{Most professional} providers corporations that wish to develop finally run into not less than one in every of three obstacles:
- No identify recognition in new markets
- Established competitors that’s exhausting to beat
- An inadequate pool of certified job candidates
One of the efficient methods to beat these hurdles is to amass companies that have already got the traits they want.
In reality, greater than 46% of high-growth corporations engaged in a merger or acquisition final yr. Whereas buying a agency can provide on the spot entry to new markets, a bigger buyer base and a brand new income stream, it additionally raises quite a lot of branding questions.
The query I hear most frequently is whether or not to fold the acquired agency into the customer’s personal model or maintain it separate. This can be a downside of name structure, and the way you select to reply it might have broad implications in your agency and the way it’s perceived. At present, I wish to give attention to the method most acquirers desire: the unified model.
The Unified Model: A Seamless Integration
After I say unified model, I imply the acquired agency is absolutely built-in into the mum or dad firm, adopting its identify, brand, tradition and messaging. This technique has the benefit of simplicity and readability. There’s no confusion within the market about who you might be or what you do.
Nevertheless, reaching a very unified model is usually simpler mentioned than completed. Companies typically purchase different companies for strategic causes with out absolutely contemplating how they’ll combine the brand new workforce. This may be particularly difficult when the 2 corporations have very completely different cultures or enterprise fashions.
For example, we labored with a conventional on-site accounting agency that purchased a extremely entrepreneurial agency with a totally distant workforce and whose purchasers paid on a subscription mannequin. The acquirer wished to assimilate the acquired agency into its conventional tradition. You’ll be able to think about the issues they have been having! Whereas we have been nicely suited to deal with their model and messaging challenges, the cultural points have been exterior our space of experience.
Primarily based on this and lots of comparable experiences, I strongly suggest that any agency that’s about to make, or not too long ago has made, an acquisition to work with a post-merger guide. They may also help you see challenges within the offing and develop methods to resolve any variations—or decide {that a} unified model method isn’t going to work.
How A number of Manufacturers Can Change into One
As soon as any variations are addressed, it’s typically simple for an acquired agency to grow to be a definite service line underneath the grasp model. This straightforward method is sensible when the acquired agency brings a wholly new skillset or market focus to your corporation.
For instance, a consulting agency may purchase a smaller agency that focuses on government teaching and rebrand it because the “Government Teaching Division” of the mum or dad firm. This enables the acquired agency to retain a level of its specialised id whereas nonetheless benefiting from the sources and popularity of the bigger group. This can be a traditional instance of a branded home technique, the place all acquired corporations inherit the identify and brand of the mum or dad agency however are additionally recognized by their space of experience.
This method has a number of benefits. It permits you to every enterprise unit to compete with specialist corporations. On the similar time, any enterprise unit can faucet into the various vary of in-house experience when wanted, creating new alternatives for collaboration and cross-selling. Nevertheless, it may be tough for a enterprise unit to tell apart itself from the general agency, and specialised rivals should still have a perceived benefit. Typically, nonetheless, potential purchasers are on the lookout for a agency with a variety of experience, offsetting the specialist’s benefit in some circumstances.
In lots of conditions, nonetheless, the acquired agency is both similar to the acquirer or there’s a lot overlap of their capabilities. In these circumstances, the buying agency will typically assign the individuals within the acquired agency to the follow areas or enterprise models most related to their experience.
The Position of a Branding Agency and Integration Advisor
Navigating the complexities of post-acquisition branding is one thing no agency ought to do alone. A branding agency could be a useful associate on this course of. They may also help you construction your post-acquisition model structure, whether or not you select a unified model, a home of manufacturers, or a branded home method. They’ll additionally make it easier to create a cohesive visible id that displays your new, expanded group.
Maybe most significantly, they may also help you develop considerate messaging that explains the rationale behind the acquisition to each inner and exterior audiences, which is essential for minimizing model confusion and nervousness within the market.
It’s additionally clever to interact a guide to advise you on the mixing course of itself. The bottom line is to anticipate the challenges forward and to have a transparent plan to deal with them. With the best technique and help, an acquisition could be a highly effective software to develop in dimension, expertise and specialised experience.
