january 2020 - apax · january 2020 ceo and co-founder of bip fabio troiani ʺ data is not just...

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Apax Talks - Special Issue

JANUARY 2020

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF BIP

FABIO TROIANIʺ DATA IS NOT JUST

SOMETHING YOU HAVE, IT’S SOMETHING YOU USE. ʺ

DIGITALTRANSFORMATION

#BUSINESS CASES DIGITALISING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TO INCREASE SALESENTORIA & ERIC BOMPARD

SANDAYA’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: A RECIPE FOR SUCCESSSANDAYA

DIGITAL INNOVATION FOR NEW GROWTH DRIVERSMARLINK & EXPEREO

QUALITY AT SCALE: HOW BIP MAKES DIGITAL DATA COUNT FOR ITS CLIENTSBIP

SPECIAL ISSUE

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04EDITO

06#BUSINESS CASES

16#SMALL TALKS

22#APAX INSIGHTS

26#IT HAPPENED

AT APAX

SUMMARY

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EDITORIALEDDIE MISRAHI

Last October, our digital community attended the first «Apax Digital Day» in Paris. Our objective was to move closer to building a true network of digital professionals, sharing tips and experiences and responding with one voice to the challenges faced by the entrepreneurs we support.

Companies experience digitalization as a veritable revolution. This is why we decided seven years ago to make digital technology one of the three main pillars of the value creation strategy we use for our portfolio companies. It was precursor and a risky venture, but oh so successful!

In this special edition of ApaxTalks, we retrace the digital transformation of several companies in our portfolio. The CEOs of these success stories talk about the challenges they were confronted with, as varied as rede-signing the customer experience to new uses of data, and the solutions they implemented. For this special issue, Cheryl Ragland, Chief Marketing Officer of Infovista, gives you her vision and her recommendations for a suc-cessful B2B marketing strategy. Lastly, our CDO, Gregory Salinger explains how important it is to define a company’s mission in the age of digital technology.

Enjoy your ApaxTalks!

Eddie

" @ApaxPartners_FR

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digitalTRANSFORMATION

100% of Apax Partners portfolio companies have launched digital initiatives.

57% would especially like to invest in improving the customer experience and in collecting and analysing data. 8 out of 20

of the SMEs we support are ranked in the Top 100 of outperforming companies by the Magazine des Affaires (Sylpa, Sandaya, BIP, CIPRES, Amplitude Surgical, Eric Bompard, Expereo, Afflelou).

2x as likely to be growing if the company is undergoing digital transformation.

82% plan to step up investment to support their digital strategy in the next 12 months.

89% of French SMEs consider that digital technology will transform their business model.

SOURCE: IPSOS AND ACSEL SOURCE: BAROMÈTRE DE LA MATURITÉ DIGITALE DES ETI, FEBRUARY 2019

SOURCE: BAROMÈTRE DE LA MATURITÉ DIGITALE DES ETI, FEBRUARY 2019



SOURCE: 2018 APAX ANNUAL REPORT

SOURCE: MAGAZINE DES AFFAIRES, 2018 RANKING

61% say they are in the digital strategy deployment phase.

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BUSINESSCASES

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TODAY’S WORLD MANDATES A NEW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Entoria is an insurance wholesaler that has understood the upheaval underway in the insurance indus-try. ʺThere are no copyrights in our business ", explains Laurent Ouazana, Chairman. ʺConse -quently, we must innovate every year, both on business matters and in digital technology. This is why we have made a very signif icant investment.ʺ

Companies that have embraced digital technology have invented new business models using the stumbling blocks of the cus-tomer experience as starting points. Customers have become

accustomed to 24/7 availability via the internet and a frictionless sales channel, and they no longer tole-rate waiting or providing the same information several times. These new expectations have put pressure on the entire customer relationship. ʺ S m a l l c o m -p a n i e s a n d consumers alike now tend to go to the internet for information or recommen-dat ions , ʺ says Sylvie Langlois, Entoria’s CEO. As a result, they must redesign the customer experience and produce measurable results.

ʺ WE HAVE INVESTED NEARLY €10 MILLION IN THE PAST THREE YEARS IN OVERHAULING OUR

IT SYSTEM ʺ

DIGITALISING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

TO INCREASE SALES

Both existing and prospective customers, in all markets and in all sectors, take digital transformation as a given. They expect a fluid, connected experience. It follows that you must digitalise the customer experience, not only to attract new customers but also to keep the ones you already have. In the longer term, it is also a powerful way to create value for all stakeholders. Entoria’s transformation has been very successful. Eric Bompard’s is underway – with very promising results. Here’s how they’re doing it.

ʺWe have invested nearly €10 million in the past three years in overhauling our IT system, in parti-cular the service side,ʺ Laurent adds.

In 2018, Entoria fully digitalised the subscription process. It now offers

secure electronic signing, verifies the validity of customer d o c u m e n t a t i o n in real time and u s e s g e o l o c a l i -sation tools. This transformation has boosted the com-pany’s growth in

two ways. It has attracted brokers and won their loyalty, while ena-bling them to devote more time to finding new customers.

