The Pain:

I don't know my best customers.

The Insight:

“Companies with higher customer retention rates have higher profitability. That's obvious. The trick is finding out who those customers are and targeting them. But what's not so obvious is who they are. What are the root causes? A lot of economics had not been explored. Once we determined who our best customers really were economically, we could then look back and put practical programs in place to keep them loyal.”

Possible Swat Attack Strategies*:

Segmentation research

Behaviorial understanding – ethnographic study

Refocus data mining efforts

Address marketing campaigns against specific segments

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain

My people are not responding to our new strategy and we are missing key skill sets.

The Insight:

“People are not playing to win – they are playing not to lose. Unconsciously they live in fear. They become self-protective and have stopped learning and growing as a company and as employees. The key is to acknowledge this and change the culture.”

Possible Attack Strategy.*

Introduce Larry Wilson – Pecos River Learning Centers

Internal VOC

Develop Internal marketing campaign – where we are going, why, benefits to all, etc.

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain:

We are one step away from commodity hell.

The Insight:

"Business keeps moving faster — but you better make time for strategy. Decide who your customers are and stick with them. Southwest Airlines, for example, has focused on a strategy of serving price-minded customers who want to go from place to place on relatively short, frequently offered flights without much service. Southwest has been extremely aggressive about assimilating every new idea possible to deliver on that strategy. If your strategy is to "produce the highest-quality products at the lowest cost," well, that’s improving on best practices. That's not a strategy."

Possible Attack Strategies*:

Internal review of capabilities — technologies, skills, communications

Develop cross-culture marketing leadership plan — one focus, one reward for all

Utilize database strategy for identified targets

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain:

How can I use my customer data effectively?

The Insight:

"We were doing everything half-way and getting nowhere, so I had to set limits on what I was trying to accomplish. We had to focus and be willing to make a significant investment on what we knew had to pay-off. We did not have to be very schizophrenic to be successful."

Possible Swat Attack Strategies*:

Internal technology capability review

Develop RFP strategy/process

Prioritize key strategies throughout organization

New campaign management tools

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain:

Speed to market is key, but how can I be sure my brand road map and go to market strategy are aligned?

The Insight:

"So what if you’re first with something no one cares about. Put the right research in place to give you clear indicators to success — or at least a fighting chance."

Possible Swat Attack Strategies*:

External Insights interviews across the marketspace

Segmented target customer groups — by adoption

Internal insights, qualitative or ethnographic research

Brand and Go to Market visioning, modeling and road mapping

Developed introduction plan — against targets, by adoption propensity

Aligned key marketing programs to focus on right target, right message, right offer

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain

How can I leverage technology to market better and faster?

The Insight

"There’s an idea out there that the Internet was an incredibly disruptive technology, that industry after industry are being transformed. Well, guess what? The Internet is not an incredibly disruptive technology for all parts of the value chain. In many cases, Internet technology is actually complementary to traditional technologies. What we're seeing is that the companies winning on the Internet use the new technology to leverage their existing strategy. It’s the marketing mix that matters."

Possible Swat Attack Strategies*:

Internal technology assessment

Map current process

Best Practices — other industries with similar target initiatives

Recommend — internal vs. external development plan — with business case support

Facilitated RFP, RFI process

Brought in SMEs experts for client to learn — database, loyalty, analytics, etc.

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain

How can I deliver short results while addressing long-term strategies?

The Insight

"Some CMOs use the hunt-and-peck method of finding a marketing strategy: Try something, see if it works, then proceed to the next. It's basically just a succession of incremental experiments. This rarely works, because the essence of strategy is choice and trade-offs and fit.

Intel's Andy Grove talks about inflection points that force you to revisit your core strategy. The thing is, inflection points are very rare. We're always asking the companies we work with, "Where is that new technology that's going to change everything?" For every time that a new technology is out there, there are 10 times that one is not. Know your customer and stick close to them – they will tell you what you need to do."

Possible Swat Attack Strategies*:

Internal VOC interviews — alignment, attitudes, cohesiveness

Technology review — internal and external

Future technology adoption strategy

Aligned targets with key marketing capabilities

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.

The Pain:

How can I make IT my partner — they stop me in my tracks every time?

The Insight:

"You need to spend time with them. Show them that this idea is valuable and that they will benefit. Show them you have a plan that will build over time, and show them that the top management has blessed it. Connect the dots for them. When the Vanguard Group started competing in mutual funds, there was no Internet, no index funds. But Vanguard had an idea that if it could strip costs to the bone and keep fees low – and not try to beat the market by taking on risk. You don't have to have all the answers up front. Most successful companies get two or three or four of the pieces right at the start. It's the kernel of things that they saw up front that is essential. That's the antidote to complexity."

Possible Swat Attack Strategies*:

Create custom marketing/technology team for IT

Internal series of meetings with IT — after internal VOCs

Develop IT-partnered marketing development program — with ROI measurement

Develop three-year marketers’ road map — targets, key initiatives, support required, etc.

*The services listed above are examples only. Each Swat client receives a comprehensive strategic needs analysis to determine the best possible paths to a solution.