A global engineering company with products ranging from airport construction to waste management wants more visibility into their supply chain so they can improve their sales offering. They use a 21 Day Story to get there.
Days 1-5: DEFINE
Data from the company’s supply chain makes it clear that changes by customers are causing a mis-alignment with the market. Purchasing decisions have moved from technical hands of engineers into the hands of general contractors.
Days 6-16: EXPLORE
Participants explore perspectives and approaches to solving the problem, and arrive at the theme of ‘Alignment with a Changed Market.’ Proposed solutions include the creation of new customer-focused marketing media; a geographic element added to sales strategies; and greater frequency of communication with existing customers.
Days 17-21: RESOLVE
Testing the proposed solutions against the business objectives and constraints results in a Roadmap for producing new marketing collateral that is more aligned with sales efforts in the field, and more customer-focused. The Roadmap includes criteria for more effective selling, more frequent customer communication, and geographic variations in the company’s sales and marketing.
OUTCOMES
The Roadmap from their first 21 Day Story sprint provides needed guidance that the company uses to improve their customers’ buying experience.
Their Marketing department revises the company’s website so that engineering specs are balanced with information for general contractors. Contractors therefore spend less time ordering products. Delivery times get shorter and more transparent.
The company’s new website adds more product specs to inquiry forms, which lowers their phone and engineering costs per order by 40%.
Bringing contractors into the buying process earlier helps them work with more accuracy and confidence, reduces concerns about costs, and increases their approvals of engineering recommendations. As a result, the company wins 30% more bids in the year following the first program.
Senior management adjusts their policy of ‘one preferred distributor per state’ in high-demand states, and develops multiple distributor relationships. This increases their sales by 25% in their fastest-growing regions.
Prompted by suggestions from their customers during a subsequent 21 Day Story sprint, the company is able to improve deliveries and increase their sales in high-growth regions by 50% in the following year.