Sylvie Langlois and Laurent Ouazana

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In addition, Entoria has rede-signed the policyholder site (www.monsiteassure.fr, in French). It has improved the user experience and has begun offering new services to make policyholders’ on-line life easier, such as help f inding a healthcare professional or submit-ting sick leave information on the website.

PUTTING DIGITALISATION TO WORK FOR THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Eric Bompard meanwhile took a new tack, both strategic and crea-tive, in the autumn of 2019. The company launched an advertising campaign around the ʺCashmere Familyʺ, supported by a strong presence on social media. ʺThe challenge was to reinvent oursel-ves without betraying our valuesʺ, explains Xavier Marie, CEO of Compagnie Marco Polo, which acquired Eric Bompard in 2018 in association with Apax Partners and Bpifrance.

Gregory Salinger, Chief Digital Officer of Apax Partners, expands on this. ʺDigital sales are a priority for Eric Bompard, one of the f irst ‘affordable luxury’ companies to be active on line. They launched an e-commerce site 15 years ago and now derive 12% of their topline from the web.ʺ

A new, content-rich site was launched last October that is set to support international development, offering delivery in more than 200 countries. The objective is to double e-commerce sales, while ensuring that the on-line channel remains faithful to this traditional brand.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ALLOWING PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL TO COMMUNICATE

Nevertheless, digital transforma-tion should not be an end in itself. To ensure that the impact of digital transformation lasts, the experience must accompany the customer over time. Against the background of a

globalised market made up of vola-tile consumers, deploying a digital strategy within the company’s ove-rall strategy is a two-pronged effort. Firstly, the company must gua-rantee an impeccable, frictionless, integrated customer experience. For this reason, Eric Bompard decided, in addition to reworking its brand image, to create a fluid, ref reshed customer experience, where brick-and-mortar stores and on-line shopping go hand-in-hand. And even though the trend might be towards less physical and more digital, the brand is betting on an integrated experience, one that relies on its retail network, to which nine stores have been added in the past year.

Sources:

www.apax.fr/apaxtalks

fr.fashionnetwork.com/news/Transforme-eric-bompard-lance-son-offensive,1144256.html

Xavier Marie

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WHAT OBSERVATIONS LED YOU TO INITIATE SANDAYA’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

Jean-Yves Challies: An ambitious growth plan was adopted in 2017 after Apax Partners acquired Sandaya. It was vital that the brand have access to adequate software in order to achieve this growth, especially in response to the significant rise in the number of Sandaya campsites.

Vincent Dussud: The preparatory work began in 2016 with a road map drawn up by a digital strategy consultancy firm. When we first came to the company with Jean-Yves in 2017, we made a list of numerous digital and commercial projects. We began with the cornerstone of the transfor-mation, the website. The objective was clear: first bring the brand to life, then expand it.

WHAT WERE YOUR OBJECTIVES AND THE PRINCIPAL GUIDELINES FOR THIS TRANSFORMATION?

JYC: The first objective was commercial: to help grow the number of Sandaya campsites. The priority was to transform the brand. As brand awareness was very low, it was necessary to raise Sandaya’s profile on the holiday campsite market. The second objective was to develop high-perfor-mance software with which customers can see the latest offers and make reservations. This created a significant challenge, comprising a visible portion (visual and technical overhaul of the website) and an invisible one (back office, management system, reservation system, CRM, etc.).

VD: At the same time, we aimed to develop cus-tomer satisfaction metrics. The goal was to offer products which increasingly satisfy customer expectations, from the reservation to the holi-day itself. Since then we have used customer

comments to enhance our website. By success-fully completing these various projects in just two years, we have quadrupled our digital sales. Whereas before only 30% of our revenue was through our website, today the figure is 60%.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO COMPANIES AIMING FOR SIMILAR RESULTS?

VD: Every detail counts in the digital world. Page content, gross performance and visitor habits on

SANDAYA’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: A RECIPE

FOR SUCCESSFew companies can boast of successfully growing the share of their digital revenue from 30% to 60% in less than two years. Yet by implementing an ambitious digital transformation plan, Sandaya has achieved just that. Two of Sandaya’s key figures, Jean-Yves Challies, Deputy CEO, and Vincent Dussud, Chief Information Officer,

spoke about their winning strategy.

Jean-Yves Challies

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the site are all handled by the web ecosystem – a complex mixture which determines the order of res-ponses to a visitor’s online research. When a massive transformation is undertaken which simultaneously involves graphic design, techno-logy, functions and ergonomics, it is impossible to ignore any one of those elements. Each and every one must be carried through.

It is also important to keep in mind that because the internet is constantly changing, companies need the tools to keep up. Therefore an in-house team is needed, as well as dedicated service providers, in order to carry out this vital work over the long term. The ability to quickly bring a team together is absolutely vital.

