Petra Vunderink – Exact

Exact is a Dutch software company developing business software for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their accountants. The products automate business processes in areas such as Finance and HR and provide specific ERP solutions for wholesale distribution, manufacturing, projects and construction. Founded in 1984, it serves over 675,000 companies worldwide, focused on the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with both cloud-based and on-premises software tailored to various industries.

In this interview, Petra Vunderink, Head of Marketing Communications at Exact, offers insights into the brand’s growth strategies, KPIs, and the critical „Moment of Truth“ in their marketing journey. The discussion delved into the intricacies of managing brand positioning and creativity for the challenges and trends in the ever-evolving marketing landscape.

CREATIVE CONSISTENCY IN BRANDING

Petra oversees both the event and brand teams at Exact. The event team orchestrates a multitude of events, ranging from trade fairs to mega events like Exact Live, their customer flagship event, while the brand team focuses on top-of-the-funnel activities, such as paid activities, brand campaigns, sponsorships and collaborating with external partners. A conscious choice has been made to have robust in-house design and content capabilities, aligning with Exact’s belief in maintaining control over speed, and quality, and ensuring a consistent brand experience.

Long-term consistency in brand communication is something that Petra specifically highlights. While the visual design in campaigns can be short-term, it is the long-term balance that is needed to maintain distinctiveness and relevance in the market. This can sometimes be challenging though, as Exact has a large portfolio of different target audiences. While the visual identity of the brand is clearly defined, the designers might want to explore alternative directions, which sometimes leads to differences in perspective between marketing and brand management. However, these differences are what contribute to a dynamic and continuously evolving brand, and should therefore not be overlooked.

“We have a visual identity that is quite tight, but there’s room for development within it. Sometimes, there’s friction, creative minds want to move on to the next thing, so you sometimes need to pull them back. But they contribute to a beautiful, dynamic, and continuously evolving brand. So, there’s always a positive tension.”

KPIS FOR BRAND GROWTH AND THE “MOMENT OF TRUTH”

When asked about the key KPIs for brand growth, Petra emphasises the importance of measuring awareness, consideration, and preference. In the Netherlands, where Exact already enjoys high brand awareness and steady annual growth, the focus shifts towards improving consideration and preference. In Belgium, where awareness is still being built, the emphasis is on shaping the brand’s image.

Currently, the branding campaign focuses on conveying a warm, personal feeling through emotion-driven messaging, standing out from the more product-centric approaches adopted by competitors. This brand message also has a positive effect on the decision-making process or the “moment of truth”. While the target audience is businesses, the decision makers are still people, and factors like trust, reliability, service and accessibility become crucial for decision-making. Especially trust is crucial because customers need to trust Exact with their financial data, and if the product works seamlessly, word-of-mouth grows, which subsequently works as a way for Exact to win new potential clients.

“Certainly, the decision-makers are people, and emotions do play a role. In the business software market, there are no bad products, but trust, reliability, service, and accessibility become crucial factors in decision-making. It’s not just about price.”

COMMUNICATION AND SALES ACTIVATION

Lastly, when it comes to communication and sales activation, Petra acknowledges some internal conversations about the inclusion and benefits of promotional offers. While there is a desire for short-term gains, Petra also firmly believes that such tactics can undermine the brand’s image and reliability in the long term.

Sales activation doesn’t always have to be promotional offers though, it can also be the messages that the demand generation teams send out to new leads, for example, “get a free demo trial for thirty days.” Furthermore, sales activation for Exact also includes attending industry events to build relationships with new potential clients, as well as offering free training sessions and comprehensive support to existing ones.

“I believe that in your communication, you should balance with product messaging, positioning yourself as a knowledge partner, as someone who can help guide your entrepreneur, providing advice and good products. So, it’s much more than just a good product.”

Looking into the future, Petra sees trends in AI playing a crucial role in communication by creating more personalised messages, not only in text but also in visuals. According to her, this could bring a significant acceleration, especially for the bilingual market in Belgium. Nevertheless, Exact approaches this cautiously, as the personal connection with the audience remains always a priority for Exact.