From American newcomer to top-player on the German market
Tripling the projected sales volume for 2020 – with
proactive action and quick reactions
Background
Our client (referred to as the company in the following text) is an American educational software company specializing in automated and secure solutions for online testing and proctoring.
The company was founded in the USA in 2013 and grew steadily from there. Due to growing demand on an international level, the company decided very early on to open an additional office in Europe. This additional office allowed them to provide sales and support to their customers across time zones. This initial foray into the European market proved to be successful and the demand for the company’s products continued to grow. Based on this positive impression of growth opportunities in Europe, the company decided to concentrate on further developing their business in Europe.
To establish the company as an international brand through targeted expansion, a gradual, planned approach was developed. The company planned to first establish themselves in one new market, which could then be used as a reference model for further expansion.
As one of the most important markets in Europe, Germany offered many opportunities for the company. Their strong economy, top ranked education system, highly trained workforce and growing digital educational services made Germany an ideal starting point for international expansion. Additionally, because of their internationally recognized regulations, the German market was well-suited as a reference model for further international expansion.
To overcome general hurdles such as cultural differences and government regulations as well as specific challenges related to the technology, the company sought out a local partner.
To establish the company as an international brand [...], a gradual, planned approach was developed.
The Process
As a German consulting company specializing in sales, marketing and business development, the Door2Europe GmbH was the ideal partner to support the company’s entrance into the German marketing and lead the benchmarking for Europe.
The collaboration between the company and the Door2Europe GmbH started towards the end of 2018. It gave Door2Europe the opportunity to develop the complete go-to-market strategy from scratch and implement all necessary operational measures. To initiate their partnership, Door2Europe held a Discovery Workshop for the company in January 2019. The Discovery Workshop allowed both parties to review the current situation and develop a solid plan for future activities.
During the joint workshop, various topics were addressed, including:
- Review of vision and existing business goals
- Overview of the company and their product portfolio
- Business plan
- Learnings from current sales activities
- Learnings from current marketing activities
- Competitor analysis
- SWOT analysis
As part of their analysis, Door2Europe recommended the founding of a German subsidiary.
Based on the findings and results of the Discovery Workshop, Door2Europe determined all necessary measures and activities that would be required for a successful market entry. As part of their analysis, Door2Europe recommended the founding of a German subsidiary. Since none of the company’s competitors had a German branch, this commitment would send a positive signal of the importance of the market.
In May 2019, Door2Europe and the company officially founded a German subsidiary, in the form of a GmbH. Door2Europe managed the entire administrative process and took on operative responsibility and leadership for the German business entity. This allowed the company to focus on their strengths and core business activities.
Parallel to the founding of the subsidiary, Door2Europe developed the market launch strategy. This involved the definition of the target groups and the marketing strategy, including USPs, positioning, targeted messaging, and lead generation measures.
From this point on, Door2Europe adapted all business materials, translating and localizing the website and software as well as the sales and marketing materials. In doing so, they placed a specific focus on not just producing a direct translation, but on adapting the content to the needs of native speakers.
In order to scale the project quickly, Door2Europe started the first lead generation and sales activities alongside the marketing activities. They also made sure that the company was compliant with the EU’s Data Protection Laws (GDPR) and appointed a Data Protection Officer to monitor all technical and contractual processes.
Door2Europe implemented the go-to-market strategy, set up the sales processes and sales team, and managed the European communication, marketing and PR activities. With success – even before the subsidiary was founded, Door2Europe was able to set up their first meeting with a well-known prospective customer.
[...] they placed a specific focus on not just producing a direct translation, but on adapting the content to the needs of native speakers.
Professional inside sales processes carried out by Door2Europe secured further meetings with important prospects throughout 2019.
In January 2020, Door2Europe signed their first contract with a well-known customer from the education sector on behalf of the company.
The ongoing digitalization of the education sector paired with the growing acceptance of alternative examination methods increased demand for the company’s solutions. To meet this increased demand, Door2Europe quickly developed a campaign website and used SEO and SEA to generate additional leads and expand the sales funnel.
By the end of June, Door2Europe had signed 20 contracts within five months and was planning on a profit of 1.3 million Euros for 2020, triple what had originally been forecasted.
In order to properly meet the constantly growing demand, the company’s resources were extended flexibly as needed and Door2Europe took on added responsibility.
The newly established Partner Success Manager took over all after-sales activities. Door2Europe also founded a press office to manage PR in Europe. Their responsibilities included the active handling of critical media coverage, as the rapid growth had led to increased media attention which in turn spawned multifaceted reactions.
Door2Europe’s expertise in sales, marketing and business development as well as the favorable market conditions (little to no competition and high market demand) allowed them to establish the company as a top player on the German market in just over a year. Door2Europe took care of the entire process, doing everything from strategic planning to operational implementation and management of the German subsidiary.
[...] Door2Europe had signed 20 contracts within five months [...]
Results
- Acquisition of 20 renowned educational institutions in Germany within 5 months
- Tripling of the planned sales volume originally planned for 2020
- Development of a sustainable, well-founded sales pipeline that is permanently filled with leads
- Immunization of the sales pipeline against the special effects of the Covid-19 crisis
Benefits for the company
- German market expertise
- Quickly available sales and marketing resources
- Manageable and clearly calculable investment risk
- Strong participation through performance-related fee component
- Concentration on core competencies
- Sales flexibility and scalability
- Fast, productive success
- Potential for synergy through comprehensive sales projects
- Team of BgP experts with experience in management and operational implementation in sales, marketing and business development
- Cross-hierarchical competencies with scalable applications
About Door2Europe
- Management consultancy for Business Development, Sales and Marketing
- Analysis, strategy, conception and operational implementation
- Founded in 2019 by Background Performer GmbH with a special focus on companies from accross the border
- 21 employees in Sales, Marketing, Inside-Sales
Find more references from Europe an specially Germany