JYC: I would emphasize the impor-tance of preparatory work, even before the f irst line of code has been written. Once the project has been fully launched, it is very dif-f icult start over. It is better not to

begin full project mode until the preparatory work has been perfec-tly set up. The mistake is to try to do everything at the same time. Upstream identif ication and the sequencing of various stages are crucial. It is necessary to take the time to get to know business lines and everything they involve. To go fast it is best to go… slow!

SPECIFICALLY, WHAT ACTIONS HAVE YOU CARRIED OUT?

JYC: The first stage was to redefine the brand’s identity and then, based on that, a marketing plan. Once the foundation was in place, the need for a website arose – linked inevi-tably to SEO. An outside agency provided us with the prerequisite SEO elements, which we then gave to our development team. Another vital point is the construction of back office CRM able to organise all useful data for commercial purpo-ses. Similarly, a reservation tunnel was designed for communicating data to CRM.

IN A WORD, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT?

VD: When we talk about digital, we think about software. However, the work is based above all on teams. The choice of personnel is vital.

JYC: This kind of project is not easy to pull off. Implementation involves identifying the tasks to be achieved, laying the groundwork and then doing the work. Despite the need for fast results, it is necessary to give teams enough time!

ʺ WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIGITAL, WE THINK ABOUT

SOFTWARE. HOWEVER, THE WORK IS BASED ABOVE ALL ON TEAMS. THE CHOICE

OF PERSONNEL IS VITAL ʺ

Vincent Dussud

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RETHINKING OFFERS IN ORDER TO EXPAND ACCESSIBLE MARKETS

Erik Ceuppens, CEO of Marlink, explains the reasons behind the company’s decision to rethink its positioning: “We want our cus-tomers to see us as a business partner. Our company is very flexible. We are constantly adap-ting to market conditions and to new customer requirements.” This is why the maritime telecoms operator decided to go beyond connectivity services by supplying solutions which aid its customers to achieve total digital transformation. The first stage was the creation of

a digital platform. He explained that it was “during a discussion with a maritime customer that the Xchange idea came about.” XChange offers a hub connecting communication technologies, a telemedicine solution, a media platform and an interface for the collection and analysis of data from ships. Using data from connected equipment and sensors, the com-pany was able to develop services for safety, diagnostics, remote maintenance and predictive main-tenance. In 2019, the company launched its Smart Connectivity strategy, moving beyond its role of supplier of products and service

DIGITAL INNOVATION FOR NEW GROWTH DRIVERS

Digital is radically changing time and space. It also modifies ecosystems and the spaces they occupy. Given the risk of new, more flexible entrants, digital innovation has one significant

advantage: it provides significant growth drivers and opens the door to sustainable outlooks for development. Two Apax Partners investments, Marlink and Expereo, chose to follow this direc-

tion. What follows is a review of the keys to their success.

to that of supplier of outsourced management services.

Without forgetting its core business line, Marlink repositioned itself to become a leader in connected ships. “Understanding our cus-tomers’ needs in a wide variety of business lines, as well as being close to our customers, give us significant advantages.”

The company has also expanded its customer portfolio. Today Marlink provides broadband to more than 6,000 ships, and the company equips more than 4,000 ships with XChange.

DIGITAL INNOVATION GROWTH LEVERS

The desire to innovate does not guarantee successful transforma-tion! Every company def ines its strategy in terms of its own challen-ges and markets. For a given situation, change calls for creati-vity, flexibility and a capacity for adaptation in highly competitive contexts. Nevertheless it is pos-sible to identify steps to be taken in all situations. Erik Ceuppens (Marlink), with Irwin Fouwels and Jean-Philippe Avelange (Expereo), review the highlights which led to their companies’ success.

• Investing in innovative tech-n o l o g i e s : T r a n s f o r m a t i o n begins with the identif ication of technologies which form the foundation of transformation:

Erik Ceuppens

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cloud, connected devices, big data, artif icial intelligence, platforms, etc. Early integration of these technologies provides a signif icant competitive advantage, as long as they are per-fectly controlled. Market challenges must also be understood, even anticipated. For example, Expereo, a “last-mile” internet service provi-der, positioned itself in SD-WAN networks, an emerging technology which is radically chan-ging the telecoms sector. “We acquired the technology based on the cloud’s acceleration hubs […] which provides ongoing develop-ment of our SD WAN services,” explained Irwin Fouwels, CEO of Expereo. As more companies

adopt online ser-vices, such as the cloud, our value-a d d e d t h r o u g h internet connecti-vity management i s i n c r e a s i n g l y appreciated.”

