Shell Case Study: From Users to Customers: Treating Technology Adoption Like Market Expansion

Introduction

You want to expand your business into a new market or niche, but you’re not quite sure how. So, you end up speaking to everyone in the same way – and it doesn’t work. It feels like you don’t have a clear target audience, which makes it hard to turn the people you approach into clients. By trying to catch everyone’s attention, you end up catching no one.

Entering a new market requires a completely different approach. Your existing way of doing things needs a significant adjustment. In this new market, your goals are to raise awareness that you exist, highlight the value of what you offer, and inspire people to take action and make a purchase.

It’s similar to a project the project I managed at Shell. We were tasked with introducing a new technology into the company, which involved securing buy-in from management for virtual collaboration using a new audio/video conferencing system.

The challenge

Getting management buy in for a large investment of over 1million US$  in infrastructure and introduce virtual working , a  large-scale global and local communication outreach to over 150,000 Shell employees across more than 70 countries.

The Execution: A Multi-Level Approach to Turning our Vision into a global Success

The following steps were taken: 

1. Preparation and Planning – A global cross-functional strategy team was set up with members from the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, the USA, Italy, and Malaysia. The team was responsible for securing the required funding, conducting a detailed stakeholder analysis to understand the needs of various groups, determining the overall strategy, and creating the brand framework and key messages that emphasized the benefits and business advantages of virtual working.

2. Implementation Plan – The strategy was then translated into a structured communication plan at both the global and local levels. It was executed across multiple communication channels, such as email marketing, printed materials, local and virtual events, roadshows, and training sessions, all supported by branded content.

3. Local implementation -– A successful collaboration was established with diverse local marketing teams across multiple countries, ensuring the seamless execution of the global communication strategy. For example, all communications were translated into the local languages, and training sessions were adapted to local preferences.

4. Monitoring and Support – There was full alignment between the global marketing strategy team and the local implementation teams. The global strategy team supported all local executions to ensure that user-centric messaging remained clear and consistent across all communication channels.

Key Achievements: 

✅ Secured management buy-in, seven-digit funding, and full support for the creation of virtual teams using new video/audio technologies.

✅ Achieved a 40% increase in end-user adoption of IP telephony technology within the first year, demonstrating the effectiveness of the communication strategies implemented through local teams.

✅ Virtual working became a reality, introducing a new way of working and resulting in a 20% reduction in travel costs, thereby increasing the company's margins.

The brand identity that was used to enter the new market : 1 connection, any location