Management Systems and Market Share Growth

Situation:

• The founders, family owners, exited in a private equity backed management buy-in (MBI). In the wake of the change there was a lack of process and no empowerment of staff.
• The business had a high UK market share in some sectors but was absent in others.

Task:

The objectives of this engagement were to focus on sales & marketing to:

• improve the value of the business by introducing robust systems & processes in marketing, sales and customer services; and
• lead growth in market share.

Approach:

• Assessed the market, engaging customers and targets in all segments, understanding key factors for success of the company and its competitors, and the status of key Government policies and funding programmes driving demand.
• Assessed selling propositions, sales & marketing management and sales force effectiveness.
• Diagnosed:
  • A lack of sales force activity and selling skills, with a lack of focus on acquiring new customers;
  • A lack of insight into and enhancement of key accounts representing 30% of business;
  • The selling proposition was unaffordable as a capital purchase to major segments of the market in which the company had low share;
  • The selling proposition did not speak directly to key Government policy areas despite local authorities being 40% of sales.
• Coached the Sales Manager to take on a performance and development system and to improve management style.
• Coached the sales team in activity planning, territory coverage and key account management.
• With the FD, developed a minimum term rental offering as an alternative to capital purchase, making the company’s products affordable to the remaining segments of the UK market.
• Created a Thought Leadership brand, supporting independent research into the key policy area of developing improving public participation in recycling in high density urban areas of cities. The results were of high interest to English and Scottish Governments and the Councils of major cities. They were used to guide product development to meet customer needs and thought leadership reports to drive improved customer engagement.

Results

• Developed the UK business to take almost all addressable share in a highly competitive market, selling a premium proposition against commodity offerings.
• Became a trusted advisor to major city local authorities, working with them to design and provide highly effective solutions to increase recycling rates in high density housing areas.
• Greatly strengthened key account penetration and improved profit margins. Allowed early identification and mitigation of restructuring at a key customer that would otherwise have been a serious threat.
• Created a “success culture,” gaining Investors in People accreditation, with an engaged team working to world class processes, and successfully developing talent from within the company.