Why Aren’t More ISVs Using ERP Gaps to Drive Demand?

Every ERP customer hits the same wall at some point:

“Our ERP does almost everything we need… almost.”

And that “almost” is where ISVs win — if they know how to use it.

Most ISVs focus heavily on features, roadmaps, or integrations. But the ISVs who dominate their category aren’t just feature-rich…

They understand the ERP gaps their customers feel every single day

…and they position their solution as the most strategic way to close those gaps.

Here’s why ERP gaps matter to you as an ISV — and how you can use them to strengthen your messaging, improve partner enablement, and win more deals.

1. ERP Gaps Are Your Greatest Sales Advantage

Every ERP platform — no matter how modern or powerful — has blind spots:

• AP automation workflows

• Budgeting & forecasting

• Reporting depth

• eCommerce sync

• WMS

• Tax compliance

• Project visibility

Why?

Because ERPs are built with breadth, not depth.

They don’t go deep in any one area because they shouldn’t.
That’s what creates the ISV ecosystem.

Your product exists BECAUSE ERP gaps exist.

When you understand the exact gap you solve:

✔ Your messaging becomes clearer
✔ Your demos become sharper
✔ Your partner conversations become easier
✔ Your value becomes undeniable

2. ISVs Sell Faster When They Map Their Solution to a Gap

Most ISV pitches start with:

• Features

• Navigation

• Settings

• Integrations

• “Here’s what our solution does…”

But customers and VARs aren’t looking for features.
They’re looking for relief.

ERP gaps = pain.
Your ISV = relief.
Your messaging should bridge the two instantly.

Example:

❌ “We automate AP.”
✔ “Your ERP can’t automate 3-way match, vendor onboarding, or approvals — that’s the gap we fill.”

❌ “We do budgeting outside Excel.”
✔ “Your ERP budget module has no workflows, no versions, and no modeling. Our tool fixes that.”

This is the difference between:
an ISV that blends in and an ISV that stands out.

3. Your VAR Partners Sell You More When They Can Describe the Gap

Partners don’t promote the best product…
they promote the easiest product to explain.

If the VAR can quickly say:

“Your ERP can’t do X — this ISV does.”

…you become the go-to.

ISVs who grow faster in 2026 will be the ones who train partners to:

• Name the gap

• Describe the pain

• Position the ISV as the fix

• Share quick examples

• Run 15-minute micro demos

This is how you become “the default recommendation” in your category.

4. Your Marketing Can Work 10× Harder When It Leads With the Gap

ISV marketing too often starts with:

❌ “We’re robust.”
❌ “We’re flexible.”
❌ “We’re powerful.”
❌ “We integrate seamlessly.”

Everyone says that.

But the moment you start speaking to ERP gaps:

✔ Your content hits harder
✔ Your emails convert higher
✔ Your social posts get shared
✔ Your landing pages rank better

Here are high-converting angles:

• “Where your ERP stops, we start.”

• “The gap between your ERP and how your business actually runs.”

• “When your ERP can’t do ____ — we can.”

• “Stop using spreadsheets to patch ERP limitations.”

Gaps create urgency.
You simply position yourself as the fastest path to resolution.

5. Understanding ERP Gaps Helps You Build Better Products

When you know:

• The real workflow

• The hidden pain

• The workaround people invented

• The cost of not fixing it

• How partners talk about it

…your roadmap becomes unbeatable.

The most successful ISVs in the world don’t guess what they should build next.

They follow the gaps.

Final Takeaway for ISVs

Understanding ERP gaps is not a “nice to have.”

It is your:

✔ Marketing strategy
✔ Demo strategy
✔ Messaging strategy
✔ Partner strategy
✔ Product strategy
✔ Sales acceleration engine

You don’t sell features.
You sell relief from ERP limitations and ISVs who master this will dominate 2026 and beyond.