- Case Study -​​

From Software Provider to Guardian of an Independent Ecosystem

 

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Our client was a mature SaaS provider serving independent retailers. The product was reliable, feature-complete, and competitively priced. Yet growth had plateaued. Customer satisfaction was acceptable, but switching rates were low and market expansion was difficult. Traditional product improvements, speed, features, integrations, failed to create momentum.

 

Initial Insight

Through qualitative analysis and identity profiling, we discovered a critical misalignment: customers were not looking for better software. Better software was appreciated, but not compelling enough to change behaviour. What they actually sought were two things the product, and the company, did not yet embody.​

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1. Community as an Unmet Identity Need​

Independent retailers strongly identified as community builders, yet the company interacted with them almost exclusively through invoices, technical alerts, and system updates. The relationship was functional, not human.

 

We gave the organisation a human identity:

 

• A coherent brand voice across website, brochures, and social media

• Weekly content focused on people, not product

• A visible presence on LinkedIn and other channels where none existed before

 

This reframed the company from “software vendor” to participant in the community.

The effect was immediate: trust increased, conversations started, and market entry into new regions became significantly easier. Prospective customers no longer encountered an anonymous platform, but a recognisable, human organisation.

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2. Addressing the Existential Threat: Amazon​

Across interviews, one shared fear dominated: Amazon. Not as a technical competitor, but as an existential one. Amazon was faster and cheaper, but profoundly inhuman. Our analysis showed that what made local independents valuable was precisely what Amazon lacked: warmth, familiarity, and human presence. We transformed this insight into a product and narrative.

 

We positioned the client as a protector of local independence:

 

• An initiative that united independent retailers into a visible collective

• Weekly Instagram giveaways conducted in the name of individual local shops

• A shared front that turned isolated retailers into a recognisable movement

 

This had never been done before in the industry.

Within a year:

 

• Over a hundred central industry figures became outspoken advocates

• Press picked up the initiative organically

• The total marketing spend remained in the low four figures

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​The client was no longer just a platform. It became a guardian of local culture.

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​3. Internal Coherence: One Company, One Voice

Internally, the organisation was fragmented:

 

• Multiple logos and brand expressions

• Departments operating as disconnected entities

• Newsletters that customers largely ignored

 

We consolidated identity across the company:

 

• A single, coherent brand system

• A centralised voice across communication channels

• Newsletters transformed from technical bulletins into stories

 

To reinforce leadership and care, we began interviewing customers and publishing their life stories; why they started, what they struggled with, and what independence meant to them. This positioned the company as a listener and amplifier, not a vendor. These stories became especially powerful tools in new markets.

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4. Entering Closed Markets Without Power or Budget

Market entry into the United States presented a final challenge. Established competitors dominated, industry associations were closed, and traditional routes were blocked. Instead of competing on features, we analysed competitor identity. Most legacy IT providers had none: they were operational, not cultural actors.

 

We repositioned our client as: The enabler of a fully local, cooperative retail ecosystem. Not a SaaS company, but a family-like organisation that thinks alongside its customers. This reframing changed everything. Small associations and independent retailers, disillusioned with faceless giants, gravitated toward the brand. The “caring” identity opened doors that marketing budgets could not.

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Outcome

By addressing identity rather than functionality:

 

• Growth resumed without aggressive sales tactics

• Market entry became possible in hostile environments

• Customers turned into advocates

• The company evolved from software provider to cultural actor

 

The product did not fundamentally change. The meaning did.