Winning Strategies for Early Market Adoption 

Being at the forefront of your market is both a badge of honor and a formidable challenge. While pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, your clients, shareholders, and employees must grasp and embrace your vision and value proposition. That’s easier said than done, though, when you’re “future fighting”—swimming upstream against a market that’s not quite ready.  

When Businessolver entered the employee benefits technology market in 1998, the internet was nascent and the idea of using it for benefits enrollment was revolutionary. Likewise, benefits enrollment via a digital platform was a threat to the jobs of unionized employees called “keyers” —not dissimilar to how AI can be seen as threat to some jobs today. Undoubtedly, there were ample reasons for prospects to push back against an idea ahead of its market.  

While our benefits platform has grown to over 18 million users, the process of navigating these challenges produced important lessons we still derive value from today. Here are three principles to consider when future fighting your market. 

Innovation often comes with an inherent paradox: The more groundbreaking your idea, the harder it is for others to see its immediate relevance. While bold visions inspire, they can also alienate potential customers. 

To overcome this, entrepreneurs must create a narrative that bridges the present with the future, starting with a relatable pain point and positioning your innovation as a step forward—not a leap into the unknown. 

For instance, efficiency is a key benefit of our software, but early HR resistance came from fear of losing their role as benefits counselors. Overcoming this objection hinged on helping them see that backend efficiencies would actually result in more time for counseling employees and driving people-first initiatives.  

I’ve always been fascinated by how people think. This curiosity, paired with empathy, helps me understand customers’ resistance to change. Listening and empathizing with them sets a tone for transparent, open dialogue—fueling a two-way partnership and transfer of ideas. As our company has grown, we’ve learned the power of partnership. Involving customers and stakeholders in the innovation process builds trust while ensuring solutions align with market needs.  

HR is typically seen as the target audience in our industry; however, the real end users are employees making critical benefits decisions. Much of our success has centered on employing the empathy needed (we call it “tech with heart”) to help employees make the right choices for their holistic wellness, which ultimately results in positive outcomes for HR, too.  

The technologist’s dilemma shouldn’t be a barrier. It’s an opportunity to refine your approach and amplify your impact. While it’s easy to get caught up in creating cutting-edge technology, don’t lose sight of what fuels successful innovation: being the best at solving your customers’ problems. If you can do the research, make the right investments, and muster the empathy to really understand the problems your clients are trying to solve—your solutions will be designed with the intent needed to drive tangible, market-leading outcomes.