nicolas, auteur sur Kestio

Identifying the different stages leading up to a sale, and defining the best internal organization to achieve it, raises many questions. And it's all the more difficult for software publishers, whose business model is currently undergoing unprecedented change.

From "On Premise" to "Saas": after the technological leap, make the commercial leap

Defining a company's business model is a bit like designing a car's engine: if you neglect this step, you can give it all the fuel in the world later on, but it's not likely to make any headway or win any races!

In other words, to place your solution at the top of the "EY-Syntech Top 250" and before recruiting an armada of sales people ready to do battle, make sure you know exactly what they'll have to do, and in what order!

This is no mean feat in the specific context of software publishers...

While the advent of the Cloud was primarily a technological challenge with a strong business impact (developing or migrating solutions to SaaS mode), this was far from its only impact.

The gradual shift from the "On Premise" model (based on the sale of a license, often accompanied by a subscription to a maintenance service) to the "Saas" model (based on monthly subscriptions) has profoundly changed the economics of companies in this sector.

The impact on their cash flow has been enormous: where previously they could count on substantial cash inflows at the time of sale, and then count on a long-term "annuity" thanks to maintenance and updates, they now have to wait 3 to 4 years for a SaaS solution sold on a subscription basis to generate sales equivalent to those of its "On Premise" version!

The time it takes to bring a solution to market and make it profitable is not at all the same as it used to be! Especially as the R&D costs of this transition must also be covered.

A new business model has thus been established. But publishers have not always taken the full measure of the changes this will entail in terms of sales... And here too, the change of direction represents a real challenge.

What is the best sales organization for a software publisher today?

Of course, not all vendors are equal when it comes to integrating the cloud into their offerings, or to the maturity of the commercial transition that accompanies it. It's hard to compare the situation of new entrants "born in the cloud", who are betting everything on their technological lead, with that of historic players who have taken the transition in their stride...

What is certain is that, even if on-premise sales still dominate to this day (as a proportion of total sales generated by the sector in France), the trend towards SaaS is strong and irreversible.

And you can't sell a subscription to a SaaS solution in the same way as licensed software: the characteristics (technical, usage...) of the product sold are not the same, and neither are the sales pitches. Pricing structures are totally different. The focus gradually shifts from acquisition to customer loyalty. And online demos are changing the relationship with the buyer.

The digitization of sales methods has gone hand in hand with the digitization of the product offering, and not only in the world of software publishers^.1We have gradually witnessed the emergence of sales models in which (inbound) marketing and sales automation play a key role. Paradoxically, however, software publishers are not necessarily the most advanced on this subject... The famous "shoemaker in a bad shoe" syndrome!

With a few rare exceptions (Cloud pure players), the transition is gradual and the model mixed (both in terms of the solutions sold and the sales methods themselves), even constantly evolving. With all the risks and uncertainties this entails...

Software publishers are therefore faced with the need to rethink their business model on a case-by-case basis. To do so, they need to answer a number of questions, including :

- Which offers should we focus our sales efforts on (Saas, Licenses, Maintenance...)?

Defining priority customer targets, in particular, is a point to which it pays to devote a great deal of attention. Contrary to the intuitive approach you might first take (assigning "Gold" status to those customers who have generated the highest sales to date), a methodical, structured approach aims to cross-reference several criteria (company size, sales generated, projects detected...) to determine the development potential each customer represents for you, and the probability you have of selling your products and services to them in the future. And to rank your targets on the basis of these criteria.

By taking the time to define a "Gold, Silver and Bronze" customer typology, you'll gain enormously in terms of sales prospecting efficiency, improved conversion rate of business pursued, and therefore, ultimately, sales generated... At the same time, this work will form the basis for a clear and coherent distribution of the prospect and customer portfolio between your different sales representatives.

This in-depth process needs to be structured and methodical, to ensure that the right choices are made. Ideally, you should also be able to test these choices and go back and forth between the field and decision-making.

C’est ce que la solution KESTIO Live vous propose : une approche complète sur l’ensemble des axes de réflexion, une méthodologie structurée pour éviter les « trous dans la raquette » et un accompagnement dans la durée pour mettre en œuvre la stratégie définie et la faire évoluer au plus près de vos besoins et objectifs.

Once you've done that, setting up an effective sales organization becomes much easier (as you'll discover in our next article). And your car can take the start of the race with the best chances!

To find out more about the concept of social selling and the various communication tools available, watch this webinar:

Ce contexte encourageant s’accompagne néanmoins d’importants défis à relever pour les éditeurs français de logiciels, tant dans le domaine technique que d’un point de vue RH ou commercial.

C’est particulièrement vrai pour les start-ups et PME du secteur, dont la réalité diffère sensiblement de celle des grands acteurs historiques.

1. Tirer parti de la croissance actuelle face aux leaders du secteur

L’édition de logiciels connaît une croissance significative et confirmée ces dernières années, de l’ordre de 10% par an et jusqu’à 16,5 % en 2017, sous l’effet conjugué de tendances qui tirent le marché : cloud computing, mobilité, gestion de l’expérience client, Big Data et sécurité du SI en tête.²

Cette bonne nouvelle pour l’ensemble des acteurs du secteur ne doit cependant pas masquer une autre réalité, qui est l’extrême concentration de ce marché : 7% des éditeurs représentent à eux seuls 70% du CA global généré.

Dès lors, tirer le meilleur parti de ces nouvelles parts de marché à prendre est un enjeu majeur pour les start-ups et PME du secteur.