• Co-creating pro-ducts and services with our customers ʺWe worked closely with our customers

to co-create innovations, and to implement minimum viable products (MVPs). This allowed us to quickly test the market and optimise new solutions,” said Erik Ceuppens. “Customers understand better than anyone the changes in requirements related to their business and

operational challenges. Consequently, we are collectively thinking about how digital innova-tion can help them,” added Gennaro Faella, Head of Strategic Business Development at Marlink. “We connect what is not connected, thereby making solutions and their management pos-sible for our customers. The solutions can be broken down into four categories. The first invol-ves the optimisation of our customers’ business activities; the second enhances the value of their remote sites and customer satisfaction; the third addresses staff well-being; and the fourth is related to compliance with new regulations, especially environmental questions.”

• Implementing governance which encou-rages “def ining priorities and looking at organisational capacity, cross-functional team building, and iteration,” said Jean-Phi-lippe Avelange, Chief Information Off icer of Expereo. He explained that “The success of innovative projects depends largely on the capacity of teams to function transversally and by small increments.”

ʺ AS MORE COMPANIES ADOPT ONLINE SERVICES, SUCH AS THE CLOUD, OUR VALUE-ADDED THROUGH INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

MANAGEMENT IS INCREASINGLY APPRECIATED ʺ

Gennaro Faella

ʺ CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND BETTER THAN ANYONE THE

CHANGES IN REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO THEIR BUSINESS

AND OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES ʺ

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• U n d e r t a k i n g s t r a t e g i c partnerships with innovative partners. Whether optimising technology investments or deve-loping new services and making them accessible, it is vital to look for expertise where it thrives. Additional partnerships contri-bute to faster time to market, and facilitate the development of new services. With the acquisition o f Te l e m a r , Marl ink now has the means to create Wi-Fi networks and m a n a g e I T on ships. The company has implemented a g r e e m e n t s with start-ups for the distribution of its services. “We aim to become indispensable to our customers,” added Gennaro Faella. “It is therefore vital to innovate as an ecosystem, and to operate as ‘networks of networks’. For example, maritime transport customers must optimise their fuel consumption and reduce emissions. Marlink’s IoT platform

provides data in order to make the start-up’s digital application more precise.”

Digital innovation can reposition and completely transform a com-pany. As a result of a sometimes complex process, digital inno-vation provides an outlook for development which is a significant

advantage for the companies of tomorrow – as long as the process is car-r ied out s tep by s tep. “ The f irst mistake to avoid is to assign innovation as t h e p r e r o g a -tive of a single

department. All departments in a company should be involved. The second trap is to focus all energy and financing on products and ser-vices yielding short-term results,” explained Jean-Philippe Avelange. For Erik Ceuppens, “Companies may have similar strategies, but at the end of the day the winners will have the most efficient execu-tion. To achieve this, three qualities

are essential: co-creation, faster time-to-market, and capacity for scalability.”

Successful digital transformation isn’t easy. The key can be found in humility and flexibility: the ability to challenge oneself without assu-ming that past success guarantees the future, and the capacity to embrace a new model.

ʺ COMPANIES MAY HAVE SIMILAR STRATEGIES, BUT AT THE END OF

THE DAY THE WINNERS WILL HAVE THE MOST

EFFICIENT EXECUTION ʺ

ʺ THE SUCCESS OF INNOVATIVE PROJECTS

DEPENDS LARGELY ON THE CAPACITY

OF TEAMS TO FUNCTION TRANSVERSALLY AND

BY SMALL INCREMENTS ʺ

Irwin Fouwels

Jean-Philippe Avelange

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QUALITY AT SCALE:

HOW BIP MAKES DIGITAL DATA COUNT FOR ITS CLIENTS

BIP is a primary multinational consulting firm employing more than 2700 people worldwide (in Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the United States, the Arab Emirates, Chile and Colombia). BIP’s professionals offer management consulting services

and business integration services, helping companies in the research and adoption of disruptive technological innovation. Fabio Troiani, CEO and Co-founder of BIP explains the company’s

differentiating approach to embracing a future driven by technological innovation.

In the f ield of f inancial services, data can help detect faults in credit positions – for example, by iden-tifying non-performing assets, or in ascertaining credit-worthiness, or with cash management.

More recently, data has been a help in Human Resources, in identifying type of talents companies need, determining the correct remunera-tion level, and in recruiting, retaining,

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR USES OF DATA TODAY?

Today the appetite for data is huge. We’ve already discovered more than 300 uses for data across diffe-rent industries! The f irst example I’m thinking about is retail. In this sector, algorithms elaborate the timing for the whole supply chain. It really impacts how they operate.

A n o t h e r i m p o r -tant use is product maintenance; it ’s especially true for large networks, such as roads and those used by telecoms or gas pipelines or utilities. Algorithms generated from IoT (Internet of Things) devices along these networks look at traff ic or meteo-rological data and evaluate network performance, predicting when maintenance is needed before an “event” occurs. That precaution alone can save 20-30% in mainte-nance costs.

or sometimes dismissing talents.

This is not an exhaustive list, but these are the most relevant exa-mples today.

HOW IS DATA REVOLUTIONIZING THE BUSINESS WORLD?

