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How
I can help you
When we decide to work together, I don't arrive with a case full
of answers - that would be presumptuous. On the other hand, I do arrive with a case full of questions. You will have the
answers to some of the questions, but we will have to work together to answer others.
The first step is always to put the worrying symptoms on temporary
hold and search for their underlying strategic cause. To give a flavour of the issues (and some of the questions) involved
in re-aligning a business, I have prepared some simple discussion lists which
you can download in pdf format.
(Adobe Acrobat is required for this - if you have not got it installed,
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader here).
These should give you an idea of the type of
questions that we may need to answer:
a. The Business Strategy Discussion List
looks at the broad strategic issues that can cause tactical problems in all areas [more]
b. The Marketing Strategy Discussion List looks at the strategic
customer/market issues than provoke major problems for an organisation
[more]
When it comes to Marketing Strategy proper, there are a
number of key areas where I can offer expert support based on years of experience:
1.What business?: Whether you define you business in technical/industry terms or in customer terms can
have an enormous effect on your performance [more]
2. Customer Insight: Customers provide the organisation with ALL its revenues. Understanding their needs and
wants enough to keep them from the clutches of the competition can be very profitable.
[more]
3. Market Segmentation & Targeting: The 'mass market' is dead, for B2B as much as for B2C businesses. Different
customers see different value in different offerings and knowing where to focus is essential.
[more]
4. Positioning & Branding: Customers love brands and B2B brands are some of the most valuable. Turning
'names' into 'brands' is not easy but can grow both revenues and margins.
[more]
5. Retention activities: As acquiring new customers is getting more and more expensive, keeping them long enough to
break even is essential, and keeping them longer means even more profits.
[more]
6. Organisation Processes & Culture: The most brilliant plans can founder unless the organisation is fully behind
the project. Cultures are resilient but processes offer more hope of creating real customer focus.
[more]
7. Offerings: Any strategy only exists to be implemented. Choosing the right controls and measures (not necessarily
the easiest) often make the difference between a unique offer and a 'me-too' one.
[more]
Different organisations have different strengths, different competitive situations - and different challenges. But marketing
strategy isn't a pick 'n' mix game so there's no point investing in being a world-class brand builder if you don't posses
equivalent skills in market segmentation and organisational development. All the key strategic elements must work together
; this is the rationale for the SCORPIOŠ approach [more]
Sometimes all it takes is an interested outsider to see where the joins are - or where they should be.
If you would like to talk it
through, contact me on info@fifield.co.uk
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