More than 80% of B2B customers are either indifferent, disengaged, or actively looking to replace their vendor, which presents a great opportunity, as it’s most likely that enterprise buyers already have a solution in place that’s similar to yours.  While competitive displacement is a common goal in highly competitive markets and is often a core element of growth strategies, teams still struggle with “indecisive buyers” and no buying decision. Segmenting companies, getting account awareness, and pushing out testimonials, ROI calculators, generic industry/persona case studies, and solution comparison charts is not enough. In many cases, GTM teams need to apply the Challenger Sale with their ABM efforts, where you tailor for relevance and teach for differentiation. When you teach for differentiation, you guide buyers with your stories to their own understanding of how you are different and why they need to take a different approach to solving their problems. 

 

For example, Atlas is looking to displace Loxo in the HR/talent acquisition tech space.  While they do have a feature comparison chart, Atlas focuses on attacking Loxo on churn, reliability, and long-term results, not on feature parity. Through their content, messaging, and stories, Atlas shows how Loxo’s culture, team structure, and approach led 113,000 paid recruiters to move on. They show how Loxo’s gaps in precision, automation, and transparency led to 90% of their customers to churn, and through their stories, Atlas shows how they are uniquely filling the gaps. 

 

Below, you will learn how a startup order management company displaced Oracle and other legacy supply chain technology platforms at companies such as GE Healthcare, Sony, and JELD-WEN. You will read how OpenWorks Facility Management took market share from their competitors and stopped MoM, QoQ, and YoY revenue misses. You’ll uncover how Digizuite increased their enterprise win rates by more than 200%, and how they displaced competitors like Bynder, Adobe, and Sitecore, and how DAT Freight and Analytics made their competitors irrelevant to win with 13 enterprises on Gartner’s top 25 supply chain list. Lastly, you’ll see how RGL Logistics protected and expanded its P&G account after being told that the business would most likely shift to a national competitor (Ryder). 

How Shippabo Taught for Differentiation, Tailored for Relevance, and Made GE Healthcare Uncomfortable with Their Situation, Yet Comfortable with Change.

 

Before working with Personal ABM, Shippabo (a start-up freight forwarder and order management tech platform that turns supply chains into a value center) never thought they’d be able to engage in conversations to displace the behemoth, legacy Oracle platform in high-value enterprises like GE Healthcare, SONY, and Jeld-Wen. Just pushing out content and messaging that focuses on their freight services, customs brokers, factory collaboration, and their platform’s features would not have gained the attention of Chief Supply Chain Officers, VPs of Supply Chains, VPs of Ops, and finance teams.

Shippabo needed to speak to competitor-specific gaps (focusing more on their approach vs. features parity, just like Atlas is doing with Loxo) and how it would impact GE Healthcare directly. They had to speak to Oracle’s gaps and the impacts in the context of GE Healthcare’s situation, their strategic priorities, their operations, and their customers.

But that was only step 1.

Because buyers are uncomfortable with their current situation, it does not mean they will be willing to change. They will be afraid of making the wrong choice, moving from a trusted, respected brand to another brand (especially when it’s a startup). They will be afraid of failure, disruption, and spiraling costs. GE Healthcare needed to see that Shippabo pressure-tested their platform against the specific situations that GE Healthcare faces. They needed content, messaging, and stories to show GE Healthcare what it would be like if they invested in Shippabo’s platform and services. They could not just focus on the why change and why Shippabo conversation.

Not only did Shippabo engage in conversations with GE Healthcare, but they were able to displace Oracle, and they were able to displace the solutions that SONY, JELD-WEN, and others used because they took a more personal approach to ABM. It wasn’t about souring the pipeline with more ICP accounts. It was about creating the right account experience and having the right interactions across the buyer’s journey and solving their struggling moments that need to be listened to, understood, catered to, reframed, and solved.

