We invite you to peruse a select set of customer testimonials and success stories.
Testimonials
"Highland Team did an outstanding job of helping us understand the key trends in the mobile computing market. They provided recommendations on where our product would be best positioned to take advantage of those trends. They evaluated a range of key market segments and prioritized where we could have the most substantial and immediate sales opportunities. They identified prospective partners and resellers that could help us offer a complete solution for those markets."
Glenn Weyhausen (Sr. Director, Product Marketing & Business Devel)
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
"Highland Team provided invaluable expertise in determining the channel strategy that would best match our target audience. They went the extra step in identifying the need for repositioning our products to clearly differentiate Ambeo in the market and communicate our unique benefits. They've become my trusted advisors on building the market and channel development for our company."
Valerie Anderson (COO)
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
"We asked Highland Team to develop a benchmarking study on best-in-class industry marketing functions. Through individual interviews and reviewing industry and leading-edge company information, they identified the best practices, objectives and strategic directions of industry leaders, provided insight into the priorities, roles and responsibilities of industry marketing, and developed strategies to assure that our industry marketing function performs at the highest level of effectiveness."
Jay Krackeler (Director, Solutions Marketing)
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
"Highland Team quickly understood the strategic communication needs of the e-Learning team. They developed a strong marketing and communications plan to improve awareness and increase preference for e-Learning among HP learners and proceeded to efficiently and effectively implement the plan."
Marie Bernard (Director)
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
"Deborah is completely dedicated to having marketing communications create and enhance business results and that means everything. She is always ready to add value on our priorities and deliver."
Norena Gutierrez (Director, Communications)
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
"Deborah has been quite an asset to my team; we couldn't have managed our communications program without her. Deborah's contribution results not only from her skills in communication, but also her understanding of the context and content of the communications challenges. Deborah's services have been invaluable."
Peggy Parskey (Director, Global Operations Program)
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
"Highland Team provided us excellent insight into the decision-making process and pain points of our target market. The information she provided helped us refine our sales messages and strategies. She truly understood the complexities of the online marketing world and the mindset of VPs of marketing trying to make sense of it."
Marcy Holman (Director, Sales)
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
"We asked Highland Team to help us on an impossible deadline. They not only met the deadline, but gave us tremendous insight into the current software pricing models. We converted this insight to our pricing and revenue growth decisions for our business plan."
David Burns (VP, International Business Development)
Category: Pricing Strategy
"Highland Team made a measurable impact on our market segmentation and assessment. Her ability to interview target prospects to identify and understand their problems and issues, clear analysis and valuable insights into customer needs and market trends helped us better understand our target markets and refine our positioning and messaging."
Nibha Aggarwal (CEO)
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
"Highland Team did analysis of some of our channel marketing tools and gave us concrete recommendations on how to improve our communications and marketing with our partners."
Erna Arnesen (Sr. Director, Channel Marketing)
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
"We needed to understand the best target market to launch into for our new product and identify the best marketing strategy to make a splash. Highland Team not only provided target market analysis including size, adoption rate, and growth for several markets, they went beyond it to provide recommendations on naming, pricing, and distribution. The marketing plan they presented us for two target markets clearly detailed positioning, messaging and communication strategies and tactics to quickly build awareness and demand."
Seth Socolow (CEO)
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
"Highland Team provided us critical insight into the contact center target market, quickly and comprehensively provided us competitive analysis and target market sizing, and created a go-to-market plan which will be of great help in our successful targeting of this market segment."
Mike Fine (CEO)
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
Success Stories
Challenge:
AlphaSmart, a manufacturer of mobile computing devices wanted to understand how to build a retail channel and to develop a VAR channel to drive revenue for its new product line. The company needed to determine which vertical markets offered the greatest opportunity for VAR sales for the company.
Results:
Developed financial model for building retail channel, analyzed revenue streams at various investments. Provided channel support recommendations to build retail channel and managed co-marketing opportunities with channel. Developed VAR strategy by first assessing range of vertical markets to determine the best opportunity and fit for products. Prioritized target markets for the company based on growth, product fit, need for technology and competitive landscape. Identified and qualified top VAR prospects for partners / resellers in each market.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
A manufacturer of database monitoring tools needed to determine a channel strategy to use for a new network appliance. The company used direct sales for their high-end product and needed a new way to go to market.
Results:
Highland Team developed a buyer study to understand needs and characteristics of the target market. Using that data, channels were analyzed for their fit with the buyer target audience and the product. Identified specific potential companies in the selected channel, developed value proposition and qualified top channel companies for the company to follow up with and close.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
Ascend Communications needed to have a better understanding of the effectiveness of its channel program, and how it was perceived vs. competitors' channel programs.
