Getting Just the Right Prescription

Prescriptions used to be created specifically for an individual. There was no such thing as pills waiting to be dispensed; instead, plants and herbs were mixed, ground and combined to create a perfect remedy. The modern-day pharmacist doesn’t have a mortar and pestle, but instead little trays to count the right number of pills. A combination of the old and new methods might be best – a proven solution that is customized for the particular patient.

SiriusDecisions’ research-informed consulting is intended to do just that.  Our approach is to take the SiriusDecisions frameworks, models and benchmarks and apply them to create the right diagnosis and enable a result with a focus on the outcomes you want to achieve.

Let’s take an example regarding a marketing approach and sales go-to-market strategy. Many organizations find themselves with an “ailment.” For example, maybe sales doesn’t feel that marketing is helping, while marketing is doing all they can while still going unappreciated by sales. What is the diagnosis? And better yet, what is the prescription?

To find answers to those questions, the SiriusDecisions consulting group first asks for background information and insight to help inform the diagnosis. We ask about what goals and expectations are in place, as well as the measures, service-level agreements, operational alignment cadence and level of satisfaction between sales and marketing.

After making the diagnosis, SiriusDecisions leverages the research regarding your organization’s specific combination of circumstances and prescribes strategies, alignment and operational activities to remedy the ailment. 

For example, to fix a lack of sales and marketing alignment, the organization might need to consider that a strategic account approach to sales requires higher sales costs and marketing support primarily focused on engagement via account-based marketing. Marketing should be highly focused on account penetration and influence, rather than creating net new demand in a new account.

Or, if the sales organization’s approach is to sell to thousands of companies in a given geography, marketing should support sales via broad-based demand generation tactics, such as SEO optimization or content syndication. Marketing would focus on leads from net new accounts. 

A recent consulting client had created a strong demand generation engine, looking carefully at tactic mix, response rates and conversion rates within the Demand Waterfall^®.  Sales was not happy, however, and conversations with the general managers of the business units revealed that they had changed some of their sales territories to focus on a small number of large accounts. 

Marketing was doing a great job in the broader territories, but for focused territories, they wanted marketing’s help to target specific accounts with plans, activities and reports that were customized, account by account.

After diagnosing the client’s exact problems, SiriusDecisions’ consulting team leveraged research, tools and benchmarks and created an appropriate prescription. It included new measures, operational alignment discussions, account planning sessions and the designation of specific marketing resources to the account-based effort. We then created custom recommendations to bring the organization “back to health,” and the wellness plan continued with SiriusDecisions’ advisory services to maintain that health and continue to strengthen the client’s go-to-market approach.

In the world of consulting, many prescriptions have changed from heavily customized to a one-size-fits-many. The ideal scenario might be the best of both worlds – a prescription that is informed by comprehensive research and personalized for you, your situation and your organization.

What are your ailments? Leave us a comment and let us know!