Differentiation can be hard for a business. Especially in a complex market. Businesses everywhere want to be unique, but turning an aspirational goal into a viable business plan is not a simple task.
Procede Software CEO Larry Kettler knows that well. When Kettler joined Procede in 2011, the company had 14 employees and little market share in the business management system space. Kettler says that back then, Procede had to stand up before it could stand out.
Doing so took time — “We had a tremendous amount of what we call tech debt,” he says — but today, he is proud of where the company stands and where it is going.
During the 2024 Procede Software Conference Tuesday at the Westin Gaslamp in San Diego, Kettler, Vice President of Product Architecture Eric Liddell, and Chief Customer Officer Deanna Cocco each sat down with Trucks, Parts, Service to share how they are working to continue pushing the business forward and into the spotlight of the dealer space.
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“I feel like we have this movement going. That we are doing something the industry has needed for a long time,” says Kettler. “We are trying to harness the power of technology and people to advance our platform with enhancements and features to help dealers make more money, but also be happier and healthier in this ecosystem that is so important to all of our lives and the economy.”
That mission was center stage throughout this week’s event, with keynote presentations, business sessions, roundtable discussions, product expo and more focused on how Procede strives to help dealers save time and achieve business success.
For a business as customer focused as Procede, the company’s leaders say the annual user conference serves as a North Star for its development efforts. Attendees of the conference are mostly users (not executives), which means they come to San Diego with an innate knowledge of how the product works and are encouraged to share their experiences — good or bad. Cocco says the former are rewarding, but the latter are often the most helpful.
“We are listening, and we are committed to responding,” she says. “I think that’s one of our differentiators; listening and then working hard to let them see the results. It isn’t years and years and years before they see progress, or we disappear … This event is always a really good opportunity [for customers] to see the proof we’re listening.”
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Liddell agrees, while also touting the relationship aspect of the event. He says it’s not uncommon for users at the annual conference to network and form relationships with associates at other dealers who then share best practices year-round.
For those attending the event for the first time, he believes witnessing those interactions drives further engagement.
“The relationships you make, and people seeing those relationships in action, are so important,” he says. “People can see how those relationships are welcoming and warm and inviting. It can make you feel like you’re part of something more than just a vendor to customer relationship, and that can’t happen anywhere else but here.”
The event helps Procede in other ways too.
Transparency serves as a cornerstone of the company’s mission, and Kettler believes it is the company’s duty to be open and honest with customers at the conference about how Procede continues to invest in the product, and how that investment will benefit their businesses.
Cocco says customers appreciate that.
“People will say to us, ‘Thanks for being candid,’” she says. “People want you to address things head on.”
Kettler says that during his time leading the business Procede has never taken on outside investors nor pulled profits out of the operation. Every cent of revenue it generates is reinvested into company to make it stronger, and Kettler is proud of what those investments have created. Procede sales have grown 14% per year on average since 2014 and the company’s workforce now stands at 132.
He believes that alone makes the company a differentiator, though he is nonetheless incredibly proud of how robust and transformational its products have become. Building a perfect business management system would be impossible, and Kettler knows it, but he says that doesn’t stop Procede from getting better every day.
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“We want to organically grow the business in areas that are impactful as we listen to the customer and try to exceed their expectations and deliver more,” he says.
Adds Liddell, “The changes we are making today — we’ve gone beyond gaps. We’ve gone beyond stuff that may be missing to we’re now into a phase of learning where there are roadblocks, bottlenecks, and pain points and trying to resolve those with workflow and user experience improvements.”
Cocco says Procede’s customer experience team also works hard to communicate how Procede chooses what enhancements to prioritize and timelines for new releases.
“You don’t want the customer to feel unheard,” she says.
And even as the company continues to grow, Kettler says that focus will not change. He says Procede has grown into what it is today by being a company that takes feedback and delivers. That doesn’t promise what it can’t do or obfuscate its challenges.
“I talk to these leaders of multi-million dollar businesses who say their business system is the lifeblood of their operations, and if you have the right one, you have a competitive advantage,” he says. “We are dedicated to being the best business system for all of our markets.”