Results:
Developed a benchmark study to compare all aspects of Ascend's channel program vs. its competitors. Surveyed key resellers for Ascend as well as competitors' products. Delivered a comprehensive assessment to Ascend identifying areas of strength and weakness, as well as defining key issues affecting reseller satisfaction. As a result, Ascend re-structured many key components of its channel program, resulting in better performance and communication from resellers.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
Company building new vision for business and adding new products, needed new positioning, value proposition and messaging to encompass current and future growth
Results:
Developed positioning, value proposition and messaging based on internal executive feedback and perceptions of customers. Validated with customers around the globe to assure the new positioning, value proposition and messages were understandable, believable, relevant, and important to customers. Identified product needs, competitive issues and customer needs from the research as well.
Category: Competitive Analysis
Challenge:
Move Bay Networks to the web.
Results:
Successfully created and launched the award winning web site for Bay Networks. Deployed personalization capability of site, registering 100,000 users in the first year. Increased user traffic by 400% within 6 months. Launched webcasts that reached over 250,000 users per year. Designed and implemented policies and procedures to maintain smooth operations cross company. Translated site into 8 languages and created content management processes. Spearheaded communication programs and promotions internally and externally for web adoption. Architected the strategic plan for the merger of Bay Networks and Nortel Networks Web site integration.
Category: E-business and Internet Management
Challenge:
BEA Systems needed to create a channel strategy and build strategic alliances.
Results:
Defined the channel strategy, identified and prioritized types of channels and led the management of strategic alliances with Sun, HP, Digital and Unisys. Developed the partner programs including training, support, co-selling and co-marketing programs to leverage and
assure achievement of partnership goals and build a competitive advantage for the company. Created a new developer program with over 100 developers joining the program in its first year.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
Uniquely position the company in the marketplace and build awareness and demand for products.
Results:
Developed a positioning and branding strategy, and planned and executed public relations and analyst relations to establish clear market differentiation and a leadership position in the market space. Her team built integrated communications program utilizing advertising, direct marketing, online marketing, and collateral to build awareness and demand in the market. Gartner Group recognized the company as one of the market leaders within one year and the company increased revenues 400% within the year.
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
Challenge:
Launch several new product lines and build momentum for company.
Results:
Orchestrated the introduction of several product lines to partners, field, current customers and prospects. Resulted in four product of the year awards by industry publications and trade shows. By utilizing a combination of email, direct mail, partner account meetings, new sales tools and press releases, ensured each audience had the necessary and comprehensive information they needed. Created buzz through high impact orchestrated marketing themes throughout press, events, advertising and email marketing.
Category: Product Launches
Challenge:
Understand the best way to build awareness,demand and sales of education programs to membership.
Results:
Evaluated direct mail strategy and introduced new monthly direct marketing vehicle, rather than mailing weekly. By redesigning weekly mailing into monthly magazine format, increased customer satisfaction 35%, increased sales 20% and reduced costs 10%.
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
Challenge:
Business goal for organization to double revenues in five years.
Results:
For Learning@Cisco business unit, created brand story and thought leadership around career opportunities in and value of STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Developed customer acquisition and demand generation program utilizing targeted marketing to students, military, job changers, IT and networking professionals through digital marketing strategies, introduction of social media globally to create engagement, online and mobile advertising, search and events. Created prospect funnel of over a million people sent to community and web pages, increased customers by 80% in five years, built social learning community of 800,000 and directly impacted revenue growth of 110% in five years. Introduced over 30 products globally.
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
Challenge:
Organization desired growth through creating and launching new types, levels and content of education programs.
Results:
Results: Introduced over 30 products around the world in six years for Learning@Cisco, utilizing press, analyst relations, search advertising, digital marketing, and thought leadership events and content. Revenues grew 110% in six years.
Category: Product Launches
Challenge:
Company needed an assessment and strategy to target the Global Mid-Market and to identify the best segments and methods to penetrate the mid-market with their products.
Results:
Developed a detailed assessment including market sizing and identified segments, channels, and product lines to best penetrate the global mid-market. Client adopted the recommendations in this report and targeted the mid-market. Report referred to and used extensively to develop strategies and programs. Approach used extensively by the client in future work.
Category: Market Assessment & Channel Stragegy
Challenge:
Build awareness and demand for launch of new HP Apollo workstation. Create differentiated image for HP PCs. Build demand for HP engineering software.
