Infosys was founded in India in 1981 and is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, serving clients in more than 50 countries. Navin Rammohan, a Vice President of Marketing at Infosys, led a programme to reposition the company as a strategic transformation partner and increase loyalty with its top customers.
Approach
- Top customers were identified for each industry vertical, recognising that 20% contribute a lot more revenue than all the others put together.
- Resources were assigned to each account across sales, marketing, service delivery and, in the largest accounts, HR, working as one team for the Master Customer Owner (MCO) of the account.
- Sales and marketing teams aligned around top customers – an approach enhanced by the well-respected Account-Based Marketing (ABM) programme – with service delivery specialists playing a key role because of the close relationship they have with client executives.
- To enable this different approach to top accounts, the marketing team had four priorities, or mindsets: help align the company around the account; act as a business partner to the account team; find new ideas and value for the team and the customer; and move the partnership forward with empathy, such as through purpose-led initiatives.
Outcomes
Long-term strategic relationships with top accounts have been strengthened in a variety of ways.
- Customer engagement was increased by an innovative ‘unmarketing’ plan, built collaboratively by sales and marketing, with activities designed to resonate and deliver value in line with account objectives.
- Innovative partnerships were established with The Economist and the Financial Times combining the journalistic and research capabilities of these organisations, with Infosys’ digital capabilities.
- Joint Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects were developed in partnership with top accounts, leveraging Infosys’ expertise in community-orientated work for the benefit of wider society.
Read Navin Rammohan’s full description of this case study in Account-Based Growth by Bev Burgess and Tim Shercliff, published by Kogan Page
