Strategic Marketing Services
Confidence in the plan. Consistency in the execution.
CERTAINTY.
Sometimes That's All We Need From Marketing
Harmonic Shore provides a comprehensive suite of process-driven services, designed to move industrial businesses from uncertainty to measurable outcome through rigorous Research, Planning, and Management.
“What country, friends, is this?” — Twelfth Night
Market Research
Understand your audience, environment, and competitive landscape so every decision is grounded in fact, not assumption.
Market Planning
Turn insights into action with structured objectives, smart resource allocation, and a clear roadmap to ROI.
Marketing Management
Execute with confidence through coordinated campaigns, creative development, and ongoing performance control.
Market Research
Clarity Begins with Knowing
Your Market
At Harmonic Shore, market research is more than information-gathering. It is a structured investigation into the conditions that shape your ability to compete. Research comprises those activities which are exploratory or descriptive in nature and involve hypotheses about markets or environments that impact, or are related to, the firm's ability to acquire and maintain profitability and market share.
To guide this process, we use a three-dimensional framework that examines your market’s state of being, state of mind, and state of intention. This approach helps you move from assumption to actionable clarity.
State of
Being
Who your audience is, their role, company type, industry, geography, and other firmographics that define their current reality.
State of
Mind
What your audience believes, their expectations, biases, motivations, and the internal narratives that influence behavior.
State of
Intention
What your audience plans to do, their readiness to act, how they make decisions, and where they are in the buying journey.
Market Research Services
The following services are designed to support one or more aspects of your market’s state of being, state of mind, or state of intention. Each is structured to uncover insight, reduce risk, and guide marketing strategy with measurable intent.
The competitor analysis is perhaps the most important input to strategic market planning. The success of any integrated marketing effort lies in the firm's ability to differentiate itself from the competition. "Competition" are those solutions available to targets who are trying to solve a specific problem, and, based on their buyer profiles, are seeking a solution across a spectrum of differentiation which spans "low price" on one end and "premium quality" on the other. The researcher will conduct primary and secondary research to paint a profile of the "competitive set," then facilitate the team's identification of its own position on a "perceptual map" (along with other tools). The final exhibits are the marching orders for creative messaging and production that will take place during marketing launch.
The researcher will use information retrieval tools and subscription database tools to model the market opportunity for a specific company offer(s). Results will frame market maturity, opportunity and forecast based on total penetration of awareness, probability of trial, delivery reach and repeat potential in three scenarios: best case, worst case and most likely case. Forecasts may be combined with a range of expense variables to yield potential ROI, based on net present value and, where possible, adjustment factors for risks. Where possible, researcher will use several methods of forecasting where dependence on qualitative data is high.
An experienced VOC researcher will help the client gain deep, strategic insights into what's on the customer's mind. Whether it be process performance related to service, customer sat or employee satisfaction, the researcher will use a powerful, assertion-based 360 tool to gather both quantitative and qualitative data from respondents. Like every research endeavor, we will not only summarize findigs with insight, we will also facilitate a debrief session to help the team translate the insights into actionable goals and planning. Among other key tools, a matrix is developed with the team to understand where customers are "underserved," and which solution spaces are optimal for the firm to solve and focu on.
This research, developed by Research Triangle International, is a thoroughly investigative process used by product developers and technology developers to answer: "We have something, now where can we sell it…where are our buyers?" The concepts and technologies can be mature, commercialized, or early stage prototype/concept. Research is conducted by a researcher trained, highly experienced, and certified in TDMI by Research Triangle International. A rigorous, structured assessment -- developed by RTI -- is used prior to engagement to outline the research scope and stakeholder expectations.
This research, developed by Research Triangle International, is a thoroughly investigative process used by product developers and technology developers to answer: "We have something, now where can we sell it…where are our buyers?" The concepts and technologies can be mature, commercialized, or early stage prototype/concept. Research is conducted by a researcher trained, highly experienced, and certified in TDMI by Research Triangle International. A rigorous, structured assessment -- developed by RTI -- is used prior to engagement to outline the research scope and stakeholder expectations.
