Decoupling customer retention
CRM as customer relationship memory
What only the owner knew until now is traceable in the CRM, for everyone on the team.
Lever 4 of 5 · Securing succession
Ready for sale,
even without you.
Successions rarely fail because of capital, but because of a company that does not work without its owner: customer relationships in the owner's head instead of the CRM, figures only at the annual accounts instead of continuously in a dashboard.
- mid-sized businesses look for a successor every year
- 100,000+
- mid-sized businesses look for a successor every year
- companies plans to shut down rather than hand over, according to KfW
- 1 in 4
- companies plans to shut down rather than hand over, according to KfW
- proven use cases in the catalogue
- 100+
- proven use cases in the catalogue
Starting point
The company is running. But does it run without you?
- 114,000+
mid-sized businesses plan to close without a successor every year until 2029
Source: KfW succession monitoring for the Mittelstand 2025
- 100,000+
mid-sized businesses look for a successor every year, around 109,000 until 2029
Source: KfW succession monitoring for the Mittelstand 2025
- 1 in 4
companies plans to shut down rather than hand over after the owners withdraw
Source: KfW succession monitoring for the Mittelstand 2025
- 31%
of business owners are already 60+, only 10% are under 40
Source: KfW Mittelstand panel / KfW succession monitoring for the Mittelstand 2025
Before / after
From an owner-dependent business to a company ready for sale.
The lever does not just make your company more digital. It makes it less dependent on you personally, and so makes it possible for a successor to take it over in the first place.
Today
Customer retention
key contacts in the owner's head
Knowledge transfer
individuals' experience, undocumented
Financial transparency
reliable figures only at the annual accounts
Handover process
no roadmap, the “pain of letting go”
With a system
Customer retention
structured CRM and account management
Knowledge transfer
digital organisation handbook and MIS
Financial transparency
ongoing closings and due diligence dashboard
Handover process
structured roadmap, management level, Mastermind support
What the lever is worth
The calculation behind this lever.
Deliberately no invented valuation discount in percent: reliable sources only speak of “considerable” discounts. Instead, real figures on succession in the Mittelstand.
Real figures · Succession
- Planned closures without succession per year (until 2029)114,000+
- Intended successions per year (until 2029)109,000
- Owners aged 60 or older31%
Fields of action that can be implemented4 of 4
Recommended lead time: all four fields of action can be implemented in a structured way.
Figures from the KfW succession monitoring for the Mittelstand 2025 and the KfW Mittelstand panel. Deliberately no invented valuation discount, and no guarantee of a particular handover outcome.
Use case catalogue
A selection from 100+ proven use cases.
Not every use case suits every company. In the initial consultation we choose together the use cases that raise your saleability fastest.
Decoupling customer retention
Account management for key customers
Important customers have fixed contacts, goals and a plan, not just the boss.
Decoupling customer retention
Automated customer history
Conversations, quotes and agreements are logged automatically.
Decoupling customer retention
Early warning system for owner-bound customers
Shows which customers depend only on the owner, before it becomes apparent at handover.
Decoupling customer retention
Handover protocol for key customers
Relationships are planned and handed over to the team step by step.
Documenting knowledge
Digital organisation handbook
Processes, responsibilities and standards in one place, up to date and easy to find.
Documenting knowledge
Management information system (MIS)
The most important figures for management, automatically and without Excel maintenance.
Documenting knowledge
Documented decision rules
How decisions are made today is recorded, not just in one person's head.
8 of 22 use cases
A selection from the ivato catalogue of 100+ proven use cases across all five levers. The catalogue keeps growing. If something is missing, tell us: if needed, we will design a new use case for you.
Why now
The succession backlog in the Mittelstand will not clear on its own.
Almost a third of business owners are already 60 or older, and the window for a structured handover is not getting bigger but smaller.
One in four companies plans to shut down rather than hand over once the owners withdraw. Anyone who wants to sell needs reliable figures and processes that do not exist only in the owner's head.
- 31%
of business owners are already 60+
- 1 in 4
companies plans to shut down rather than hand over
- 109,000
intended successions per year until 2029
- 114,000+
planned closures per year until 2029
Sources: KfW succession monitoring for the Mittelstand 2025 · KfW Mittelstand panel
Your starting point
Where do you start, and how do you put this lever to work in your company as quickly as possible?
Four building blocks that build on one another. You decide where to join, depending on what you already know and how much you would like to do yourself.
- 01Do it yourself · online
Digital self-check
Start here ifyou would like to check for yourself first where you stand.
Guided, thorough and convenient online: you receive your maturity level, the ranking of all five levers and an automatic evaluation with a business case.
After your evaluation we will get in touch personally, because every path is individual. Then continue to strategy consulting or straight to implementation.
- 02Guided · analysis
Strategy consulting
Start here ifit is still open where your biggest lever lies.
Together we analyse where your greatest potential lies and which use cases work first, as a quantified business case.
Depending on scope, up to 80% eligible for funding (up to €5,600 grant per year). We handle the administration.
- 03Guided · delivery
Implementation
Start here ifyou already know your lever, or are coming from the self-check or consulting.
We implement the prioritised use cases: four use cases, fixed scope, go-live in 8-12 weeks.
Depending on the federal state, funding of up to €50,000 can be used for implementation. We check this for you.
- 04Guided · monthly
Ongoing support
Start here ifyour solution (or your own system) should keep growing in the long term.
Our AI and strategy advisors are at your side every month: advising, implementing, developing further. We also rebuild and extend your existing in-house systems.
Not sure where to start? In the free initial consultation we will find the right starting point together.
Arrange an initial consultation →Success Stories
Results from practice.
01 / 02
Minutes
to an internal guide price
Mechanical & plant engineeringConfigurators
Special tooling configurator: Calculate prices in minutes.
- Problem
- Technical tooling enquiries tied up specialists all the way up to the management.
- Approach
- A guided calculation connected parameters and cost logic.
- Result
- An internal guide price is produced in minutes; use of the tool saved many hundreds of hours of expert work.
Reducing cost pressureSecuring succession
View case →Selected clients
350+ companies and public institutions have already delivered projects with us.
By industry
Selected approaches from more than 25 years of industry experience.
All industries at a glance →- Mechanical & plant engineering
- Industry & series production
- Property management & real estate
- Skilled trades
- Building services & electrical
- Solar & energy technology
- Tax advisors & lawyers
- Engineering firms & experts
- Banks
- Agencies & consulting
- Medical technology
- Pharma & pharmacies
- Public transport & aviation
- Family offices
- Universities & higher education
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about this lever.
Your question is not here? In the initial conversation we take 30 minutes for your specific topic.
Especially then. The four fields of action increase saleability regardless of whether a family member, an employee or an external buyer takes over, and at the same time they improve day-to-day operations.
Both. A CRM instead of knowledge in people's heads, ongoing financial transparency and documented knowledge directly benefit sales, management and risk reduction, even without a handover.
The practical recommendation is a lead time of at least 24 months. With around 31% of owners aged 60 or over, many are already reaching this window now, a reason to start earlier than planned.
That is up to you. If you would like to check for yourself first, start with the digital self-check. If it is still open which field of action brings the biggest lever, strategy consulting is the right start. If you already know your priority, go straight to implementation. Afterwards we can support you monthly if you wish.
That depends on the chosen scope of use cases and is discussed transparently in the initial consultation, on the basis of a fixed scope instead of an open-ended number of hours, often partly subsidised through funding.
Ready to find out where your greatest potential lies?
A 30-minute assessment of your topic, personal and without obligation.