1. Developing a Marketing Culture to Drive Revenue Growth BackgroundBackground The client is a publicly held holding company with eight operating companies whose business is the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electrical energy. With its rate base, and thus its revenue, regulated, the firm had to increase its energy sales to utilize excess capacity and ensure a fair and consistent return to shareholders. The company wanted to create a more competitive sales and marketing capability to increase electricity usage. They contacted SPG, Inc., who had helped them achieve success on a previous project. SPG’s Consulting AssignmentSPG’s Consulting Assignment The client asked SPG, Inc. to help:  Identify opportunities to improve marketing procedures, manpower utilization, and customer interfaces.  Determine how to leverage company strengths in the marketplace.  Develop a practical program throughout company management to take advantage of the opportunities identified. SPG - Business Analysis FindingsSPG - Business Analysis Findings The SPG analysis revealed key strengths of the client management—experience, openness to change, technical know-how, and a strong commitment to performance—which could be built upon to significantly improve overall performance. Specific findings included opportunities to:  Strengthen personnel utilization via development and implementation of a more focused sales process.  Increase management effectiveness through activity profiles and skills training.  Develop more effective management tools and processes.  Clarify roles and responsibilities in marketing, customer service, and their interfaces with other functions.  Develop a tactical sales planning process. Results and Quantitative BenefitsResults and Quantitative Benefits SPG consultants and client employees partnered in a 23-week effort to bring about significant positive changes within the organization. These revolved around changing the cultural mindset from completely service-oriented to service-and sales-oriented with a strong increase in sales and marketing capability. Specifically, financial benefits accrued from:  Increased customer contact from the previous level of 0-1 per day to 3-4 per day.  Increased levels of conversion from “prospect” to “customer” through improvements in the quality of sales calls and an increased number of quality leads generated.  Increased customer satisfaction through compression of service process cycle time. These financial improvements resulted from changes implemented in the client’s operating structure and practice, including:  Establishment of a large account marketing/selling process.  Increased time management through territory assignments, route mapping, and scheduling practices.  Streamlined marketing structure, better defined accountability for performance, clarified HQ and field roles and responsibilities.  Focused translation of the marketing strategy into local territory and account development plans with field reps.  Strengthened sales process that more effectively identifies prospects, develops new accounts, and extends existing business.  Improved management systems to transmit marketing strategy, identify internal and marketplace needs, and to track and measure performance.  Development of comprehensive training programs to enhance leadership and selling skills.  Schrudder Performance Group, LLC. Proprietary Information - 1402