The Part Analytics Playbook: Converting Fortune 500 Users into Brand Advocates
Most B2B software companies spend heavily on paid acquisition and outbound sales. But in a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Jithendra Palasagaram, founder of Part Analytics, revealed a different approach: turning enterprise customers into their primary growth engine.
The Problem with Traditional Enterprise Marketing
“Nowadays, as you might, and the listeners might be familiar, everyone is getting a ton of email in their inbox,” Jithendra explained. “Companies trying to sell different things.” This saturation of enterprise inboxes meant Part Analytics needed a different strategy to break through.
Finding the First Fortune 500 Win
Their work with ITW, a Fortune 500 manufacturer, became the template for their customer advocacy strategy. The company was struggling with a common problem: their sourcing and commodity management team had no visibility into component-level procurement across their business units.
Part Analytics solved this by creating “a single platform where they can go in and see their entire spend for electronic parts or components and get insights on how they can drive cost reduction by identifying parts like same parts that they may be procuring but paying different prices.”
Turning Results into Stories
The impact was significant and measurable. “Overall, for a customer like ITW, were able to deliver 5% cost reduction their spend, reduce their shortages by more than 70%, and help the sourcing team consolidate all of their spend one platform,” Jithendra shared.
But the real breakthrough came during the global electronics shortage. “Over the last 18 to 24 months, there was a huge shortage of electronic components in the market and everyone was chasing for parts,” Jithendra noted. Their platform became mission-critical: “Instead of the buyers searching for one part at a time going to different distributor websites, our software was able to aggregate all of that, send them a daily alert.”
Building the Advocacy Engine
These concrete results became the foundation of their growth strategy. “What’s been really working well for us is our customer testimonials and customer referrals,” Jithendra explained. “Our customers that use a product really love it and they really see value from it. And that’s kind of where they go and talk about our product to people that they know.”
This wasn’t just luck – it was built on a deep understanding of the industry. “Me and the Co-Founder Jessel, we both have experience in the space,” Jithendra shared. “Just sharing in terms of our knowledge, our experience in the space with our audience is a great way for us to kind of get in front of the right decision makers.”
The Multiplier Effect
The strategy created a virtuous cycle. Each successful enterprise implementation not only generated referrals but also deepened Part Analytics’ expertise in solving complex procurement challenges. This expertise then made them more attractive to other potential enterprise customers.
For B2B founders targeting Fortune 500 clients, Part Analytics’ approach offers several key lessons:
- Focus on solving a specific, high-value problem that resonates across the enterprise sector
- Turn measurable results into compelling customer stories
- Build advocacy into your customer success process
- Leverage domain expertise to build credibility
Looking ahead, Part Analytics aims to become “that market leader in this segment around electronics supply chain management.” With a growing list of Fortune 500 advocates and a proven approach to turning customers into growth engines, they’re well on their way to achieving that vision.