Situation: A company wants to shift their marketing position quickly and effectively toward a new focus. The new focus is the result of breakthroughs that they have developed that have opened new product and service opportunities. How do you quickly shift your marketing position?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Hire a strategic marketing consultant to help analyze the market, identify unmet needs and unaddressed segments of the market where the company can establish a strategic advantage.
• Pick an area where the company is known or can be known as the best. Create differentiation by specializing in this segment.
• Add both sales and marketing positions to guide the refocus.
  • Marketing is more than just collateral. It is strategic positioning, understanding changing customer needs, and thinking creatively about how to leverage those needs and the company’s capabilities to maximum advantage to support the sales efforts.
  • A good marketing platform provides salespeople the structure within which to operate.
  • How do you find good candidates? Talk to editors and publishers of trade journals. They know marketing contacts and who is good.
• As the company shifts the model, look for ways to reduce utilization and down-time for engineers and other staff.
  • Maximize the value of this down time.
  • Develop case studies or materials to support the sales effort.
  • Create new concepts or capabilities to add to the offering.
• Several other CEOs noted that with the quality of the projects that the company has completed for current clients, the company already has both the capabilities and proof of delivery that many sales and marketing people would love to have. Use these as assets and leverage them.

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