Marketing & Sales Management Support

Example 1:  Marketing Planning

Services Provided:

Marketing Plan Guidance & Development, Brand Strategy Development & Tactical Implementation Guidance

Issue:

A regional non-profit company which provides travel, financial, and insurance services to consumers had many brick-and-mortar facilities spread out in numerous states.  The company was experiencing a significant decline in foot traffic.  It needed to decide whether to create a new strategy for their physical locations or close the locations and operate virtually.

Solution:

Muir & Company developed a custom marketing planning process for the client specifically designed to answer whether to keep the facilities and, if so, to develop a new brand strategy and associated tactics for the facilities.

Outcome:

The client made the decision to keep the brick-and-mortar facilities and develop a new brand strategy for the locations, leveraging face-to-face contact with its customers.  A 5-year vision was created for the brand and strategies and tactics were developed for the first year of implementation, creating a foundation upon which the client could build.

Example 2:  Sales Force Strategy & Structuring

 Services Provided:

Sales Strategy, Change Management, Sales Compensation System Development, Salesforce Communication System Development, Sales Training Facilitation, Sales Deliverables Guidance

Issue:

A national laboratory services company was facing new and intense competition.  Due to the complex technical nature of the business, direct sales was the primary marketing vehicle and the sales force was struggling to prevent loss of market share.

Solution:

Market research and competitive intelligence indicated a changing industry.  The information made clear the client’s sales focus on local opportunities was not fully utilizing laboratory capacities, resulting in lost revenue and declining profitability.  The determination was made that a well-structured national accounts program, leveraging both national and local sales efforts, would be used to grow market share by increasing work in attractive emerging market segments.  The sales program was revamped utilizing change management techniques to smooth the transition for the sales force. The sales compensation system was redesigned to incentivize necessary sales activities and cooperation among sales personnel; sales territories were reconfigured to align with the new sales strategy; communication tools were developed to facilitate information sharing regarding national accounts; sales training was used to educate the sales force regarding new approaches necessitated by the new sales strategy; and sales deliverables were revised to deliver the appropriate message to customers and potential customers.

Outcome:

There was an expected initial dip in sales as the sales force adjusted to the new approach and the client mix was modified to focus on high value clients.  Following the initial adjustment period, sales in the targeted industry segments grew significantly and the client’s market share increased considerably.