My specialty is in the design and execution of high performance marketing programs for technical product companies. These programs are all designed to stimulate sales through improved market visibility, brand strength, and targeted messaging programs. I can fulfill roles for small to medium sized technical product companies as VP of marketing or I can come alongside existing leadership to support special programs.

Larry Snyder is a seasoned general manager with a marketing posture and deep technical credentials. He drives organizations, instills a revenue oriented growth culture throughout the organization, and is particularly well suited for small to mid-sized engineering product and service companies. With a foundation in engineering and scientific software, Larry has experience in a range of market verticals including power generation, computer simulation, manufacturing, semiconductor, biotech, and aerospace. Key skills include strategic planning, market planning, business development, team building, and organizational management.

Larry Snyder, Principal
OneAccord
512.772.1806
larry.snyder@oneaccordpartners.com

An example of this contradiction occurred during a study performed by MIT professor Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational. He asked people to rate how they liked two beers, one was a Sam Adams and the other was a Sam Adams with balsamic vinegar. Most people preferred the Sam Adams with the balsamic vinegar. However when he told people beforehand that one contained balsamic vinegar, most people hated it.

Marketers can take this knowledge and use it to improve the real experiences of consumers by creating an environment of positive expectations. This can be visually appealing packaging- high quality wine glasses or an aesthetically designed box. Or by helping raving customers share their satisfaction through social channels like web forums or Twitter. It can be hinting to a prospect that your company was awarded for great customer satisfaction.

Now that you know the power of expectations to shape perceptions of customer’s experience, what will you do to improve customer experience?

Articles about Placebos

The Placebo Affect Seth’s Blog

Marketing and the Placebo Effect Nueromarketing

How the Placebo Effect Works HowStuffWorks

I help companies define and execute their sales strategy and structure and implement a sustainable sales execution framework. I have extensive experience in high tech and international expansion. As a OneAccord partner I can fill a position as the Interim VP of sales or business development for a company with $5-100 million in sales or I can come along side the leadership on a project basis to develop a sales strategy international expansion plan.

The power of OneAccord is the depth and breadth of our sales and marketing expertise as a team combined with our collaborative culture. What this ensures for the client is that the OneAccord resource working with them will be the best fit to drive their revenue growth.

Casey Leaman
Interim Management Executive, OneAccord
casey.leaman@oneaccordpartners.com
512.772.1806

One of the biggest surprises is Apple’s success despite the economic environment. Despite smaller wallets, consumers are still managing to pay for relatively expensive iPods and iPhones which sometimes require expensive AT&T data plans. This supports Millward Brown’s analysis that the top brands are striving. This may be because consumers are looking for the most value for their money. They may sacrifice going to Starbucks for a month and make their coffee at home so that they can afford a new iPhone.

According to the report:

“Customers are not holding their breath during this economic volatility. They are adjusting their coping strategies, while remaining determined to purchase brands that contribute to the pleasure, quality, purpose, and security of their lives.”

One of the biggest questions companies want to know, is whether the recession will cause a lasting change in the way consumers buy. One noticable change is the avoidance of conspicuous consumption as people try not to appear insensitive or greedy. Luxury brands still grew 10% in value, although this can be largely accounted for by growth in demand in China.

“Consumers are not in the mood for greed. And greed is not required for success. Once we are on the other side of the economic slowdown, consumer spending will pick up. But perhaps slowly, as people internalize the lessons of our recent boom and bust history. They will want quality, intelligently created, well-designed products. But they may not want one in every color.”

The study suggests that even when money is tight, consumers will still spend on the strongest brands. Consumers know what they can expect from strong brands and are still willing to pay premiums for this assurance. The exception are brands that are perceived as unnecessary luxuries like a trip to Disneyland or a 4 dollar coffee.

Bottom Line – Don’t rely on consumers to revert back to their old buying habits because by the time the option exist, they’ll probably forget what those “old” buying habits were. Will people start buying houses again, certainly. Will new house designs and sales strategies be different from where they were 18 months ago. You bet. Will consumers in conjunction with government watch dogs take a more conservative approach to credit card debt? I think so.

Max Clough
Interim Management Executive
seattle@oneaccordpartners.com

From an investment perspective… I hear deal makers speak as though the recession is episodic and therefore that we’ll revert to previous approaches to buying/selling companies.

The fundamentals got distorted the last 10 years and the norm going forward for consumers to business leaders alike will be to create and consume goods and services of value that produce tangible benefits.

Peter Klinge
Interim Management Executive
peter.klinge@oneaccordpartners.com
801.755.6820

Our basic economic order is built on a Keynsian Economic model – basically a “debt mentality”. As long as our economy has access to capital…it will spend. Yet, given the radical financial changes, a conservative approach will likely influence consumers, and more importantly businesses, for years to come. Ultimately – debt, yes, same old habits…not for a long time.

