Problem: Client wanted to increase revenue by creating additional products/services, selling very high profit services with continuum opportunities
Marketing Strategy: Expand market, Educate new prospects and get long-term ties-ups.
Solution: Identified business model, market needs, hired a prominent doctor for writing syndicated column the readers pay for which educates the reader and get health trends, product How-To newsletter.
Benefit: High margin revenue streams. Subscribers cannot find similar information in one place and insight to readers far exceeds the nominal price.
Strategy: Monthly Subscription model, optimized with for door delivery
Result: 68% response rate with over 3000 subscriptions from individual doctors and specialist in select markets. Client has committed to expand in other areas of the country.
Problem: Mid-size manufacturer of prescription and non-prescriptive products challenged with growth due to severe local competition
Marketing Strategy: Target specific international markets.
Solution::
1. Locally, focus on city residences developing a local newsletter/flyer dropped off every house, stores and businesses. Increase awareness and educate them to buy store brand.
2. Focus on WHO mandated products (156) in Latin America and African countries. Sell private labeled non-prescription alternate to suite local markets and yet maintain
Benefit: High margin localized sales through balanced promotions via local papers combined with high-volume, superior profits in targeted international locations.
Strategy: Co-branding and Joint-Ventures
Result: Gross income went up 17% with profits doubling to 45% due to economies of operations
Problem: Client provided back-office business services and tele-marketing services for administrative functions wanted to increase their revenue/seat.
Marketing Strategy: Off-set upside cost, improve tele-marketing response rates and reduce operational cost in lieu of hiring full-time staff;
Solution:: Target companies going through wide swings – growing and shrinking companies, provide them with compelling alterative and offer teaser promotions with no risk to the clients. Demonstrate smooth transition, client is offered an long-term offer with convenient terms to increase or decrease as business changes.
Benefit: Client received great operational benefits, improved working capital and still able to achieve strategic goals at a reduced risk.
Strategy: Risk free offer, intense sales letter campaigns focused on cost reduction.
Result: Revenue/Seat increased by 18%, occupancy went up to 75% with 47% Q2Q profits.
Problem: Stalled Software Company with saturated growth in a space with no clear market leaders. No sales strategies and prospects always had excuses not to buy.
Business Strategy:
1. Move from technical niche to becoming a marketing company
2. Increase direct marketing efforts including scripted relationship selling
Solutions: Senior management was coached and trained to become brand marketers. In parallel, entire organization had to undergo significant marketing make-over from handling calls to delivering messages. Narrowed down to few niche areas, increased market penetration using ‘referral’ system and closed more leads;
Benefit: Increase sales, profitability and gain sustainable competitive advantage.
Strategy: Established direct marketing campaigns, created awareness and greater ROI.
Results: In 18 months, company has nearly doubled its revenue; profit margins gone up from 18% to 35% and sales cycle have become predictable;
Problem: Large Systems Integration firm had challenges growing the division.
Marketing Strategy: Transform key leaders to become market spokesperson and niche leaders market will recognize.
Solutions: Spend more time grouping clients, speaking in public forums, increase hourly rates and publish throughout.
Benefit: Significant increase in credibility and insights
Strategy: Developed follow-up sales process, created scripts and relationship based sophisticated sales approaches customized to individual styles.
Result: Expanded in North American markets, grew business locally. After 24 months net revenue doubled.
Problem: Social media software development company wanted to grow their revenue.
Marketing Strategy:
1. Narrow down to niche markets and teach them how to use the products.
2. Increase consumption and market share before and offer free, charge for support
3. Develop high-end enterprise products, develop marketing process
Solutions: Market was interested in automation of major web functions. Current product was slip into 3 products each focused on line of business – independent software developers, Web programmers and enterprise software companies.
Benefit: Company provided significantly advanced solution providing clients 700% ROI through time savings.
Strategy: Become the go to choice for independent professions; Provide subscription based services to create incremental revenue.
Result: Investors exiting with extremely high returns, owners sold the company to large enterprise software company.
Problem: Accounting company with keen interest in growing in M&A space
Marketing Strategy: Prepare company for new service offering, provide required knowledge for entire M&A cycle.
Solutions: Write articles in niche magazines aligned to prospects. Create awareness and publish recent wins to other clients.
Benefit: Become M&A market leader in their industry niche.
Strategy: Improve approachability; Conduct periodic road-shows, free training sessions and seek retainer status on deals.
Result: M&A project became a dominant source of revenue for 3 continuous years.
Problem: So far mid- and large firms did not consider this firm as a serious contender of high-end service provider in spite of gaining credentials from top hardware and software firms.
Marketing Strategy: Co-branded events, road-shows and compelling offers
Solutions: Elevate brand recognition through closer visual ties to bigger brands like Cisco. Strong referral system supported by scripted results based negotiations
Benefit: By using marketing joint-ventures, company’s pipeline increased; With a focus on closing deals and revenue sharing with JV partners, the outcome was greater than predicted.
Strategy: Strategic marketing, JV campaigns and scripted close
Result: Closed 12 multi-million dollar deals in less than 8 months.
