Real-world Results

New product development – Web Agency & SaaS Provider

Following the success of Factomos, an online invoicing service for small businesses, a French Web firm wanted to launch a new product targeting their end-customers' accountants.

To assure the quick delivery and commercialization of a market-driven offering, Merkado designed and implement a customized, integrated go-to-market program. The initiatives delivered include the development of go-to-market strategy, a study of end-customer usage and expectations, implementation of a commercial product roadmap process, creation of various sales and marketing tools, client testimonials and the management of external partners.

The services offer has since been enhanced and will be launched in early 2012.

New business advisory & assistance – Internet Start-Up

An Internet start-up was looking to quickly bring to market a set of high-performance work tools allowing small businesses to thrive, but without the regular hassles.To quickly raise the possibility of investment, Merkado spearheaded a high-value program to accelerate the start-up’s incubation.

Services delivered include an in-depth small business audit, product concept testing, business model benchmark and design, product design including roadmap and business plan development.

With a more solid business proposal in hand, the start-up was able to better focus on its investor search.

Customer Reference Program – Global Network Vendor

A global provider of telecom network solutions needed boost sales by leveraging their on-going technological and commercial success.

A customer reference program was build from the ground up, featuring customer testimonials to influence the buying decision of prospective clients.

The program has also enabled invaluable networks of exchange amongst diverse customers worldwide, fueling more business opportunities and leading directly to several multi-million dollar deals.

Today as a permanent customer program, it facilitates win-loss analysis, helping replicate successes while avoiding the pitfalls of lost opportunities and includes a Customer Advisory Council and a structured executive-to-executive contact.

Business Case - Business Software Vendor

A leading IT software vendor needed to show the business value for service providers to invest in new, Hosted Unified Communication services targeting SMBs.

A comprehensive business case was developed, integrating the latest market findings, while evaluating probable business outcomes through an analysis of different “what-if?” scenarios.

The case has been critical in helping service providers understand the emerging business models and the potential value of this new service opportunity.

Market Research - Communication Service Provider

A leading European service provider needed to understand the value of launching femotcell-based fixed-mobile converged services.

A dedicated market study - qualitative and quantitative - was designed and carried out to assess the femtocell’s market potential. The study examined aspects such as understanding and acceptance of related offers, barriers to usage, willingness to pay, price sensitivities, and supplier preferences.

Based on the findings, the service provider has focused on launching an SMB offer.

Sales and CRM methods - Software vendor

A software supplier needed to streamline its sales process in order to unify its customer approach and manage customer information in a more structured manner.

A customer-centric sales method was tailored to the companies' needs and a supporting CRM system was implemented. The new sales approach guides account managers through the various phases of interaction with their clients. At the same time the CRM system proposes relevant sales and marketing material while helping to structure the collection of new customer information.

The combined implementation of sales method and supporting CRM strategies has helped the Software supplier to better manage and speed up its sales cycle. It has also helped create a more comprehensive customer database, ready for further analysis use by its sales and marketing teams.

Business Case - Business Communications Service Provider

A leading Asian service provider needed to understand the value of investing in a set of innovative, A-GPS location-based based capabilities for offering information, navigation and tracking services.

In conjunction with a global solutions vendor, a fully integrated business case was created, quantifying the new opportunities, assessing the case drivers, profit opportunities and the critical success factors.

As a result, the service provider has successfully deployed tracking and navigation services for vertical market sectors.

Customer Acquisition – Fix & Mobile Service Provider

A leading service provider in Northern Europe needed to boost its 45-person Marketing team’s understanding of how to do business with the mid-sized enterprise segment.

A tailor-made program was developed, gearing the team up over several month to develop e-marketing programs to effectively reach its target audience. This program included a combination of training and coaching applied to continuous e-marketing campaigns.

This pressure-cooker approach delivered concrete results immediately, including several new key mid-sized business customers within the first few months, reinforcing the teams commitment to leveraging the Internet for doing business with this segment. Today, e-marketing customer acquisition programs that target mid-sized companies is a key component of the service providers go-to-market strategy.

Global Network Vendor

A global solutions vendor wanted to create a market position to boost awareness and demand for its managed enterprise services.

A corporate positioning and sales campaign was created, supported by a range of sales tools including general service benefit descriptions, end-customer case studies and sales presentations.

Content was used successfully across the sales process, resulting in a significant sales increase.

Economic Analysis - Mobile Communication Provider

In addition to rolling-out out standard outdoor coverage, a leading mobile service provider needed to see if there was a business case for offering in-building, high-speed mobile services coverage within major city centers.

Following a comparative economic analysis, evaluating ‘indoor & outdoor’ vs. ‘outdoor-only’ service coverage, the former was found to generate greater cash flow.

The findings lead to the approval of a 3G indoor coverage investment by the company’s board of directors.