Jeff Rogers
Interim Management Executive
jeff.rogers@oneaccordpartners.com

This economic downturn is termed a “recession” but there are structural changes that make the “recession” different. There are some fundamental & dramatic shifts in banking practices (% equity to credit) that will change real estate and purchasing requiring loans. Also credit card companies are actually losing money due to non-payment so expect a tightening on credit applications, more discipline on payment dates & higher interest rates to offset non-payment losses. So bottom line as people go back to work & their disposable income recovers they will go back to previous low dollar consumer habits, but on higher dollar purchases requiring credit there are structural shifts in the credit providers that will ultimately restrict demand on goods and services permanently changing their habits. What we will not know for awhile is the degree of negative affect this structural shift will have.

Dale Hintz
Interim Management Executive
dale.hintz@oneaccordpartners.com
972-824-6923

Consumers have changed. They’ve been shocked by the reality of their situation – trees don’t grow through the sky…everything has a topping out and consumers now see that they are broke!

Consumption will be less conspicuous and savings will continue to grow as a percentage of GDP.

Jackson Weaver
Interim Management Executive
seattle@oneaccordpartners.com

I was reminded of the importance of packaging a few weeks back at the Pyramid Ale House in Seattle. As an alternative to coffeehouses, this place is one I find very convenient for “holding court” (serial meetings) in Seattle — how can you go wrong with free parking, wi-fi, and convenience to major highways?

Presuming the glass on the left were full with the same beverage, which would you reach for?

Nearly everyone I’ve asked has said the one on the right. Reasons: it looks more shapely; easier to hold; and by far the winner, there’s more beer.

Fact is, the glasses have identical capacity — 16 oz! (Out of disbelief, I tested — pouring from one to the other).

In the information-marketing world (books/tapes/etc) it is well known that a CD in a cardboard envelope tops out at about $19 whereas the same CD and a booklet in a plastic “folio” container can get as much as $49.

How much more could you charge for the beer on the right (well-marketed, of course)?

Remember, you can create value through differentiation within your own product line — most of which drops right to the bottom line.

So, how can you improve your packaging today?

Paul Travis is a veteran interim management executive with OneAccord who helps companies create screaming value propositions. He can be reached at Paul.Travis(at)oneaccordpartners.com or 206.910.2222. To learn more about Paul Travis, you can view his profile at OneAccord or his blog 2020 Marketing.

Buyology is an interesting book because it describes a completely new approach to marketing research. Instead of traditional methods of research such as surveys, or focus groups, Buyology explores a new frontier in marketing research, neuromarketing.

Specifically, Martin Lindstrom, describes scientific studies in which subject’s brains are scanned to see what parts of their brain lights up when exposed to certain marketing stimuli such as a brand logo or an advertisement. When different regions of our brain are active, the increased energy requirement means an increased flow of oxygenated blood to that region, which the fMRI can detect and display in a visual format. Lindstrom uses data from these studies to disprove commonly held beliefs in advertising, such as the effectiveness of subliminal advertising and that warning labels on smoking packaging can actually encourage smoking.

According to the book, roughly 90% of consumer buying behavior is unconscious, which is part of the reason Lindstrom believes nueromarketing can a more effective method to find out what consumers really want and reduce the number of product failures.

“Markers and advertisers on the other hand have spent over a century, throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it will stick. The fact is that most marketing, advertising branding strategies is a guessing game…Until now marketers and advertisers haven’t really known what drives our behavior so they’ve had to rely on luck, coincidence, chance, or repeating the same old tricks all over again. But now that we know that roughly 90% of our consumer buying behavior is unconscious, the time has come for a paradox shift.”

I think this book is a very interesting read, though it is difficult for most marketers to implement fMRI studies without thousands or millions of dollars to spend on this new field of marketing. However, it looks very promising, as marketing becomes more science and numbers driven in the future.

You can download a free chapter of Buyology at the Martin Lindstrom website.

My background is multi-unit retail chain marketing with a lot of brand building mixed in. I think the benefit [of OneAccord], for instance, the first proposal I worked on was really a manufacturing company and I’ve had no experience with manufacturing in a direct way. I’ve been more with companies like Pizza Hut or Cracker Barrel, etc. With the manufacturing company I worked with Greg Wilk in Dallas and he has a strong sales background. So between the two of us we created a 4 phase consulting plan that we could work through with the company and build the brand, build the strategy, build the business plan, which I’m strong on and with Greg’s experience in sales, we could really build that. It was a great combination between the two of us.

The other aspect, I’m working with a major 11 billion dollar software company. We’re not working with them now but we’re having preliminary discussions. Frankly I know nothing about high tech but
I can rely on other partners within OneAccord to fill that void. I can go in, I can talk to them about what their needs are, what their pain points are, what their challenges and opportunities are, and I can help build that strategy and respond to it and deal with the marketing issues but I can also bring in very relevant OneAccord partners who know about high tech who know about buzz marketing, things like that, that they’re really looking for.

Jim Fisher, is an enterprising senior marketing executive with a record of designing innovative programs that result in significant revenue growth and a strong market presence. He has held executive marketing positions at Pizza Hut and Cracker Barrel. Mr. Fisher can be reached at 781.449.4333 or boston(at)oneaccordpartners.com.

