A global, Fortune 100, diversified technology, media, and financial services company.
The client had a technology and sales-oriented culture dating back to its origins over 100 years ago. The process was simple: research and development determined which products and services would be offered. Then, sales stepped in and sold those products to customers. It was all part of a business model designed to drive down costs and sell on quality and low cost benefits.
In the early years of the new millennium, the company realized quality was no longer a key differentiator. On the contrary, it was fast becoming a mandatory “entry stake” to compete in their markets. The client understood their approach was “inside-out” and their focus lacked robust customer understandings. As a result, they made the decision to better understand their customers and produce products that truly met customers’ needs.
We believe it is important for a company to create customized overarching marketing processes and structures to support our marketing planning tools. Once in place, these structures will become part of how that company “does marketing” and will increase their likelihood of meeting objectives.
Working closely with our client, we customized our proven strategic marketing process to fit the needs and culture of the company. The process was “outside in” and question-based, with a set of tools that facilitated the finding of customer insights. It included key elements such as planning assumptions, needs-based segmentation and value propositions.
To implement the new process, as well as the skills necessary to progress the company to a market-driven organization, we facilitated two to three workshops per month over a four-year period. These workshops were coordinated with the company’s corporate learning center and individual business units.
Numerous improvements have been made to date. First, we trained over 6,000 marketing, sales, research and development, and finance personnel across North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Additionally, the newly developed strategic marketing processes are now used across all business units in all regions. Third, marketing is now a “key player” in business decisions regarding strategies and product development. Finally, we are providing the client with the keys to long-term success by facilitating classes on Organizing for Execution and Delivery of Developed Marketing Strategies.