The technical specifications trap: Why listing your specifications (weight, range, lumens) locks you into a price war.
The Capability Equation: Understanding that the military does not purchase equipment, but rather informational or kinetic superiority.
Changing your point of contact: How capability marketing opens doors to operational decision-makers (military C-level) rather than mere buyers.
The example of champions: What successful mid-sized companies (such as Exail and Photonis) have understood in order to become indispensable.
The Role of the Compass: Why Your Company Mission Is Your Best Selling Point.
In the defense industry, technical excellence is a prerequisite, not a competitive advantage. Your engineers are brilliant, but if your marketing department simply lists frequencies and alloys, you will remain a mere commodity supplier. To move up the value chain and secure your margins, you need to make a radical change: stop selling a technological "black box" and start selling decisive operational capability. Here's how to transform your catalog into a doctrine.
We are at the Eurosatory exhibition. Hall 5.
At booth A, a French mid-sized company presents its new tactical drone. The poster proclaims: "45-minute battery life, 10km range, 4K sensor, AES-256 encrypted data link." Visitors stop, compare the figures with those at the neighboring booth (a cheaper Turkish competitor), and move on.
At booth B, a competing company isn't talking about minutes or miles. Its slogan? "See before you are seen: guaranteed information superiority for your infantry units.". The screens don't show close-ups of the drone, but rather its tactical effect: an ambush avoided thanks to the intelligence provided by the system.
Stand A sells a product. Stand B sells operational capacity.
Which one do you think will sign the framework agreement with the DGA or the export division?
In a rapidly changing defense industrial base, traditional technical marketing has become a glass ceiling. To break through it, a paradigm shift is needed.
The syndrome is well known. As a manufacturer (sensors, optronics, embedded electronics), you are proud of your R&D. You have spent three years miniaturizing a component. It is natural to want to shout these specifications from the rooftops.
However, this is a major strategic error for three reasons:
Commoditization through specs: As soon as you translate your value into numbers (weight, power, resolution), you become comparable. And if you are comparable, you are negotiable.
Operational blindness: The end user (the commander, pilot, radar operator) doesn't care about your patent. They have a problem to solve: "How do I detect a hypersonic threat?" or "How do I communicate in a jammed environment?" If you talk to them about "bandwidth," they have to make a mental effort to translate that into a solution. It's your job to do that, not theirs.
The evolution of acquisition cycles : The 2024-2030 Military Procurement Law and NATO's new doctrines require agility. Armed forces are looking for "effects" to integrate into complex systems (Scorpion, SCAF, TITAN). A "black box" with closed specifications is frightening; an open, mission-oriented capability is reassuring.
The reality is stark: if you sell equipment by the kilo, you will be paid scrap metal prices. If you sell security or superiority, you set the price of victory.
But what exactly is a capacity?
It's not a buzzword. It's a precise equation:
Capacity = (equipment + Doctrine + Integration) / Effect
Selling a capability means telling the story of your product in action. It means moving from the feature to the outcome.
| Level | Marketing Speech (Example: Optronics) | Customer Perception | Perceived Value |
| Level 1: Component | “Cooled thermal camera, 15µm sensor.” | Supplier of spare parts. | Low (€) |
| Level 2: Product | “Lightweight and robust night vision binoculars.” | Equipment supplier. | Average (€€) |
| Level 3: Capacity | “All-weather target acquisition system for artillery.” | Tactical Partner. | High (€€€) |
Look at companies such as Exail (formerly iXblue) and Photonis. They don't just sell inertial measurement units or image intensifier tubes. They sell sovereign navigation in GPS-denied areas and nighttime dominance. They have succeeded in elevating the technical debate to a strategic one.
How can this semantic shift be achieved without misrepresenting the product? This is where marketing methods converge with corporate strategy.
You cannot improvise a capacity-building speech if your internal culture is purely "engineering-based." You need a compass: what we at Autour de l'Image call the Strategic Compass.
The core of your "Governance Foundation" must answer the question: What is the ultimate effect of our work in the field?
Before (Product Vision) : “We manufacture the most sensitive acoustic sensors on the market.”
After (Vision Mission) : “We protect critical infrastructure by providing early warning before impact.”
This reformulation is not cosmetic. It changes everything:
Your R&D department: It is no longer seeking to improve the sensor, but to reduce the alert time.
Your Marketing: It is no longer aimed at acoustic engineers, but at site safety managers.
Your SEO: You are positioning yourself on "solution" keywords (sensitive site protection, anti-drone measures) and no longer just "product" keywords (directional microphone).
By adopting this "Capacity Provider" approach, you unlock three major barriers:
Access to the operational C-level: A general does not meet with a camera salesperson. He meets with an expert who explains how to improve the survivability of his troops. You are changing the relationship league.
The justification for the premium: In the defense sector, reliability and tactical advantage are priceless. If you can prove that your system offers First Look, First Shot, First Kill, the additional cost compared to the competition becomes irrelevant.
Employer Brand Appeal: Young engineers want meaning. They prefer to work for a company that "secures airspace" rather than a factory that "manufactures aluminum parts."
Transitioning from a technical supplier to a strategic partner is not simply a matter of redesigning your website or brochure. It requires a fundamental reorientation of your corporate narrative.
It means acknowledging that in the fog of war (and public procurement), the clarity of your intention is as important as the precision of your technology.
The key to this transformation lies in your governance.
If your vision is unclear, your marketing will be unclear.
To sell operational capacity, you must first define it at the highest level of your organization. This is precisely the role of our Governance Foundation module.
We help you extract your true "Mission" (your Compass) to align your engineering, business, and communication toward a single goal: real impact.
Ready to turn your technical catalog into a winning strategy?
