How do you strategize for post-merger integration before it happens? How do you ensure that you are able to accelerate the integration planning process?
Based on our experience, we believe that a successful post-merger integration should focus on 5 core aspects of its marketing strategy, which can assist organizations with capitalizing on their integration efforts and the new association. This article proceeds with an insightful plunge into mergers and acquisitions and the strategy parts required for a fruitful integration process.
People tend to focus on other functions of an organization more when thinking of mergers and acquisitions. Yet, our interviews with leading mergers and acquisition executives state that marketing plays an essential part in integration and deal success and should not be an idea in retrospect. The integration role of marketing is so expansive, moving from systematic to strategic brand execution — we considered comprehending the main problems that CEOs and chief marketing officers should address to accomplish influence. Our business consultancy provides a clear guide to mixing execution and removes the tendency to reconsider specific directional choices with every acquisition – with the emphasis on getting these 5 key points right.
Define the value proposition of your new organization
Often, the new organization’s value proposition stays excessively wide. A well-articulated incentive should be converted into detailed execution to have any natural effect. Our primary target message ought to be a stable understanding that our clients need to comprehend that the new organization will benefit them over the long haul. The new organization offers the North Star to define integration priorities and preparation initiatives. Truly successful integrations characterize the new value proposition before sending it off, yet our examination also observed that marketing was significantly involved pre-close in just 50% of cases.
Work with a fact-based approach to set your marketing strategy
In many integrations, branding is the primary concern for executives. Post-merger corporate brands work on five structures: brands kept independent, brands combined, an umbrella brand characterized, a solitary brand chosen or a completely new brand made. In close to half of the mergers (roughly 40%), organizations pick a solitary brand based on one of the heritage brands. Pursuing that well-known decision can often be troublesome Feelings run high, considering that one organization could lose its identity. The decision cycle requires a fact-based approach that presumes the significance of the brand in the purchase decision, objectively assesses the value of both brands for target segments, decides exchange expenses and afterwards characterizes the target brand positioning. A progressive transition allows marketers to move brand discernment and give clients time to comprehend the new value proposition and transfer their brand loyalty.
Revitalized your market view
Integration offers a golden opportunity to revisit the client segmentation. In light of the combined client base marketing should lead the discussion and suggest how the complete products, services and solutions will better address client issues. Marketing should also assess how their operating model and organization should develop to assist the revived market point of view. The business consultancy provided by our experts will assist you to dissect the pros and cons of the legacy segmentation approach, investigate how purchasers would involve technology in the future and assess the trouble of executing another segmentation approach utilizing existing channels. This will assist you with the launch of an invigorated segmentation focused on technology, construct the establishment for the review of new competitors, define value propositions and pursue organizations with our mergers and acquisition services.
Convey constant value over time
Convey what you said you will convey, as clients will search for proof of what’s really unique. The most successful mergers and acquisition leaders start with a couple of substantial advantages that convey the new organization’s value proposition and reliably build upon the incentive with more value-added offerings through the client life cycle. Executives need to share quick post-close advantages of their post-merger arrangement and afterwards circle back to those underlying advantages and proceed to improve and offer increased value to your combined client base.
Tackle less, on and after Day 1
Regardless of how short or long, the timetable is to close, Day 1 requires a laser-sharp concentration, represented by openly characterized priorities. The best acquirers prioritize regard for other potential endeavors, for example, merging well-performing product brands on or soon after Day 1 and incorporating CRM frameworks on Day 1. These acquirers realize that extending their attention too thin, particularly by putting exertion on “pleasant to-have” activities, risks missing or short-changing the more prompt, close-critical activities.
The groundwork for Day 1 ought to focus on a short rundown of key exercises:
- Distinguishing and securing talent critical to conveying the new organization’s value proposition (before Day 1)
- Creating and imparting to clients the Day 1 story, secured in the new organization’s value proposition
- Sharing a substantial advantage to charm clients on or not long after Day 1 and characterizing the brand and product guides
- Deciding obviously what the marketing organization will resemble on Day 1 and conceivably the end state
- Building basic framework interfaces (like CRM) that require a workaround before full integration is viable
A successful marketing strategy for a post-merger and acquisition integration can excessively affect the safeguarding and creation of value from the whole integration. Taking into account every one of the 5 key points prior to embarking on an integration journey ensures a strong groundwork for achieving the exact impact that an organization requires since Day 1 of the integration.