Problem: Market differentiation was becoming a critical issue with the company’s prospects. There was a downward return in revenue/client.
Marketing Strategy: Create new niche markets, position individual brands and significantly boost relationship based marketing.
Solution: The company needed to educate internal employees, sales agencies and affiliates on key differentiations that was conceived through this project. Using marketing JV platform, enter new test markets, fine tune message and differentiate from outside-in.
Strategy: Benchmark performance, track key performance metrics, drivers and conversion rates. Minimize internal wait times and provide incentives to come onboard and increase investments.
Result: The company distributed 3-times more bonuses and commission to sales agents. Revenue nearly doubled over 9 month period.
Background
This is the world’s largest manufacturer of cars and trucks. As part of an overall transformation of the company’s planning process, Client company wanted the ability to (1) more accurately and efficiently forecast future business results, (2) analyze performance measures, and (3) model the effect of changes in Strategy or strategies on business results. The project objective was to design and implement a process to accurately model and forecast the business based on operational drivers.
Approach
We guided the client through a four-step best practice model of driver based forecasting:
Results Achieved
Initial results from the pilot have confirmed the business case, which is currently being rolled out:
Background
This is a financial services organization with revenues already topping $4 billion. After performing a benchmarking of their planning processes (strategic planning, target setting, operational planning and forecasting), company initiated a restructuring of the processes. The objective was to increase decision making speed, provide a sound framework for decision making, and standardize and reduce the cycle time of the entire planning process. From the company inception in 1995, the company did not have a formal strategic planning process and had few incentive based targets. The operating plan was a labor intensive exercise and did not match the needs of the organization. Forecasting was much the same. Very little integration occurred in the entire process as each activity was self contained.
Approach
The benchmarking results determined that all areas of the planning processes were high impact. The following planning processes were to be re-designed: Strategic Planning, Target Setting, and Operational Planning. Client company chose to re-design the forecasting process in-house.
Once the future state was defined and approved, we led the re-design efforts and, for the new operating plan, was part of the implementation team that focused on the execution of the new process. In the creation of the new strategic planning process, we was also involved in strategic research for the various Business Groups.
Results Achieved
We facilitated the re-design of the in- scope processes into best practice models. In partnership with Client company, we helped to define a new strategic planning process, a target setting process that institutes targets around key business drivers that hold people accountable, and an operational plan that was re-designed to shorten the cycle time and to allow for a capacity assessment to better allocate resources. In the end, the operating plan was completed in the designated year for the company’s Board of Directors meeting.
Background
Client is a provider of investment and insurance solutions to 250,000 Americans and over 3 million Canadians. The Company was in the process of demutualization which created an urgency to significantly improve business performance measurement processes. There was a weak link between strategy and performance measurement and a high focus on outcomes versus key driver analysis. Performance information was not timely or widely distributed and current tools were not sufficient to support needs. The reporting process was extremely people intensive with an 80% focus on low value data gathering and reporting and not enough analysis or drilldown to understand “why’s”.
Approach
We designed and implemented scorecards for Corporate, Line Of Business and selected support functions with measures linked to strategies and balanced measurement (financial, customer, human & structural capital), including:
Clarified goals, critical success factors, drivers and selected supporting measures
Defined measurement definition, calculation, reporting frequency and source and developed a prioritized implementation plan
Completed metadata and scorecard application development (architecture design, database, UI prototype) for the implementation of scorecards
We also developed and detailed (key process and system work flows) the overall vision for Business Performance Reporting to support the preparation and delivery of scorecards:
Identified and detailed the work needed to operationalize the scorecards, including the development of (a) an operationalization plan for scorecard infrastructure process and system set up, and (b) an organization plan for on-going scorecard delivery.
Developed and executed change management initiatives supporting the entire project including defining the changes needed to implement the scorecards and create a high performance culture.
Results Achieved
The project improved predictability of revenue and earnings, reduced the overall quantity of reports, and significantly improved the quality of information.
Software Development Company – A fast growing Chicago based $100 million dollar software company with expertise in outsource commercial software development hired TBL to short-list and value target acquisitions based on specific synergy terms (seats, face value of the current contract and ROIC). TBL presented eight companies in the first round. Based on client decisions, proposed LOI, completed financial valuation and benchmark studies for further negotiation. TBL completed the entire project in 15 weeks with a final presentation to the Board at the end of the project. Led negotiation phase and completed target acquisition below original price.
Privately-held Bio-Technology Firm – A $25 million dollar bio-technology company based out Malvern, PA was challenged in securing funding for upcoming Phase II client trial for its marquee product. TBL was hired to act as investment advisor to bring $5M through various sources. After analysis private placement bonds was determined to be the preferred approach for raising capital. Within eight weeks into the project, negotiated minority ownership with a Private Equity firm, raised additional capital including an oversubscription of $4M with $3.5M pending in pipeline.
A Technology Services Company – agrees to buy a Cameroonian Technology company for $1.8 million in cash and stock using TBL services. Under the agreement, parent company will pay$1.3 million in cash and $0.5 million in stock. The acquisition includes outsourcing of technology services, business processes and data management. TBL assisted client in identification, valuation and negotiation of the deal.