The Situation
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A global leader in human capital management (HCM) solutions needed to accelerate its growth within middle and upper-market segments. To effectively differentiate itself from competitors, the company required clear, validated insights into the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Return on Investment (ROI) of competitive offerings. Facing a fragmented and complex competitive marketplace, the client sought Sedulo Group’s expertise to obtain precise, reliable, and actionable insights that would inform their market positioning and sales strategies.
The Solution
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Sedulo structured and implemented a comprehensive TCO and ROI benchmarking study, featuring:
- Stakeholder Alignment: Conducted in-depth interviews with client stakeholders to define key priorities, establish baseline expectations, and pinpoint critical aspects of TCO and ROI.
- Custom Survey Development & Deployment: Designed and administered targeted surveys to carefully selected SMEs and qualified customer sources, ensuring data quality and relevance.
- Primary Intelligence Interviews: Built upon initial survey findings and desk research by conducting targeted, one-on-one interviews with high-value industry experts and end-users to obtain nuanced, validated insights.
- Comprehensive Strategic Analysis: Leveraged advanced analytical methodologies and data visualization tools to create actionable insights. Sedulo developed detailed competitor TCO and ROI profiles, side-by-side comparisons, and clearly identified areas of differentiation.
The final deliverables included an executive-level PowerPoint summary, detailed Excel datasets, and a supplemental reference document containing direct source quotes and verbatim insights.
The Success
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Empowered by Sedulo’s rigorous analysis, the global HCM leader gained a precise understanding of competitor economics and strategic positioning, directly influencing their growth initiatives. These validated insights enabled the client to:
- Clearly articulate their own competitive advantages, emphasizing lower TCO and superior ROI to prospects.
- Effectively counter competitor claims in sales conversations, enhancing win rates.
- Optimize sales strategies and marketing messages based on concrete, credible data rather than anecdotal assumptions.
The actionable benchmarks provided by Sedulo directly translated into stronger market positioning, accelerated expansion into key segments, and ultimately increased competitive wins.