● Brand awareness among MATs increased by 50% within the first year, driving a significant uptick in inbound leads.
● Revenue growth exceeded expectations, with a 100% year-over-year increase in sales revenue, solidifying IMP Software's position as a market leader in education finance software within 4 years.
● The business now represents over 40% of all schools within MATs and 59% of large MATs in the UK
Crafting a Market Leader: The Evolution of IMP Software’s Brand Identity
Key Results
Introducing IMP Software…….
IMP Software, established in 2019 by two former colleagues with extensive experience in education finance, aims to transform financial management within the multi-academy trust (MAT) education sector. With a focus on providing budgeting, forecasting, and reporting solutions tailored for MATs, IMP Software has swiftly emerged as a market leader, serving over 4,000 schools with a dedicated team of 80 specialists.
The Challenge
In early 2020, IMP Software faced a critical challenge in developing a robust go-to-market strategy for its flagship product, IMP Planner. Despite garnering early traction with a group of beta users, the company recognised the imperative of a strong brand presence to propel its growth trajectory. Co-founder Will Jordan enlisted the expertise of Dan Bassett to lead the brand and marketing strategy, acknowledging the necessity of standing out in a crowded market. Will highlighted the need to increase awareness and differentiate IMP Software from competitors to reach more MATs seeking effective financial management solutions.
Will commented ‘’ we knew that we had a strong product which would resonate with multi-academy trust finance leaders and that crucial to the success of the product was establishing a strong brand presence underwritten by aligning with the challenges leaders in our sector face when managing their budgets in existing systems, Dan quickly picked this up and helped us strive forward’’
Brand Strategy Development
Under Dan Bassett's leadership, IMP Software embarked on a comprehensive brand strategy development process, which involved:
● Conducting extensive market research to understand the needs and pain points of MATs regarding financial management.
● Orienting the brand strategy towards addressing these pain points and fulfilling the unmet needs of the market.
● Developing messaging and content focused on resonating with MAT decision-makers and alleviating their challenges in financial management.
Will Jordan remarked, "Working with Dan was crucial in navigating the complexities of our market. Through careful listening and market orientation, we were able to develop a brand strategy that truly resonated with our target audience."
Go-to-Market Strategy Implementation:
IMP Software executed its go-to-market strategy across various channels and initiatives,
including:
● Launching targeted marketing campaigns utilising digital channels, industry events, and partnerships to enhance brand visibility among MAT decision-makers.
● Developing brand channels such as The MAT Finance Show, IMP Software’s thought leadership podcast and The MAT Finance Awards, an industry-first awards programme focused on celebrating the success within MAT Finance teams.
● Establishing thought leadership through content marketing, webinars, and case studies, positioning IMP Software as a trusted advisor and industry expert in education finance.
Results & Outcomes
The implementation of IMP Software's brand and go-to-market strategy yielded impressive results:
● Brand awareness among MATs increased by 50% within the first year, driving a significant uptick in inbound leads.
● Revenue growth exceeded expectations, with a 100% year-over-year increase in sales revenue, solidifying IMP Software's position as a market leader in education finance software within 4 years.
● The business now represents over 40% of all schools within MATs and 59% of large MATs in the UK
“Our collaboration with Dan (Co-Founder of brandtale) has been pivotal in defining our brand strategy and driving our success. By focusing on the pain points of our market and delivering tailored solutions, we’ve established a strong brand presence and earned the trust of our customers.””
Building Authenticity
One of the core elements of establishing IMP Software as a market leader was to position them as authentic thought leaders in the sector, this was achieved by:
● Listening first at all costs - developing touch points with customers and ways in which we could regularly seek feedback from them
● Establishing consistent thought leadership cycles - surveys, whitepapers, webinars and PR
● Developing a brand strategy that aligned with the market and didn’t seek to talk at it
“Crucial to our success was our ability to stay grounded, to really listen to what MAT Finance Leaders were saying and develop content and touch points which helped them deal with some of their biggest challenges, Dan was always adamant that our content should provide value to them above all else and this served us very well indeed.’’”
Lessons Learned and Best Practices:
Brand Strategy = Customer Happiness
The importance of aligning brand strategy with customer needs and market dynamics to drive meaningful engagement and adoption.
Customer Feedback Loop
The value of investing in ongoing customer feedback and product iteration to ensure continuous improvement and relevance.
Be A Thought Leader
The significance of thought leadership and strategic partnerships in building credibility and trust within the target market.
Conclusion
IMP Software's journey underscores the transformative impact of a well-executed brand and go-to-market strategy in establishing market leadership and driving business growth. By prioritising market orientation, listening to customer pain points, and developing tailored messaging and solutions, IMP Software has set a new standard for excellence in education finance software solutions.
“‘Working with Dan over the past few years has helped us establish who we are and set us on a path to continue to scale the business, my advice to business leaders would without question be invest in your Brand and Marketing strategy and get the guys at brandtale in for a chat’”