Growth by 175% in 7 Months: How Strategic Positioning Transformed a US-Mexican IT Company

When you're excellent at what you do but the market doesn't know you exist, you face a peculiar challenge. This was MexiCode's reality in mid-2023. With 20 highly skilled engineers and several loyal clients, they had perfected their delivery process over two years. Their development methodology was clear, their results were predictable, and their existing clients were satisfied.

Yet, something was missing. Despite their operational proficiency, they couldn't attract clients beyond their personal networks. Company's digital presence was minimal, they had no defined market positioning, therefore - no marketing strategy.

Time for Change

After several attempts at offline networking activities, MexiCode's founders realized the limitation: scaling through personal connections alone wasn't sustainable. They needed a systematic approach to market presence and cold lead acquisition.

This led to two crucial decisions:

1. Hiring a CMO with a strong IT background.

2. Bringing in external expertise to fasten and accelerate their transformation. And that's where I came in as a consultant.

Finding the Surprising Truth. Research Phase

Looking Outside. Market Research

The first surprise came during competitor analysis. MexiCode had been proud of their nearshoring benefits - time zone convenience, cultural alignment, cost-effectiveness. Yet, a deep dive into 28 competitors revealed that at least 8 companies were communicating exactly the same benefits.

I had analyzed their marketing communications, service offerings and specializations, technology stack focus, price positioning, client and talent acquisition strategies.

Some takes from my final report:

Not only this, but I also did some mystery shopping: posed as a potential client to understand competitors' sales processes, response times and negotiation tactics.

Mystery shopping inquiry

All direct competitors offered more or less the same benefits and opportunities

There were no significant differentiations at all.

Looking Inside. Team Culture

There's one thing about positioning that often gets overlooked:

The qualities that attract great talent to work for you are often the same ones that attract great clients to work with you.

That's why I wanted to understand what made MexiCode special as a workplace. So I distributed special questionnaires measuring team's satisfaction and loyalty…

…and conducted one-on-one interviews. Here, a pattern emerged that nobody expected. 80% of employees described MexiCode as "ready to help", 50% called it "inspiring" and 40% used the phrase "well-organized".

This consistency was organic. Without any specific HR actions, the company had naturally developed a culture of trust and proactive support, particularly valuable in two key scenarios: for talents at pivotal stages of their careers and clients dealing with complex technical transitions.

Loyalty survey results: what the team likes most about working at MexiCode.

Connecting the Dots. Strategy Development

After the research phase, we had all the information we needed to craft a strong positioning. Together with founders and the CMO, we conducted an intensive strategic session, focusing on three key questions:

1. What do customers want?
2. What does the market offer?
3. What does MexiCode offer?

Understanding Client Needs

Through our analyzis, we identified two distinct ideal customer profiles, each with unique needs and characteristics.

• First, Modernization Seekers - established companies from traditional industries like pharmaceuticals or logistics. They're looking for a partner who understands both their complex legacy systems and modern security demands.
• Second, Scale-up Leaders - fast-growing companies seeking to accelerate their development capabilities. While they value quality over cost, they often need not just resources, but guidance in shaping their technology decisions.

And while both groups seek long-term IT partnerships, their needs require different sales points. For example, for Modernization Seekers, we developed specialized offerings like the Cybersecurity Assurance Program. And for Scale-up Leaders, — IT Advisory Services to bridge any technical knowledge gaps.

Each sticker on the board points to a particular challenge, pain, and benefit that is relevant to the Modernization Seeker or the Scale-up Leader, or both.

Understanding Market Landscape

The answer is a concise and comprehensive summary of competitor analysis, from a potential client's point of view. So, what does market offer:

• Cost-focused value propositions
• Broad technology coverage
• Very standard nearshoring benefits, such as “the same time zone”

Notice how you can already see the gap between this and what MexiCode’s potential clients want.

Finding MexiCode's True Strengths

To answer this question, we used the Golden Circle framework with a strategic twist. While it traditionally starts with 'why,' I've found that established companies often need to begin with 'what' - especially when multiple stakeholders have very different views on whether they "help," "create," or "develop."

Through this approach, we discovered MexiCode's true strengths:

• Proven track record in modernizing legacy systems
• Strong security and compliance knowledge
• Experience with complex digital infrastructure projects in regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals, logistics and heavy industry

This process aligned all stakeholders around a clear, unified vision of MexiCode's value proposition.

A New Positioning Emerges

At this point, we were ready to answer the final question: "Who are we for these people in this market?". For MexiCode, the answer crystallized as "IT Opportunity". This shift required courage. It meant moving away from the familiar "same timezone" pitch that everyone else was using.

MexiCode positioning that resonated on both fronts:

For Clients:

• Opportunity to transform legacy systems into modern digital infrastructure
• Access to top Mexican tech talent at competitive rates
• And, special incubation programs

For Talent:

• Opportunity to work on transformative projects for major industries
• Structured growth from promising graduate to industry expert
• Experience with both Mexican and US business cultures

From Strategy to Reality

With clear positioning and sales points in place, MexiCode's CMO led the execution phase brilliantly. In a few next months, their team developed brand identity, new website, and case studies from scratch, and established profiles on key industry platforms like Clutch.

MexiCode’s brand identity.

MexiCode's new website: Hero Section.

LinkedIn page.

Branding goes IRL :)

Numbers Tell the Story

By the end of 2023, MexiCode achieved significant growth across all key metrics:

• Successfully attracted their first cold leads, expanding beyond network-based clients
• Doubled their client base
• Grew technical team from 20 to 35 top-tier developers

This is the power of clear positioning and careful execution in action.

Key Insights

If challenges MexiCode faced at the beginning of their transformation seem relatable to you, here's something for you to think about:

• Deep market understanding enables effective differentiation, even in crowded spaces
• Your true differentiators might already exist within your organization, hidden behind industry clichés and assumptions
• The qualities that attract great talent often mirror what attracts great clients

Sometimes, the key to growth lies in simply stepping away from industry conventions and embracing what truly makes your company special. And if you feel some external expertise might be helpful - let's connect and discuss how we can create your success story together.

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