Case 4 – Operational Control
Background
An established printing company with substantial market share and ‘A-list’ clients was experiencing competitive pressure from smaller, more agile and aggressive competitors. Although successfully retaining major clients, their “share of wallet” was being eroded.
Lack of control and consistency in client management across interstate offices was leading to client dissatisfaction and protracted tender acquisition.
Core issues
The company’s reliance on its major clients ( corporates and government bodies) exposed them to considerable risk. The potential to lose significant revenue was a primary concern.
A fragmented approach to client management was evident with limited control of national accounts and uncoordinated tender/proposal submission. Client needs across different states were not understood and expectations were not being met.
Client interactions were relegated to crisis management with little time available for strategic development. Consequently development of new opportunities and acquisition of new clients was non existent.
Solution
The company’s sales structure was reconfigured with responsibility for national accounts allocated by client rather than by region. This enabled a strategic view of client needs and a unified proactive approach to client development.
Other sales staff were allocated responsibility for sourcing new opportunities and acquiring new clients.
Software systems were implemented for ‘customer relationship management’ and ‘sales pipeline management’ displaying the status of the relationship and enabling a tailored approach to customer/opportunity development.
Critical success factors
The company was now able to understand their clients’ needs, wants and motives, as well as appreciating their relationship and applying suitable strategic development initiatives.
A steady pipeline of new opportunities was uncovered, increasing sales volume and decreasing risk exposure.
Strategic positioning was enabled by systemic assessment of sales performance against customer profiles.
Results
The company has established a partner relationship with its clients encouraging maximum spend and ‘share of wallet’. It also now generates millions of dollars of new sales annually, translating to 15% annual revenue growth. As a result the company has mitigated its risk exposure while strategically positioning itself for consistent growth.
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