Consulting Approach

( The N2O Consulting Approach )

Investigate | Integrate | Innovate

Our work with companies spans all phases of the marketing process—from strategy through execution—to develop, manage and grow strong brands.

Investigate. Know the customer, the market and the client organization.

Customers. What do we know about your customers, what are they buying, how do they perceive your brand, especially in relation to the competition? Discover what opportunities exist for improving your market position.

Markets. Do current offerings need to be realigned or new offerings introduced to win the target customer segment? Find the best segmentation scheme for your company and category.

Client Organization. Are Company and departmental objectives aligned and do they reflect the market opportunity? Allocate resources to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

Integrate. Link branding efforts with your overall business strategy.

Current Image. What is your current brand image? What are the strengths to leverage and/or the gaps to fill? How is the competition positioned and how much room is there to move? Refine your branding effort.

Brand Strategy. Should you use a master brand strategy or compete on an individual brand or sub-brand basis? How many brands can or should be supported? Are there any gaps? Strengthen the portfolio.

Integrated Plan. How should resources be allocated to achieve plan milestones? Who are the best partners for actualizing the plan? How should partnership agreements be structured? Develop an integrated plan.

Innovate. Grow through brand extensions, new market entries and newly developed products.

Brand Extension. What unmet needs or gaps exist in the category today? What are the current drivers for category growth today? Balance the portfolio and new product pipeline to ensure ongoing innovation.

Process Efficiency. How does the new product development process operate today? What is the process for filling the pipeline with ideas? Exploit the greatest process improvement opportunities.

Screening Ideas for Future Growth. What process best ensures consistency in the screening of new ideas? What strategic, financial, and operational screens should be used? How can you best ensure that new products are properly stewarded from cradle to grave? Consistently and accurately test ideas against objective criteria.