Case Study Project Description
After the dot-com bust, the market was flooded with website designers. Our client, a website design firm, needed to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Project Problem
Web designers have to be both technically on the cutting edge of software but also be part marketing geniuses, writers, designers and project managers. Many companies cobble together these talents from outsourced support. This company had all the talent in its two founders. But they needed to develop more than their talents: they needed to become known to specific industries and focus on becoming known for resolving issues specific to that industry. They also needed to be known for more than just website design, and to develop a leadership team able to build and sustain the company at a higher level of sophistication.
Solution
The first challenge was to help the management team uncover their unique talents and abilities so that they could innovate a new market niche. The second was to help them transform their business model, allowing management to see the company’s full potential. Customized learning events showed them how to develop a vision and reframe their role as a service-based business.
After three months, their new vision began to emerge: to be a trusted collaborator able to take complex information and give it organization and clarity. The management team now leads collaboratively and uses their vision to guide decisions and actions. To identify the right industry to focus on, they took their knowledge of Canada’s supplements and nutraceutical laws and offered their services to US manufacturers wanting to enter the Canadian market.
Result
They were then able to be a one-stop of knowledge, design and website support for an industry that was expanding dramatically. From product labeling to web design and market launches, the company started to become known in this market place.
