Markets are changing faster than marketing strategies. Achieving the competitive advantage is not enough; an organization must focus on also achieving a sustainable competitive advantage in their industry. Conventional marketing had served organizations in the past, but with the intense pace of change, yesterday's strategies are not suitable in today's competitive environment. Organizations need to strategically rethink their processes by which they identify, understand, communicate, deliver, and recapture customer value.

Marketing dynamics today requires marketing to be viewed as more of a science then an art. Traditionally marketing has been a function based upon creative considerations instead of driven by fundamental customer insight and strategy. To unlock the competitive advantage organizations must shift from viewing "customers-as-targets" to viewing each customer as a relationship that must be earned and maintained, from fixed to customized service offerings, from telling to listening, and from promising to delivering.

OP2 recognizes that the evolution of today's competitive environment demands organizations to have stronger customer-focused insight as the bases to reach and serve their key markets more efficiently and effectively. In order to deliver goods and services that exceed customer expectations, organizations need to understand the value of the "voice of the customer", which is paramount in capturing brand loyalty.

At OP2, we take a forensic approach to marketing; we measure, quantify, and solve the challenges CEOs and CMOs face in executing efficient and effective marketing strategies. Our proprietary marketing methodology incorporates a data-forensics approach to develop and execute a strategy that will pinpoint sources of ineffectiveness, and empower organizations to understand and capitalize on market growth.

Our sales and marketing teams work with all parts of an organization to develop highly integrated sales and marketing programs that are focused on delivering business results. Our marketing consulting services can quantify and increase new product success rates, advertising ROI, customer satisfaction and retention, brand equity, and corporate profitability.

The following are a few challenges that organizations need to address in light of the changing markets:

• Cohesion Problem - The marketing function has traditionally served as the ambassador between the customer and the organization. However, in today's marketing environment all departments including operations, R&D, logistics, and customer support can and do connect directly with customers. These departments could undermine the role of marketing in the process by communicating a contradictory message of the organization's service/product offerings goals and objectives.
  
  In order to achieve sales and marketing objectives, it is imperative that all departments within an organization perform as a cohesive unit when communicating with the customer. Every touch point a customer experiences is an opportunity to deliver value and increase brand equity; therefore gaining customer confidence.
  
  
• Capturing the "Voice of the Customer" - Voice of the Customer is a disciplined, continuous approach to obtaining, understanding, and prioritizing customer wants and needs. Traditionally, marketing has had the responsibility for defining customer needs and product requirements. This has not enabled personnel outside of the marketing department to contribute their first hand understanding of customer needs. This gap in knowledge transfer has caused customers real needs as not being understood, captured, identified, or measured.
  
  
• CRM -Perceptions about CRM are all over the map. Users are finding they can't agree on the goals of their CRM efforts, much less on how to measure the success of such projects. Most organizations want to just improve their internal processes by making their sales processes more efficient. While other organizations are looking for better information that can help maximize revenue from customers. However, organizations need to understand that a CRM initiative actually means a customer should receive better service. This lack of alignment has lead to a raft of implementation problems, such as cost overruns and applications that don't live up to expectations.
  
  
• Measurement Problems - Marketing departments are under the microscope to quantify the ROI on marketing programs in order to validate what the marketing spending is achieving. It is imperative when considering problems such as revenue, earnings, market share, ROI, and brand equity that CEOs and CMOs agree on and understand how to measure and quantify success.
  
  
• Alignment Problems - Marketing represents a highly complex and rapidly changing environment. Our research indicates that marketing's focus has been heavily tactical and is often disconnected from the top priorities established by the CEO. In order to overcome the vicious cycle of reorganization, and failed expectations, a sound strategic approach must be implemented to identify, measure, qualify, and align marketing efforts that translate to success.
  
  We apply fundamentals, experience, ahead-of-the-curve thinking, and our proprietary methodology to increase the effectiveness of sales and marketing investments, build strong brands, optimize short-term revenue, and maximize lifetime customer value. We work seamlessly with our client's management, marketing team, sales team, and internal creative staff to take the next "innovative idea" generated and funnel it through our strategic process designed to optimize the ROI in the form of revenue growth.