How OpenWorks Made Their Competitors Irrelevant

 

OpenWorks (a facility management service firm) had the aggressive growth goal of reaching $1B market share by 2030. But despite having an ABM program in place with another firm, they consistently missed MoM, QoQ, and YoY revenue goals. The problem was….Marketing content, campaigns, and marketing-created sales outreach and cadences focused on persona pain points, automatically building the foundation for a transactional sale. Pain is annoying, and it can be frustrating, but it’s not a strategic business problem. Pain isn’t enough to drive business decisions at a strategic enterprise level. Yet, OpenWorks focused on pain points vs. account-specific business problems, root causes, gaps, and impacts. They focused content and messaging on the pains of:

• Working with multiple vendors and why they should take a consolidated approach
• Working with unreliable providers and/or employees that result in missed scheduled cleanings.
• Hearing complaints from employees about the conditions of facilities.

 

As a result, when there was engagement based on the pain, it was only at the local level and not at the regional and national levels. The conversations often led to price-based decisions that were often not in our clients’ favor. Content and messaging were not tied to a business problem. It was still about cleaning floors, windows, and bathrooms, and every time they faced a competitor, they lost the deal on price. Decision-makers would compare the SOWs and the price to see who would provide the most “activities” for the lowest price.

 

OpenWorks didn’t identify the areas where their competition (traditional facility management companies like JLL, standard janitorial companies, and independent providers) were irrelevant.

OpenWorks needed to focus on accounts that have multiple types of buildings with different temperature zones and regulations, where a patchwork of providers or blanket, one-size-fits-all approaches would add risk to the operations. They needed to look for accounts where they have a truly differentiated, situational story to tell, so it’s not just about cleaning the floors, bathrooms, etc.

 

In looking at accounts where there were win-backs, we learned that the clients returned to OpenWorks because the “new provider” that offered greater cost savings took a blanket approach and put their operation at risk of a shutdown by regulatory agencies. On the other hand, OpenWorks will streamline best practices across all locations BUT will consider individual site needs and requirements.

 

So instead of focusing on the industry, we focused on subsets like food manufacturers, healthcare manufacturers, and 3PLs/4PLs that have different types of locations with their own nuances (including different temperature zones) and cannot afford to take a blanket approach to commercial cleaning, as it adds operational, financial, and governmental regulatory risk. And, within those subsets, we looked for companies that were expanding their supply chain operations and were making investments in getting to market faster. We also focused on companies where there were facility regulatory violations and warnings.

 

OpenWorks needed to tell situational stories and show how their ICP accounts were being put at risk because their providers are taking a blanket approach across all locations, even though each location had different temperature zones and regulations that they needed to adhere to. They needed to share how others like them were almost shut down by regulators – and how operations were disrupted because the facilities, including conveyor belts, were not cleaned and maintained properly. They needed to discuss service performance issues and delivery delays to customers like Walmart.

 

These real business problems and stories needed to be captured and told by marketing or sales. They needed content that showed how your facility management approach can impact supply chain operations, the go-to-market, service performance to customers, and the P&L. By changing the marketing conversation and focusing on the business problem, sales were no longer talking about the list of activities they’ll complete. They were talking about how they’ll remove risk from manufacturing operations, how the facilities will become a driver for growth, and how they’ll help protect profit margins as regulator fines will be eliminated and on-time, in full penalties will be minimized. 

 

The marketing and sales conversations engaged regional and national leaders – and they weren’t being redirected to the local level. Most importantly, they were able to win regional and national deals and displace competitors who were no longer relevant to the target account’s situation. Now, it’s no longer just about cleaning. It’s not just about the activities that will be completed, where buyers can compare SOWs and choose the company that can offer the most at the lowest price. It’s about removing risk from the operations so products can go to market fast. It’s about removing risk from the P&L.

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Remember that Real Strategic ABM is about PROBLEM SOLVING, and educating key buyers on value propositions that matter to them.