2. Se développer à l’international

Autre tendance clé du secteur : les Français passent à l’attaque et s’internationalisent ! Avec une différence considérable en fonction de la taille de l’entreprise, cependant : si les grands éditeurs comme Dassault Systèmes et Ubisoft sont résolument tournés vers l’international – avec respectivement 91 % et 92 % de leur chiffre d’affaires à l’étranger -, il n’en va pas de même pour les start-ups et PME du secteur dont 75 à 83 % du CA reste encore réalisé en France.

Cependant, plus du tiers des éditeurs de l’hexagone est déjà implanté aux États-Unis et la part croissante de chiffre d’affaires global du secteur réalisé hors de France s’explique aussi par l’émergence de start-ups tournées dès leur création vers l’international.

Les perspectives de développement considérables offertes par l’internationalisation incitent donc les PME du secteur à envisager un déploiement au-delà de nos frontières.

3. Recruter et fidéliser les meilleurs développeurs

La croissance du secteur s’accompagne de la création de nombreux emplois, notamment sur le volet R&D. La maîtrise du savoir-faire et la dimension stratégique de l’innovation sont primordiales pour les éditeurs, et les entreprises se confrontent aujourd’hui à une véritable « pénurie » de talents sur ces postes clés, qu’elles choisissent majoritairement de conserver en France.

Il s’agit donc non seulement de repérer et d’attirer les meilleurs développeurs, mais également de les fidéliser, en leur proposant des perspectives motivantes à court, moyens et long terme, notamment par le biais de la rémunération, de l’intéressement et de l’entrée au capital.

D’où la nécessité encore plus grande de développer un projet d’entreprise offrant des perspectives de développement attrayantes et sécurisantes !

4. Financer les investissements R&D

Si elle fait partie de l’ADN des éditeurs de logiciels, l’innovation reste une gageure économique pour les entreprises les plus jeunes et/ou dont le CA annuel ne dépasse pas 10 millions d’euros : elle nécessite d’investir massivement dans la R&D, non seulement lors de la phase de pré-commercialisation, mais aussi durant toute la phase d’exploitation commerciale des solutions.

Or, le financement de l’innovation reste encore majoritairement internalisé (auto financement ou endettement), ce qui impacte directement la rentabilité des éditeurs de logiciels. L’engouement des marchés pour le secteur reste en effet timide en France, malgré l’existence d’outils dédiés (FCPI, PEA PME…), et les programmes de recherche Européens semblent complexes et inaccessibles pour les PME. Les crédits d’impôts (CIR et CII) et l’accès simplifié aux marchés publics demeurent donc les mesures publiques plébiscitées par les éditeurs.

Une problématique financière que les dirigeants du secteur doivent intégrer dans leur vision stratégique en favorisant les contrats assurant un apport important de trésorerie.

5. Affiner leur modèle économique et commercial

Le secteur est également traversé depuis plusieurs années par une tendance de fond : la disparition progressive du modèle des logiciels On-Premise au profit des solutions SaaS.

87% des éditeurs de logiciels proposent désormais tout ou une partie de leur offre en mode Saas.

Depuis 2010, la part du CA global des éditeurs de logiciels issue de l’activité SaaS n’a cessé d’augmenter, atteignant 32 % en 2016. Aujourd’hui, les éditeurs de logiciels français font le choix de se concentrer sur cette activité, quelle que soit leur taille, mais c’est particulièrement vrai pour les start-ups.³

Une transformation technologique importante (adaptation et développement de services pour le web, hébergement sécurisé des solutions et des données…) qui pose aussi question sur le plan commercial : le passage du modèle sous licence perpétuelle à une logique d’abonnement à durée déterminée modifie en profondeur les modes de vente.

Cette évolution induit des process commerciaux au sein desquels le marketing prend une nouvelle place, déterminante.

Dans ce contexte, il est incontournable pour vous, dirigeant de PME du secteur, de :

- Mettre en place une organisation commerciale performante
- Piloter efficacement vos équipes commerciales, en France comme à l’international
- Identifier et prospecter efficacement vos comptes clés
- Intégrer pleinement la dimension marketing dans vos process de vente

Autant de défis qui viennent s’ajouter à vos nombreuses préoccupations stratégiques (évolutions technologiques, financement de l’innovation, recrutements, vision et développement de l’entreprise …) et qui vous semblent parfois éloignés de vos savoir-faire principaux et de votre « zone de confort ».

Raison de plus pour ne pas les négliger et pour vous faire épauler sur ces sujets, qui sont déterminants pour le succès actuel et futur de votre entreprise !

Nous sommes là pour vous y aider : c’est la vocation de KESTIO Live et l’objectif de la série d’ articles à venir, à paraître chaque semaine sur ce blog !

To find out more about the use of specialized tools, discover this webinar on optimizing the return on your commercial assets:

The company, which has been in existence for over 20 years, distributes products from other manufacturers in related ranges, and targets medical analysis laboratories and hospitals, with a sales and customer relations team of around ten people. The company is headquartered in Puteaux, with an operational unit in the Var region.

Sylvie Saurine, Director of Operations, oversees sales administration, purchasing and inventory, technical support, regulations and calls for tender. She testifies to Kestio s contribution to the use of the market-leading CRM solution Salesforce: "We installed Salesforce in 2015, but had difficulties setting it up. In the absence of advice and support really geared to our needs, and following a number of disappointments with our service providers, we turned to Kestio to get the most out of the tool."

Kestio : How did the mission start?

