Challenge:

A large consumer wireless company needed to purchase and integrate six wholly-owned subsidiaries within an 18-month timeframe.

Whitaker & Company Solutions:

  1. Created a sustainable, repeatable integration model, timetable, and IMO (Integration Management Office) reporting to the company C-suite level.
  2. Conducted due diligence that escalated integration hot spots so they could be triaged and resolved early.
  3. Created clearly defined integration leadership and decision-making processes.
  4. Designed and implemented a well thought out and comprehensive communications strategy. (Remember: you can't talk to acquired employees enough!)
  5. Retained key personnel.

Results:

Budgeted controllable synergies came in within 5% of goal and acquired employee satisfaction surveys consistently met or exceeded targeted expectations. All integrations were completed within targeted 100 day timeframe and 18 month schedule.

Challenge:

A large multinational hotel operator had just commissioned a consumer segmentation study, and had also purchased new technology to transform the way it managed its external communications with its 63 million member customer base. This transformational strategic initiative affected virtually all of the company's major functions and properties, and was going to take nearly a full year to implement. The investment was substantial, and the company needed help in making sure the initiatives took hold and delivered business value sooner than later.

Whitaker & Company Solutions:

  1. Created a comprehensive Change Management and Communications plan to insure all stakeholder groups were identified and communicated to with the right messages throughout the implementation process.
  2. Created and led a PMO (Project Management Office) to organize and track all of the workstreams involved in implementing the consumer segmentation strategy and marketing technology.
  3. Recommended key organizational effectiveness measures to enhance the company's Loyalty Marketing Department so they could become a more robust internal resource to support the implementation efforts.

Results:

This project is still in progress, but to date all communications and implementation timelines are on schedule and early indicators show success across key stakeholder groups. Additional results will be posted to this site in early 2Q at the conclusion of the project.

Challenge:

A mid-size B2B financial service company had lost touch with its brand. Many of the key stakeholders had varying definitions of the company's "brand promise", and customers were confused as well. Worse, some key competitors had beefed up their advertising and message strategies to take advantage of this weakness.

Whitaker & Company Solutions:

  1. Conducted a thorough marketplace scan to clearly identify competitive positioning and key strengths and weaknesses.
  2. Conducted internal stakeholder assessments and interviews to inform process.
  3. Conducted strategic road mapping sessions to create a unified brand positioning with supporting core benefits that everyone could agree on and that the organization could deliver on.
  4. Assisted in creating advertising and campaign planning initiatives to communicate the new brand message in the marketplace.

Results:

Solidification of brand positioning and supporting advertising campaign for key products resulted in a 2% year over year market share gain; a jump from #8 to #6 in competitive product feature rankings; and a solidified positioning strategy.

Challenge:

A large telecommunications provider had a very dysfunctional marketing organization. People were working extremely hard and diligently, but it seemed that every product and pricing plan launch was a contested, frustrating process that took too much time, wasted resources, and always resulted in sub-par execution.

Whitaker & Company Solutions:

  1. Functional strategic assessment:
    Helped articulate and communicate a clearly defined marketing strategy so all marketing functions were operating from the same playbook.
  2. RACI Assessment (Identification of who's Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed for all essential marketing activities)
    Created a RACI matrix to describe the roles and responsibilities of various teams or people in delivering a project or operating a process. It was especially useful in clarifying roles and responsibilities in cross-functional/departmental projects and processes.
  3. Launch Window Planning and Governance model
    Created a marketing planning calendar with a set amount of launch windows, deadlines and a clearly defined governance process to manage marketing program prioritization and capacity planning needs.

Results:

Client realized a 20% reduction in overall programs through formalization of the annual marketing calendar and prioritization process. Created a sustainable governance model for ongoing marketing program management.

Challenge:

A large consumer durable goods manufacturer (top three in its industry), was beginning to notice an up-tick in consumer complaints regarding product quality. The complaints were mainly focused around some specific product quality issues, but a large percentage of the complaints also reflected dissatisfaction with HOW these complaints were being handled. To make things worse, the trade press had started picking up on the problem as retailers were complaining about returned merchandise and customer complaints.

The CEO had finally heard enough, and ordered a deep dive into both the product quality problem, and how the organization was going to create a more robust customer response process.

