Who – the protagonist
Yahya Al-Mansour, CEO of GO Telecom.
What?
GO Telecom is a Saudi Arabian telecommunications company based in the capital, Riyadh.
The Kingdom’s telecom industry focused on services including mobile solutions, fixed and mobile communication services, managed services, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, computer services, communications equipment, and smart car services.
GO Telecom couldn’t compete head-to-head with the top three players in the Saudi market (who accounted for 90%), so senior management decided to concentrate on the B2B segment. While the top three had 70-80% of their revenue base in B2C and only 20-30% in B2B, GO Telecom generated 60% of revenue in B2B and 40% in B2C in 2022.
Why?
Yahya Al-Mansour joined GO Telecom in October 2020. The company was in the red and had been suspended from trading on the KSA stock market (the Tadawul) in 2018.
One year later, following a change in shareholding and the consolidation of its finances, GO Telecom again began trading on the stock exchange.
GO Telecom’s USP of focusing on B2B clients made a big difference, but they had a long way to go to achieve Yahya Al-Mansour’s target of increasing revenues from 630 million riyals in 2023 to 5-6 billion riyals in 2028-29.
When?
It was in early 2023 when Yahya Al-Mansour was finalising a note to the board outlining the strategy he recommended for the next five years.
Where?
GO Telecom is based in central Saudi but has customers across the Kingdom.
Key quote
“No matter what happens, we will be there for you.”
Yahya Al-Mansour told a prospective customer, outlining GO Telecom’s customer-centric focus.
What next?
In a rapidly changing ecosystem (driven by a governmental drive for technological adoption and vision for a ‘paperless’ country), how should GO Telecom integrate the latest changes such as the IoT and generative AI into its sales strategy? More specifically, how can it adapt to customers’ changing levels of digital maturity and expectations?
On reasons for writing the case…
David said: “The inspiration to write this case came from GO Telecom's remarkable transformation journey in a highly competitive industry and highly dynamic (but under researched) region.
“Saudi Arabia is today the largest economy in the Middle East with a GDP exceeding $USD 1 trillion and accounts for about a quarter of the MENA region's total GDP. MENA is the fastest growing region globally, but curiously under researched/featured in management education.
“As a telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia, GO Telecom faced critical challenges and not only turned around its financial performance but also strategically repositioned itself to focus on digital transformation solutions for the B2B and B2G sector. This transformation, coupled with the alignment to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, provided an excellent opportunity to explore leadership, market differentiation, and sales transformation.
“I wanted to create a case that would resonate with participants, emphasising real-world complexities and decision-making, in a context not widely covered by existing material (MENA, Business To Government, B To Big Businesses).”
On the case writing highlights…
David continued: “One of the highlights was the opportunity to engage with the leadership team, particularly CEO Yahya Al-Mansour. His insights into the challenges of transforming a company, navigating industry competition, and fostering innovation were invaluable.
“Additionally, studying how GO Telecom adapted its sales strategy by reorganising into verticals was both fascinating and instructive, and many people have helped my co-author Jean-Michel and I develop a rich understanding of what was at stake, notably Dr Saleh Al-Harthi and Walid Al Harbi.
“I had worked previously on several B2B cases featuring business transformation (e.g. Air Liquide and Majid Al Futtaim) but these cases did not focus on sales transformation, nor had any insights on how to approach customer centricity, branding and marketing strategy in a B2G context.”
On teaching the case…
He added: “Teaching this case has been a very rewarding experience. It resonates well with students, and I’ve been impressed by how the case has spoken to different geographies and audiences, from MBAs to executive participants.
“The case and group work/discussions offer a rich platform for discussing the dynamics of the B2B market and the role of technology in enabling business transformation. Everyone leaves the room with a clear, actionable take away.”
On how the students react to the case…
David commented: “Students tend to be captivated by the company's ability to pivot its strategy and thrive given the competition.
“Teaching international audiences, as it is always the case at INSEAD, adds additional richness as the case triggers discussions regarding differences of approaches to business development and relationship-build across markets and cultures. Many are drawn to the practical aspects of the sales transformation process and enjoy debating the merits of targeting specific industries, such as government and education, versus expanding into other sectors. The rebranding and its alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 also spark discussions on how regional contexts influence corporate strategies. Finally, they appreciate the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts to a real-world scenario.”
On case writing tips…
David concluded: “I try to write a compelling narrative that revolves around a critical decision point or dilemma. Getting the protagonist’s story and perspective is critical. I also put myself in the shoes of readers and pay particular attention to balanced storytelling with new contextual, industry specific information to make the case interesting to read.”