Most importantly, data forces management to think differently, to revise its focus and think globally. Data m a k e s c o m p a n i e s global because data is global. A while ago, everyone was bench-marking – “ I fol low the best.” Adapting. But today, rather than adapting, companies must think about being reborn and focusing on being successful on a global scale. Otherwise, y o u a r e p l a y i n g catch-up.

At the management level, data enables decision-ma-king based on factual data instead of wasting time debating opinions which are, after all, largely subjec-tive. When you have facts in front of

Fabio Troiani

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you, you make better decisions and your focus will be different f rom that of your competitors.

HOW DOES BIP SUPPORT ITS CUSTOMERS IN THE USE OF DATA? WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR APPROACH?

The data journey from IoT device to algorithm is complex – some-times too complex. Data is not just something you have, it’s something you use. Data has to be clean, reliable, and available in order to reveal market information and indi-cate how to take the competitive advantage. So we help companies ask the right questions of their data in order to get answers they can use.

We must remember that the objec-tive of all this data is to make the life of the customer easier. And com-panies like Amazon and Uber have set a new standard for customer expectations. So the real purpose of data is finding ways to better serve customers.

WHICH SECTORS WILL BE MOST AFFECTED IN THE FUTURE BY ALL THIS TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE? AND IN WHAT WAYS?

Industries that mediate technology between users will be the most affected – banks and insurance in particular: peer-to-peer insurance payments, people who lend money and need to cover risk.

Blockchain is the next “block” in this “chain”. But it must be secure, scalable, and cheap to use. Today, it is not all three of these things. New mathematical developments suggest that in the future, it will be possible to be not only secure, scalable, and cheap, but faster: transactions that now take eleven seconds to complete will take six. So, it’s definitely financial services that will be f irst affected; central banks will eventually come on board afterward.

AND IN THE BROADER PICTURE, WHAT EVOLUTION CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE?

Huge investments in data and artif icial intelligence means we will work completely differently in the future. Repetitive, boring tasks will be automated; humans will be focused on more creative efforts such as controlling and directing AI. It will be very easy to work remotely, both because of the nature of the work and because of technology.

Teachers will have to educate their students in the practicality of real life so that all these technological advancements can be properly integrated into society.

But the spread of advanced technology will slow down. We cannot underestimate the role of regulations in the adaptation of technology. For example, how long will it take for driverless cars to be commonplace? In terms of feasibi-lity, maybe ten years; but in terms of regulations? Maybe 30 years. So, it’s not just a question of what changes are coming, but also when.

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SMALL TALKS

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-COMMERCE SPARKED THE COMPANY’S DIGITALISATION ...

For Romain Peninque, three external factors gave rise to THOM Europe’s digital transformation: 1) meetings with other retail group executives who were ahead of the curve in digi-tal technology; 2) the emergence of specialised pure players such as Ademence and Gemmyo; and 3) dis-cussions with shareholders who had already experienced a broad, suc-cessful digital transformation.

THOM Europe’s transformation started with a powerful, omni-chan-nel e-commerce site (Histoiredor.com) offering key services such as

optimising internal processes, the group’s digitalisation is always customer oriented. To ensure its success, THOM Europe had to adapt its organisation. The group reorganised its IT department into four units – Finance, BO, BI, POS – each directed by a project manager whose job is to create an interface between IT and the business line and to ensure there is a match between operational needs and technical constraints. Of these units, BI is f irst among equals, given the extent to which data has become essential to value-creating decisions.

Recruiting talent f rom outside the company is also a way to generate and promote new ideas. New arri-v a l s a r e n o t hemmed in by the constraints of the business;

their different approach often leads to positive change.

Lastly, as digital transformation is the sum total of a variety of trans-verse projects, THOM Europe has named sponsors who ensure that the whole structure is consistent. This is also a key success factor.

SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS

The ʺStore-Checkʺ tool is one of the numerous examples of internal-ly-developed initiatives (developed

THOM’S TRANSFORMATION STARTED WITH E-COMMERCE AND

REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE CUSTOMER

INTERVIEW WITH ROMAIN PENINQUE, CEO OF THOM EUROPE

ʺ DIGITALISATION MAKES COMMUNICATION IMMEDIATE AND

PROCESSES HOMOGENEOUS ʺ

click & collect , e-reservation and rapid delivery. The success of this site led to new plans and initiatives, with an impact on outside stakehol-ders (customers) as well as internal operations.

... AND FOUR KEY SUCCESS FACTORS ENHANCED IT.

According to Romain, you must start with the customer to deter-mine your transformation pathway. Digital technology is only a means for addressing new expectations. Be it in developing new ser-vices, such as digitalising refunds, developing ʺstock 2.0ʺ, etc., or in

Romain Peninque

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in-house for Android and iOS). It verif ies in real time that each brand’s sales and marketing policy is applied in the stores. A second tool keeps an active eye on the competition. Stock 2.0, launched in 2018, has generated more than €14 million in annualised sales through a virtual, in-store catalogue.