Click here to read the complete OpenWorks case study

 

How Digizuite Changed the Narrative to Displace Bynder, Sitecore, and Adobe

 

Digizuite, a digital asset management (DAM) firm, came to Personal ABM wanting stronger pipeline growth with their existing ABM program to fuel 4X revenue growth over 4 years. After reviewing the business, we saw that Digizuite’s issues didn’t just lie with the pipeline, as the firm faced heavy discounting pressures from competitors like Bynder, and they continually lost enterprise deals to trusted legacy platforms like Sitecore and Adobe. Sales, marketing, and customer success teams focused on marketing departmental pain points just like their competitors. There was no differentiation in the sales and marketing conversations and interactions so they weren’t giving buyers a reason to look beyond price and give them a reason to choose Digizuite over Bynder. They weren’t giving buyers a reason to choose Digizuite over trusted, credible brands like Adobe and Sitecore, even though they’re still selling and marketing legacy platforms.

They failed to teach for differentiation and show target accounts how Bynder, legacy platforms, and other competitors do not integrate into the enterprise organization, even though Forrester and Gartner reports show that most DAMS are under-utilized and are not leveraged outside of marketing. They didn’t show gaps and impacts across marketing, advertising, PR, eCommerce, sales, operations, customer service, CX, account management, finance, legal, and business leadership teams.

They needed to change the narrative to embed their platform across the organization and become part of the larger strategic priority that extends well beyond just the marketing organization that their competitors focused on. They had to change how they felt about their business, their POV, and their key differentiators (which focuses on approach vs. the tech) so they can come to each social, digital, email, and live interaction with a POV about their buyers’ businesses and how the competition is irrelevant.

In today’s digital environment, where sales and marketing are pushing out more messaging and content, Gartner found that additional customer research and learning do not lead to greater clarity. It leads to deeper uncertainty. More often than not, today’s customers are left with no clear means for evaluating trade-offs or moving forward with sufficient certainty to justify an expensive, potentially disruptive purchase. Digizuite needed account-specific content, messaging, and interactions that would help buyers evaluate information, prioritize various sources, quantify trade-offs, and reconcile conflicting information. And, they needed to do this all while helping customers arrive at their own understanding of why they needed to move forward with the Digizuite solution. By changing the narrative, Digizuite saw:

Click here to read the complete Digizuite case study

How DAT Freight & Analytics Showed That Their Competitors’ “Good Enough” Rate Analytics Are Not “Good Enough”

 

In doing our GTM and win/loss analysis for DAT Freight and Analytics, we noticed:

•  The supply chain tech company lost high-value deals to Uber Freight because the rate analytics the prospects were getting was “good enough.”
• Many E2Open customers are not the supply chain tech company’s customers, as E2Open’s free rate analytics are “good enough.”
• The supply chain tech company’s win/loss data shows that they repeatedly lose to Freightwaves, whose costs are 2X-4X lower, and provide rate analytics that are “good enough.”
• Toyota was only going to use the data to understand the value of long-term agreements between them and carriers, and they felt that they would not see the value based on the high price tag. The supply chain tech company was only responding to the predefined need (use case) vs. building a vision for how their platform can be used.
• Matthews felt that they would not use the platform enough throughout the year to justify the investment.
• Dole thought the cost of the product was high to the extent it could equate to an analyst’s salary, and they thought there could be more cost-effective solutions. They were putting the predictive freight analytics platform into a transportation analyst silo and not thinking about the impact it can have across the organization.

 

The company’s content, messaging and stories positiioned DAT as a nice-to-have vs. a must-have even though they offered predictive rate analytics at a component level, which no one else had. The content didn’t reframe the prospect’s thoughts on rate benchmarking analytics, show new ways to use it, or highlight the role it can play in key priorities across the supply chain organization. They didn’t show the impact that predictive rate analytics at a component level can have on:

 

• Pricing strategies to protect future margin growth
• Demand planning, distribution, and merchandising so you can reallocate products based on balancing demand data with predictive future “industry” and “component” freight rate trends.
• Supply procurement and operations that can leverage demand forecasting with future component rate analytics to determine inventory levels for a stronger P&L based on inbound logistics costs.
• Sales and marketing that can plan ahead for promotions at the right time based on demand planning and predictive freight rate benchmarking for minimal impact on the margins.
• Operational scenario planning to help build out playbooks to protect future profitability.

