Once BlueByrd joined the management team, we went into the discovery phase of our process where we:
- Examined their sales structure and approach
- Reviewed their product offerings
- Analyzed and segmented their addressable market
- Conducted a personnel assessment
- Audited their marketing and sales tools and channels
- Performed voice of customer research
There was a lot to learn, but at the same time, the organization could not burn money forever. We had to get some quick wins to start the revenue engine back up, so we formed a stopgap strategy while we were building a longer-term, more-sustainable growth strategy.
Short-term strategy: “Stop the bleeding”
- Form an account recovery strategy
- Restructure sales process
- Provide sales training for one of the owners of the lab
- Generate new customers using an outsourced, inside sales model
- Rebrand the lab
- Upgraded sales enablement tools
Mid-term strategy: “Rapid and Sustainable Growth”
- Switch to a national distribution sales model using independent distributors
- Build distributor acquisition strategy
- Commercialize and productize differentiated offerings
- Mature inbound and outbound marketing tactics
- Develop a less academic and more commercially minded culture
Long-term strategy: “Increase Enterprise Value and Position for Exit”
- Focus on increasing EBITDA
- Professionalize the organization
- Continued brand building and inbound marketing strategy
Bumps in the Road
- Had to rebrand due to national conflicts with undifferentiated name
- Had to reposition offerings due to fears associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic