Conversation with
Christian Collot,
Managing Director of Intuiti

Testimony

Christian Collot
Managing Director of Intuiti

• We have just had a rather turbulent year, during which we have talked a lot about the digital transformation of companies. How did this translate to the companies you provide support to?

  

  C :

  The crisis has accelerated transformation and highlighted the agility of certain companies. There are those that have adapted and those that have not. Companies with a culture of digital integration enjoyed the benefits of it during the crisis. Other companies, particularly those that were still operating with a traditional business model, had greater difficulties.

  Some time ago, business models were very divided, particularly between B2B and B2C, while today interaction models are getting closer. The use of digital tools, accentuated during the crisis, have brought business models closer together than ever: today, companies’ use of digital tools is the same everywhere! There are almost no borders, and digital habits have become identical. Our work is to integrate B2C communications and trade practices into the industrial business model.

• How exactly can the digital ecosystem of an industrial company be transformed?

  

  C :

  A few years ago at Intuiti, we realised that some areas of business had been left by the wayside of the digital revolution: particularly the industrial sector. It should be noted that 4-5 years ago the use of digital marketing was associated with the concept of image and merely served as a showcase. However, it turns out to be a huge performance factor for customer purchases that goes far beyond a simple commercial strategy deployed “in push mode” on social networks or elsewhere.

  An example that illustrates the impact of a digital strategy on industrial models: for an industrial player to be able to obtain a commercial exchange with a customer, 13 traditional interactions (telephone, email) are necessary, while with social content, only 3-4 interactions are required before establishing an initial contact, under the guise of having content that interests the target. In summary, we have moved from a purely communication-based model to a tool of influence and business for industrial companies, or even e-business.

• What are the challenges for the next few months and years?

  

  C :

  The issue of data is key, it is a matter of integrating it more strongly into decision-making assistance and performance. It is a key link in a customer centric strategy.

  Secondly, it is a matter of further implementing customer centric strategies because we are convinced that the customer is the company’s main strategic asset, for both B2C and B2B. This is the great challenge for each company we work with: making it a reflex to always think of the customer first in their development strategies. This concept goes beyond the type of company: we have moved from a product-centred era into a customer-centred one. Of course, the idea has already been expressed but we see that very few players have natively integrated the customer into the company’s development model. The customer is the company’s strategic asset, so it is vital to consider how they use the product and changes to their habits. This requires a certain agility and an ability to adapt to changes in the world.