An IT system house with a focus on equipping computer networks was looking for ways to become better known in its target markets. The company intended to win medium-sized customers for order volumes in the six-figure range. The focus of the growth strategy was to be computer networks with coordinated hardware and software for merchandise management, financial accounting, production or cost accounting.
However, the sales department encountered considerable resistance when trying to win customers. The employees, who were excellently trained in direct sales, only spent a fraction of their time in qualified sales meetings with real prospective customers. They had to spend a large part of their working time just to get in touch with a prospective customer. The management was therefore looking for ways to raise awareness of the company and its products in order to attract new customers and increase sales potential. The IT system house therefore commissioned the interim manager to raise awareness of the product, which was in need of explanation.
Customer benefits identified
The interim manager discovered the actual customer benefits in discussions with the management and sales team as well as a thorough analysis of the target group and the strengths and weaknesses of the company and its products: The IT systems not only save time, money and personnel costs for maintenance, as many competing products do. Above all, they are designed to be fail-safe. They also ensure quality management. The company had not yet communicated this customer benefit. However, this proved to be a real competitive advantage and a truly unique selling point.
Strategic concept with a consistent focus on communicating benefits
The interim manager developed a strategic concept for a sales-supporting PR campaign. In topic management, she consistently focused on the customer's need for security and concrete assistance in complex decision-making processes. The concept pursued the approach of illustrating the benefits of the IT service provider's products, which require explanation, in an understandable way. The interim manager strictly pursued the goal of creating trust, appealing emotionally and arousing professional or personal concern. The strategy concept very consciously refrained from using any blatant messages. For the implementation, she developed a topic plan, formulated texts for the sales-supporting press work and created content for customer letters, brochures and newsletters.
Interactive panel discussion helps to make new customer contacts
The highlight of the PR campaign was a trade fair presence with five cooperation partners. The challenge of this task was to attract sufficient attention and interested parties for three trade fair days - with a limited budget. Here too, the interim manager's solution was information instead of advertising: Information instead of advertising.
The idea of a lecture with the usual technical jargon and a tedious slide presentation seemed unsuitable to the interim manager, however. She therefore convinced the management of the idea of a panel discussion followed by a Q&A session. This gave all six managing directors (clients and trade fair partners) the opportunity to present their expertise on the podium. The interim manager moderated the panel discussion.
Of the more than 100 listeners, half visited the trade fair stand of the six exhibitors. This resulted in new contacts and in-depth discussions with serious interested parties and press representatives for the managing directors and their sales experts on an ad hoc basis. In retrospect, this measure alone generated a multiple of the budget used in sales.
Sales PR paves the way to topic leadership in the target markets
With the sales PR, the company has built up topic leadership within its target markets in the medium term. The strategy developed by the interim manager provides the sales department with precisely the right messages. The communication of benefits forms the basis for specific discussions with customers and helped to reduce personal inhibitions when establishing contact between the company and its customers.
The interim manager also achieved a further added value in the mandate: PR communication can now be measured and evaluated in terms of costs and benefits.