Jeff Rogers, Principal, OneAccord

The client is a network security consulting firm, needing to transform its sales structure and culture from a product focused approach to a service based revenue stream.

Founded in the 1990’s, the market around the internet, hosting/outsourcing, security, along with the move from product to services was rapidly developing, with few standards. The client desired to build a significant regional presence, associated revenue stream, business processes & resulting
strong business valuation, with the intent to be acquired. The sales team was made up of 15-20 direct sales reps with little leadership, structure, or defined metrics.

The OneAccord Solution
OneAccord guided the organization through the design and implementation of a comprehensive sales and re-engineered organizational, created new roles, position definitions, metrics and recommendations for new compensation structures. OneAccord helped to define authority and accountability to revenue generation, define a sales strategy and assisted team members and management in execution.

Engagement Highlights

• Development of a comprehensive Revenue Generation Structure

• Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

• Defined accountability to results

• Tools for measuring critical activity

• Field tested manual

• Internal sales training process

• Creation of an inside sales team partnered with a direct enterprise level group

• Channel Partnerships developed

• Improved revenue generation

Results
Over the 3 year project, moving from project based work to Interim Sales Leadership, there was a significant increase in the critical sales activities, including cold calls, building industry relationships, channel partnerships, and targeted account acquisition.

Jeff Rogers is founder of OneAccord, an interim executive company, that provides best in class interim sales and marketing leadership for companies all across the country.

Interim Management Executive, Richard Brune

In 2008 I was Interim VP of Sales for a Midwest company in the Gift Industry. I was brought in while they conducted a nationwide search for a permanent VP of Sales. The company ended 2007 down in sales and was starting 2008 in the same downward direction. As Interim VP of Sales I focused my efforts on reversing this trend. I identified several critical processes and procedures to implement to reverse the negative sales trend. By the end of March, 2008 their sales were +9.5% over the same period in 2007. The engagement was extended through the fall of 2008 as OneAccord focused on several other revenue generating opportunities after the permanent VP of Sales was hired.

Interim management executive, Richard Brune, is a sales and marketing professional with over 25 years of experience in building and managing some of America’s most recognizable consumer brands including Stanley Tools, Hartmann Luggage, REI Inc., Swiss Army Brands and licensed products with Eddie Bauer and Disney.

Interim Management Executive, Dale Hintz

SITUATION:
Truck and Commercial Vehicle Product Category had very negative quality reputation in marketplace and significantly lagged market share of automotive products. Internally low existing sales and persistent quality issues resulted in defeatist attitude about potential to improve. Sales people creatively avoided selling this segment of the product line – as they did not want to stake their personal reputation on a poor quality offering.

ACTION:
Research competitive products to bench mark key features that drive customer preference and product performance. Direct engineering activities to develop distinctive products that fit within manufacturing capabilities. Create internal business plan for increased sales and lower warranty costs would offset increased piece cost. Develop Training materials and Sales Support materials including brochures and magazine advertisements. Coordinate launch product through sales force and customer base. Built on momentum by communicating both internal and external success stories.

RESULT:
First year unit sales increase of 20%. Eliminate poor quality reputation in the marketplace on this visible product category. Field evidence and acceptance of superior quality occurred within 6 months of launch. Re-energized sales force to aggressively pursue sales opportunities with existing accounts and more importantly new accounts who were not open to prior discussions due to previous persistent quality issues.

Interim management executive, Dale Hintz, is a highly organized, strategic and creative executive with expertise in product research/development, price optimization, market segmentation and mapping brand strategies. He can be reached at 972.824.6923 or dallas(at)oneaccordpartners.com

Interim Management Executive, Paul Travis

Last year after speaking with a CEO of a company doing 8 figures per year, he realized I had been VP Marketing for a competitor of a company he had received news of an auction on — and engaged me for a few days in order to help him determine the potential value and an appropriate bit amount. So for under ten grand, he got serious “feet on the street” with eyes that had different “focal range” than his.

When that particular acquisition opportunity didn’t manifest, he expressed his appreciation for adding value without ramp-up time and said he wanted to launch a SERVICE business to complement his SOFTWARE offering. Unfortunately, given economic conditions, his management team was up to their eyeballs in alligators — so this new business opportunity would ALSO have been unable to contribute any revenue or profit to the corporate coffers.

He thus engaged me as an Interim VP New Business Development to explore the business and create it if indeed the opportunity were real. In a four-month timeframe, I:

• Scoped customer pain and tested the value proposition and price elasticity

• Created a brand with input from the legacy marketing department

• Developed interoperability arrangements with a JV partner to ramp fast

• Built a financial model demonstrating the opportunity to DOUBLING REVENUE

• Returned the business, packaged in a box, such that the existing team could run with it

Paul Travis is an interim marketing executive at OneAccord. Mr. Travis is based out of Seattle with 25 years of experience in high technology, marketing, and consulting. He can be reached at Paul.Travis(at)oneaccordpartners.com and at 206-910-2222.