comfortable for both sides and often converged to the specifications required. The personal relationships developed quickly and naturally as both had an appreciation for the other and were speaking the same language. References were easy to find as the community of users was relatively small. When very complex technical matters would arise, the sales professional had the ability and experience to rapidly understand the answers from their factory and was able to relay the required information in a meaningful way.

As early as the 2000's, photonics products started to enter mass markets and company revenues and valuations soared. The sky seemed to be the limit until the telecom bubble burst. While this slowed markets for a period, it lead photonics companies to redouble their efforts to find new applications which would replace the revenue that had been expected from the telecom sector. In parallel, advances in semiconductor lasers, fiber laser platforms and ultrafast laser technology presented an entirely new spectrum of applications. Many of the solutions deployed used expert integration partners and the photonics sales professionals were still having meaningful conversations as a large number of applications focussed on a few key processes, such as material processing. However, a change was coming......

From the 2010's, photonics products crossed the adoption chasm as they found adoption in genuinely mass market processes such as marking, cutting, drilling and welding, but also in areas such as autonomous driving, medical devices and consumer electronics. Unlike the traditional photonics markets, these latter examples came with their own market dynamics and their own rules of business. While earlier discussions centered on performance, now photonics sales professionals were expected to have conversations in new areas. For example, "Quality" discussions which had previously been about the quality of the photonics product evolved to be industry specific (e.g. ISO13485 in Medical Devices or IATF 16949 in Automotive applications). The depth of knowledge required for our photonics sales professionals exploded and they started to face industry experts, i.e. professional purchasing managers who viewed the purchase much more transactionally. 

Expecting our photonics sales professionals to have meaningful discussions in many different markets within their typical working week has become a difficult requirement to fulfill. Finding an individual that has application and market experience in multiple sectors is like trying to find a needle in a haystack and comes at a very high investment cost. For specialized and larger companies, they can be content with hiring talent with a relatively narrow focus, but for smaller companies this is not an option. So how do companies enter new markets and how do smaller companies generate sustainable success without breaking the bank? We do have a solution!

By working with Sustainable Photonics, companies can embark on an evaluation of their accessible market segments and the relative positioning of their products in that sector. A thorough review of the product offering and identification of ready opportunities allows companies to rapidly enter markets where they can be successful. In parallel, our expert consultants will identify adjacent applications and products that are within reach for your company with the minimum of investment. No longer will you be hoping that your new product will be successful as you will be working with key, cornerstone clients who will be the early consumers of your new product. As our team has worked in a very wide variety of applications, your company will be able to have catalyzed penetration of key markets in the shortest time possible. As the roadmap for key clients becomes predictable, our team will onboard appropriate new talent with you that with become the sustainable solution for that segment. We are able to repeat this process time and again in order that you end up with maximum product penetration in various markets without the risk of exploring them alone from first principles.

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