HOW WE CAN HELP
Align Companieswith Customers

ALIGN - CASE STUDY 1:
REFOCUSING FROM PRODUCTS TO PROSPECTS
Impetus: This ‘challenger’ mining company was up againstmajor suppliers around the world. Their core product was a low-margin commodity, and they were losing economies of scale to larger producers. They were looking to build their volume to gain scale as well as expand into new areas.. that had even stronger competition! Internally, there was no agreement on direction, or even what the problem was. Typical of engineering firms, the focus was on the product, putting the marketing team in the position of “finding buyers” for what they produced.

Insight: We started by interviewing the management team (sometimes in French) to uncover each stakeholder’s initial view of the company’s position and direction. Then we interviewed current and prospective buyers from around the world. This armed us with an independent customer view of the company, its competitors, and most importantly, the criteria that drive supplier selection. We headed back to report our findings, rally the troops, and plan a course of action. We engaged the entire team – from production to sales -- in voting on the strongest courses of action, agreeing on a direction, and convincing the division president.

Impact: The entire division -- from the lowest member of the product team to the president -- embraced the goals we identified with the team. The strife in perspectives has disappeared, and there is great energy to address the many challenges we identified.

ALIGN CASE STUDY 2