Key Stakeholders
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Casey Carey, VP Product Management
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Michael Gear, VP Sales
Industry
Provider of web analytics software and digital marketing expertise to turn data into customer intelligence and optimize web-based marketing programs.
accelerating new business
acquisition
situation
As the pioneer of web analytics software (helping establish the web analytics industry in 1993), Webtrends enjoyed a first mover advantage in the market. Success brought competition, however, and Webtrends faced fierce opponents. Over several years, a larger company with strong financials (Omniture) made big investments to become the market leader with 60% market share. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Google saw an opportunity to commoditize the market by offering basic web analytics functionality for FREE. With formidable competition coming from the low and high ends of their market space, Webtrends’ leadership team devised a game-changing strategy.
objectives
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Acquiring new business rather than just defending the customer base. Webtrends recognized how reactive it had become to the competition and desired to create a focused approach for pursuing the right business.
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Establishing a consistent message focused on Return on Digital Investment. Leadership used the release of new software as the prompting to create consistent messaging to focus the efforts of both marketing and sales and establish a real value proposition.
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Selling higher within organizations by establishing the company as Digital Marketing Experts. The company recognized a need to change the culture of the sales team from feature/function focus to that of trusted advisors.
approach
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Cross-functional team established to identify best practices across the global team
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Collaborative development of a messaging playbook focused on what to know, what to say, and what to show in preparation for executive conversations
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Application-oriented training designed to increase sales confidence and develop skill in communicating key sales messages via a whiteboard approach
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Ongoing reinforcement provided to drive consistent field adoption through coaching, surveys, follow-up meetings and celebration of wins
“Not only was Webtrends feeling competitive pressure but they were also coming out with a substantially new release of their software. While the project began as a solution messaging project, it became clear that the real need was an overall enterprise message and value proposition which became the focus of the program.”
Scott Presse, Consulting Principal, DSG
DSG insight
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Differentiating Webtrends by connecting capabilities to the business problems of targeted customer audiences. DSG helped Webtrends focus on understanding the real business issues faced by prospects and customers.
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Creating a new approach to engaging prospects and customers in interactive conversations that set them apart from their competitors. DSG assisted Webtrends in establishing an organization-wide way of having insight-filled conversations with executives.
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Emphasizing digital marketing expertise as a core competency, not just software development. DSG helped Webtrends uncover the unique competencies and knowledge within the organization--focusing on creating customer intelligence, not just web analytics.
“DSG had the experience and horsepower we needed to change how we engage our clients and prospects. They came up with fresh new ideas to enable our sales team to confidently lead collaborative conversations with our customers using a whiteboard approach.”
Casey Carey, Webtrends VP Product Management
impact
Webtrends marketing and sales leaders recognized the magnitude of change required to implement the strategy and the inherent risk associated with the transformation. Their commitment to change garnered early momentum within a few quarters:
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Increased # of meetings with decision makers (marketing executives in particular)
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Improved pipeline and bookings forecast
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Raised competitive win rate
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Gained strategic wins connected to whiteboard conversations
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85% new business growth year over year (during the 6 months follow implementation)
“The number of meetings with the right decision makers has increased sharply. Our pipeline and bookings forecast is stronger. Our win rate in head-to-head competitive deals is much higher. Our sales force is more confident than they have ever been because they are better prepared to compete and win.”