This highly analytical and intensive engagement will challenge the team to go deep into the customer's mindset in order to prioritize improvements in products, services or business models. This critical first-step in innovation process delivers a set of specific, customer-centered outcome statements which are then prioritized on a cause/effect matrix (or similar), ranked by criteria meaningful to the company's context. With this input, the team can then proceed with ideation along a problem-solving spectrum of exploitation or exploration, given the competitive environment and current capabilities. This process uses tools and faciliation techniques from lean methods, outcome-based innovation, and Innovation Engineering. The process is led and coached by a highly trained Innovation Engineering Black Belt with over 100 engagements with industrial, scientific and technical firms.
This research helps developers and decision makers evaluate the extent to which new (or early stage) concepts or prototypes will be embraced or adopted by intended targets. Depending on the situation, assertion based questionnaires or existing research frameworks (such as Kano analysis) are deployed to explore reactions and suggestions of respondents, framing strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the offer, given its current state of development.
This type of research is used to dive deep into what drives representatives of the target market to choose a different solution (versus the competition) and risks that exist to the offering company's market share due to switching costs evident in buyer behavior. This service is also ideal for companies seeking to understand the optimal "bundles," "combinations" or business models to roll out. Conjoint Analysis would be one such methodology that could be used, along with many others.
Using a structured questionnaire relevant to the situation, the researcher will develop sample groups for comparison, in groups of 5-7 if possible, to determine the level of awareness of a concept (tangible or intangible) using one of two "brand " awareness measurement frameworks. During questionnaire and measurement development, researchers will help the client identify variables to be tested along a spectrum of "thinking" and "feeling" attributes, or whatever else is relevant.
The researcher will engage with the client's team on a marketing process level, map flows of information and assets related to marketing and customer acquisition (including insights and action triggers), then create an information requirements document for each user of the automation system. Using the documented requirements, the researcher will choose several avaiable information or CRM platforms, then review and score each with the client for final selection. If necessary, we will interface with providers to help manage install, setup, test and training, which will include real-time in-situ testing with members of the company's team.
This methodology uses an exploratory, structured-interview approach that evoles into a two-way dialog with the respondent. Using the "Five Whys" and other standard delivery methodologies, we will help clients understand which category and magnitude of opportunity space exists for a proposed offer or set of capabilities. A plan of action is developed with the client for next steps in developing a solution or improvement for customers. Where appropriate, "value analysis" may also be used to outline critical drivers of successful differentation versus competitors.
A trend is an irreversible shift in demand for a social, technological, economic or political factor. Understanding trends is a necessary and critical part of environmental research in strategic planning. Without identifying and framing risk in trends, there is no strategic plan. The researcher will provide instruction to the client team on how to scan for trends. In parallel, our researchers will use scientific, academic, industry and news databases to draft another list of trends. In an onsite session, our researcher will help the team identify the trends that are most relevant to the situation, and rank them as potential risks if necessary.
Using methodologies in Lean Product Development, the facilitator will help the client develop a risk register and plan of action to mitigate risks related to a strategic planning endeavor or high profile project. This body of knowledge spans Market, Technical, Schedule and other categories on a multi-dimensional scoring register. If appropriate and necessary, this exercise serves as an early-stage input to discount expected return in initial modeling of market opportunity.
Our researchers will use well-known subscription based tools (e.g., Semrush, or others) to evaluate the company's existing website in a gap analysis comparing best website practices to the company's basic functional and operating capability on the current website. Recommendations and next-step actions to fix errors and update the website are discussed in meangingful contexts of the company's unique situation. The company may then choose to update the current site; revise the current site; or build a completely new site.
This highly acclerated engagement is meant to help a firm quickly focus on process choke-points, whether they be marketing related or production related. A Lean Six Sigma blackbelt will very quickly help the team visualize its environment, select the channels most relevant to the symptoms, identify root causes, and generate ideas to solve the problems. In most industrial or manufacturing cases, process Cycle Efficiency is affected by a concept called "waste," which is explored during this process, then eliminated systematically via short and long term planning set by the coach.
