Large Firm Case Study

Challenge: How do you assess the effectiveness of your marketing organization and programs for the enterprise that has grown into a mature business and is looking for the new growth opportunities?

Situation: The client was a leading vendor of software and services for call centers, with more than $250 million in sales. With a new CEO on board, the challenge was to uncover opportunities to revitalize a maturing business and achieve top-line growth, both through internal development and targeted acquisitions. This process was well underway when Gildea Communications was asked to come in and help address the following questions:

• What should the appropriate marketing emphasis be among three operating companies, in light of their respective revenue contributions?
• Marketing programs directed to vertical segments have been attempted with mixed results. Should we continue with these?
• Are the lead generation programs sufficient in quality and quantity to support the new business sales objectives?
• The market has become increasingly competitive. Is the messaging in our current communications programs setting the standard for others to meet or do we appear reactive?
• What is the best allocation of marketing resources between the core business where growth is limited and newer products which have greater potential, but currently represent a small percentage of revenue.

Process: In order to assess the effectiveness of current existing operations, Gildea Communications embarked on a strategy of total immersion in the business. Investigative interviews were initiated with all of the senior executives to develop an understanding of their view of organizational issues. Equally important was the process of working closely with marketing managers and salespeople in the field as they conducted day-to-day business. Through this investigation, we developed a step-by-step understanding of the company’s marketing initiatives, the effectiveness of their execution and what results were being realized. This played a key role in developing recommendations for budget allocation and program reconstruction. By analyzing the competitive landscape from a communications perspective, it became clear how the company’s positioning fit in, and where the competition was headed. Through interviews with current customers and sales prospects who didn’t select this vendor, we were able to reveal some surprising truths for the CEO to consider.

Results: Gildea Communications developed a roadmap for the CEO to move forward with his marketing operations. This included a reallocation of program and staffing resources, detailed marketing/business development plans to meet short-term new account revenue objectives, and a communications platform to begin the process of recasting customers’ perception of the enterprise and its capabilities. Ultimately, the recommendations enabled the CEO to work within a more conservative marketing budget to achieve greater impact.

Footnote: The duration of the project was 90 days. Gildea Communications was asked to stay on and support the implementation of new programs and to assist in the recruitment of “A” players to the team.

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