Exploring Our Marketing Strategy, a needed step to grow our business
#16 - What do we sell, to whom, and how do we communicate?
Hello and welcome to issue #16 of Odoo Trailblazer, our journey to become the #1 Odoo partner!
Last year we implemented a shareholder agreement and formalised the structure of our board of directors. We finally had our first Board of Director session last Friday.
The Board of Directors (BOD) is a vital corporate entity composed of elected individuals representing the company's stockholders.
Their primary focus is ensuring the company's progress towards its strategic goals, driving success and growth aligning with all stakeholders' interests.
Since that meeting, I’ve been thinking about our strategy. Ultimately, the strategy will give direction to all departments.
Still, it is closely related to the marketing strategy: what do we sell, to whom, and how do we communicate our products and offers?
This issue will discuss our marketing strategy and competitive advantage as an Odoo partner.
TL;DR
We rely on the 4 Ps of the marketing framework; Product, Place, Price, and Promotion.
Odoo’s simple pricing and constant improvement make it a great tool.
We combine remote working arrangements and face-to-face to meet our clients' demands efficiently.
Useful links
Read previous issues and my LinkedIn posts.
Check out Odoo and the data management solutions we use to help our clients to grow their businesses.
If you are an Odoo partner and need corporate project experts, click here.
Our Marketing Framework: Starting with the 4 Ps
We resolved that our marketing strategy will rely on the proven 4 Ps of the marketing framework: Product, Place, Price, and Promotion.
1. Product
Offer: Our offerings or product include a complete suite of Odoo solutions and the necessary technologies for seamless end-to-end implementation. This encompasses the Odoo community, Odoo Enterprise, cloud infrastructure, our data management solution (DACO), Business Intelligence (reporting platform), supply chain planning (frePPLe), and custom web development.
Industry Expertise: Having successfully delivered 300-500 projects, we have gained substantial experience across multiple industries. We utilise this expertise to provide standard vertical solutions, incorporating the best modules we have developed and implementing industry-specific best practices.
2. Place
Balancing remote work advantages with the value of face-to-face meetings, we recognise the importance of in-person interactions in certain project aspects.
In complex or change-intensive IT projects, direct engagement is crucial. Our offices ensure accessibility while serving clients globally, with 30-40% benefiting from fully remote arrangements.
We strive to optimise project outcomes by balancing remote collaboration for cost efficiency and face-to-face interactions, meeting diverse client needs effectively.
3. Price
The pricing offered to clients is divided into 2 components: Odoo license price and the cost of services sold by Port Cities. Odoo focuses on simplicity and affordability, with a simple structure for accessibility.
In addition to software, our services are vital to make the digital transformation successful. With a tiered pricing structure based on consultant level (i.e. junior, intermediate, and senior staff have different hourly rates), we avoid the flawed uniform pricing model adopted by many Odoo partners.
Valuing experienced professionals, we strive for fair compensation that attracts and retains top talent, benefiting clients and industry sustainability.
Our commitment fosters a thriving ecosystem, ensuring clients and consultants receive the value they deserve.
4. Promotion
Promotion is not a core component of our strategy because our primary focus is delivering premium services and high-quality solutions to our clients.
We recognise the potential benefits of promotion for advertising and capturing attention, and we remain open to exploring such opportunities if they align with our goals.
Our commitment to delivering exceptional services, building a strong reputation, and ensuring client satisfaction naturally contributes to our growth and success.
Extra Items
5. Partnership
As we are before all a people business, we value partnerships and understand their significance. We have three distinct types of partners that play essential roles in our operations.
Clients: As an IT vendor, we view our clients as long-term partners. We prioritise solutions that create long-term value for our clients rather than accepting all their requests. We strive to keep our clients for 10+ years, recognising the value of sustained collaboration.
Odoo: Odoo holds a central position in our strategy and culture. We are dedicated to becoming the leading Odoo partner and their flagship partner, following their processes, approach, and culture. We work to materialise a mutually beneficial relationship.
Employees: In our service-based business, we understand the critical role of our employees as partners. Their expertise and commitment are vital to our success. We implement an employee-shareholder model to foster their long-term commitment, ensuring they actively participate in the value-creation process.
6. Customer Promises
#1 - Simplifying and automating your business processes, enabling growth and efficiency.
#2 - We prioritise timely delivery and cost management for your Odoo projects, ensuring they are completed on time and within budget.
#3 - Long-term support: keeping your IT safe, secure, and stable in the long term, but also ensuring that they constantly stay updated with any compliance, latest trends, and your business needs.
7. Competitive Advantage
At the core of our success lies our distinctive competitive advantage, which can be summarised in two key aspects;
7.1 Competitive advantage as Odoo partner compared to other ERP solutions
Odoo's unique strengths contribute to this advantage, including its exceptional total cost of ownership, comprehensive all-in-one software, and unmatched flexibility for seamless integration and customisation.
By harnessing the power of Odoo, we empower our clients with a superior ERP solution that optimises their operations and propels their business forward.
7.2 Competitive advantage compared to other Odoo partners
Compared to other Odoo partners, we stand out with our distinctive competitive advantage: effective project management, deep expertise in Odoo's business functionalities thanks to our Odoo focus and Center of Excellence, and large data management capabilities.
We are also building various industry expertise.
8. Customer segments
Overall, our strategic positioning gives us a competitive advantage to tackle the mid-market and corporate customer segments, but we will remain open to delivering to all customer sizes.
Conclusion
We remain steadfast in our mission to empower businesses and foster success in the dynamic IT market, with Odoo as our trusted partner.
In this issue, we have emphasised our marketing strategy and competitive advantages. Our dedication lies in streamlining processes, ensuring timely project delivery, and offering long-term IT support.
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or inquiries about Odoo or our strategy.
Stay tuned for more updates in the upcoming weeks.
Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates: Gaspard, the CEO, or our company page.
To know more about Port Cities, Odoo (business software), and our services (help your business with Odoo), visit our website.
A good article to read on the jakarta metro on the way to home :), the thing that is not answered clearly is "to whom" you sell your product.
And if I can add more P, is "prioritize", how you prioritize your client, during marketing process and also during the project you have to select which client gets more priority. To avoid one client get over priority and others are ignore or low priority.