Services
We categorize our services as follows:
Revenue acceleration
Convergence helps clients to accelerate their revenues in a variety of ways. It is vitally important that firms “do the right things right” and not just “do things right”, important though this is. Working closely with clients, we develop marketplace, internal and other facts as necessary to identify the main reasons their revenues are underperforming by, for example, assessing their industry and market positions, identifying achievable revenue targets, prioritizing and assessing barriers to growth both external and internal to the enterprise, and developing plans to break through. When we are tasked to conduct revenue-related assignments specifically internally within the enterprise, we have conducted assessments of customer and channel profitability, sales teams' strategies, execution and personnel, and the reasonableness of their marketing plans, for example. We also frequently conduct assessments of the market, customer and revenue prospects of acquisition candidates and other industry, marketing and sales aspects related to M&A engagements.
Strategic and marketing planning
Convergence assists clients to develop strategic business plans and product or service marketing plans to which management is pleased to commit. For us, planning means doing a number of things very well: working collegially with the client, developing a fact-base to illuminate the firm’s marketplace position, facilitating a shared management perspective of its current condition and future state possibilities, assessing and developing a position that is attainable and defensible, and describing transitioning elements to capture the future. We have developed plans for fast-growing emerging companies and some of the largest and most respected firms in the world.
Customer relationship development
Relationships are predictive of future business performance and, more than anything else, should be the key business assets that are built and measured. We assist firms to develop customer relationships that drive dramatically improved business performance. Our approach to relationship planning employs financial analysis and both cognitive and behavioural marketing principles. We identify the “right” customers, understand their current behaviours and perceptions, specify required behavioural changes for better results and develop methods to accomplish these ends. We use proprietary methods for measuring relationships, going beyond customer satisfaction measurement because this alone has been found to be a weak predictor of customer loyalty. Some of our approaches and experience are described in our best-selling book, Relationship Marketing.
New product and service planning
Innovation is the lifeblood of many companies not just for revenue acceleration but also to assist in the reversal of margin contraction. Some companies have an insufficient number of viable new product or service ideas and some have too many. Revenue growth can be impeded by either situation -- in the first case because there is an over-reliance on previous innovation and in the latter because execution may fail to achieve its full potential and even be derailed by the constant introduction of new ideas. There is a time for new ideas and there are proven processes for achieving extraordinary performance from new products or services. We help companies to conceive, measure and plan the commercialization of new product and service concepts by taking them through a process that gets results.
New LOB start-up
Convergence provides practical support to help clients achieve their revenue objectives by starting up new Lines of Business (LOBs). Sometimes clients do not have the internal resources to undertake all of these tasks themselves but recognize the need to adapt quickly to marketplace change and capture the commercial potential of their ideas. In one such example, a client wanted to diversify from a slow-growing base business and launch a service for the customers of major retailers. Working collaboratively with our client, we developed relationships with their major accounts, formulated a detailed launch plan, established and outfitted physical premises, hired management and operating staff and led a major software development initiative with third party software developers to web-enable and cost-reduce processes, among the many other activities we performed. The result was a new line of business that had $5 million in annualized sales within a year of start-up, after which the business was returned to the client for ongoing operational management.
Distribution channel planning
Well designed and managed distribution channels accelerate manufacturers' sales and create brand value. The reverse is equally the case. Channels that are no longer appropriate or which have not been considered recently in the light of factors such as current strategies, competitive conditions, business models (company and channel), end-customers and mutual expectations may well impede sales performance. And it can be particularly damaging to an enterprise for management to make products ubiquitously available without a thoughtful strategic review. We have worked with many firms to develop distribution channel strategies that consider the four touchstones of channel design and then to plan the implementation of new distribution channels. We frequently assist with key aspects of diagnosis and implementation such as reviewing the business plans of channel partners, developing data to inform the four touchstones referenced above, and facilitating strategy sessions both internally and with key channel intermediaries. We have also examined the distribution channel competitiveness of entire industry sectors including Canadian suppliers of non-durable consumer goods, semi-durables and durables, such as new and used automobiles.
Business-to-business market research
Business-to-business market research differs markedly from consumer market research tools and techniques, and consumer research methods – such as statistical sampling or mass research – should generally not be used when researching business markets. Convergence has conducted hundreds of market studies for industrial goods and business-to-business services such as financial and treasury services. We understand how to develop a sound fact-base from appropriate secondary research, executive interviews and focus groups, and other methods, including executive online research. And we immerse ourselves in the facts to learn how to inform management decisions. We have previously served as Presidents for industry associations focused on industrial marketing research and customer relationship management.
Competitor analysis
The commoditization of many goods and services means that competitive advantage and astute pricing is now more important than ever. Convergence helps companies to assess their competitive position and specific competitors to help identify and obtain an improved marketplace position. We wrote one of the first books on competitive intelligence, Beat the Competition, and Competitor Targeting, which integrates competitive strategy with customer relationship management. We are founding members of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals in 1986.
Industry-wide issue resolution
Changes in the economy, markets and technologies can precipitate industry-wide situations which need to be addressed by governments at different levels, industry consortia and associations. We help clients to develop an informed fact-base, frame and assess strategic options and develop plans to adapt to new conditions. We have conducted engagements to address issues such as technological change and its impacts on human resources, e-learning as an economic and effective alternative to in-classroom education, attracting investment to a Province or State, and Canadians shopping in the USA and the associated impacts on distribution channels and Canadian competitiveness. In projects of this type, getting the right answer is usually not the only objective. It can be similarly important to ensure that the recommendations of the engagement are embraced and implemented by engaging with stakeholders - many of whom have differing interests - and developing a process for information sharing and alignment.
Customized training programs
Convergence assists clients to understand and adopt new approaches to achieve improved marketplace results. We have developed open market and client-specific training programs in areas such as management consulting, strategic pricing, relationship marketing, competitive intelligence and competitive strategy. Some of these programs are on-line but most are delivered on site, at the client’s premises. We have trained representatives from over half the Fortune 500 firms in competitive intelligence.