This highly creative team engagement is for teams of all types (R&D to mature companies) to assemble and generate concepts and new ideas for products, services, process improvements or business models. the engagement progresses, over a period of a few months, using a well-defined methodology from Innovation Engineering body of knowledge known as 4D: Define, Discover, Develop, Deliver. Central to the delivery is a team-based engagement with structured ideation exercises, prescribed specifically for the client's cognitive and business environments. Exercises can span a spectrum of linear/highly technical and structured creativity for exploitation of known-knowns and current capabilities, to more "right-brained" exercises where exploration of "new idea" domains is demandedThe project involves structured team research (assigned with detailed specificity and instructions from the coach), opportunity definition, analysis and prioritiztion, ideation, selection of ideas, and risk management. The project ends with a roadmap of next-steps to develop ideas that "have legs" and a business case. This process uses tools and faciliation techniques from lean methods, outcome-based innovation, and Innovation Engineering. The process is led and coached by a highly trained Innovation Engineering Black Belt with over 100 engagements with industrial, scientific and technical firms.
The competitor analysis is perhaps the most important input to strategic market planning. The success of any integrated marketing effort lies in the firm's ability to differentiate itself from the competition. "Competition" are those solutions available to targets who are trying to solve a specific problem, and, based on their buyer profiles, are seeking a solution across a spectrum of differentiation which spans "low price" on one end and "premium quality" on the other. The researcher will conduct primary and secondary research to paint a profile of the "competitive set," then facilitate the team's identification of its own position on a "perceptual map" (along with other tools). The final exhibits are the marching orders for creative messaging and production that will take place during marketing launch.
The researcher will use information retrieval tools and subscription database tools to model the market opportunity for a specific company offer(s). Results will frame market maturity, opportunity and forecast based on total penetration of awareness, probability of trial, delivery reach and repeat potential in three scenarios: best case, worst case and most likely case. Forecasts may be combined with a range of expense variables to yield potential ROI, based on net present value and, where possible, adjustment factors for risks. Where possible, researcher will use several methods of forecasting where dependence on qualitative data is high.
An experienced VOC researcher will help the client gain deep, strategic insights into what's on the customer's mind. Whether it be process performance related to service, customer sat or employee satisfaction, the researcher will use a powerful, assertion-based 360 tool to gather both quantitative and qualitative data from respondents. Like every research endeavor, we will not only summarize findigs with insight, we will also facilitate a debrief session to help the team translate the insights into actionable goals and planning. Among other key tools, a matrix is developed with the team to understand where customers are "underserved," and which solution spaces are optimal for the firm to solve and focu on.
This research, developed by Research Triangle International, is a thoroughly investigative process used by product developers and technology developers to answer: "We have something, now where can we sell it…where are our buyers?" The concepts and technologies can be mature, commercialized, or early stage prototype/concept. Research is conducted by a researcher trained, highly experienced, and certified in TDMI by Research Triangle International. A rigorous, structured assessment -- developed by RTI -- is used prior to engagement to outline the research scope and stakeholder expectations.
This research, developed by Research Triangle International, is a thoroughly investigative process used by product developers and technology developers to answer: "We have something, now where can we sell it…where are our buyers?" The concepts and technologies can be mature, commercialized, or early stage prototype/concept. Research is conducted by a researcher trained, highly experienced, and certified in TDMI by Research Triangle International. A rigorous, structured assessment -- developed by RTI -- is used prior to engagement to outline the research scope and stakeholder expectations.
This highly analytical and intensive engagement will challenge the team to go deep into the customer's mindset in order to prioritize improvements in products, services or business models. This critical first-step in innovation process delivers a set of specific, customer-centered outcome statements which are then prioritized on a cause/effect matrix (or similar), ranked by criteria meaningful to the company's context. With this input, the team can then proceed with ideation along a problem-solving spectrum of exploitation or exploration, given the competitive environment and current capabilities. This process uses tools and faciliation techniques from lean methods, outcome-based innovation, and Innovation Engineering. The process is led and coached by a highly trained Innovation Engineering Black Belt with over 100 engagements with industrial, scientific and technical firms.
This research helps developers and decision makers evaluate the extent to which new (or early stage) concepts or prototypes will be embraced or adopted by intended targets. Depending on the situation, assertion based questionnaires or existing research frameworks (such as Kano analysis) are deployed to explore reactions and suggestions of respondents, framing strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the offer, given its current state of development.
This type of research is used to dive deep into what drives representatives of the target market to choose a different solution (versus the competition) and risks that exist to the offering company's market share due to switching costs evident in buyer behavior. This service is also ideal for companies seeking to understand the optimal "bundles," "combinations" or business models to roll out. Conjoint Analysis would be one such methodology that could be used, along with many others.
