A GENERAL SOFTWARE HOUSE TRANSFORMATION TO A SPECIALISED AGENCY
Setting the scene:
A Client is a polish custom software development company. The Client serves international clients. The company delivered the most significant projects in Telecommunication, Internet Security, Manufacturing, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain domains.
Background and business need:
The company was founded by a top-notch Python developer with an experience of building high performing and talented development teams. For the first seven years, the company grew from one freelancer to twenty people strong firm. Most of the projects stemmed from referrals and word of mouth spread by satisfied clients. For many, it is a dream come true situation, but having twenty people in the team relying on referrals only was risky to keep the growth and continuity. The Client needed to unblock business potential for the future and build up predictive revenue.
Methodology and solutions:
The Client sought consultancy and help with execution in the area of unblocking the growth potential. The designed transformation process was in-depth and strategic. The work started with analysis and top-level decisions, finalised with implementation and execution of recommendations.
Methodology:
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SWOT and Competitive Analysis.
The goal was to picture what and where the company was, what was its position, who were and how positioned competitors. Those were must-have exercises to understand the company and its environment.
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The ideal client profile and buying personas.
Next step was to define profiles of ideal clients and who are decision-makers in the described organisations. How and where to communicate with them. The profile was based on both hard data and company aspirations.
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Crafting the company’s strategy.
The vision and mission of the company were restructured and a strategy was coined. Long and short business objectives were defined, which became a guideline for an upcoming execution. The focus was put on utilising marketing and sales to achieve success.
Solutions:
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Skills matrix and team building:
To turn strategy into tactics and execution, the Client needed a full-stack team. To define how the team should look like, I recommended mapping skills and knowhow matrix. The structure helped to make a decision who should be first hires and what cooperation model has the best business justification. That was the foundation of recruitment decisions.
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Communication:
The newly defined ideal client profile and business goals required a new communication pattern. The company released a brand new website that speaks ideal’s client language and answers their questions.
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Sales processes
New strategy required business processes. I have designed sales funnel for all SQLs. The funnel was repeatable and easy to manage as structured in CRM and supported with a sales playbook.
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Marketing tactics
Marketing processes were delivered by a new-build full stack marketing team. All tactics were developed as a team. Marketing tactics answered buying persona’s customer journey and included outbound, inbound and paid.
The results:
The cooperation resulted in the Client being a high specialisation company with a visible presence on selected target markets and great potential of becoming a recognisable brand in their niche.
Main achievements are:
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Explicit specialisation and USP.
The Client has evolved from general-purpose software house to an agency highly specialised in cryptocurrency and blockchain projects.
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Geographical markets focus.
The Client reshaped from not specified to focused on defined and pre-researched markets.
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Defined clients and buying personas.
The company has been designing all communication and campaigns having in mind the business needs of their ideal clients.
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New website and communication.
All company’s online communication has shifted from a company centred to customer centred, and from solely technical to business-oriented language.
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Full-stack marketing team in place.
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Structured marketing and sales processes supported by dedicated tools.
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Diversified outbound and inbound marketing strategy in place.
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Predictable stream of MQLs per month.