Sylvie Saurine: We began our collaboration with Kestio with two days of face-to-face training for our sales teams.

The aim was to put them back into the general context of the company and propose a common knowledge repository on business processes, CRM use, objectives and common interest.

Then we started regular online coaching with the Kestio teams to train Salesforce CRM project managers: sales, marketing and operations managers. This format enabled us to take into account each person's specific needs very effectively.

For example, the creation of certain fields or the importing of ERP data with additional Dataloader-type tools, and parameter upgrades. We've discovered new functionalities and uses, and optimized them very quickly. We're on a schedule of 1 to 2 sessions a month, which we take in turn as the need arises.

Kestio : Is this enough for your needs?

Sylvie Saurine: For the moment, yes.

The truth is, we appreciate the relationship of trust and the fact that we can go at our own pace, not being pressured to consume services and days. For example, there have been times when we've done a three-person session without the bill tripling as a result! It's a long-term relationship, to help us grow.

The aim of the consultants is to make us self-sufficient, and that's a real pleasure. They're also very available: one day we had an urgent import-related question, and the solution was found within a day.

Kestio : What about the video-conferencing support solution?

Sylvie Saurine: From a technical point of view, the video session works very well.

We receive a connection link that we simply activate. We can exchange information and even share documents. For us, who are spread out between the Var and the Paris region, this saves us a lot of time and is a real performance booster.

Kestio : Do the results follow?

Sylvie Saurine: We still have a lot of work to do, but we're already seeing better use of the Salesforce tool by the whole team.

In fact, regular follow-up with Kestio ensures that the CRM subject stays at the top of the pile and doesn't get diluted in the day-to-day. As a result: we're moving forward, and it's a real boost !

Thank you very much for your testimonial!

To find out more about our CRM solutions and how we can help you, click here:

In other words: I can easily represent my company and my offer to myself, and so can my prospects! It's possible, but it's not certain: so I'd better make sure I'm visible and not just believe it.

There are 6 key points to follow.

1- Plan, anticipate, foresee

Making myself visible to my customers requires strategic thinking, so I can imagine what will be most effective, allocate resources and organize. You don't just have to put up with it, you have to steer every action.

To answer the questions asked during this phase, I need to know my prospects well, and in particular where they are, how they get their information, and what kind of information they need.

2- Acting online and offline

To make myself effectively visible to my prospects, I choose online and offline actions. As far as digital is concerned, I'll need to identify the sites visited, the main types of search, the variables according to age, social networks, the existence of blogs and influencers (particularly in BtoC markets)...

In the physical world, I identify events such as trade shows, conferences, traditional media, professional networks, etc.

The rest is a combination of the options available and the most suitable for being visible. In reality, there are no absolute right or wrong choices: what counts is aligning your actions with your strategy and your marketing and sales plan: taking part in a trade show or round table, hosting a conference, being active and interacting on sites visited by prospects, producing articles...

3- Adapt my speech

The perception of what I say varies according to the medium. For example, I won't communicate the same thing or in the same way if I'm hosting a conference or posting content on Instagram.

So I have to adapt my message. But be careful: adapting doesn't mean changing, i.e. the editorial and identity markers must remain present. Adapting my message also means positioning the volume cursor in the right place, in other words, ensuring that the message is sufficiently audible (quantity and quality of messages).

4- Consistent actions to increase their weight

Let's imagine a trade show in November, with a stand and a presentation on a subject of interest to target prospects. To increase impact and visibility, I plan an action before the show on available media to prepare the ground. But I also work during and after the event to develop brand awareness.

In this way, I benefit from the online/offline leverage effect: a web surfer may want to come and see the stand at the show for a real exchange, or a prospect who has attended the conference may want to make contact afterwards via the website.

5- Don't forget the classic supports

The digitalization of the economy tends to make us forget about traditional media. However, they remain highly effective if they are integrated into an overall strategy: local or trade press, posters, flyers... are media that need to be used tactically.

In the case of the trade show mentioned in the previous point, I could, for example, arrange for articles on the subject before and after the event, or an advertising insert in a trade publication...

6- Temporality

Develop my visibility and a regular, strategic and tactical action that, theoretically, never stops.

Firstly, because there are always new prospects to whom I need to make myself known, and secondly, so as not to leave the field wide open to competitors.

Ce qui va me permettre d’être véritablement visible par les prospects, c’est donc la rémanence, la persistance, c’est la répétition. Pour Fabien Comtet, CEO chez Kestio, « la maison n’est jamais rangée définitivement, autrement dit : il faut prévoir d’être toujours actif pour être efficace ».

In the end, deployment over time ensures that your brand is remembered, and that you're one of the service providers who can't be ignored. So, if a prospect attends such and such a trade show, reads such and such a magazine and visits such and such a website, I have to be on all three media, regularly, because the point is not only to be visible, but to be visible for the long term.

To develop your company's communication tools, think Webinar! Webinars are a great way to showcase your company's activities. However, there are a few rules to follow: in this webinar, you'll learn how to organize a webinar that will generate more participants and leads.

Explanations

There are 4 steps to a successful process:

Attract
Convert
Sell
Build loyalty

Attract The discourse, i.e. the content that will be disseminated, must be adapted not to the sender's offer (i.e. a self-centered vision - "we make the most beautiful plastic molds") but to the current topics of prospects and customers (i.e. a vision turned towards external issues - "plastic molds are revolutionizing the market").

The challenge for the Inbound strategy is to find the right content for the right target at the right moment in its decision cycle.

