Imagine you are a startup, creating a product whose consumer is a large corporate machine. And there it is, the corporation – a separate multi-level world that knows nothing about you or your product.

How do you introduce yourself in a way that immediately stands out to all participants in the corporation's "food chain" and achieves the result - a Client? Let's explore this through the case of our case for the Swiss technological startup vidby.

The phrase "corporate client" is both enticing and intimidating. It attracts with the prospect of massive product sales but intimidates with a different kind of scale – prolonged negotiations, endless waiting, and the potential tussle a startup might face right at the beginning, during the procurement procedure.

In corporations, it often looks like this:

Every day, thousands of sellers approach the procurement departments of large corporations. Each one goes through a heap of procedures on different floors. Someone approaches the purchasing department to meet a manager, while others introduce themselves at brand conferences. However, no matter which floor you approach with your product proposal, it's crucial to understand that in large corporations you will still be sent through the procedure from bottom to top and back.

So, the first step is the most important. It determines the course ahead. Its absence can be a deal-breaker. Therefore, the arena is entered with a proposal, a pitch that should surprise every participant in this procedure and get a "Yes" at every stage right away!

How to pitch to capture everyone's attention and increase the conversion of procurement chains?

With creativity!

vidby, a technological startup from Switzerland, was looking for a non-traditional solution to quickly convey its product (services for localizing and adapting video content in 70 languages worldwide) to corporate "machines." And they found this solution in Ukraine, in our agency.

Task:

vidby needed to develop a proposal that would allow the seller to quickly convey information and the advantages of the product to the corporate client, make a memorable impression, and ultimately close the deal.

Digging into corporate processes and unfolding the user stories of their sales, we found a valuable insight:

"In language translation, as in life, details matter, and context is crucial. If you miss or incorrectly translate a word, the meaning is lost. You simply won't be understood. And we needed to be understood immediately and desired right away." - Maria Parkhomets, Project Manager.

Solution:

"Design a proposal in a way that quickly breaks through any potential resistance for each participant – specifically, the lack of understanding of what vidby is, why they came, and what they want from them. For each stage, the creative team proposed a solution that meets the needs of each participant and conveys our product, vidby, further through the procedure. Here it's great, let's go further. Further is also great. And here the product reaches the Important "Player" – and here it's all clear also. And this is not just clear or even liked – this is a purchase. This is a Client. We solved this. The team designed a path through the "chain" of the corporate machine that boosts the proposal from the first sight to the purchase. And we did it quite creatively. Creative expression helps quickly navigate and check off each decision-maker." - Eugene Mironyuk, Strategy Director.

What did the vidby seller take to the Corporate Client in the End?

I. Hiya, it's me...:

The introduction should be memorable. The salesman provides his contacts and vividly demonstrates the complexities of translation, which vidby's products help to solve. If you look at it like this - nothing is clear. But if you look at it like this? This thing, at the very least, surprises. You want to linger with it and play with it alone.

II. Paper work:

The killer feature here is the carbon copy. The carbon copies are intentionally created so that without the copy, the meaning is entirely different. And the carbon copy showcases vidby's services – helping to make content more understandable. Because in languages, it works that way – mistranslate or forget one word, and the content changes.

III. Entertainment:

Here, shadows of Soviet entertainment emerged – stereo-vario images. They were used to demonstrate a consumer-centric experience while using vidby's products. The images visually demonstrate the instant functions of vidby and the happy emotion of understanding.

As a result, the questions of the corporate audience for vidby were closed through a non-traditional and creative approach to creating essentially a standard sales product – the proposal. The startup's product – services for adapting and translating video into various languages – became open and understandable to the Corporate Client. And it was sold to them.

Currently, our team continues to work on finding other audiences for vidby, identifying and meeting their needs. Among these audiences is the "end Client" – an individual who doesn't need vidby's product for business but is necessary for vidby. The agency plans to roll out campaigns for two more Client audiences by the end of the year.

Conclusion:

Every product pitch that a seller brings to a corporation has a certain time frame that needs to be sustained. With a cool and creative proposal, this time works for the seller and provides more opportunities for showcasing the product. Essentially, it serves as the "clothing" with which they are received.

Corporations are not that scary if approached with intelligence. And with creativity. The key here is to surprise, immediately and everyone. Then, not only they`ll buy your product, but will also keep your sales kit in the CEO's office as an example of how it should be done.

And let us share a quote:

"A startup is a company that doesn't necessarily understand different things: what a product is, who its buyers are, and how to make money" – Dave McClure, co-founder of 500Startups.

It's not always necessary for developers that are creating innovative products, to be distracted by marketing, as someone who understands it can take care of that. They will find an effective solution that will make the product sell even in large "scary" corporations.

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