Using a structured questionnaire relevant to the situation, the researcher will develop sample groups for comparison, in groups of 5-7 if possible, to determine the level of awareness of a concept (tangible or intangible) using one of two "brand " awareness measurement frameworks. During questionnaire and measurement development, researchers will help the client identify variables to be tested along a spectrum of "thinking" and "feeling" attributes, or whatever else is relevant.
The researcher will engage with the client's team on a marketing process level, map flows of information and assets related to marketing and customer acquisition (including insights and action triggers), then create an information requirements document for each user of the automation system. Using the documented requirements, the researcher will choose several avaiable information or CRM platforms, then review and score each with the client for final selection. If necessary, we will interface with providers to help manage install, setup, test and training, which will include real-time in-situ testing with members of the company's team.
This methodology uses an exploratory, structured-interview approach that evoles into a two-way dialog with the respondent. Using the "Five Whys" and other standard delivery methodologies, we will help clients understand which category and magnitude of opportunity space exists for a proposed offer or set of capabilities. A plan of action is developed with the client for next steps in developing a solution or improvement for customers. Where appropriate, "value analysis" may also be used to outline critical drivers of successful differentation versus competitors.
A trend is an irreversible shift in demand for a social, technological, economic or political factor. Understanding trends is a necessary and critical part of environmental research in strategic planning. Without identifying and framing risk in trends, there is no strategic plan. The researcher will provide instruction to the client team on how to scan for trends. In parallel, our researchers will use scientific, academic, industry and news databases to draft another list of trends. In an onsite session, our researcher will help the team identify the trends that are most relevant to the situation, and rank them as potential risks if necessary.
Using methodologies in Lean Product Development, the facilitator will help the client develop a risk register and plan of action to mitigate risks related to a strategic planning endeavor or high profile project. This body of knowledge spans Market, Technical, Schedule and other categories on a multi-dimensional scoring register. If appropriate and necessary, this exercise serves as an early-stage input to discount expected return in initial modeling of market opportunity.
Our researchers will use well-known subscription based tools (e.g., Semrush, or others) to evaluate the company's existing website in a gap analysis comparing best website practices to the company's basic functional and operating capability on the current website. Recommendations and next-step actions to fix errors and update the website are discussed in meangingful contexts of the company's unique situation. The company may then choose to update the current site; revise the current site; or build a completely new site.
This highly acclerated engagement is meant to help a firm quickly focus on process choke-points, whether they be marketing related or production related. A Lean Six Sigma blackbelt will very quickly help the team visualize its environment, select the channels most relevant to the symptoms, identify root causes, and generate ideas to solve the problems. In most industrial or manufacturing cases, process Cycle Efficiency is affected by a concept called "waste," which is explored during this process, then eliminated systematically via short and long term planning set by the coach.
This highly creative team engagement is for teams of all types (R&D to mature companies) to assemble and generate concepts and new ideas for products, services, process improvements or business models. the engagement progresses, over a period of a few months, using a well-defined methodology from Innovation Engineering body of knowledge known as 4D: Define, Discover, Develop, Deliver. Central to the delivery is a team-based engagement with structured ideation exercises, prescribed specifically for the client's cognitive and business environments. Exercises can span a spectrum of linear/highly technical and structured creativity for exploitation of known-knowns and current capabilities, to more "right-brained" exercises where exploration of "new idea" domains is demandedThe project involves structured team research (assigned with detailed specificity and instructions from the coach), opportunity definition, analysis and prioritiztion, ideation, selection of ideas, and risk management. The project ends with a roadmap of next-steps to develop ideas that "have legs" and a business case. This process uses tools and faciliation techniques from lean methods, outcome-based innovation, and Innovation Engineering. The process is led and coached by a highly trained Innovation Engineering Black Belt with over 100 engagements with industrial, scientific and technical firms.
Market Planning
Strategic Objectives
Defining where the business is headed and why. This includes setting high-level goals based on market position, competitive advantage, and long-term vision.
Marketing Objectives
Translating strategic goals into actionable marketing targets. These define who to reach, what to communicate, and how performance will be measured.
Scheduling Resources, MROI
Determining timelines, resource requirements, and expected returns. This includes budgeting, scheduling, and assigning accountability to ensure ROI is forecasted and tracked.
