Lena Andican
Helping Tennaxia understand their buyer persona with customer interviews & market research.
Tennaxia is a leading sustainability software provider with 20 years of experience serving clients. With investors like Marlin Equity Partners and Bpi France, Tennaxia is on a growth journey to help European businesses decarbonize and achieve their net-zero targets.
Background
The adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by the EU has triggered a wave of carbon management solutions, resulting in a crowded marketplace where many offerings look alike. This makes it increasingly challenging for companies like Tennaxia to stand out and clearly communicate their unique value to potential clients.
The Hurdles
Tennaxia encountered several challenges when pitching to CFOs, one of their key buyer personas. There was often a disconnect in how CFOs perceived the value of Tennaxia's software compared to their existing financial reporting systems. Many CFOs believed they could handle sustainability data manually, underestimating the benefits of an automated solution. Concerns about adding another IT system to an already complex landscape further complicated acceptance. Additionally, Tennaxia’s team faced challenges due to their unfamiliarity with CFOs' priorities and language, leading to ineffective communication. Balancing the interests of both CFOs and sustainability officers in presentations was also difficult, as each stakeholder had different needs and expectations.
Solutions
To streamline their sales process, Tennaxia established clear objectives:
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Understanding CFO perspectives and deepening the team’s comprehension of CFO priorities and communication styles.
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Reshaping value perception by creating compelling messaging that highlights the distinct advantages of Tennaxia's software for CFOs.
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Emphasising the efficiency and reliability of automated ESG reporting compared to manual processes.
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Showing how Tennaxia’s software seamlessly fits into existing IT systems, simplifying rather than complicating operations.
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Developing persuasive arguments that validate the necessity of Tennaxia's solutions for achieving compliance with CSRD regulations.
Research Initiative
To address these goals, Tennaxia undertook a comprehensive research initiative:​
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CFO Persona Research: we explored the buyer journey of CFOs, focusing on their awareness, consideration, decision-making, and post-purchase expectations.
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Sustainability Officer Insights: interviews with existing customers provided valuable insights into how Tennaxia’s software created value and addressed industry challenges.
The research aimed to capture how stakeholders viewed recent sustainability regulations, identify their challenges, and understand what they valued in their relationship with Tennaxia. It also examined the language and sentiments used by the audience and assessed their experiences with competitors' products. Overall, the insights gained were intended to enhance customer experiences, boost conversion rates, and support long-term growth.
Methodology
The research followed several key steps: First, a comprehensive interview guide was developed to ensure consistent questioning on topics like regulatory awareness and sustainability reporting challenges. Then, 18 prospective and existing customers were recruited in collaboration with Tennaxia’s and Marlin’s teams. The interviews were conducted in a conversational style to gather qualitative insights about experiences and expectations. Afterward, the collected data was analysed to identify common themes and sentiments, focusing on pain points and competitive insights. Finally, the findings were synthesised into a report that provided key insights and actionable recommendations for improving customer engagement and positioning, enabling Tennaxia to better understand and serve its target audience.
Sample of key Insights
The insights we gathered illustrated the complex landscape CFOs and Sustainability Managers navigate when considering specialised sustainability software, highlighting the need for clear communication and tailored messaging from providers like Tennaxia.
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The most difficult thing about CSRD
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Key insight: It’s new, complex and no one knows what to expect. Uncertainty is a challenge.
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“The challenge of the EU CSRD lies in structuring a new set of recordings and disclosures that were not previously within the scope of disclosure teams. While financial performance reporting is well-established and understood, the CSRD introduces a completely new environment that necessitates building complementary expertise internally and creating new reporting tools and setups to meet the new obligations. Since the CSRD is set to begin in 2024, there is limited prior experience to rely on. Auditors and strategic advisors may not fully understand what to expect. The initial phase is expected to be complex and challenging.”
Awareness Stage
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Key Insight: The change brought by CSRD is largely perceived as positive, necessary and it is welcomed. However, most agree that it comes at a hefty cost and the challenges of change management programs.
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“The impacts of these changes seem largely positive. People are taking reporting more seriously, recognising it as something necessary. That's a positive shift. We're also introducing more structure, thanks to CSRD requirements that call for internal controls.”
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“One of the most significant negative aspects is the need for a considerable upfront investment to comply with regulations before you can start seeing returns on it.”
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Key insight: tight cooperation. In some orgs, however, CFOs mostly approve the decision made by sustainability teams on ESG vendors.
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“We have a new CFO, and we've been engaging with him more on this. So, it's hard to say. But the finance department, in general, has been engaged. However, the nature of departments is very different. Finance is mostly focused on compliance, while we're trying to take sustainability beyond compliance. So it makes sense, but we're having to both guide and encourage them.”
​Consideration Stage
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Key insight: personalisation, implementation, consultancy, offering expertise is expected from clients and is a big factor in their decision making process:
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“We aim to minimize internal effort by relying on the supplier to take responsibility for system implementation, setting KPIs, and maintenance support. We expect them to enhance data quality and keep the system updated according to changing regulations and guidelines. Our goal is to have these responsibilities handled by the external system supplier.”
Decision stage
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Key insight: More sophisticated requirements demand the proof of concept. Less complex customers are happy with a demo. Prospects evaluate up to 6 vendors at most.
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“The three vendors were recommended by the consultancy we are working with. We run a ‘beauty contest.’ All three did a demo, but we did not do the proof of concept with all of them because it takes too much time.”
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Key insight: it’s never a one-person decision
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“CSR director and Me (CFO). For technical matters, I might consult the IT director, and we'll likely seek formal approval from our CEO. However, I don't anticipate the CEO objecting to our proposal just because they prefer a different software.”
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“Yes, we do have a buying committee. It comprises members from sourcing, procurement, HR, and finance. However, I am (Head of sustainability) the key decision-maker in this process. I expect recommendations from other team members with priority rankings, which I'll take into account when making the final decision.”