As a new player in a market dominated by established competitors, ACT Group France needed to build both awareness and credibility. From marketing positioning to implementing a lead-generating marketing plan, Abiléo became the sparring partner behind this successful acceleration.
Abiléo accelerates ACT Group France's Growth in the energy efficiency market
ACT Group France has been supporting the energy transformation of French companies since 2019. A subsidiary of ACT Group, a global leader in environmental products (CO2 emissions, renewable energies, biofuels, energy efficiency), it was launched by David Maarek, Managing Director France, to provide the French market with an impactful B2B energy performance partner with deep expertise in Energy Savings Certificates (ESC). After securing key references, David decided it was time to take things to the next level.
Increasing visibility was crucial to reassure prospects when dealing with high-stakes projects. At the end of 2022, David selected Abiléo, a marketing consulting agency, to guide him. After 18 months of collaboration on both strategy and operations, David shares his experience:
After three years in the French market, I realised that we needed to build our reputation and legitimacy. We were 'the new kid on the block' in a very mature market with well-established historical competitors. Our value proposition was not clear enough... Today, thanks to Abiléo’s support, I am confident that all marketing fundamentals are in place.
D.M, Managing Director France - ACT Group
Challenge 1 : Defining the Value Proposition and Key Differentiators for ACT Group France
ACT Group France faced a dual challenge:
- Building its reputation and differentiation as a new player in a mature market dominated by competitors that are subsidiaries of large French groups (EDF, Engie, etc.).
- Defining a relevant value proposition for the French market, as its energy efficiency offering differs from the group’s core trading business.
To clarify the value proposition and differentiation factors, Abiléo conducted a comprehensive diagnosis:
- Client and partner interviews helped identify customer profiles, their expectations, and barriers to purchase while testing the potential for new offers as the subsidiary aimed to expand its offering.
- A sector- and persona-based approach allowed Abiléo to identify the most promising market segments and structure the marketing prospecting strategy by target market.
- Competitive analysis in a highly fluctuating market helped determine which differentiation factors were already claimed by competitors and which ACT Group France could legitimately adopt. Abiléo proposed positioning alternatives inspired by the Blue Ocean Strategy and developed the final positioning through collaborative intelligence workshops with sales managers, the French executive team, and the group’s Marketing Communication department.
We needed to clarify who we were and who we wanted to be. We didn’t know what message to deliver to our clients and partners. When selecting an agency, we hesitated between a 100% communication agency focused on brand image and values, and Abiléo, which better suited our pragmatic needs: understanding client expectations, pain points, and building our positioning based on a marketing approach that analysed customer needs and the competition.
With Abiléo, I appreciated that marketing was truly at the service of business development. The consultants helped us structure a sector-based commercial approach, working on Personas for each priority sector. The workshops helped me step back and often took me out of my comfort zone. With Abiléo, marketing isn’t a constraint but a business driver with direct impacts on sales.
D.M, Managing DirectorFrance -ACT Group
Challenge 2: Launching a Marketing Approach in France While Aligning with the Centralised Marketing and Communication Guidelines from the Netherlands
Abiléo made a point of collaborating with experts in each field in France and the Group’s Marketing and Communication department at every stage of the project.
Thanks to their international experience, Abiléo’s consultants communicate fluently in both French and English, facilitating interaction with multicultural teams. They led co-construction workshops in English, bringing together teams from France and the headquarters in the Netherlands. Each positioning concept was carefully contextualised to ensure smooth interaction with non-French-speaking colleagues and facilitate decision-making at every step.
As branding experts, Abiléo ensured that all work complied with the corporate guidelines for brand identity and visual standards.
Since the creation of the French entity, I relied on the Group’s Marketing and Communication department in Amsterdam to develop actions tailored to the French market and our local offering. However, given how different our offering is from other markets, it was a challenge. I eventually decided to work with a France-based agency for better support. Abiléo moved the needle. The consultants are familiar with marketing codes and know how to communicate our specific needs using arguments that resonate with their counterparts at the Dutch headquarters.
D.M, Managing DirectorFrance -ACT Group
Challenge N°3 : Installer une démarche marketing avec un fort retour sur investissement pour les commerciaux
ACT Group France already had a highly effective structure for prospecting and responding to tenders, with excellent technical expertise in addressing client challenges. Defining a marketing action plan required building on internal expertise while delivering tangible value and quick wins for the sales teams. Commercial ROI was an essential KPI to ensure buy-in for the marketing approach.
During the audit and positioning definition phase, Abiléo organised short, two-hour co-construction sessions to develop key messaging and positioning elements. Sales teams were involved in every step of the marketing process.
For operational marketing, sales representatives participated in selecting actions and implementing them, and were regularly highlighted on social media. The marketing action plan was executed with agility, focusing on:
- Quick activation of trade show presence for the year (SIMI, MIPIM, SantéExpo, USH, Renodays, etc.)
- Creating market-specific content
- Boosting LinkedIn presence
Abiléo fosters excellent collaboration with the sales team. The consultants know how to put marketing at the heart of sales practices. Internal teams feel valued by the marketing engagement. Today, our sales pitch is completely different, and everyone knows how to clearly present our market differentiation. In fact, we now use the messaging developed with Abiléo as part of the onboarding process for every new ACT Group France employee.``
``Abiléo saved us a year on the marketing actions we were planning. In a short time, we launched our first commercial brochure, attended our first professional trade shows, and structured the foundations for a French website. All marketing fundamentals are now in place to accelerate even further. After doubling our revenue this year, we are aiming for even stronger growth next year.
D.M, Managing DirectorFrance -ACT Group
In summary: the strengths of Abiléo's marketing support, according to ACT GROUP's Managing Director France
- Seamless collaboration with a dedicated consultant throughout the entire project, from strategic advice to operational implementation.
- A highly structured, efficient, and well-paced methodology, where every workshop and deliverable is meaningful and offers a return on the time invested by ACT teams.
- 100% business-focused marketing: Sales teams are included at every stage of the project. Every marketing action is meaningful to them and has a direct impact on sales.
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