Marketing Clarity Requires
a Plan
Research activities often serve as inputs to Planning activities because detailed plans need data in order to forecast and calculate ROI, identify and capitalize on new opportunities, and determine resources, schedule and level of effort to execute a dedicated company endeavor. Whether in strategy, marekting or commercialization, planning is the most important activity and resides in the middle of the other two resource-based activities.
To guide this work, we focus on three core planning pillars: strategic objectives, marketing objectives, and scheduling resources with measurable return, ensuring that each decision is structured, purposeful, and actionable.
Market Planning Services
Our Market Planning services translate research into structure. Each offering is designed to define objectives, align resources, and build executable plans with measurable impact.
The Strategic Planning Facilitation is for owners, top decision makers, key operational personnel and stakeholders to engage in expertly-led and facilitated discovery sessions that begin with detailed internal and external environmental analysis, progress carefully through competitive analysis, then wrap up with "statements of strategic intent" which set the tone for significant investements (or divestments) in activity and resources over the next 3 - 5 years. The session wraps with clear strategic objectives and detailed project roadmaps aligning with those objectives. All work can be mapped back to core trends, identified and agreed upon by the team, that are recognized as threats to the company's profitability and market share over the long term. Key guiding principles during facilitation are: open and honest agreement that there are rarely answers when exploring strategy -- there are only options which have varying levels of risk and reward; the words "strategic" or "strategy" have strict definitions and criteria that the facilitation expert will hold the team accountable for (while operational issues arise, they will be discussed, but eventually separated, from the strategy documents and progression); finally, stategic thought and execution necessarily involves change, and the team will go through a series of change management modules to explore and refine risks to the plan over time. Facilitation will be led by a highly qualified, objective, seasoned strategic planning expert with over 50 engagements with government, industrial, manufacturing and technical firms. For younger companies or companies with smaller number of owners or operational teams, a condensed, accelerated version is available.
Lead generation is meant for firms who don't have time or budget to go through the detail of a strategic market planning process. In one day, our marketing lead will come onsite and complete a segmentation and forecast with the company's team, test lead generation live in front of the team (reach out and contact customers), then deliver a high level plan of action to proceed with next steps. For smaller firms without marketing budgets, who are also in more predictable markets where demand is relatively stable, there is an affordable follow-on option tailored to the company's time and expense threshold, as long as risks do not outweigh the probability of ROI within a reasonable time frame.
This delivery is for companies who have a near fully -- or even fully formed -- hypothesis about how customer acquisition will be executed for their firm, especially if the process involves outbound call center or customer relationship management. We will help the company set up and deploy the technologies and processes to execute a repeatable lead generation and nurturing process on an outbound basis, according to process requirements set by the firm. Deployment could include customer feedback systems, database management, communication systems and customer interface, all provided by Harmonic Shore. After development and test in a low risk environment, the company will have the option to continue the program on an ongoing basis.
This delivery incorporates everything that the one-day market planning delivery includes, but goes a step farther by detailing, then helping the company build, a complete lead generation and customer nurture/contact plan. The company can choose to what extent -- and for how long -- they wish their lead generation to be outsourced. Assuming that the cost of outsourcing reliably generates enough margin to cover marketing budget, complete outsourcing may make sense. Along the way, our lead marketing lead generation contact will accurately report and evaluate ROI within agreed upon parameters. In addition, in certain cases, we may choose to undertake this delivery using contract terms which are creatively negotiated, such as 100% commission, or royalty based on repeat sales.
A communication plan can be part of a Marketing BluePrint, or can stand alone to serve as instruction on the type and frequency of messages to be released, and through which channels. Using inputs from creative concepting, the communication plan identifies the type and frequency of messages to be released, the assets used during release, and channels of distribution. Using both marketing automation and human management, the plan can be managed in a predictable way that can be measured and improved over time, given the results.
The Marketing BluePrint is what other agencies refer to as a "marketing plan." However, instead of delivering you a set of overwhelming creative jargon and "brand" assets (like a logo), The Marketing BluePrint is a detalied plan which identies "core strategy," resources and detailed roadmap to carry out an integrated marketing effort across the company. This involves considerable study and attention to marketing process and customer engagement, plus the integrated systems and process that will sustain the program. Key to the BluePrint are documented marketing objectives, ROI forecast, pilot and testing plan, plus budget-building. No other outsourced provider -- in our experience at least -- has, or can, deliver this type of true marketing plan. Key to the marketing plan is a strategic understanding of how the firm makes money, which is based on a per unit sale of something (time, ounces, day labor, etc.) which very few firms have thought about. Once rationalized, the strategic marketing plan should attempt to optimize unit sales through appropriate process deployment built around a differentiated position in a micro-defined market space.
