Double-Digit Organic and M&A Growth

Integration and Planning at the Forefront.

Alignment:  Strategy in an organization is about having a structure in place that aligns with the “go-to-market” strategy and it’s about understanding the marketplace which includes the environmental, social, political and technological forces that exist. A robust planning process empowers employees to help build the future of the company at all levels. Deployment of measurement tools such as the “balanced scorecard” allows for course- corrections and celebration of wins; keeping motivation high in a very fast-paced environment. 

While at a multi-billion dollar financial services firm, marketing demonstrated the value of integrated planning, deployment and measurement. The team had a very broad scope which included the development of executive, employee and external communication alongside creating and executing business strategies. Multi-stakeholder communications ensured the alignment of all business activity to the core objectives. Frequent and broad-based communication set the tone across the organization and it made clear the expectations for performance. The CEO’s all-employee communication below is a good example of what was delivered.

Market Analysis: Assessing the business against a strategic framework helped inform product development decisions, acquisitions and divestitures strategies, the implementation of measurement tools such as the balanced scorecard and the creation of a lifetime-customer-value model. 

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“To achieve such intense strategic focus the organizations had instituted comprehensive, transformational change. They redefined their relationships with the customer, reengineered fundamental business processes, taught their workforces new skills, and deployed a new technology infrastructure.” 
― Robert S .Kaplan, The Balanced Scorecard

The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment

Go-to-Market Approach: Moving from an internal product focus to one that is market-based presents a challenge in many companies, especially those whose products or services are technical in nature. After careful assessement, it became clear that multiple acquisitions and business lines began causing confusion with the market and with the employee base. Yet, moving from a siloed business unit approach to a consultative solutions framework was imperative.  15 years later and the company is still leveraging a more cohesive go-to-market strategy.

The company evolved from a set of business lines into one that provides solutions. The approach below was used as a stepping stone to a much more sophisticated and consultative selling approach.

“Advise, Communicate and Manage” formed the basis of the final go-to-market approach upon completion of the strategy and brand work. Sales team members were able to access higher level decision makers with a consultative portfolio and ability to negotiate across business lines.

Mapping: Many companies produce organization charts to help employees understand the reporting structure and decision-making protocols. Yet, few think about it from a customer’s viewpoint. In creating a visual representation of an evolving organization and how the structure aligned to the solution sets, we ensured a uniform way to engage all stakeholders.

Through M&A and organic growth, the company changed dramatically over a period of ten years. And given the constant change, it was critical to demonstrate stability and coherence. Stakeholders included employees, customers, Wall Street, investors, and the media.  

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