Creating Market Leadership

Brand Building – Product Marketing – Positioning

Executive Summary

Market launch of new International B2B information security consulting practice.

Client: Global Professional Services Firm.

Insights

Early on, recognized need to create a differentiable unique selling proposition:

• Convinced changeover in competitive positioning – from a highly technical selling proposition to a more general business, senior management one.

• Uniquely thought and convinced management to capitalize on targeting CEOs as buyers vs. CTO/CIO with limited budgets, point of concern.

Actions

• Interviewed global practice leaders to discern what they were selling – a product, service or software.

• Initiated a full-scale marketing strategy and promotional campaign.

• Changed PR firms, created media plan and overhauled goals to emphasize quality over quantity of mentions/press opportunities.

• Designed and delivered first ever media and partner level sales training.

• Re-wrote collateral and sales presentation materials to appeal to the new target buyer in three priority industries – health care, financial services and information technology.  See ProTech brochure, above.

• Planned and implemented an international symposium to promote thought leadership in the industry and published widely quoted book of white papers authored by technical and academic leaders in industry.

• Partnered with 10 international practice leaders to develop customized geo/industry target prospecting programs and local strategic plans.

• Developed software based sales optimizer to teach and guide RFP to sales win rate.

Value/Impact

• Reduced number of RFPs replied to by 75%, and increased sales win ratio rate by 50%.

• Business’s revenues increased 10x, from year 1 to 2.

• Business Week recognized this new practice as the industry leader in a cover story on information security.

• CEO of firm named it the biggest new product success of the year at annual partner meeting.