Lastly, in 2017, THOM Europe created THOM Up, a start-up studio responsible for initiating innovative projects that internal staff have had neither the time

nor the skills to develop. An initial project called JOOLS aims to inte-grate new brands into European marketplaces.

INVESTING IN THE CLOUD

THOM Europe continues to trans-form itself, investing in a new cloud platform with Salesforce. The objec-tive of this program is to accelerate on-line sales and especially to stren-gthen the omni-channel character of its two leading European brands: Histoire d’Or and Stroili.

Excerpted from: ʺTransformation digitale, l’Odyssée du dirigeantʺ (ʺDigital Transformation, the Odyssey of the Executiveʺ), Groupe KEA in collaboration with METI and Apax Partners, 2019

Read the whole story (in French): www.digitalisation-des-eti.com

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RECRUITING & RETAINING THE B2B CLIENT: “NO CHANNEL

STANDS ALONE”Digital marketing is generally associated with B2C strategy. So, it may be surprising to learn that B2B companies face similar customer-related issues: acquisition, retention,

brand awareness and so on. But similar though the challenges may be, the solutions take a different path. Cheryl Ragland, Chief Marketing Officer of Infovista, a leading global

network provider, offers insight into what’s driving B2B marketing today.

HOW DO YOU ADAPT DIGITAL MARKETING TO A B2B STRATEGY?

The big difference is that the B2B customer isn’t an individual making a transac-tion; it is a company persona, made up of different decision makers within the company. They’re going in and out of your sphere across multiple channels: you must create a consistent message across all your marketing vehicles with an even greater focus on digital tactics. The B2B decision-to-buying cycle is normally much longer than B2C. It’s not linear; it doesn’t go quickly from decision to action. It’s more like a slog than a journey.

IDEALLY, HOW DO YOU STRUCTURE YOUR TEAM?

It’s not necessary to have a huge team or to do everything in-house. What’s vital is a core group with specif ic sets of skills who can see the big picture, and who have the creativity to put everything together across multiple tactics to expand your offerings. Then you can utilize marketing agencies to fill in the gaps.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN TRENDS IN B2B MARKETING?

I see a few key trends happening in B2B:

• Customer experience and per-sonalization. Thinking about all the interactions that happen throughout the entire customer lifecycle and trying to make them

fit together in the right ways and make them impactful. Differentiation on product is not the only thing, competition has increased, so expe-rience is key.

• Being an authentic- purpose driven brand. Customers want to work with companies that are ethical and transpa-rent. How we stand for something for important and meaningful. this ele-ment is becoming even more important to cus-tomers and to attract and retain talent.

• Accountability. It not just about pipeline and revenue contribution, but how you are contri-

buting to the overall growth of the business, retaining customers, creating advocates both internally and externally.

• Adaptability . The ability to constantly change. You have to adapt to new technologies, cus-tomer expectations and new approaches (for instance video content is now huge). You have to be able to move with speed. Always

Cheryl Ragland

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understanding your customers better and measuring your own marketing organization performance..

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CUSTOMER ACQUISITION CHANNELS IN B2B? AND THE MOST EFFECTIVE?

The most effective marketing channels are really what you would expect. Email, Content syndica-tion, web, digital tactics including display ads, Paid Linked and search, Webinars, Blogs and of course in person events. Because the customer has such a diversified customer journey the most important thing is to tie the different activities together into a coherent customer acquisition process. No chan-nel stands alone; they all must work together.

WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGY?

First, you have to understand the company persona you’re targeting, and then you have to understand what your solution does for that client. Are you targeting the CEO, the CMO, the CIO, maybe the CFO, or a Network Engineer?

Each respond to different pitches, through diffe-rent vehicles. Maybe it’s ROI, or productivity or fewer complaints f rom users. Make sure you understand the problem that persona is trying to solve and give them solutions. That’s how you frame what you have to sell.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE MOST RELEVANT KPIS?

A digital strategy creates a lot of data. But “likes” or “clicks” alone are not that important – it’s what people did with your material. How much web-site traffic was organic? How long did a visitor stay on your site and what did he do? How many read, registered, or subscribed to your blog? Was video content watched and shared? How many people opened your emails? How many sales-qualified leads were generated? Then you look at your top ten KPIs and compare month over month and be constantly asking yourself: “How would I modify what I’ve done based on this data?” You will make mistakes, things won’t work. Be ready to change course, but don’t be afraid to say something didn’t work.

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WHAT DO YOU USE TO CREATE A CONTENT STRATEGY TAILORED TO YOUR AUDIENCE?

