Don Rigby, Integrated Marcom

There's a happy ending to this all-too-familiar story. This is about a real company with real problems that's now been revitalized. Respecting client privacy, I'll not share names or proprietary information. Volunteered information is intended to give hope to owners and stakeholders of companies in similar situations. There are too many.

This is about a service company that reached a point of maturity and could not break through the proverbial glass ceiling. We see it often, but that doesn't make the pain any less excruciating. When an enterprise stops growing, the management team feels pressure and gets reactionary, employees get restless and a wet blanket syndrome begins to affect important customer touch-points. If uncorrected, flat sales spiral downward and company morale plummets from bad to worse.

A Common Scenario
Historically, this company was growth-oriented by every measure. The top officer and majority stockholder had a long range vision for his company, well-supported by a dedicated management team and loyal employees. In business for 15 years, the company reported consistent financial growth for the first 12 years, but the last 3 has been flat reporting no growth in revenue and year-end profit margins shrinking. He knew he had quality people, great service and fair prices so it had to be a sales problem. Lead generation was soft and growing more expensive so his mandate from the sales team of 4 was more cold calling--just like when he opened his doors. Simultaneously, their referrals were off so they focused on improving service delivery believing this was the missing ingredient to their business development equation. Result: no gain.

Frustrated, the owner began taking a hard looking at operating costs. He was running out of choices and had to make 1 of 2 decisions; 1) accept that his company competes in a commodity industry and manage operating cost to net a desirable profit, or 2) find a way to win more often, break through the glass ceiling and execute on his original vision.

Vision won out. The character of this individual would not permit the economy to compromise his dream. Since you and I can not control the economic climate, we must control the elements we can. To quote the CEO of Intel, "You can't save your way through a downturn. You must innovate your way through it."

This president needed outside perspective to break through. He selected GrowthANSWERS to innovate in the areas of strategy, messaging and sales execution.

Chaos to Clarity
When we accepted the opportunity, we knew his challenge was more external than internal, but we did not have all the answers. Through a unique service offering called Chaos to Clarity, a step-by-step process guided us through a rebranding project. We've performed this service many times and always with positive outcome. It's now so predictable, we refer to it as our re-branding system. I'll loosely define each step, but what it is matters far less than what it does.

1. Research: customers, employees, competition, industry trends
2. Reposition: new messaging foundation, compelling differentiated market position
3. Retool: based on new brand promise, develop new programs and processes
4. Rejuvenate: Internal launch for employees and stakeholder contribution
5. Relaunch: External launch with creative tactics to support new brand position
6. Review: Metrics developed to measure success and perpetual improvement

Depending on the company's leadership, size and ability to embrace change, this serve takes 3-9 months. In this case, our scope of service was completed in 4 months. Today, this company is revitalized. Revenue projections and Key Performance Indicators are more favorable and getting better. Is the firm out of trouble? Not yet. Markets change. People change. Customers evolve. Because of these variables, a continuous process improvement program is necessary or a phenomenon called Organizational Elasticity creeps in and the company resorts back to its previous comfort zone. To combat this, we put systems in place. Systems that inspire good business development practices, assuring marketing and sales processes are being followed as we all agreed.

Outcome Matters Most
To date, the turnaround of this business has been encouraging and the president is projecting a 7-8 month return-on-Investment. He quietly celebrates his decision to break through the glass ceiling versus break the spirit of the company. No question, he made the right decision.

If your company is experiencing similar glass ceiling symptoms, you may benefit from a rebranding project driven by our system. This will be your choice after deciding which looks more sustainable: your P&L statement or the following four statements:

1. Your company operates with a clear and compelling differentiator, an understanding of its unique value amongst competitors, a grasp of the wants and needs of its customers and rallying points to motivate employees.
   
2. Clearly defined messaging elements on "Why your company" consistently delivered by all storytellers and outbound communications unified with internal beliefs.
   
3. Higher lead return on marketing investments and higher conversion ratios are natural outcomes when your target market clearly sees how your offering is different than your competition.
   
4. Your new branding elements are created from the inside-out so your promise to customer is authentic and the customer experience is exemplary and consistent across the entire lifecycle.

Our reason-for-being at GrowthANSWERS is to innovate in the areas of business strategy, tactical marketing and sales execution. If your company is feeling discomfort from a glass ceiling, you may benefit from GrowthANSWERS on your team. Does this mean you need to reinvent your company? It's possible, but a smarter approach includes a service called Growth Gap Accelerator. In 1 day, you and your executive team engage with GrowthANSWERS at minimal risk and receive high-value insight on your top priority areas of concentration. You'll gain an unbiased, objective view of your growth strategy and related marketing, sales, business development practices. In the end, you'll know exactly what to do next and why. That's a break through worth a few good nights sleep.

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