Results:
Led development of competitive, market analysis and target market focus groups to create differentiated positioning and messaging. Planned and managed implementation of awareness and demand creation campaigns for computer hardware and software, including lead generation, advertising, and branding programs. Created breakthrough advertising campaign for HP Apollo workstations, changing perception of the marketing prowess of the company, generating awareness of product as a strong competitive alternative to market leader, Sun, and creating thousands of lead opportunities for the field.
Category: Branding, Awareness and Demand Creation
Challenge:
The database solutions company needed to rebuild their status as a leading partnering company by creating world-class partner programs.
Results:
Built worldwide program for hardware partners, ISVs, and systems integrators focusing on partner business development, sales support, training, marketing and communications programs. The new strategies, policies and programs led to company being selected as one of the Top 10 Partnering Companies by VARbusiness Magazine in 1997. Channel partners, who had questioned commitment of company, came back in record numbers to re-sell the products.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
NetSuite, an ERP/CRM/e-business ASP spin-off of Oracle Small Business software, needed to assess the opportunity to lead with its ebusiness component and utilize channels to go-to-market.
Results:
Highland Team led research into the market needs, assessed the competitive environment, identified the market segment in which NetSuite would be competitive and compelling to customers and identified the web-savvy channels to work with to build the e-business market segment. Most importantly, Highland Team recommended that NetSuite come to market with an integrated e-commerce web store/accounting and CRM product, rather than a separate web store product as the company was considering, identifying the major benefit for customers as the ability to completely integrate the web store software component and the accounting and CRM components of the software.
NetSuite introduce the integrated product NetCommerce in Summer, 2004.
Category: Market Assessment and Segmentation
Challenge:
When Nortel acquired Bay Networks to become Nortel Networks, they needed to integrate the corporate Web sites. In addition Nortel had unique Web sites and strategies for each of it's business units creating over a dozen different sites to be integrated. The challenge was to create a new Web site that would deliver a unified branding, customer experience, and ebusiness capabilities and position Nortel as a leader within the internet space.
Results:
The website was built with functionality for Deployed online sales, service and marketing functionality in record timing.The Web site was built with functionality for Deployed online sales, service and marketing functionality in record timing. Designed and implemented policies and procedures to ensure consistent branding and content management for all users. Nortel's site handled over $10 Billion in electronic transactions. User traffic increased by 100% in the first 6 months. Over 100,000 users received personalized pages. Launched webcasts to over 250,000 users per year. Introduced market leading features of web to call center connections delivering a high level of customer satisfaction. Deployed website with online sales, service and marketing functionality in record time.
Category: E-business and Internet Management
Challenge:
When Sun Microsystems created a software business, it needed a distribution strategy to get product to market.
Results:
Defined overall distribution strategy and managed all aspects of channel development. Developed multiple channel marketing programs including advertising, direct mail, sales materials, contracts,communication vehicles, promotions, seminars, advisory councils,conferences and training. Designed and implemented policies and procedures to track channels. This effort led to the successful launch of the Solaris product line, carried by major partners worldwide.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
Sybase needed to expand its sales reach without increasing its cost of sales. The company needed to augment the direct sales approach and partner with key resellers and solutions providers to deliver more complete solutions to key accounts.
Results:
Developed a systems integrator (SI) program to partner with Sybase in identifying and developing large accounts. Recruited key SIs including IBM, Arthur Anderson, Coopers and Lybrand and Cap Gemini. Developed an account management program and sales compensation plan to ensure maximum cooperation between Sybase sales and the SIs. As a result, new large account opportunities increased dramatically.
In addition, created and launched Sybase's ISV program. Identified and targeted key market segments including manufacturing, financial services and natural resources. By recruiting over 150 ISVs to work with Sybase, the company was able to establish a successful position in several new markets.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation
Challenge:
Verifone, a leading technology provider of financial services solutions, was moving from a hardware only product line to a software based solution. They needed to develop a sales strategy that would enable them to sell and support this new product line. They had a limited time frame to launch the product and could not invest in a significant new infrastructure.
Results:
Defined a strategy to enable Verifone to move quickly into software sales through partnerships with key systems integrators. The systems integrators could provide the level of customization and consulting necessary for successful implementation of the product. Identified and qualified partners in the target market segments. Developed account management programs to ensure partners' success and defined compensation plans to avoid channel conflict with Verifone's direct sales force. Developed a resource plan to support the channel's success across Verifone's key departments.
Category: Channel Strategy, Development and Evaluation