The overall strategy is to get people talking about you. You’re not going to get a lead a week, but you can target the customer as he goes through his/her buying process which is across 6 key steps:

1. Problem identification. “We need to do something.”

2. Solution exploration. “What’s out there to solve our problem?”

3. Requirements building. “What exactly do we need the pur-chase to do?”

4. Supplier selection. “Does this do what we want it to do?”

5. Validation. “We think we know the right answer, but we need to be sure.”

6. Consensus creation. “We need to get everyone on board.”

Content must be able easily accessible and available at anyone of these steps. Either content pro-vided through third party research sites, your own corporate web-site, blogs, webinars, social media, customer reference points. And remember that your marketing strategy must have sales and mar-keting operating in parallel, not serial. The customer needs and expects coordination.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF A GOOD MARKETING STRATEGY ON THE COMPANY?

Well, increased revenue and pro-f itability: you need a marketing

strategy to sell your products. But there’s also the employee engage-ment that comes about when you have unif ied messages and good internal communications to get people jazzed up and conf ident in the brand identity. If employees don’t believe in what they’re doing, they’re not going to promote or sell your product.

AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST INTERESTING PART YOUR JOB AS A CMO?

Learning something new every day. I don’t think people realize how tech-focused marketing is today. It covers content, social

media, advertising but also PR and web site design. There’s a real psychological component in trying to understand the B2B customer persona and how you reach that buyer, with the right message at the right time.

ʺ BE READY TO CHANGE COURSE, BUT DON’T

BE AFRAID TO SAY SOMETHING DIDN’T

WORK ʺ

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APAX INSIGHTS

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WHY MUST A COMPANY HAVE A CLEAR MISSION?

First of all, a company’s mission defines its raison d’être: what will make it successful with its cus-tomers, employees, partners and more generally how it will be useful to society.

It defines the company’s direction or heading and its level of ambition over the long term. Lastly, a mission ensures overall consistency among the company’s initiatives. It’s the company’s compass.

Obviously, it’s easier to arrive at your destination if you have the right heading and a good compass.

WHY DOES THE ADVENT OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY REQUIRE RETHINKING A COMPANY’S MISSION?

Because the world is rapidly chan-ging! Microsoft is a perfect example. At the outset, the company’s mis-sion was to put ʺa PC on every desk and in every home.ʺ Now that this mission has been largely achieved – at least in the world’s developed economies – the company ’s challenges have evolved. Microsoft has now moved to the cloud and to artificial intelligence.

Digital technology is bringing about fundamental changes and is opening up unprecedented

HOW SHOULD DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY BE INTEGRATED INTO A COMPANY’S MISSION?

INTERVIEW WITH GREGORY SALINGER, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER OF APAX PARTNERS

value creation opportunities in all businesses, be it in B2B or B2C. A company’s mission must be re-eva-luated in light of this

CAN YOU GIVE US AN EMBLEMATIC EXAMPLE?

Let’s take one from our portfolio: Marlink. The company was histo-rically a satellite communications operator specialised in maritime applications. With the advent of digital technology, Marlink’s business model has evolved to respond to the new needs of its customers. The company is now a major player in maritime digita-lisation, a true connected vessel facilitator.

ʺ DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IS BRINGING ABOUT

FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES AND IS OPENING UP UNPRECEDENTED VALUE CREATION

OPPORTUNITIES IN ALL BUSINESSES, BE IT IN B2B

OR B2C ʺ

Gregory Salinger

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We have other examples, too, such as Sandaya, which has evolved from a traditional camping group to a leading new-gene-ration specialist in high-end outdoor accommodation. Its new mission has made digital technology a major avenue in its transformation.

WHAT ARE THE KEY MILESTONES IN THIS TRANSFORMATION?

The CEO must absolutely be the leader on the subject. He or she must involve the entire management team relatively quickly, so as to take advan-tage of each person’s expertise and especially so as to ensure that management takes the project to heart and appropriates it. The project must be iterative and involve as many people as possible.

This is exactly how the story played out at Melita, a Maltese telecommunications company that offers cable television, f ixed and mobile telephone and high-speed internet services.

Apax Partners has recently sold Melita after sup-porting the company for three years. CEO Harald Rösch has been a strong leader on the subject of digital technology. He and his management team redefined the company’s mission, making the customer the focal point of their plans. The results of aligning Melita’s business with the new mission were particularly significant. The com-pany’s Net Promoter Score rose by 80 points and the number of calls to customer support dropped by 90%. With the new services and the new modus operandi, these results contributed greatly to boosting Melita’s growth.

WHAT COMPANY HAS AN EMBLEMATIC MISSION?

For me, Tesla is an interesting example. Tesla has a particularly ambitious, broad and inspiring vision. Its mission is to ʺaccelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.ʺ If you look at the impact of this mission on the company’s valuation, you’ll see that Tesla is now valued higher than Ford, even though Ford sells 20 times more vehicles per year.

The reason is that its addressable market is much broader than the simple sale of vehicles. Its potential topline is therefore much higher. The

second reason has to do with Tesla’s credibility. The markets seem, at least for the moment, to have conf idence in Tesla’s ability to implement its vision and its mission.

In conclusion, a clear, shared and ambitious vision, together with credibility in execution ability can have a considerable impact on a company’s perfor-mance and valuation. This is valid for new entrants, such as Tesla, but also for well-establi-shed companies.

