An independent, evidence-based platform decision for an Australian motoring club's B2B growth
One of Australia's largest motoring clubs set an ambitious five-year strategy to grow its business customer segment, which accounted for about 10% of revenue. The first step was deciding which platform that growth would run on: extend its current CRM or buy a dedicated B2B platform. As an independent adviser, we tested both options against the same evidence over fourteen weeks. The club now holds a list of functional requirements, a three-horizon roadmap and a top-down business case which demonstrates the viability of the initiative.
CLIENT BACKGROUND
The client is one of Australia's largest motoring clubs and roadside assistance providers. Beyond its consumer membership, it covers more than 300,000 business vehicles, from sole traders with a single vehicle to fleet management organisations (FMOs) that look after thousands of vehicles for their corporate clients.
Ambitious B2B growth depended on a platform decision made on evidence
The club saw strong growth potential in its B2B segment, which at the time of engagement accounted for only 10% of revenue. It set an ambitious five-year strategy targeting significant interstate growth. The challenge lay in the IT solution used to serve business customers. While the consumer solution was modern and delivered a smooth customer journey from start to finish, the B2B solution was not yet ready to support the ambition: it needed to do more for both the customer journey and internal efficiency to keep pace with the growth plan.
The club needed to decide which platform would carry its business customer growth for years to come. There were two credible options: extend the current CRM, keeping continuity with a platform the club knew well and successfully used for its consumer business, or procure a dedicated B2B platform. With a decision of this weight, the club wanted it made on evidence rather than on the strength of a pitch. That is when we were engaged.
An independent review held both options to the same standard, starting with the business
Mulberry carried out an independent review to give the club the information it needed before committing to a platform. Before comparing the two options, Extend and Buy, we started with discovery to fully understand the current state and the challenges faced by both the business and its customers.
To ensure everyone was heard, over fourteen weeks we ran more than a dozen interviews across twelve business functions, as well as five workshops. Our common goal was to cover every step of the journey for each customer segment, uncover every pain point and describe the target state. Insights from the interviews and workshops formed the basis of a current capability assessment, identifying the areas that serve the business well and those where investment is needed. From this, we defined 250 requirements for the changes to current capabilities. We designed the requirements to hold under either option, so the club keeps all of this work whichever path it takes. To make the plan practical and aligned with the strategy's goals, we prioritised the required initiatives across three horizons: laying the foundation for each customer segment, scaling the customer channels and extending the capabilities.
With a clear picture of what good looks like, we moved on to comparing the options: through the club's Procurement team, we engaged three global CRM vendors, each with an implementation partner, and received their responses to a request for information. At the same time, we worked with the internal technology team to assess the feasibility of the Extend option. Drawing on these inputs, we built a top-down business case.
A top-down business case that confirms the initiative's viability and sets a clear path to the final decision
The club now holds a top-down business case that stands on the numbers and justifies the investment. With a reasonable estimated timeline and high-level cost estimates in place, the club can now move to the next stage: a detailed bottom-up analysis.
For this stage, we recommended keeping both options open rather than favouring one over the other. This requires a request for proposal (RFP) process for the Buy option and a more detailed estimate of costs and timelines for the Extend option. The approach is designed to give the club a full picture and ensure the best outcome, from both a financial and a capability perspective.
