Thought storyStory 02
The business grew, but the customer's understanding did not.
The company is growing. But are customers coming along?
We looked at a large supplier of technical products. A strong company with an established customer base, a working sales network, good logistics and people who know their work.
In recent years, the company has expanded into new fields and sees room for further growth. The idea is straightforward: with customers and a sales system already in place, that system could also sell new products and services.
But is it really that simple?
If a customer has bought electrical supplies from you for ten years, why would they buy heating, ventilation or water system solutions from you tomorrow? Especially if they already have another supplier for those needs and the relationship works.
Adding a new business to the company does not mean it has found a place in the customer's mind.
What did we see?
We started with the picture of the company visible in the market. We looked at public information, competitors and how different AI systems describe the company and in which situations they recommend it.
The picture was interesting. The company was clearly visible and often appeared among the recommendations, but it was still described mainly through its established core business.
The new fields were there, but a broader picture of the company as a technical partner had not yet taken clear enough shape.
That raised an interesting question. If even public information does not give a complete picture of what the company can offer today, how well do existing customers know those possibilities? And how well can the company's own people explain them to customers?
We do not know yet. That is exactly what should be investigated next.
Where might the next growth come from?
For me, there is an important distinction here. The company may think it sells electrical supplies, heating equipment, ventilation solutions and much more. But customers do not necessarily think in product categories. They want to get their work done.
When a problem arises on a construction site, what matters is who can help solve it quickly and sensibly. Who they can rely on, who understands their work and who keeps the project from coming to a standstill.
If the company has earned that trust in one field, it has a real opportunity to extend it into others.
But it cannot do that just by adding new products to a price list.
The same question arises when a company acquires another business or adds an entirely new line of work. From the organisation's perspective, the business has grown. For the customer, nothing may have changed.
They still buy what they have always bought.
How would we take this further?
I would not start with a big campaign or a new brand message. I would start with ten existing customers.
I would ask what they buy from the company today, what they buy elsewhere and why. Do they even know about the new options the company offers? Perhaps they know very well, but have no reason to change their existing supplier. Perhaps no one has explained the new option in terms of their own work.
At the same time, I would speak with salespeople and leaders. How do they see the company's new role? Can a salesperson who knows their established field inside out also spot customer needs that another part of the business could solve?
Then I would put those two pictures together and compare them with the public market picture.
Only then would I run a small experiment in real sales. Take one new field and a few existing customers, and try bringing the new solution naturally into the existing relationship.
We would see whether customers come along, what holds them back and what needs to change. If it works, it can be tested on a larger scale.
What stayed with me from this story?
A company's growth and its customers' understanding of the company may not move at the same speed.
Leadership may see a completely new company, new possibilities and a bigger market. In the customer's mind, it may still be the same firm they have bought one particular thing from for years.
And perhaps that is where one of the next opportunities for growth lies.
Finding new customers is expensive and difficult. But what if some of the new business could come from people who already know and trust you?
Before looking for more customers, it is worth seeing how many opportunities with existing customers remain untapped.
This story is based on real market analysis. The company name and recognisable details have been changed. The customer conversations and sales experiment described are our proposed next steps, not work already completed or results achieved.