Convert Convert: To do this, you need to use your publications to identify yourself as one of the solutions to the prospect's problem. It's a question of making the user want to go further in relation to the proposed result (and not the solution), and encouraging them to take action by means of a "call to action", for example (download a White Paper, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.).

The challenge for the Inbound strategy is to find the right setting for the conversion stage: the website must be able to collect information about the visitor to continue the interaction, nurture the prospect and make him want to go further.

Sell At this stage, you're finally allowed to talk about your offer and present your solution! You have to show that it meets your needs perfectly and better than the others, and in the way the customer wants them to be met.

The challenge for the Inbound strategy remains to provide leads that are sufficiently qualified and identified as "ready", and to ensure immediate sales support for conversion.

Building loyalty You can build on the work you've done so far by turning customers into referrers, maintaining relationships and identifying new needs.

The challenge for the Inbound strategy is to capitalize on acquired customers and create a kind of resonance chamber to multiply the distribution of your own content. That said, it's important to remember that the race for likes and shares is not an end in itself: the key is to be heard by your target audience !

Discover the KESTIO webinars, where we discuss

all topics related to sales performance with our experts:

Fabien Comtet, CEO

Dominique Seguin, General Manager

Nicolas Boissard, Marketing Director

A few keys to real efficiency:

To be visible as much as possible, and especially at the moment when the customer needs it, multiply the actions that bring in an audience: referencing, social networks, recommendations...
The idea is to be identified as an interesting and useful source of information , which helps you create a rewarding relationship and become attractive.

Question your content in relation to your targets. It's best to start with their issues, their problems, their ambitions. Your content should also be adapted to the stage they're at (becoming aware of a symptom, looking for a solution, selecting a product or service...). To reinforce your positioning, there's no reason why you can't relay related information : regulatory changes, a trade show, a technological innovation... Ask yourself the question of format, to be adapted according to the target and the stage. There are many formats available today, and technology makes them easy to implement: articles, case studies, videos, infographics, white papers, configurators, eBooks, templates, webinars, slideshares...

Treat content as a corporate asset, and follow the 5 steps to get it right:

Planning (the communications plan: for whom, what stage, what channel, what format)
Build (content)
Disseminate (choose channels, social networks, etc.)
Analyze (results, test content, titles, colors...)
Repeat (what works well, and reuse content in a variety of adapted formats)

Finally, structure the approach within the company: this is an important process for sales growth, a complex process that requires continuous improvement and cannot be carried out spontaneously and on an ad hoc basis. Internal and external resources must therefore be mobilized to ensure that the dynamic remains active and produces results.

Content production, turning your brand into a medium, i.e. a relevant resource capable of aggregating prospects and generate leadsclearly means changing the way things are done. It's about giving yourself the opportunity to do business with contacts who, on the face of it, want to do business with you. Clearly, to be truly effective, this approach needs to be able to mobilize a wide range of internal resources, including marketing, sales and communications.

Webinars have become an essential Inbound Marketing tool: thanks to their audience and content, they can generate a large number of leads. Find out how in this webinar:

Would you like to find out more?

Keep on following us as we expand our production on this theme and if you have any specific requests you can contact us directly.
Check out our article "Inbound Marketing: what if you became interesting rather than interested?"

But if CRM were as simple as its definition, why is the range of products on the market so extensive? Are all CRMs the same?

Of course not. Is the difference in functional coverage or software ergonomics? Perhaps... Beyond the benefits of integrating a CRM into your information system, it's important to understand the need to adapt the tool to your business sector.

Business processes differ from one company to the next, and it's not possible to shoehorn all companies into the same software... To be effective, a CRM must first and foremost correspond to your business. A CRM must be adapted to your current organization, but also to your future one.

Our partner, CRM solution provider SOLUTION PROVIDER KOBAN this week details the right questions to ask when choosing the right CRM for your business.

Why use a CRM?

CRM is first and foremost a tool, not a magic wand. If the effectiveness of such a tool has yet to be demonstrated, this has more to do with a failure to adopt it thanwith the choice of the right tool for the organization. According to the latest study by Nomination*, specific, internally-developed CRM comes third in the list of equipment used by SMEs. And yet, the level of user dissatisfaction is high... Proof that, however well adapted a CRM may be to an organization, it remains poorly perceived and consequently poorly used.

Most often the result of an initiative by general management, CRM equipment is part of a global corporate strategy. In this case, standard CRM functionalities are designed to improve sales management.

The objective is clear: to structure the business. But not all CRMs are created equal. From the simplest to the most comprehensive, functionalities range from business portfolio management to customer/prospect relationship management, covering all billing, sales and marketing processes. For all levels of user, from marketing department to sales force to manager, CRM boosts growth through greater efficiency in prospecting and acquiring new customers.

Insofar as CRM is primarily used to manage sales activitythe corresponding functionalities are standard: sales process, sales pipeline, collaborative diary, messaging, geolocation... all means to improve the daily efficiency of the sales force.

In practice, sales processes may differ from one business sector to another. For example, a real estate developer will not apply the same sales actions as an industrial company. This is because neither the clientele nor the products sold are identical, just as prospecting methods will also differ. A CRM brings together all the techniques used by the sales force to track and manage customers, and will use a variety of channels to interact with contacts. The notion of CRM has therefore gradually broadened, to meet the more current needs of existing customers, integrating multi-channel, data collection and analysis.