Watch the video interview at: www.apax.fr/apaxtalks

ʺ A CLEAR, SHARED AND AMBITIOUS

VISION, TOGETHER WITH CREDIBILITY

IN EXECUTION ABILITY CAN HAVE A

CONSIDERABLE IMPACT ON A COMPANY’S

PERFORMANCE AND VALUATION ʺ

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IT HAPPENED AT APAX

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Fabio Tro iani , co-founder and co-CEO of BIP, a n i n te r n a t i o -nal consult ing f irm specialised

in strategy and integration of dis-ruptive innovation, has worked with Apax Partners since 2018. Mr Troiani shed light on the digi-tal transformation of companies, explaining that three key elements provide value-creation through digital: “customer experience, data and innovation.” Without these, it is diff icult to imagine digital

transformation! He pointed out that “digital transformation involves profound change in how compa-nies work.” Businesses must be reinvented and must change the way they operate overall: “Today, instead of adapting, companies must think in terms of reinventing themselves – they must focus on succeeding on a global scale!”

TAKING INSPIRATION

After the first contacts made over breakfast and individual presen-tations, the day began with three speakers who shared their point of view and outlook for digital.

ʺ DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

INVOLVES PROFOUND CHANGE IN HOW COMPANIES

WORK ʺ

[#AXDDAY]

APAX DIGITAL DAY: A DAY WITH THE APAX PARTNERS DIGITAL

COMMUNITY!On 23 October 2019, Apax Partners hosted the first Apax Digital Day in Paris, with its digital

community in attendance. Apax had brought together more than a dozen movers and shakers from the digital, marketing and tech worlds. These decision-makers had been encountered during participations at Open Mind Kfé in Paris. The objective was to take a step closer to building a network of digital professionals, to share best practices and experiences, and together to meet the challenges of the entrepreneurs we work with.

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Cyril Vart , Executive Vice-Pres ident of Fabernovel , added to this message. Digital has brought participants into a new economy with new paradigms, in which it is vital

to acknowledge the importance of data. How to identify your customers and their needs in this ever-changing world? “Everybody is a cus-tomer – even those with no money! Data are vital for moving beyond merely transactional relationships to 360° relationships with the consumer.” We are living in a time when expec-tations have changed. Today it is vital “to go beyond understanding the customer; this invol-ves changes in reporting, which is now focused on the customer. The study and monitoring of Customer Lifetime Value is one of the cor-nerstones of these changes.”

David Bessis, CEO of Tinyclues, a pure player in AI marketing, spoke about how his company had benefitted from digital in developing solutions for predic-tive marketing, and for customer

segmentation in marketing policies. Nonetheless he emphasised that “While an automated sales process is now necessary (CRM, retargeting, etc.), companies must also invest in ‘real’ marketing.” He believes that in the big data era, data and AI have become the cornerstones of “real” marketing because they provide identification and carefully targeted products for specif ic customers and consumer contexts. However, human intervention remains vital for overall management. It is impor-tant to be able to design a global strategy, beyond individual campaigns, and to regularly redesign the overall plan. “Success is also a question of governance and strategy.”

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SHARING

Apax Digital Day continued with discussion of business cases of three of its shareholdings:

• How Infovista rethought its marketing strategy by relying on digital and a more customer-centric approach. To achieve this the company clarified its outlook, unified its brands, simplified its service offer and invested in digital marketing to create new com-mercial opportunities.

• How Marlink developed its Smart Connectivity digital offer thanks to targeted pilot projects and to partnerships with strategic firms and inno-vative start-ups, in order to become a leading player in the digitisation in maritime and related services.

• How Sandaya made use of digital to rethink its customer and marketing processes. As a result, the share of revenue from the digital canal grew from 30% to 60%.

ʺ DATA ARE VITAL FOR MOVING

BEYOND MERELY TRANSACTIONAL

RELATIONSHIPS TO 360° RELATIONSHIPS WITH

THE CONSUMER ʺ

#AXDDAY

For event videos and other media, see our dedicated page:

http://bit.ly/AXDDAY

Afterwards participants worked together at a lively, interactive workshop in which they shared innovations for disrupting companies in various sectors over the next two years (i.e. by 2022), in both B2C and B2B. Without forgetting the solutions! This showed that – despite the great diversity of environments – themes and issues frequently intersect.

CHALLENGING OURSELVES

The day ended with an indi-vidual workshop. Participants were asked to identify the biggest changes which could affect the business sector of their companies, as well as the four main opportunities to be taken and integrated in their digital strategies.

Digital Day brought to light a common point among the various shareholdings of Apax Partners: for their digital transformation to suc-ceed, they must rethink their offers and services by emphasising customers, data and innovation.

But also – and above all – their internal talents!

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WWW.APAX.FR/APAXTALKS

january 2020 - apax · january 2020 ceo and co-founder of bip fabio troiani ʺ data is not just...

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