Construction software maker sets sights on US market expansionSoftware for Construction
With 50,000 software firms in the US, the market for new products is hyper competitive, even when your brand is tops in other parts of the world.
UK-based Elecosoft faced an uphill battle as they brought their commercial construction project scheduling software to North America. The Powerproject software suite was dominant in Europe and had proved its worth overseas for years, but it had virtually no brand awareness or customer base in North America.
In addition to raising the profile, the company needed to compete toe-to-toe with major players like Oracle and its deep legacy in the commercial construction industry. The US go-to-market launch for Powerproject would have to clearly communicate the compelling reasons and unique differentiators that would make switching worth the effort for prospective buyers. For instance, Powerproject was considered far easier to learn and more intuitive to run so users would not need as much training. This helps in a tight labor market where specialized candidates are difficult to find.
The software firm decided to test the market with a small sales enablement team in Denver and a dozen reseller partners throughout the U.S. and Canada. A modest launch budget required that the strategy be sound and every dollar spent to be purposeful.
challenge
Even with 100,000 users worldwide before entering the US market, Powerproject had many hurdles to cross here, including:
- Brand awareness in the U.S. market was virtually non-existent. Pre-testing showed fewer than 2 percent of prospects knew the brand.
- Gaining market share with larger construction firms would require unseating a legacy system and gaining user adoption once installed.
- The software was primarily sold through a reseller channel. Those partners brought good industry connections but needed ongoing marketing support to sell the product more effectively.
- A limited budget for the U.S. launch that required a hyper focused approach and measurable ROI.
solution
The company was referred to me and brought me on as their Contract US Marketing Director, which included:
- Conducting audience research and developing go-to-market plans for marketing and communications that could leverage limited resources.
- Growing relationships with key industry reporters and proactively pitching story ideas to gain positive coverage and increase brand awareness.
- Creating a robust digital marketing program, including advertising buys, copywriting and production of ads, landing pages, and building email campaign tracks that could be segmented by prospect type.
- Interviewing subject matter experts and building content marketing tool kit with relevant articles, case studies and reports.
- Overseeing co-branded marketing efforts for channel sales partners with localized collateral and case studies, as well as customized email campaigns to accelerate sales pipelines and ensure brand standards.
results
- Awareness of the global software brand in North America increased by more than 10 times over in just two years, making it a top 3 brand in a highly saturated market.
- Landed positive news coverage in Engineering News Record (ENR), Construction Business Owner, Construction Executive, Commercial Construction & Remodeling and more.
- The integrated marketing strategy hyper-targeted key decision makers and led to steady increases in promo take rates and webinar attendance.
- Revenue jumped by 300% during critical entry into the U.S. commercial construction market.
- Key deals were secured with more than a dozen high-profile firms (ENR Top 100), establishing national credibility and opening the door for others who might be more risk adverse.
