• International expansion.
• Intercultural team-building.
• Change management.
• Marketing strategy.
• Employee engagement.
• Brand values.
• International channel management.
• Team Building.

Case Study 1: International expansion

The challenge: Our client, a provider of business-to-business supply chain solutions wanted to enter the Asia/Pacific marketplace.  It had no prior experience in the region or knowledge of the cultural differences prevalent in that part of the world.

The solution: We provided the following services:

1. Strategic marketing and public relations campaigns in central hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong with local marketing events plan to follow up.
2. Selection of strategic partners in key hubs and channel partners in local markets.
3. Inter-cultural training.
4. Identification of skills gaps and coaching for local partner skills development.

The Result: The client was established and up and running in the region within 6 months with a solid first year plan.  By the end of the first year in business, sales had increased by 20%.

Case Study 2: Intercultural team-building

The challenge: Our client, a senior executive, had received a promotion to run the Asia/Pacific region out of Singapore.  With only 2 months into the job he realized that there were many cultural differences amongst his teams and he felt out of his depth.  His performance started to suffer and the results of his division took a dive, along with morale.

The solution: We provided the following services:

1. Cross-cultural team building events focused on identifying strengths of the ‘group culture’.
2. Values and purpose awareness training in multiple cultures.
3. Interviewing senior team members to establish the key local issues and goals also expectations of their new boss.
4. Feedback to senior executive as to the expectations of his senior management staff.
5. On-going leadership coaching.

The results: Within 3 months, morale had improved, and there was cohesion in the team.  Everybody was happy and less stressed.  Sales performance had started to improve and the team was back on track to meet their annual quotas.

Case Study 3: Change management

The challenge: Our client was in the process of implementing an SAP solution and changes in working practices were required as a result.  The company had not bargained for the level of change required and end-users were feeling isolated.  Research showed that few staff understood the reasons for the new solution and fewer still understood what they could do with it to increase their own personal productivity – and therefore that of the company overall.

The solution:  We provided the following services:

1. Devised new processes to support the change required to work differently.
2. Initiated product training and coaching.
3. Devised and implemented a communications strategy to communicate the reasons for and benefits of the new system.

The result: One year later, end-users reported feeling more in control of their work and management reported a 10% increase in productivity overall.

Case study 4: Marketing strategy

The Challenge: A financial services company wanted to introduce a new product into a market sector it had no experience of and hired us for strategic advice.  Our research suggested that the sector was saturated. 

The Solution: We repositioned the product and worked to create a new and emerging market sector that our client would lead.  Since speed to market was critical to the success of this initiative, phase 1 of the assignment focused on the expert application of consulting/marketing skills.  Phase 2 focused on building the necessary skillsets within the company to launch further products into the sector and to build new routes-to-market.  We were able to use a combination of product management skills and coaching techniques in the short-term, whilst building the expertise within the company for the long-term.

The Results: Two years later, the company is now the market-leader in the sector having launched a new range of products and built a new sales channel to support them.

Case Study 5: Employee engagement

The challenge: Whilst employed on a communications assignment we discovered – by means of an employee satisfaction survey – that the majority of employees considered that the company was not ‘living its values’.

We suggested going back to the drawing board and revisiting both the corporate values and the values inherent within the brand - and found a disconnect.  The product line was known for its eco-friendly attributes yet the company had little overall impact on the community at large.

The Solution: We recommended a programme targeted to raise its visibility in the local community in the short term, such as sponsoring local events, competitions and fund-raising initiatives.   A longer-term public relations plan was also put together to elevate its status as an opinion-leader.  This was supplemented by a series of coaching sessions specifically for senior executives designated as corporate spokespeople.

The result: Two years later the company is actively promoting eco-friendly solutions for the benefit of the environment at-large.  Its spokespeople regularly attend speaking engagements and their opinion is sought by industry analysts and trade journalists. 

We now facilitate their annual workshop – attended by the CEO and other representatives at all levels of the company from all functional departments - entitled ‘Living the Brand’.

Case study 6:  Brand values

The Challenge: A technical support company wanted to run a campaign with the tagline: ‘We don’t wear Jesus Sandles’.  Despite the obvious light-hearted intention our consultants considered this to be a slightly negative and limiting slant on what was a humorous attempt to communicate their strengths.

The Solution: Our experience with marketing and positive psychology suggests that looking at the positive attributes of what a brand is – and what it therefore delivers to its customers has a more powerful impact than communicating what it is not. 

The Result: We created a set of brand values that reflected the core attributes of the brand in a positive way and which the clients’ employees and customers want to identify with.

Case study 7: International Channel Marketing

The challenge: One of our customers sells through a network of resellers.  Their product (hard disk drives) was an integral part of the end product (PCs).  Their day-day interaction was confined to their sole-distributor – a large regional organisation with emphasis on the warehousing and quick supply of low-cost components.  The net result was that our client was totally out of touch with the requirements of the end user of their products and how or where it was being sold.

The Solution: Upon appointment, we researched the entire channel and fed back information to our client about who was using their products – where.  

In order to grow the sales channel we provided the following:

1. Channel composition redesign.
2. Channel qualification and appointment processes.
3. New work flows and new working processes.
4. Launched an e-channel marketing programme.
5. Devised a customer loyalty programme.
6. A multi-faceted communication strategy.

 The Result: Our client improved the retention rate of its resellers by 75% and sales increased by 15%.  Communication throughout the entire supply chain was also substantially improved.

Case-study 8: Team-building

The challenge: Our client, a printing company, asked us to facilitate their annual sales conference.  They identified the following issues within the team and asked us to address these issues in the programme:

1. Sales team operating in isolation of the rest of the company.
2. New product launch delays stifled motivation.
3. Human Resources had flagged a concern about employee retention, due to a 20% increase in staff turnover.
4. Changes in production methods causing competitive pressures.

The Solution: We proposed using the sales conference as a vehicle to build company-wide cohesiveness.  Cross functional break-out sessions were set up using a combination of team-building exercises.  This was followed up with one-one coaching and action-learning sets for key executives over six months.

The results:  A re-structuring of the payment and benefits of the entire company. One year later than originally planned, the company introduced a completely new range of printing products. Employee retention improved and staff turnover had returned to industry norms.