Creative concepting is for companies who need a lead, outside facilitator to help envision the many creative avenues that marketing messages can be developed and deployed. Based on positioning strategies of the company versus the competition, the lead marketing manager coach will help the company develop messaging strategies, supportive copy, visual elements, channels to market and design frameworks for the promotional marketing support system which support an integrated communications plan. Ideally, when complete, the creative concepting will contain all the raw creative inputs for full development of a communication plan. This includes printed vehicles, packaging, logo design, key attributes and benefit highlights, as well as prioritization of descriptive copy and messaging sequences mapped to the customer lifecycle. Creative briefs and messaging strategy briefs, plus other tools, help summarize findings and document planned deliverables.
This delivery is designed for companies that already have a specific idea or "sandbox" of solutions they intend to develop or offer, but they need to refine the "ideas" into a solid concept aimed at specific target customers, complete with business case, development requirements and risk management. If desired, this delivery could be an add-on to TDMI or other research endeavors where Discovery and risk management are already underway.
If the client needs this service, our firm will facilitate a series of in-depth creative development sessions to help create a resonant visual strategy for corporate and customer communications. The sessions will involve both linear (SCAMPER, etc.) and non-linear (Mind Dump, etc.) to generate creative concepts and key messages. During this process, we will lead from the front -- and even engage with your customers, if necessary -- to create a communication network map to be filled with the appropriate messages and media necessary to help you stay differentiated.
This delivery is designed for companies who seek clarity in their product and service portfolios. Part of the innovation framework, LPD is used during execution to sort through and prioritize product development ideas and activities, using standard tools and templates from the LPD body of knowledge. The facilitation is led, coached and project managed by a facilitator experienced and credentialed in the LPD body of knowledge. Lean Product Development -- like Lean Six Sigma, PMP and other bodies of knowledge -- is one of many effective bodies of knowledge; however, we recognize that it is not the only body of knowledge, and will likely be deployed at a level of effort and cost appropriate to the company's situation and resources, incoroporating other tools and techniques from other areas where necessary.
This delivery is for companies who are feeling symptoms and contraints in process execution and believe strongly that some type of "improvement" action is warranted. A qualified and highly experienced Black Belt will engage with the company using interim diagnostic and measurement tools (PCE, SIPOC, etc.) at a level that is "good enough" to quickly identify wastes and remediation tasks that will increase throughput of desired outcomes and, ultimately, Process Cycle Efficiency.
Marketing Management
Clarity Requires Confident
Execution
Management reflects activities and resources used to execute the objectives in the Plan. For companies looking to create, sustain or grow opportunities, Harmonic Shore has a portfolio of proven experience in strategy, marketing and commercialization, having engaged directly in those areas in formal project with companies of all sizes and maturities, in both new innovation and product developments as well as market strategy in mature markets..
Our approach to management focuses on activating what the plan defines. We organize execution into three primary categories: creative concepting, campaign design and development, and project management, including control and measurement throughout.
Creative Concepting
Shaping the ideas that drive engagement. We help distill insights into compelling messages and creative direction that reflect your brand and resonate with your audience.
Campaign Design & Development
Translating strategy into structured, cross-channel campaigns. This includes asset development, channel planning, and aligning timing with business readiness.
Project Management
Managing timelines, budgets, and vendor resources to keep execution on track. We monitor progress, troubleshoot in real time, and ensure marketing activities are accountable to measurable outcomes.
Marketing Management Services
Our Marketing Management services are built to ensure that every objective becomes an executed reality, with clear checkpoints, creative alignment, and results you can measure.
Harmonic Shore will act as the accountable marketing manager, responsible for executing, managing and supporting all facets of the Marketing Blueprint or Strategic Marketing Plan. If desired, this could include managing communications, if needed. The marketing manager will assume the de facto role of Chief Marketing Officer, which is the head of all marketing functions for the organization, accountable for ROI success and problem solving and risk mitigation.
