Rodolphe Barrere is co-founder and CEO of Potloc, a survey platform transforming how consulting and PE firms derive primary insights.
Picture this: Your company has built an extensive client base with hundreds of notable clients. You’ve built a solid base of logos and testimonials on your website. One day, however, you decide to stop serving a portion of those existing customers and narrow down the focus of your business.
As CEO and co-founder of Potloc, I found myself at this crossroads. I was faced with a decision that would either break us or set us on a path toward sustainable growth—to pivot our focus exclusively to top consulting and private equity (PE) firms, shifting away from every other vertical we had served.
This decision fundamentally transformed every aspect of our business. On January 1, 2024, we decided to pivot our business model and focus on our full-tech platform, which meant focusing on a different customer base. Instead of providing market research services directly to brands, we shifted to offering end-to-end research technology for consulting and private equity clients.
A shift in your ideal customer profile (ICP) is a natural consequence of your organization growing and changing. I’ll discuss how we navigated this complex pivot and provide some important steps for other organizations considering a similar change.
Recognizing The Need For Change
A few years ago, when the startup industry was flush with capital and “growth at all costs” was the mantra, we pursued customers in multiple markets—including consulting firms, PE firms and brands from various industries.
However, a candid assessment revealed that focusing entirely on consulting and PE clients would be a more lucrative approach than working directly with brands. Margins were higher, and deal life cycles were shorter among this group than among our direct sales clients, indicating exciting financial potential.
While the consulting and PE market is more demanding, we found that our net promoter score (NPS) was much higher among this group than among our direct sales clients. This provided an opportunity for differentiation and indicated our product was particularly effective for consulting and PE clients. Moreover, our clients in the consulting and PE sector had clearer metrics for success. They valued speed and results above all, which better aligned with our approach and strengths.
By narrowing our ICP to consultants and investors, we aligned our platform, service and go-to-market efforts to achieve the streamlined performance we sought.
Implementing The Change
Securing buy-in from the company’s key decision-makers is just the first step. The real challenge is in getting everyone across the organization aligned with the new direction. It isn’t just about implementing a new strategy—it’s about changing the organization’s culture and mindset.
To do this, we developed a go-to-market strategy outlining how we fit into the consulting and PE industries. We also invested heavily in retraining our entire team and kept communication channels wide open. This ensured every team member understood not just the “what” but also the “why” behind this pivot.
Build A Tailored Product Roadmap
A central part of our strategy was building up our one-stop survey platform and customizing it to meet the needs of our new ideal client. Consulting and PE firms require a comprehensive, frictionless platform that offers survey design, data collection, analysis and reporting. By refining this product, we were able to offer a stronger user experience that focused on industry-specific requirements.
While making these changes, we focused on the entire persona journey rather than just adding flashy features to the platform. This process was informed by in-depth client interviews that helped us understand their habits and pain points.
Signaling The Change
Have A Strategic Presence
One of our most pivotal decisions in this process was strategically opening an office in New York City, right in the heart of the consulting industry. With this move, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in our clients’ ecosystems and build stronger business relationships. This proximity also enabled us to provide more efficient, agile service to clients in the consulting and PE spaces.
Rethink The Brand
We needed our brand to reflect our new strategic direction and resonate with our ICP. In our branding process, we referred to our new ICP as our “muse,” and this informed every aspect of our rebranding effort.
We had in-depth conversations with past clients and industry connections that informed this new persona. This helped us better understand our clients’ needs and preferences so we could tailor our messaging and brand design more effectively.
Takeaways
Sunsetting a business unit that accounted for a significant portion of our revenue was a bold move, but we ended up seeing very strong top-line growth with our sales win rate as well as a massive surge in our NPS. This proved the pivot was not just a good decision but a transformative one.
For organizations considering a similar pivot, here are some valuable lessons based on this journey:
• Transparency builds trust. Keeping communication open and consistent is crucial in aligning your team with the new vision. Repeatedly share the rationale and benefits behind your new pivot to ensure everyone moves in the same direction.
• Plan for the unexpected. Embracing uncertainty and having contingency plans—or as I like to call it, preparing for the “unknown unknowns”—can allow you to navigate challenges with resilience. Planning for potential hurdles means you can adapt quickly and keep your momentum.
• Long-term vision wins. Prioritizing sustainable growth over short-term gains can help you weather the initial challenges and set you up for enduring success.
Be bold, communicate effectively, and always plan for the unexpected. In the end, the hard decisions often lead to the most rewarding outcomes.
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