Technology is empowering. It solves our problems and makes our life simpler. As technology continues to make advances, innovators have created new products and services which have changed the way we live, work and play. For young startup founders, the love with the power of technology runs deep. They are constantly looking to improve the technology and create breakthroughs.

But when you are running a business as a startup founder, just technological innovation or breakthrough isn’t enough. As a business person, you must always be cognizant about 3 simple questions which I call “The Holy Trinity” – the 3 perennial questions each business must answer in order to grow their business and be successful.

It sounds simple but I have seen even large businesses forget the basics in their strategies and ending up with the short end of the stick.

WHO?

Always remember and clearly visualize WHO the customer for your products and services is. Whether you are a B2C Internet-based product firm or you are a B2B services firm, be very clear in your definition of who is the end-user of your product or service. Then, put yourself into the customer’s shoes and understand exactly what the pain point is.

Till the time you don’t feel the customer pain yourself, you will never truly delve deep enough to create a meaningful solution for them.

Before you start working on a solution, you must have a very clear picture of who the customer is AND what is the pain point which you are looking to address with your proposed solution.

WHAT?

Once you have understood their pain point that is when you decide how to address the customer in a language he understands. The question your marketing campaign and communication should answer is “WHAT problem is my product/service solving for the customer”.

The best-designed communication is not when you PUSH the product/service to the customer but where you highlight how the product solves the customer pain point and hence why he/she should avail your service.

This way, the customer always gets the feeling of being in control and will be receptive of the product/service being communicated.

WHEN?

The third and probably most critical piece of The Holy Trinity is the timing of the communication. The Holy Grail of WHEN to communicate is Contextual Marketing.

As you define your target customers, you must also deeply understand the customer lifecycle journey and define Moments of Truths – instances where the customer feels the maximum pain and hence is going to be most receptive of your well-defined proposition if communicated in a timely and simple manner.

Leveraging moments of truths to communicate your products and services can increase the conversion rate of your campaigns by 4-5X !!!

Numerous business owners and startup founders start off with high enthusiasm and excitement believing in the power of their technology or the product/service they are creating. It is but natural to be in love with your own idea.

However, they must always remember that to create a successful business, you don’t just need good technology but also a well-defined marketing strategy which helps you understand your customers and create/adapt solutions accordingly.

In my decade long experience at leading Indian and global firms, I had the opportunity to create multiple strategic programs which answered these 3 questions for different businesses – programs which enabled businesses to acquire millions of new users and ended up generating millions of dollars in revenue.