Communications Equipment Company Case Study

Revenue expectations were met through increased brand awareness, leveraging the parent’s strong industry position, and aligning sales approaches with buyer processes.

Situation and Challenge

• The company was not achieving expected revenues from its new acquisition. EMEA markets were outperforming the US and APAC geographies but overall results were still disappointing.
• Blue Ridge Partners was asked to assess the new acquisition’s marketing and sales approaches in the three geographies and identify opportunities to accelerate top-line revenue growth

Approach

• Conducted internal interviews with executives and sales teams to understand current revenue generation approaches, processes, tools, and skills
• Followed our The Nine Voices of the Market® approach for in-depth interviews with channel partners, prospects, and current and recently lost customers to understand buyer values and processes and identify perceptions of the company’s offerings, key opportunities, and potential challenges
• Conducted intensive internal data analysis of sales and marketing performance, cost, revenue, margin, and pipeline-related data to measure the company’s effectiveness in attracting new customers and penetrating existing customers
• Synthesized the information gathered and identified key insights:
  • Brand awareness is limited in all regions; marketing programs and spending are far below industry norms
  • The acquisition was not leveraging the parent’s global brand and strong industry positions to introduce its technology to new customers and enter “ripe” new industries
  • There were distinct differences in region sales approaches
    • EMEA aligned with the buying process by using a branded strategy and VAR channels with strong sales operations support focused on lead generation programs and industry verticals
    • US and APAC did not align with typical buyer process; their focus on OEMs hinders brand recognition and creates competitors for distributors and VARs
• Developed prioritized initiatives and a phased implementation plan focused on sales force effectiveness, industry and customer targeting, channel support, and market brand awareness

Impact

• After successful implementation in the US, the revised approach was rolled out to APAC.