Whitaker & Company Solutions:

  1. Comprehensive audit and categorizations of all quality complaints.
  2. Distribution channel assessment to address retailer concerns.
  3. Pain Points Assessment(sm) to articulate, prioritize and detail root causes for each product and complaint resolution issue.
  4. Complaint process resolution recommendation and augmentation of Customer Service function.
  5. Establishment of short term project management team to tackle issues and report to senior management at regular intervals.

Results:

A 20% reduction in product returns and a significant improvement in all key customer satisfaction categories from the previous year.

SAMPLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PAIN POINT ASSESSMENT

pain_points_chart

  1. Automated help system
  2. Customer pinball
  3. Too little, too late
  4. Agressive collections
  5. Activating Service
  6. Hard to pay
  7. Hard to do business with
  8. You don't believe me
  9. Impossible to reach
  10. Rude to Customers
  1. Inconsistent Information
  2. No ones solves problems
  3. Competitive rate plans
  4. New & existing product offers
  5. Rate plan confusion
  6. Invoice confusion
  7. Fees
  8. Product reliability problems
  9. Product/Service expecations
  10. Complex Product/Service upgrades

Criteria for Success

Timing is Everything

Systematically manage early complexity to achieve long term results.

Timing is crucial when it comes to successful integrations. Teams and plans must be in place and ready to go on DAY ONE. That is why we believe it is imperative to begin planning during the due diligence process. The integration plan must be aligned with the deal strategy in order to make sure there are no disconnects, and continuity between the deal makers and integration team is crucial.

Plans should be in place for the first day, first week, first month, and so on, with plan progress being checked and adjusted on a weekly basis during the integration.

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Every Integration Needs a Pivot Point

Create a functionally neutral entity to help expedite your integration.

Typical M&A's often include two teams — one to conduct the due diligence process and one to merge the operations and cultures of the two organizations to capitalize on identified "value drivers." This two-part process can create a lack of continuity and loss of momentum between the two teams — and open the door for lack of ownership in crucial stages of the process.

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In order to effectively blend two cultures, we believe every integration needs a pivot point. We do this by assembling an Integration Management Office (IMO), creating a functionally neutral entity to help expedite your integration. The IMO should be formed and involved with the due diligence team BEFORE the deal is done in order to assess cultural and organizational differences and help formulate a plan that anticipates problems and addresses challenges BEFORE you initiate the bulk of your integration activities.

An Integration Management Office (IMO) will:

  • Drive the integration project through a temporary cross-functional matrix
  • Act as a force multiplier for the expertise in your functional organizations
  • Overcome inertia and accelerate change towards the desired end state

Establish a Weekly Rhythm

Cross-functional teams must constantly be realigned to optimize deal drivers.

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Keeping the cross-functional teams in alignment during post-M&A integration activities is essential. Progress should be reviewed often to ensure that teams are aligned with the deal drivers, and that resources are being dedicated to the most critical activities. A weekly rhythm includes a regular schedule of meetings and checkpoints between the IMO and team leaders, allowing for identification and resolution of potential conflicts that may arise between the various functions before valuable time and momentum is lost. Finally, an executive review and employee status report are generated at the end of each week, keeping everyone in the organization abreast of that weeks progress and aware of important issues as they are identified.

Communicate More Than You Think You Should

Help prevent rumors from becoming the main source of information to your employees.

Studies show that the number one area in Merger Integrations needing improvement is Communication. It is not uncommon for there to be a disconnect between executives and the rest of the organization. The best tool for avoiding a breakdown between what leadership knows and what employees are speculating about a deal is to formulate a clear plan of communication.

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Once a high level integration plan is developed during the due diligence phase, a solid communication plan can be developed and ready for implementation on Day One, addressing all questions and concerns employees may have about the deal itself, and how it will affect themwithin the organization. And communication should continue on a regular basis throughout the integration. If you think you are talking too much to your employees, you are probably right where you should be.

Communication planning is critical to:

  • Coordinate messaging during a period of intensive communication
  • Ensure key audiences are included
  • Messages are tailored to the audience when necessary
  • Satisfies regulatory requirements; typically financial and HR