PERFORMANCE & EFFICIENCY
+++Smart Budgeting - Better marketing performance with Marketing Budget Intelligence+++
Companies in almost all industries are under ever-increasing competitive and price pressure. Shareholders and investors demand higher yields and return on capital at the same time. The demands that performance-based measures have to meet are rising in response, but activities and the quality of sales and marketing processes are not usually analyzed systematically with a view to their efficiency.
Marketing in particular is an area in which inadequate budget transparency, insufficient target definition, and lack of budget and impact tracking, as well as shortcomings in the processes, organization, and system landscape make it impossible to identify the ROMI (return on marketing investment) and therefore mean that resource deployment cannot be managed optimally.
Measures geared to improving efficiency, however, address more than just monetary targets. Especially in sales, they also aim to improve customer satisfaction and increase the organization's ability to react fast.
KEYLENS has spent many years supporting companies in "doing the right things right". To this end, the efficiency of marketing processes and measures needs to be analyzed, and possible shortcomings and improvement potential identified and successfully realized. With regard to performance & efficiency, our consultancy therefore focuses on sustainably maximizing impact while minimizing costs. Track-proven methods that we are constantly refining are used here, as are proprietary processes and tools that build on our knowledge of the industry at hand and our cooperation with the KEYLENS Research Center at the University of Bremen.
Some of the aspects our consultancy focuses on:
- Marketing efficiency/ROMI
- Sales efficiency
- Budget optimization
- Performance programs in marketing/sales
SELECTED KEYLENS PROJECT EXAMPLES
Primary insurer
PRIMARY INSURER
Issue:
Increasing efficiency in sales
Objective:
Improving the quality of information and communication exchanged with the sales team (> 4,500 people) in terms of product and marketing information
Results:
- We achieved a demonstrable reduction in field force time spent on communication
- Dramatically freed up the field force's schedule for at least 1 more customer meeting per day
- Developed and implemented a new concept for sales communication based on the specific needs of the various target groups and facing both recipients and senders
- Developed tools, formats, editorial plans, and budget plans
- Created a new department for sales communication and embedded it in the corporate structures and processes
- Brought about a change in the basic attitude of all persons involved
KEYLENS success levers:
Broad-based acceptance within the different interest groups by involving them intensively right from the start
Brand manufacturer
BRAND MANUFACTURER
Issue:
Increasing marketing efficiency
Objective:
Installing a professional system of marketing performance measurement for the revenue-based development of communication activities (particularly in the networking of wholesale and retail)
Results:
- We determined an individual ROMI approach (return on marketing investment)
- Analyzed the performance of marketing activities
- Determined and quantified the individual adjustments, incl. stipulating a future review of ROMI
- Formulated an implementation plan with responsibilities assigned
KEYLENS success levers:
Innovative consideration of an industry-spanning benchmarking approach ("inter-practitioner exchange")
Engineering firm
ENGINEERING FIRM
Issue:
Performance review of key account management
Objective:
Analyzing the cooperation between the engineering firm and one of its key accounts and initiating ways of improving it
Results:
- We systematically analyzed the process on the customer and provider side
- Conducted a globally standardized survey of the two companies building on this understanding of the process on both sides
- Derived the potential for optimization from the survey findings
- Facilitated discussion of the findings and worked with the client to formulate a plan of action
KEYLENS success levers:
Established methodological expertise in key account management and analyzing customer processes, and sensitive facilitation of the process between the two parties
Tourism group
TOURISM GROUP
Issue:
Marketing budgeting
Objective:
Improving the allocation of the marketing budget and establishing a formalized budgeting process to reduce conflicts between the functions involved
Results:
- We developed a new budget structure, focused on brands and differentiated by corporate and brand budget, inter- and intra-brand allocation
- Introduced the central planning logic based on (market share) protection budgets and growth budgets
- Completely redefined the effective marketing budget and embedded it down to the cost center level
- Developed an Excel-based budget tool and a new budgeting process authorized by top management
KEYLENS success levers:
Development of a new type of budgeting model specially tailored to the client based on the core logic of growth vs. protection budgets; establishment of a group of "change drivers" (willing to challenge established norms) from among middle management