Choosing the right type of CRM

As we've seen, whether simple or complex, a CRM tool is above all about functionality. When it comes to choosing CRM equipment, it's easy to list the functionalities required by an organization. With such a wide range on offer, it's best to choose the type of CRM before choosing the CRM itself.

Changing usage patterns mean that customer relations must be managed in multi-channel mode. However, CRM functionalities extended to digital channels, by collecting and analyzing data for scoring or profiling purposes, are not offered in standard CRMs but in so-called analytical CRMs. Analytical CRM is used to uncover patterns of customer behavior, determine targets, potential for additional sales, customer lifetime value, and so on. Similarly, by definition, CRM is used to manage the customer relationship, not the prospect relationship. Prospect relationship management consists in defining a relational prospect management process inspired by customer relationship management practices, based on the PRM (prospect relationship management) model. The actions are different because of the obvious difference between customer and prospect status.

So many functionalities for so many different uses and types of CRM. It has to be said that the SAAS model has largely contributed to the democratization of CRM, making it technically and financially more accessible to companies in all sectors. The other side of the coin is this quest for the most complete tool possible at the lowest possible cost. But each business sector has its own specific functional requirements...

Why are some CRMs suited to certain sectors and not others?

Let's take two industries: hospitality and transportation. On the face of it, they're worlds apart, and if they were to equip themselves with a CRM, the choice would be different for each. But what are the differences between them? The customer base? The sales process? The product? Hotels involve booking, staff management, inventory management... Transport involves managing time, expenses, deliveries... Specific functionalities for each activity, but... in the end, doesn't this have more to do with a "language" specific to the sector than with CRM functionalities?

For the record, in the strict sense of the term, CRM is used to manage customer relations. In a more extended version, i.e. to add marketing functionalities, for example, we would then speak of a "Suite". If you want to add reservation management or a cash register, we'd call it "integration". Having a CRM adapted to 100% of your organization is either "specific" or "customized". When a CRM is only adapted to a single organizational model designed for a particular business sector, we speak of a "vertical". Can a standard CRM be adapted to several sectors or several organizations? Fortunately, yes. Because it's not so much customer relationship management that differs from one sector to another, but sales management.

Choosing the right CRM means above all choosing the right CRM for your sales processestaking into account the type of customers (or contacts) to be managed. Doing business in a BtoB context doesn't involve the same organization as in a BtoC context. In a BtoB context, customer relationship management software can be used to centralize and improve customer knowledge, and propose offers and products tailored to their expectations. Sales management and channels are different for private customers. Private customers tend to use digital, mobile and, more generally, Internet channels for their purchases. The purchasing path may be direct, indirect or both. Most CRM software is not adapted to BtoC, due to the difference in management between a marketing department and its prospect base (mainly loyalty), and a sales department that is more customer-oriented.

A scalable and customizable CRM, really?

You've got the right CRM "type" for your industry, now you need to find the right CRM for your organization. The mistake would be to go looking for the tool that fits 100%. Because that tool doesn't exist, or you'll have to have it custom-developed, which is expensive. The right tool is the one that you can customize and that will grow with your business.

Most customer relationship management software can be customized: fields, sales process, sales pipeline... so that it's perfectly adapted to your company's specific needs.

But personalization doesn't stop at simply being able to add or modify fields. Personalization must go further, offering relevant settings that take into account the company's overall "business" dimension. A virtually "made-to-measure" setting that "makes your data speak". Not every company or industry uses the same data. From one company to another, the need is different. If we take the example of the hotel industry versus the transport sector, both use different indicators: the occupancy rate for the hotel industry and the tonnage transported per kilometer for the transport sector... All these specific indicators do not require the same CRM settings.

Similarly, CRM customization implies the ability to integrate into a complete information system. Because a CRM enables you to manage customer relations with its own specific functionalities, by linking it to your production tool or your accounting software, you'll be able to cover all your business processes without any loss of data. For a CRM to be functional and effective, it needs to be constantly fed with fresh, high-quality data from your system or third-party applications, thus becoming a genuine decision-making tool.

When defining a CRM project, it's essential to assess the functional scope by means of specifications. to choose the right CRM, it's essential to look beyond this. An understanding of the company's business is essential if we are to be able to list all the needs to be met by a CRM solution. This step ensures that the software is perfectly adapted to the company's processes and organization.

A CRM is more than just a receptacle for data; it is above all a tool for analyzing your business and managing it more effectively. A CRM is a tool that must be able to adapt to a company's current needs and future developments. Choosing a scalable solution is therefore essential to support development in a new market or the redesign of a business process, for example. The stakes can be considerable on an organizational scale if the company's strategy is not taken into account at the outset of the project.

To find out more about CRM and to help you with your projects, find all our methods and tools here :

*Studycarried out in November 2017 by Nomination among 427 contacts from sales, marketing, CEO functions. Companies from all sectors whose company is based in France (27% microenterprises, 32% SMEs, 22% ETIs, 19% large corporations).

Find out more about KOBAN, the Management, CRM and Marketing solution, by clicking on the following button:

Why?

Quite simply because the digitalization of the economy has radically changed behavior. The Internet has profoundly altered the relationship between buyers and sellers, and the latter no longer put up with intrusive commercial pressure... even if they still demand information.

They can search for this information on their own, at their own pace and at a time that suits them. What counts today is being seen when these potential leads are in the research phase. Thanks to the Internet, marketing offers companies new tools and, above all, a new way of doing business that positions the company as interesting rather than interested.

This isInbound Marketing.

Why adopt an Inbound Marketing strategy?