The case
Who – the protagonist
Yahya Al-Mansour, CEO of GO Telecom.
What?
GO Telecom is a Saudi Arabian telecommunications company based in the capital, Riyadh.
The Kingdom’s telecom industry focused on services including mobile solutions, fixed and mobile communication services, managed services, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, computer services, communications equipment, and smart car services.
GO Telecom couldn’t compete head-to-head with the top three players in the Saudi market (who accounted for 90%), so senior management decided to concentrate on the B2B segment. While the top three had 70-80% of their revenue base in B2C and only 20-30% in B2B, GO Telecom generated 60% of revenue in B2B and 40% in B2C in 2022.
Why?
Yahya Al-Mansour joined GO Telecom in October 2020. The company was in the red and had been suspended from trading on the KSA stock market (the Tadawul) in 2018.
One year later, following a change in shareholding and the consolidation of its finances, GO Telecom again began trading on the stock exchange.
GO Telecom’s USP of focusing on B2B clients made a big difference, but they had a long way to go to achieve Yahya Al-Mansour’s target of increasing revenues from 630 million riyals in 2023 to 5-6 billion riyals in 2028-29.
When?
It was in early 2023 when Yahya Al-Mansour was finalising a note to the board outlining the strategy he recommended for the next five years.
Where?
GO Telecom is based in central Saudi but has customers across the Kingdom.
Key quote
“No matter what happens, we will be there for you.”
Yahya Al-Mansour told a prospective customer, outlining GO Telecom’s customer-centric focus.
What next?
In a rapidly changing ecosystem (driven by a governmental drive for technological adoption and vision for a ‘paperless’ country), how should GO Telecom integrate the latest changes such as the IoT and generative AI into its sales strategy? More specifically, how can it adapt to customers’ changing levels of digital maturity and expectations?
Author perspective
On reasons for writing the case…
David said: “The inspiration to write this case came from GO Telecom's remarkable transformation journey in a highly competitive industry and highly dynamic (but under researched) region.
“Saudi Arabia is today the largest economy in the Middle East with a GDP exceeding $USD 1 trillion and accounts for about a quarter of the MENA region's total GDP. MENA is the fastest growing region globally, but curiously under researched/featured in management education.
“As a telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia, GO Telecom faced critical challenges and not only turned around its financial performance but also strategically repositioned itself to focus on digital transformation solutions for the B2B and B2G sector. This transformation, coupled with the alignment to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, provided an excellent opportunity to explore leadership, market differentiation, and sales transformation.
“I wanted to create a case that would resonate with participants, emphasising real-world complexities and decision-making, in a context not widely covered by existing material (MENA, Business To Government, B To Big Businesses).”
On the case writing highlights…
David continued: “One of the highlights was the opportunity to engage with the leadership team, particularly CEO Yahya Al-Mansour. His insights into the challenges of transforming a company, navigating industry competition, and fostering innovation were invaluable.
“Additionally, studying how GO Telecom adapted its sales strategy by reorganising into verticals was both fascinating and instructive, and many people have helped my co-author Jean-Michel and I develop a rich understanding of what was at stake, notably Dr Saleh Al-Harthi and Walid Al Harbi.
“I had worked previously on several B2B cases featuring business transformation (e.g. Air Liquide and Majid Al Futtaim) but these cases did not focus on sales transformation, nor had any insights on how to approach customer centricity, branding and marketing strategy in a B2G context.”
On teaching the case…
He added: “Teaching this case has been a very rewarding experience. It resonates well with students, and I’ve been impressed by how the case has spoken to different geographies and audiences, from MBAs to executive participants.
“The case and group work/discussions offer a rich platform for discussing the dynamics of the B2B market and the role of technology in enabling business transformation. Everyone leaves the room with a clear, actionable take away.”
On how the students react to the case…
David commented: “Students tend to be captivated by the company's ability to pivot its strategy and thrive given the competition.
“Teaching international audiences, as it is always the case at INSEAD, adds additional richness as the case triggers discussions regarding differences of approaches to business development and relationship-build across markets and cultures. Many are drawn to the practical aspects of the sales transformation process and enjoy debating the merits of targeting specific industries, such as government and education, versus expanding into other sectors. The rebranding and its alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 also spark discussions on how regional contexts influence corporate strategies. Finally, they appreciate the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts to a real-world scenario.”
On case writing tips…
David concluded: “I try to write a compelling narrative that revolves around a critical decision point or dilemma. Getting the protagonist’s story and perspective is critical. I also put myself in the shoes of readers and pay particular attention to balanced storytelling with new contextual, industry specific information to make the case interesting to read.”
