Mergers & Acquisitions often lead to customer uncertainty and, worse, customer attrition. This can severely impact revenue projections and undermine the success of a deal. The term for this painful reality? Dyssynergies.
Achieving the desired synergies during integration requires more than just cost savings; it’s about ensuring your customers stay with you. Here’s an equation that sets the standard for success: 1 + 1 = 2.2 (minimum). Anything less means we’ve failed to retain customers—and that’s fully within our control.
Key Steps for Retaining Industrial Customers:
Thoroughly Analyze Sales & Go-to-Market Strategies: Compare and contrast the sales cycles, processes, and customer buying needs of both organizations—including those in indirect sales channels.
Understand the Full Customer Lifecycle: This includes every interface, touchpoint, and relationship both human and digital, that have been foundational to success.
Examine Product Management and Marketing: Ensure that these teams support the sales organization and meet the needs of the customer lifecycle.
Assess Proposal and Quotation Systems: Before implementing any changes, understand the implications and possible unintended consequences that could arise.
Engage Key Customers Early and Often: Communication must be a two-way street from the start, with key customers being engaged within days of the transaction.
Execution Focus:
Purposefully pace changes within sales, marketing, and product management to maintain growth momentum.
Build growth synergies into integration plans, ensuring customer-facing organizations align in a way that makes sense for customers.
Final Thought: In M&A integrations, we won’t meet our growth ambitions if we lose our customers. Keep customer retention at the heart of every decision and planning phase to ensure 1 + 1 = 2.2.
Great blog Bill! I love how the customer is first in this analysis. Thoroughly understanding the many touch points including digital is so important.