First of all, from a salesperson's point of view, it's now counter-productive to go out looking for contacts or leads. It's a huge investment of time for a more than uncertain result, whatever the salesperson's skills and motivation, based mainly on volume, in other words the number of outgoing calls. It's an exhausting, time-consuming, low-value-added activity that wears salespeople out! But salespeople should be investing their time where it adds the most value: converting leads into customers. Better than a long speech, here are 10 key figures to help you rethink your vision of traditional marketing :

1. 68% of online shoppers enjoy spending time reading content published by a company that interests them(The CMA).
2. 80% of decision-makers in the industry prefer to obtain information about a company via a blog post rather than an advertisement.(Content Marketing Institute)
3. 83% of online buyers find their suppliers on Google.(MarketingSherpa)
4. In the USA, 84% of BtoB CEOs use social networks to find out about a company before making a purchasing decision and 56% of buyers consult the blog of the company selling the products they are interested in(Salesforlife).
5. 89% of BtoB buyers do research on the Internet before contacting a company, with an average of 7 to 9 queries on the Google search engine.(Google)
6. 66% of BtoB marketers believe that content production is effective when this content is then disseminated via a variety of channels: social networks, blogs, public events...(Kapost)
7. Leads generated via inbound marketing cost 61% less on average than qualified contacts generated by traditional techniques (outbound marketing).(HubSpot)
8. Leads that continue to be nurtured in the conversion funnel spend 47% more than leads that have not been nurtured.(The Annuitas Group)
9. Properly structured and executed inbound marketing techniques are 10 times more effective in terms of lead conversion than outbound marketing techniques(Gartner).
10. 34% of salespeople consider prospecting to be their most difficult task(Hubspot)

So why adopt an Inbound Marketing strategy? Because it's what customers want and it's the best ROI for you!

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing consists in organizing a reverse flow, i.e. creating the conditions for generating inbound contacts, or leads. In response to the trends described in the first part of this article, the aim is to attract customers to your company. It ' s an approach that allows you to create contact in a less aggressive way and, above all, at the right time with the right person, making your sales strategy more effective.

In this approach, marketing has a deeper impact on the sales funnel. It no longer limits itself to raising awareness and arousing interest, but goes all the way to intention and even evaluation, in other words, lead generation. It invites the prospect to act, via "call to actions" on a website, for example.

Clearly, this marketing strategy opens up a wide field of action, which can also have an impact on the company's internal organization, in particular by bringing marketing and sales closer together.

This is a topic we'll be tackling on several occasions, with a forthcoming zoom on how to implement this strategy and the key points to be effective.

In the meantime, we invite you to follow on this blog or via our newsletterKESTIO Insights) the various articles we will be proposing on topics related to sales performance.

Webinars have become an essential Inbound Marketing tool: thanks to their audience and content, they can generate a large number of leads. Find out how in this webinar:

Autrement dit : un site internet doit être vu comme une machine à fabriquer du contact entrant.

Cependant, il arrive que cet objectif ne soit pas atteint. Parce que le profil des visiteurs n’est pas dans la cible. Parce que le site ne réussit pas à faire interagir les internautes. Parce que le contenu ne correspond pas aux attentes. Parce qu’il est trop statique. Parce qu’il ne fidélise pas… et si c’est le cas, il faut vite revoir sa copie : c’est du business qui s’évapore !

Avant toute chose, il est nécessaire de garder en tête deux principes clés de manière à comprendre comment le digital a inversé la manière de voir:

Demande VS Offre

Il faut bien comprendre que les médias digitaux sont d’abord des supports qui répondent à la demande, là où les médias classiques (télé, radio, presse,…) mais également les actions commerciales et de communication sortantes restent des supports d’offre.

« J’ai besoin d’un nouvel outil CRM, je cherche sur le web la meilleure solution » : internet va répondre à ma demande.

« -Je reçois un appel entrant ou un e-mail me proposant un outil CRM, je vais éventuellement l’étudier si j’ai du temps alors que ce n’est pas ma demande initiale » : je suis soumis à une offre.

Entre ces deux approches, on voit bien que le process est inversé et qu’il est primordial aujourd’hui d’être suffisamment attractif pour être identifié dans le premier exemple. En conséquence, deux prérequis sont incontournables pour exister sur Internet : d’abord être vu par ceux qui cherchent mon produit ou mon service, ensuite être suffisamment attractif pour qu’ils choisissent mon offre.

Content Vs Design

Aujourd’hui, si la qualité graphique et le design méritent un minimum d’attention, reste qu’ils ne sont pas des éléments différenciants. D’abord parce que les standards disponibles sur le marché permettent largement de développer des sites navigables, ensuite parce que les internautes ne viennent plus admirer des réalisations techniques : ils cherchent du vrai contenu ! Aussi, une fois le minimum requis atteint, mieux vaut se concentrer sur le contenu et l’animation du site pour développer son attractivité et en faire un outil efficace.

L’attractivité : De quoi parle-t-on ?

Il existe deux notions importantes pour un site : la fréquentation et la conversion. La fréquentation est un indicateur quantitatif qui mesure le volume de visiteurs. La conversion est plutôt un indicateur qualitatif qui indique le nombre d’actions effectuées par un internaute sur le site.

On mesure le quantitatif et le qualitatif grâce aux indicateurs de navigation du site qui permettent d’identifier les contenus les plus pertinents, à la fois dans leur fond et leur forme. Pour le référencement, un test facile consiste à vérifier les résultats sur certains mots-clés.

