Case Studies

Transforming a CEP/ EBC into an Innovation Hub

Challenge:

A global enterprise technology firm wanted to position its Customer Engagement Program (CEP) as an innovation driver rather than just a venue for sales presentations. Internal teams tended to view the EBC as an administrative function rather than a strategic asset, leading to underutilization, missed collaboration opportunities, and lack of executive buy-in.

Approach:

The company engaged in a structured process to reposition their EBC as an “Innovation Hub” by integrating it into the company’s product development and customer co-creation efforts.

Key steps included:

  • Reframing the CEP mission to facilitate customer-driven innovation in addition to sales calls and product demonstrations.
  • Introducing a new collaboration model where product teams, R&D, and strategy teams leveraged the EBC as a testing ground for new ideas.
  • Redefining success metrics to track knowledge-sharing, prototype development, and long-term customer relationships.

Results:

  • Internal teams adopted the CEP/ EBC as a key tool for product feedback and market testing.
  • The program secured increased executive sponsorship and funding as its strategic role became more evident.
  • The CEP became a hub for co-innovation – including with external partners - fostering deeper customer engagement and driving new product iterations.

Building a Scalable CEP Model to “Do More with Less”

Challenge:

A leading enterprise software company faced budget and staffing cuts while its executive leadership mandated higher engagement targets for its CEP program. The team was stretched thin, struggling to meet demand without additional resources

Approach:

The company implemented a CEP model emphasizing a new strategy to enhance cross-functional collaboration, business value, and streamlining operations. They leveraged AI, automation, and standardized workflows to maintain quality while reducing the manual workload.

Key initiatives included:

  • Automating routine tasks such as agenda design, briefing scheduling, pre-briefing research, and post-briefing follow-ups.
  • Shifting to a hybrid model, allowing a mix of in-person and virtual briefings to accommodate more customers efficiently.
  • Empowering internal teams with self-service tools, enabling stakeholders to co-create briefing agendas and leverage EBC resources without additional strain on the core team.

Results:

  • The EBC team increased briefing capacity by 35% without expanding staff.
  • Standardized processes led to a 25% reduction in prep time, allowing the team to focus on strategic engagements.
  • Internal stakeholders became more self-sufficient, reducing dependence on the core EBC team for every detail.

Creating a Sustainable Business Model for an EBC

Challenge:

A fast-growing B2B tech company’s CEP lacked a clear financial model, making it difficult to justify ongoing investments. Executives questioned its ROI, and the program relied entirely on marketing budgets, which fluctuated year-to-year.

Approach:

To create a sustainable business model, the team repositioned the CEP as a revenue-enabling function by aligning it with strategic business priorities and developing a cost-justification framework:
  • Mapped CEP activities to measurable business outcomes (deal acceleration, customer expansion, partnership enablement).
  • Developed a stakeholder contribution model, where product teams and sales organizations co-invested in the program.
  • Implemented a tiered engagement structure, offering different levels of briefing support based on business impact.

Results:

  • The CEP team secured multi-year funding commitments from internal sponsors.
  • The program’s business impact was quantified, showing a 15% increase in customer engagement conversion rates.
  • The model provided financial predictability, preventing yearly budget uncertainties.

Leveraging AI & Automation for CEP Efficiency

Challenge:

A multinational hardware company struggled with briefing inefficiencies, last-minute requests, and inconsistent customer experiences. With a small team managing hundreds of briefings, information silos and manual processes created bottlenecks.
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Approach:

The company integrated AI and automation into its briefing workflow, focusing on three key areas:
  • AI-powered briefing customization: Automatically generated briefing content and suggested speakers based on customer profiles.
  • Automated reporting & insights: AI-driven analytics provided insights on briefing effectiveness and customer engagement trends.
  • Workflow automation: Streamlined briefing scheduling, feedback collection, and post-briefing follow-ups.

Results:

  • The AI-powered system reduced manual preparation time by 40%.
  • Briefing feedback scores improved as content was better tailored to customer needs.
  • The team gained actionable insights, allowing them to fine-tune their approach continuously.

Scaling a CEP Program for Growth with Limited Resources

Challenge:

A global technology company faced a challenge: their executive briefing program was expected to support ambitious growth targets while undergoing budget and headcount reductions. The program needed to maintain its impact without additional resources.

Approach:

To address this, a new strategy was developed that repositioned the briefing center as a strategic business enabler rather than just a sales support function. The program was reframed as a platform that connected customers with internal product teams, finance, and innovation groups. This allowed the program to justify its value beyond direct sales attribution.

Key initiatives included:

  • Establishing a new engagement model where internal teams became stakeholders in the CEP.
  • Introducing new performance metrics focused on customer impact, internal collaboration, and long-term influence.
  • Streamlining operations to maximize efficiency, allowing the program to handle more briefings with fewer resources.
  • Implementing AI-driven tools to optimize briefing workflows and personalize engagements.

Results:

  • The CEP adopted a more sustainable program structure, with stronger internal buy-in.
  • Leadership recognized the CEP’s value in supporting strategic objectives.
  • The program scaled efficiently, increasing engagement while keeping costs stable.

Creating a New Product Category from a CEP Program

Challenge:

A leading technology company was rapidly acquiring businesses, resulting in a fragmented portfolio and a lack of cohesion across newly integrated teams. Internally, employees and externally, customers struggled to understand the strategic purpose behind these acquisitions. Meanwhile, the Executive Briefing Center (EBC) was tasked with supporting over 500 customer visits annually, despite operating with a small team and limited resources. The challenge was to create an engagement model that demonstrated the full potential of the company's expanding portfolio.

Approach:

The EBC team implemented an innovative approach to drive deeper customer engagement, cross-functional collaboration, and new product development. Key initiatives included:
  • Facilitating knowledge-sharing across acquisitions by positioning the EBC as a central hub where engineers, sales, marketing, and product leaders could engage with customers and each other.
  • Creating ‘Themed Weeks,’ bringing together experts and partners to explore strategic technology integrations in front of customers.
  • Developing a working prototype with engineers, showcasing an industry-first capability that connected multiple pieces of the company's portfolio.
  • Engaging cross-company stakeholders (engineering, sales, and partners) to refine the prototype and validate its market potential.
  • Positioning the concept for executive review, eventually leading to full productization and an entirely new market category.

Results:

  • The new product concept gained immediate traction, leading to a $12 million government purchase order before formal product development even began.
  • The initiative evolved into a fully-fledged joint venture, launched as a partnership between three major technology companies.
  • Within three years, the new product category - Converged Infrastructure - generated over $2.5 billion in annual revenue.
  • The EBC became recognized as an Innovation Hub, demonstrating that strategic facilitation and customer engagement could directly influence product creation and market expansion.
  • The methodology pioneered at the EBC - regenerative bootstrapping - became a repeatable model for aligning internal teams, partners, and customers to co-create new solutions without additional budget or resources.

Key Takeaway:

This case study illustrates how an EBC can transcend its traditional role to become a catalyst for innovation - leveraging existing resources to create entirely new revenue streams, market categories, and cross-functional alignment. It underscores the power of facilitation, strategic engagement, and aligning stakeholder incentives to drive exponential growth without requiring additional funding or headcount.