How Duro Found Their Ideal Customer: The Power of Focusing on New Product Introduction Teams
Finding your ideal customer isn’t always about industry or company size – sometimes it’s about identifying a specific process or pain point that transcends traditional market segments. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Michael Corr from Duro shared how focusing on New Product Introduction (NPI) teams became their key to unlocking both startup and enterprise markets.
The NPI Opportunity
“Where we do best is teams who are going through what’s referred to as NPI new product introduction,” Michael explains. “And that’s where teams are trying to move fast. They’re innovating, they’re trying to get out of their competitors, trying to get their own products to market faster.”
This insight came from understanding a fundamental truth about hardware development: regardless of company size, new product launches create similar pressures and challenges.
Beyond Traditional Market Segments
The beauty of focusing on NPI teams was that it transcended traditional market segmentation. As Michael notes, “Duro has just been at the right place at the right time, really gobbling up that market, that culture, those engineers who are looking for a solution like Duro.”
They discovered that whether it was a startup launching their first product or Google developing new hardware, NPI teams shared common pain points and demands for speed and efficiency.
Understanding the Cultural Shift
The focus on NPI teams aligned perfectly with broader industry changes. “We’re starting to finally see that the hardware industry is finally getting some of that love,” Michael shares. “And we’re starting to finally see not only investments with some brand new ideas, there’s new software tools, there’s new software workflows, new data models.”
This cultural shift was particularly evident in how software companies approached hardware development. As Michael explains, “You’re seeing that culturally, some of the best hardware products are now being developed by software companies where not the Apples or the Samsung, but companies like Google and Facebook and Amazon.”
The Trust Factor
Their deep understanding of NPI challenges helped build trust with potential customers. “Myself and my co-founder Kellen are engineers. We’ve been in this space respectfully for 20 years each. We’ve lived through the pains, we know exactly what our customers are going through and in many cases we know more than they do,” Michael notes.
This expertise allowed them to anticipate and address the unique challenges NPI teams face. “We can predict what problems are coming around the corner and we’ve been able to build a rapport with our customer base where they trust us and they know that we’ve seen these issues.”
The Implementation Approach
Rather than just selling software, Duro invested heavily in ensuring customer success. “We spend quite a bit of time with each and every customer going through their current workflows, going through their partnering systems, revision schemes, their structure of their bonds and making constructive criticism, helping them do better,” Michael shares.
This approach was particularly valuable for NPI teams, who often needed to move quickly while maintaining quality and consistency.
The Expanding Market
The strategy has paid off as the market continues to evolve. “We’re definitely getting a lot more recognition lately,” Michael notes. “The addressable market is growing month over month as we continue to see investments in hardware and spin offs coming out of SpaceX and Apple and various others.”
Lessons for Founders
Duro’s experience offers valuable insights for founders defining their target market:
- Look for common processes or pain points that transcend traditional market segments
- Focus on specific use cases rather than broad industry categories
- Align your targeting with emerging industry trends
- Build deep expertise in your customers’ specific challenges
- Invest heavily in customer success for your target segment
The key insight is that sometimes the most effective market segmentation isn’t about company size or industry – it’s about identifying specific processes or challenges that create similar needs across different types of customers.
For founders struggling with market focus, Duro’s story shows how zeroing in on a specific use case can create a clear path to both startup and enterprise customers, while building a strong foundation for long-term growth.