Un site avec un gros trafic mais peu de conversions sera réputé inefficace : son éditeur n’en retirera aucun retour, très peu de leads. En revanche un site avec peu de trafic mais beaucoup de conversions ne permettra pas de développer un gros chiffre par manque de visiteurs.

L’attractivité utile à la stratégie commerciale, celle qui permet de générer des leads entrant pour les équipes commerciales se trouve donc à la croisée de ces deux indicateurs, et il y a quatre étapes pour y parvenir !

4 étapes pour une stratégie d’attractivité gagnante

1. Définir la cible, décrire les personas

Quand on ne sait pas qui on cherche, on a peu de chance de le trouver ! Aussi, pour espérer avoir un site efficace, faut-il avant tout qualifier sa cible, décrire les profils-type des clients (on utilise souvent le terme de « persona »). En précisant les personas, on répond à la question de leurs besoins, de leurs attentes, de leurs demandes. On décrit le cœur de cible en passant en revue tout ce qui peut être caractéristique : l’âge, le sexe, la CSP, la localisation, les centres d’intérêts…Une des clés réside donc dans l’adéquation entre la cible et le mix fond/forme du site.

2. Utiliser le parcours d’achat client

Le parcours d’achat d’un client se découpe en 4 grandes phases :

- La prise de conscience
- La considération
- L’achat
- L’usage

Il est nécessaire de définir précisément le contenu et les canaux utilisés pour chaque interaction. En effet, l’objectif diffère à chacune des étapes et pour être efficace, il faut s’adapter. Pour la prise de conscience par exemple une information courte mais impactante en homepage ou landing page marquera l’esprit du futur client !

3. Créer du contenu

L’attractivité d’un site est directement liée à la qualité du contenu qui est proposé. Ainsi, l’inbound marketing consiste à diffuser une production éditoriale de qualité, ciblée et régulière, avec une valeur ajoutée perçue par l’internaute. Cette valeur fidélise et contribue à la génération de leads. Bien évidemment, cette stratégie réclame des ressources, en temps et en compétences rédactionnelles.

4. Diffuser le contenu

Une fois le contenu rédigé, les personas et la phase du parcours d’achat défini, la dernière étape consiste à diffuser le web content. Loin d’être anodine, cette étape est importante car même de qualité, un contenu souffrant d’une mauvaise diffusion verra sa portée et son impact considérablement réduits. Aussi, pour chaque contenu à diffuser, il est nécessaire de bien définir :

le meilleur canal pour atteindre le persona au moment recherché du cycle d’achat.
les canaux secondaires permettant d’augmenter la visibilité du contenu (par exemple les réseaux sociaux)

5. Associer marketing et commercial

Pour mieux visualiser les enjeux, on peut imaginer le site web comme un stand dans un salon professionnel. Si on veut rentabiliser l’investissement du stand, il doit être bien placé (référencement), pertinent (avec une offre cohérente et lisible par les visiteurs), attractif (avec un design qui attire), intéressant (avec de l’information pertinente pour les visiteurs) avec des animateurs, des commerciaux qui rendent le stand dynamique (animation du site). Les possibilités offertes par le digital sont tellement larges et complexes que de nombreux métiers se sont développés autour d’internet. Et dans une certaine mesure on ne peut plus tout faire soi-même.

La 1ère étape pour assurer le succès de cette démarche est d’avoir une organisation commerciale intégrant pleinement les évolutions et spécificités du digital. Est-ce le cas pour vous ?

Is optimization your watchword? Then find out in this webinar how to maximize your sales force's performance by saving them 50% of their time:

But inbound marketing isn't just about content production: an effective strategy requires the implementation of rigorous tools and processes to attract people seeking information on your areas of expertise, demonstrate your expert status, and above all make them want to take action (contact form, reservation, order).

Here are the key points and milestones for developing a lead generation strategy based on content production:

1. Define precise targets for your content

The first step before embarking on content production, and even before defining the subjects you want to talk about, is to define your targets. Is it easy? Not always. You know your customers thanks to your CRM software and databases, but a content strategy may not be aimed at the same type of people. You need to take advantage of this opportunity to rethink your targets, or, if you're keeping the same ones, refine them.

Inbound marketing can help you reach a different kind of customer. You can deliberately choose to target certain functions within the company, or certain sectors of activity that are neglected on offline channels. Define your priorities. In the light of the target profiles you've identified, you then need to come up with suitable content and match it to the interests of these targets. The questions you need to ask at this stage are: what topics are your targets interested in? How are you going to "hold" them on the site? What are their preferred communication tools? What social networks are they on?

2. Create a publication schedule and an editorial charter

You've painted a picture of your target audience. The major themes to be presented to them have also been determined. Now it's time to define an editorial charter and a publication schedule:

- Who's the expert on what subject? Who can (should) speak on a topic? Define your experts and their fields of action, and how they will transmit their knowledge. Will they write the content themselves? Will they be written by an external web editor, an agency, or a single in-house person?
- What tone will you adopt? What will be the chronology of topics? How often will you publish? You need a battle plan with a tunnel vision of your publications. The clearer your vision of the weeks ahead, the smoother the creative process will be.

However, defining a publication schedule and an editorial charter does not mean setting a strategy in stone and then never coming back to it. Bear in mind that current events, unforeseen occurrences or major developments in your sector can have an impact on your content. So, a very precise vision beyond three months is not necessary.

