From Transactional to Trusted Relationships: Satyam’s Diamond-Customer Engagement Strategy

Think back to the turn of the millennium. Remember all the anxiety around Y2K, the software bug that threatened to shut down computer systems at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999? Well, by the time the dust settled, Satyam—an Indian IT services company that had been founded in 1987—was officially “on the map,” boasting more than 7,000 employees and $300 million in annual revenue. The problem was that customers and prospects perceived Satyam employees as little more than code crunchers, pigeonholing the company as a basic, commoditized service provider. The companys skeletal marketing department was challenged to change people’s perception of Satyam to that of a true trusted advisor while at the same time bridging the culture gap between India and the rest of the world—all on a bootstrap marketing budget.

Although marketing and branding had never been the company’s top priorities, the marketing team saw great potential in Satyam’s finely tuned, customer service-oriented culture. Turning to Satyam’s most successful customer relationships, the team conducted exhaustive interviews with both customers and the Satyam relationship managers that convinced them of the need to kick things up a notch in four key areas:

• Business
• Technology
• Industry
• Culture

The Diamond-Customer Engagement Strategy

To address customer needs in the four key areas it had identified, Satyam’s marketing team designed the Diamond-Customer Engagement Strategy. The objective was to completely surround clients with high-touch marketing and relationship programs in each of the four areas, thereby transitioning transactional relationships to trusted relationships and creating customer advocates.

From 2001 to 2003, the team systematically reviewed all client plans and categorized them into four growth-potential levels. Those with the highest potential were surrounded by Satyam and grown to the next level. Every marketing initiative had to address at least one of the four key areas in the Diamond-Customer Engagement Strategy. The following are just a few of the most compelling initiatives.

Diamond Points: Business and Culture

• Messaging. Early research confirmed it was important not to downplay Satyam’s Indian culture but to align the most compelling aspects of Indian culture with those most admired by American businesses. A new evergreen tagline was launched: What Business Demands. It telegraphed a sense of urgency, service, and business savvy—attributes that clients admired and which aligned well with Indian culture.
• Satyam World. In 2001 and 2002, Satyam participated in IT events that attracted top decision makers, but they soon decided that Satyam should own the stage. In response, the team allocated a large portion of its budget to its own annual customer event. For three days, everything revolves around Satyam customers, carefully selected prospects, and the Satyam brand.

Diamond Points: Technology and Industry

• Geo Sourcing Forums: Cross-Industry Gatherings. In 2003, the team launched Satyam’s Geo Sourcing Forums: small workshop gatherings that bring together Satyam customers from the same industries to solve intra-industry problems. Customers select the topics of these events, and the work that is begun at each forum continues online after the event. As each forum matures, it becomes its own entity, independent but underwritten by Satyam.
• Customer Boot Camps: Client-Specific Gatherings. Customer boot camps are serious problem-solving gatherings that solve cross-enterprise customer challenges. Brainstorming, problem solving, planning, and solution mapping are the focus. Customer service and intimacy are the benefits.

Diamond Points: Culture and Industry

• Location Replication. Satyam replicates select customers’ headquarters at its office in Hyderabad, India. Product display cases, corporate colors, office furniture—even banners from pro sports teams are reproduced and displayed! This initiative not only makes customers feel right at home when they visit Satyam, it also surrounds relevant Satyam employees with the customer’s brand, motivating them to deliver a truly outstanding customer experience.

Diamond Points: Culture

• Customer Appreciation Events. Satyam hosts clients at major sporting events in the client’s home country. Satyam in-country marketing managers take great time and care preparing Indian managers in the nuances of the sport itself and cultural mores for relaxed business settings. The efforts result in successful customer experiences and a closer bond between Indian and in-country management.

Results

Since launching the Diamond-Customer Engagement program at the beginning of the decade, Satyam has more than tripled its annual revenues and expanded its workforce by 30,000 employees. Today, Satyam has a truly global brand that serves over 558 companies around the world. Its employees are viewed as much more than “code crunchers,” and a large percentage of its customers look to Satyam for advice, leadership, and business solutions that will help their companies succeed.

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