Market Edge

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Director of Market Research at a Chemical Manufacturer

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Market Edge?

Market Edge was hired to assist in the development of tools and practices to improve our marketing plans

What were your goals for this project?

Five year market plans with deliverables, budgets and agreed marketing targets.

SOLUTION

How did you select Market Edge?

Market Edge was selected due to their experience in market planning

Describe the project in detail.

The project involved creation of cross functional teams by market to develop a comprehensive global market plan for the next five years. Teams were facilitated by Market Edge to create specific tools that would develop insights and understandings to create finished market plans

What was the team composition?

The team was made up of market managers, sales people, and technology people. Some use of the financial services group and EH&S on an as needed basis provided further insights as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Teams were able to focus on the strategies and make recommendations to the senior management for growth. Most teams achieved their targets closer after the program than before the program

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent interactions with Market Edge were enjoyed by the teams. Every team benefited from the experience and insight from the tools. Market Edge did not hover over the teams but allowed the teams to develop their own strategies rather than have Market Edge develop them. Team independence was built with a facilitation from Market Edge.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ability of the Market Edge facilitators to take abstract thoughts and relate their experience to the team and teach them was excellent. Although not an expert in a particular market the Market Edge staff had the skill to challenge team decisions and make for an overall better plan.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The one key improvement would be the follow up with the teams. Part of this deficit was the company I was with at the time but Market Edge could have pushed harder for interaction at a later date to check the progress could have been improved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an agricultural company producing crop protection products and seeds. I’m a commercial excellence manager for the EMEA region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Market Edge?

We worked with Market Edge on organizing different trainings for our marketing team. Our company is in constant transformation, and we were looking to boost the capabilities of our team. We had new people coming to our team and needed new capabilities for our existing ones.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Market Edge is our major partner for organizing marketing trainings. We started the preparation three months in advance, and there was a lot to be done on the logistics part, including finding the right rooms. We also discussed the content of the trainings and business needs we had.

We pre-agreed with the participants that this was all about the application of their knowledge, so they needed to come to the training already having how they’d apply it in mind. We had regular calls with Market Edge to organize all of this.

The trainings were developed several years ago, and they became standard practice within my company. The events in January and February 2020 were a kind of repetition of the trainings we’d built before but with some minor adjustments. We had four different workshops within two months, for campaign, portfolio, and brand management.

Our collaboration with Market Edge was about the delivery of the two-day face-to-face workshop. They provided workbooks, leaflets, and all other materials as well as helped us with the follow-up coaching sessions. The agreement was that after each face-to-face module, we’d deliver 10 coaching sessions to our teams.

The employees involved might not have been new in the company, but they were new to their marketing roles. The coaching sessions were meant to help them start practicing their new knowledge.

The workshops themselves focused on using the right templates, which were for the thinking and the logic behind it. Employees were taught how to use the templates and how to build comprehensive overall stories. Finally, the coaching sessions were meant to help them practice those in real life.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 3–4 people from their team.

How did you come to work with Market Edge?

They’re our preferred partner for these kinds of trainings so I worked with them based on the legacy relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

The whole piece cost $80,000, but this included hotels, coffee breaks, and so on. I believe that $50,000 of that went to Market Edge.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Market Edge around September 2019, and the workshops were delivered between January–February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Many of my colleagues in the company perceive Market Edge as a very expensive partner. They expect their level of services to be excellent, and it is. Market Edge is a great example of how this work should be done. They knew all the details about our company and strived to meet our needs.

Speaking to the particular experience I had, I expected more support on the logistics side. I was slightly frustrated and disappointed with the amount of follow-up I had to do on the logistics part, in terms of finding hotels, negotiating rooms, planning coffee breaks, and so on. It was very difficult for me to focus on this.

The workshops are done now, but the whole story isn’t over. We’re helping individuals finalize their assignments, and we don’t have the resources to do it. It would be great if this could also be done by Market Edge in the future.

We had almost 100 people trained during these four workshops and aside from my 10–15 projects, I’ve tried to follow up with each individual. It’s really hard, and I’d expect Market Edge to handle things end-to-end, from training delivery and team coaching to the individual completion of assignments.

How did Market Edge perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed perfectly in terms of meeting deadlines and communication. They replied to messages immediately and were collaborative. Everything was great in this respect. I didn’t have to chase them, and they delivered everything they promised.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was really impressed with the knowledge they had of my company and with their overall experience in the market, communication style, and facilitation style. Some trainers were better than others, which usually happens, but the overall experience was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement, but I don’t know what to add to what I’ve mentioned already.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be open and transparent on their needs and expectations from the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Medical Center is an academic medical center in Boston MA, 415 Beds. I am the Clinical Nurse Director in the Cardiovascular Center with direct oversight of multiple ICUs, procedural, and outpatient areas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Market Edge?

We worked with Market Edge and PDI to conduct market research on Smart Labels.

What were your goals for this project?

It was to perfect the product prior to launch to have health care staff see the value of these labels and how they can make practice easier while increasing safety to the patient.

SOLUTION

How did you select Market Edge?

Had previous experience working together

Describe the project in detail.

Prior to testing and market research being conducted we trained staff on labels, how to apply and activate. We outlined data collection procedure, survey questionnaires, on site visits, etc.

Over 4-6 weeks we utilized the product, collected data on the IV medications, type of line, time of usage, etc for PDI to gain knowledge on different protocols related to IV lines.

What was the team composition?

Members of PDI team, Tufts staff, market edge team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The product has launched with success

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All the team members worked very well with one another and really improved the product.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The business relationship, the authenticity of their work, and the contacts they have provided have been professionally rewarding.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None