3. Optimize your referencing

Of course, producing quality content on your preferred subjects will contribute positively to your SEO. But it's not enough! Behind the websites that rank well in search engine optimization lies a high level of technical optimization: the choice of server, domain name, content hierarchy and the drafting of meta tags... A search engine optimization audit of your site can help you optimize these technical elements. It's essential to monitor your site's SEO on a regular basis, as positioning algorithms are constantly changing.

This technical optimization of your site is essential to the long-term success of your Inbound Marketing strategy. There's no point in producing quality content that no one will find. What's more, in the absence of visibility, your desire to produce content will wane for lack of results.

4. Bring your content to life with a communication process

Once content has been published on your website, its digital life begins. Define your communication process around this content: how do you promote it? Which channel will be most effective in reaching the targets defined above? Mailing, newsletter, sharing on social networks?

Should you unveil an article in full or in pieces? Should you use certain platforms for teasing? It's vital to think about this article relay process, as it will largely determine the success of your Inbound Marketing strategy.

5. Be interesting... but above all "engaging"!

If you think a subject isn't captivating enough, or won't keep readers' attention, change the angle and try to find a relevant entry key. In fact, article titles and illustrations are the first levers of engagement for your readers.

Secondly, always keep information "under your belt". Give useful material without delivering everything. Deal with specific, circumscribed subjects that respond to the concerns of your targets in a logical progression. Always give them the opportunity to find out more, either by subscribing to your newsletter or your company page on social networks, or by taking part in a webinar... Or by contacting you directly by e-mail or telephone. In short, make sure you create a relationship with your readers and generate interactions with them so that they enter your "funnel": only then will your (quality) content become a real lead generator!

Webinars have become an essential inbound communication tool: thanks to their audience and content, they can generate a large number of leads. Find out how in this webinar:

Mais se concentrer uniquement sur les résultats est-il suffisant ? Comment sont-ils construits ? Qu’y a-t-il en amont des résultats ? Quels sont les moyens d’action ? Quels sont les moteurs qui construisent la performance ? Sur quoi agir ?

Un client se plaignait il y a peu du manque d’efficacité de ses commerciaux et pensait qu’il devait investir dans leur formation. Le problème est qu’il n’avait aucun moyen d’être sûr que c’était là le bon levier d’action ! Peut-être était-ce une question d’outils ? Ou de motivation ? Ou d’allocation de temps sur les bonnes cibles ?

Dans le management et le pilotage de l’activité commerciale, il est fondamental d’établir le bon diagnostic afin d’appliquer la bonne solution. C’est un peu comme pour une douleur au dos qui serait la conséquence d’une mauvaise posture : l’ostéopathe va manipuler la jambe car agir sur le dos n’aurait aucun effet bénéfique à long terme. C’est une vision systémique. Et cette vision systémique s’applique pleinement à la performance commerciale, laquelle doit être vue comme un ensemble dans le dispositif du management commerciale. Les composantes de l’efficacité commerciale sont nombreuses et une analyse globale est nécessaire pour s’assurer non seulement d’identifier les points de progrès, mais également de les traiter dans le bon ordre en fonction des enjeux et des impacts entre eux.

Par exemple affiner la stratégie commerciale impactera les plans d’action marketing et commercial, qui peuvent impacter la motivation, voire aussi le contenu des formations, l’organisation de l’administration des ventes, etc.

Mettre en place un outil CRM impactera le management de ventes, les règles de gestion commerciales, et soulèvera aussi des sujets de motivation et de formation.

Mes moteurs commerciaux sont-ils bien allumés ?

Face à des résultats décevants il ne faut pas non plus se cacher derrière des excuses exogènes sur lesquelles on ne peut pas agir et qui de toute manière ne sont que de « fausses barbes » : le marché est tendu, la concurrence a lancé une nouvelle offre, c’est la période des vacances etc.

En revanche, le manager dispose de sept leviers d’action, sept moteurs qui doivent bien fonctionner afin que la performance commerciale soit au rendez-vous :

1. Une stratégie commerciale claire et partagée avec les équipes,
2. Un plan marketing multicanal détaillé et au service de la stratégie,
3. Un plan d’action commercial qui traduit de manière détaillée la stratégie commerciale en activités quantifiées et ciblées,
4. Un pilotage des plan d’action commercial et des processus et méthodes clairement établies
5. Un programme de recrutement et de management des équipes qui intègre motivation et développement permanent des compétences,
6. Un système d’information structuré et performant (CRM),
7. Un support administratif et technique efficace.

Il y a là un ensemble complexe mais concret et opérationnel qui permet de passer d’une connaissance et d’un mode d’action intuitifs vers une démarche structurée et pragmatique. Faire la bonne analyse, vérifier l’état de chaque moteur, et savoir agir dans le bon ordre, avec le bon niveau de priorité et de la bonne manière. Si tous ces moteurs de l’efficacité commerciale sont bien allumés, les résultats suivront !

Et cela ne peut pas se faire ponctuellement, par à-coup, uniquement lors de séminaires commerciaux par exemple. C’est au contraire une action durable et régulière. Kestio répond précisément à ce besoin de pilotage continu, connecté au terrain et à la réalité du moment, appuyé sur la vision globale du système !

C’est parce que « la maison n’est jamais rangée de manière définitive » que le manager a besoin de vérifier si ses moteurs de l’efficacité commerciale tournent rond !

Knowing how to reposition your business can be vital in a difficult situation. Discover the different stages of this process in this webinar:

Découvrez nos approches innovantes pour accompagner les dirigeants et managers dans cette démarche d’efficacité commerciale :