 

The supply chain tech company wasn’t showing how they can help each team across the supply chain, finance, sales, marketing, and operations make decisions based on real-time and predictive rate benchmarking data at the industry level and at the component level. And, most importantly, they weren’t reframing buyers in the context of their own situation. They needed to show buyers how not having more extensive freight analytics at the industry and component level is hurting decision-making across their specific organization. 

 

By optimizing brand, demand, and land motions, interactions, and experiences, DAT Freight went from a declining win rate with enterprise accounts to landing 13 enterprise organizations on Gartner’s Top 25 Supply Chain list. 

Click here to read the complete DAT case study

How a Regional Supply Chain Service Provider Displaced Ryder – a National Provider. 

 

If your teams do not show existing accounts how staying – and potentially buying from you is the safest move, they’re more vulnerable to your competitor’s disruptive messages, as was the case with P&G. They were looking toward Ryder as they did not feel safe and assured that RGL Logistics was a partner who could help them solve new challenges as they arise. RGL operated the warehouse for P&G in Green Bay, while Ryder operated the distribution center. P&G cautioned RGL that they would most likely shift the business to Ryder, where their competitor would manage BOTH the warehouse and DC.

 

They needed to show the service performance gaps that they uniquely filled and the impact that RGL Logistics had on both P&G and their customers. RGL Logistics needed to consider P&G’s frame of mind during renewal conversations, as P&G didn’t feel the pain they felt before they chose their solution. P&G was living in the “after-solution” state. So sharing quantified results will only put numbers to what they already know.

Numbers are helpful, but they aren’t enough to sway your customer on an emotional level. RGL needed to remind them what life was like before their solution. They needed to help P&G visualize the gap between before and after and remind them of the negative impacts they avoided by choosing RGL in the first place. P&G needed that emotional element that numbers cannot provide alone.

 

RGL needed the stories that are relevant to P&G, such as how segmented visibility resulted in Ryder making suggestions that would slow inventory turns by 50% and put 40% of direct ships at risk for P&G. They didn’t just make claims – they proved how other 3PLs focus on costs instead of getting a strong and accurate measure of how each part of the supply chain impacts each other and their customers’ growth. And, she proved how it impacted P&G personally.

 

For example, our client’s “On-Time, In Full” article showed P&G how manufacturers like Unilever (a key competitor to P&G) have low service performance in customer scores and how it will cost them 3% in profit margins. Within the article, we showed how shipment delays are not just a transportation problem, and they can be caused by how the warehouse and DC operate. Three out of the 6 stories that prove it’s not just a transportation problem were based on the challenges faced at the P&G plant and DC that our client directly fixed.

 

Our client’s “Total Value” article was created immediately after the buying committee mentioned that they wanted more than cost savings and that they were looking for increased efficiency, stronger KPI growth, improved customer experiences, and total supply chain value, even though they didn’t know how to define it. Within the article, there are stories that demonstrate how most 3PLs have limited control over inventory turns, even though there’s a 77% correlation between turns and profitability. We showed how 3PLs put cost over the customers of their manufacturing clients, which impacted service performance and organic growth. And, again, most of the stories speak directly to P&G. The content was designed for the conversation that sales and accounts needed to have with P&G. We even created a total supply chain value index and calculator that would help P&G define what total value should mean for them based on their situation – and hold RGL accountable to delivering it.

 

RGL needed to deliver high-touch, personal 1:1 messages and content that show how they are aligned with P&G’s business vision, that RGL understands their specific gaps and how it would impact the key decision makers, that teams are trying to reach, as well as their department and the company as a whole.

 

P&G went from cautioning that the company would most likely move to the larger, lower-cost national provider (Ryder) for both the DC and the warehouse to awarding RGL Logistics with the complete Green Bay location. They awarded new e-commerce businesses without an RFP or bid process. They are also in conversations to expand the contract further across the Green Bay location – and other P&G sites.

Click here to read the complete  RGL case study

 

Want to see how you can displace your competitors?

 

If we can help a startup displace a platform like Oracle, then Personal ABM can help you take more market share from your competitors. The stories above were just 5 out of many client stories that we can tell. Schedule a conversation with us to discuss account-based approaches that will help you to teach for differentiation and show your competitors are irrelevant to your target accounts’ specific situations.

 

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