.jpg) Marketing
Hardball
The great thing about having a plan is that it defines a clear-cut
path. The direction is certain. The forces are marshaled and ready. So why
doesn’t the plan work?
What’s gone wrong with the picture?
It could very well be that the strategy is fine. The problem may be
tactics. Execution is tentative, misguided or too rigid. Great ideas
backed up by ineffectual follow-through are the worst waste of resources,
because today’s hyper-stressed economy will make quick work of traditional
sequential organizations.
What’s the cause?
Most often, it’s not lack of effort, enthusiasm or a basic deficiency
of talent in the organization. The talent may be trained and focused on
the core business process where the results in the past have been just
great. However, rapidly changing market situations and non-traditional
competition call for special skills and some quick flexing to achieve
planned profitability.
 What’s
marketing hardball?
It has nothing to do with trying hard. It has everything to do with
focussing the strength of experience. Our brand of heavy lifting is
successful as a direct result of migrating real world experience to unique
situations. This happens because we understand instinctively what it takes
to get from assessment through implementation. Call it a short learning
curve. Some may talk about solutions, but it’s accomplishments that count.
We come ready to play.
The Third Set of Eyes
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that our approach is to look at a
situation to see it for what it really is. Members of a company are prone
to certain bias that results from seeing the world as a set of constructs
that are the shared wisdom of the organization, and these constructs
create their own validity over time ... simply by repetition. Training is
often seen simply as a process of passing along this shared wisdom.
Certain “outsiders” that really aren’t (such as accountants, suppliers and
advertising agencies) are often just as likely to share this corporate
point of view. We look at the situation and ask why ... again and again
... until the real problem is uncovered. Especially in situations like:
- A market/response crisis
- A one-time growth opportunity for company or brand
- A turnaround or startup
The Importance of Context
 We believe in
understanding the context of each situation, including the role of
customers, competitors, the overall economy, the pertinent industry and
the specific market as a starting point. And that can be the core
challenge. The pace of change today means a rapidly shifting background
that can yield radically different market forces. Making sense of this
world means understanding the challenges of change to the entire
organization and how to position it to respond. Having multiple targets at
once is key to our approach.
Steering the Boat
Designing a context based strategy or a tactical design to carry out
the plan requires a fear free, robust approach. It also requires careful
scrutiny of what are likely to be the hidden costs of change. All too
often, organizations steer toward the future at flank speed only by
watching the wake of their boat. The faster they race the bigger the
collision. We help create focus in the right direction.
The sum is greater than the parts.
 Wade & Partners are
all about marketing hardball. We have a unique view of the world. We
believe that the mission is more than simply coming in, asking a few
questions and sending in a report. We define the goal as changing what’s
not working and improving upon what is. If it means temporarily becoming
part of the organization, we can do that. If it means training your people
in a new way of looking at the world, that’s what we’ll do. At the end of
the day, the tough marketing and training issues are dealt with and the
organization and the people are transformed in a positive way, in the most
efficient and effective means possible.
And it’s your plan, not ours.
The Wade Partners
 If there’s a
single word that can be applied to all of the Wade Partners, it’s
“entrepreneurial.” They have a real understanding of what it takes to
create a business and sustain it over time. Each is a seasoned, top,
hands-on manager and understands what it takes to meet a payroll. Most
have also been part of large corporate entities and have had experience
with the rigors of managing in large systems and organizations. All have a
strong sense of the fundamentals of business and an especially keen sense
of street level economics.
Because of their rich background, the Wade Partners bring an unbiased
approach to analyzing needs and problems while developing short and
long-term plans. They are adept at creating solutions that last, even
though they sometimes don’t reflect the current common company wisdom.
Wade Partners have a wide-ranging set of skills that are used specifically
to get results, quickly.
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