If a company has most of what it needs for communications planning, but needs to outsource production of copywriting, technical writing or report writing, we will provide expert writing services within scope, and on a spectrum from highly creative to highly technical. We are experienced in both creative campaigns (headline, descriptive, supporting) and technical production (category descriptors, sell sheets, manuals, instructions, reports, etc.). Copywriting includes traffic management, stakeholder management, production schedule planning and personal facilitation (no one-way emails!). Where possible, if client agrees, we will automate approvals with automated feedback system. If you don't have a creative process, we have one we are happy to share for you to adopt.
Harmonic Shore can deliver website development services at a level of effort and scope that match client needs. Typically, we like to narrow down company objectives in context of a website, then scope project work accordingly. Depending on where the gap analysis and objectives land, and company maturity, website development be undertaken in one of three distinct buckets and then priced accordingly: (1) Website Update; (2) Website Revision; (3) New Website Development. Harmonic Shore will never force you into one scope of work vs. another, but we will always review our competitive findings with you in detail, answer all questions, determine and disclose risks, then proceed in a professionally controlled project with high levels of engagement and communication. Note: we offer organic search optimization only; we do not offer paid search services.
For companies who may not have ongoing experience with trade show or conference promotions, Harmonic Shore will help the company identify relevant shows, then create visuals and other promotional materials, including signage and landing pages with OCR codes, to be displayed live at an event. Video and commercials are included in this offer if needed, as well as printing of signs and other promotional materials/merchandise giveaways.
This delivery is for companies who have a near fully -- or even fully formed -- hypothesis about how customer acquisition will be executed for their firm, especially if the process involves outbound call center or customer relationship management. We will help the company set up and deploy the technologies and processes to execute a repeatable lead generation and nurturing process on an outbound basis, according to process requirements set by the firm. Deployment could include customer feedback systems, database management, communication systems and customer interface, all provided by Harmonic Shore. After development and test in a low risk environment, the company will have the option to continue the program on an ongoing basis.
Harmonic Shore will execute, manage and support an approved integrated communications plan, including programming and management of automation, reporting and improvements. Examples are marketing automation programs, like Hubspot or Constant Contact, and contact management, including response protocols and other customer triggers. Ongoing supervision and production traffic control of copy, media production, PR, press releases and trade conference preparation and planning would be included in this level of effort, depending on the situation.
This delivery is for companies who desire a portion of their marketing activity to be automated. An easy example would be: "set up an email program." Harmonic Shore will quickly help the company plan a message strategy, set up a schedule to release messages, select a system, train on the system, and test the system through a pilot until the company is ready to manage it on their own.
Harmonic Shore will deploy proven and known graphic designers to produce creative assets according to the positioning strategies. The "assets" will be deployed in digital spaces as display ads, landing pages, website pages, online flipbooks, packaging, signage, direct mail, envelope design, social media posts or other vehicles. Design services can be suitable for both digital and printed promotional assets. If required, Harmonic Shore can deliver direct mail campaign services, including product, printing and mailing to in-house lists or other lists accessed by Harmonic Shore through subscription databases.
This service is included in all Strategic Planning Facilitation deliveries for companies who have at least three years (but preferably five) of financial historicals in standard, summary statement format (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement). Harmonic Shore uses a well known, commecially available and proven tool to arrive at a valuation using intrinsic methodology. If desired, Harmonic Shore will also validate with another study using comparitive analysis and/or enterprise value. Ideally, a "football field" chart will be created to show the firm a range of valuation possibilities. The report not only equips the company with valuation data points for negotitation leverage and preparation, but can also be used to model future scenarios and financial changes that may take place due to planned investments or divestments. The service may also be used for information purposes by firms wishing to validate target companies or perform pre due diligence during acquisition scouting.
The commercialization readiness assessment is a 2-3 hour in-depth assessment that measures a companies readiness to execute on a new commercialization opporunity, idea or launch. Our lead facilitator created this tool, which has been used on over 100 scientific, technical, manufacturing and industrial firms to assess their readiness to develop and deploy new inititatives. Using seven categories of readiness related to commercialization, the facilitator walks the company through highly detalied questions, the later evaluates responses based on both quantitative and qualitative responses. At certain points, the facilitator will also use expert judgement to arrive at some scores. The report and scoring are then discussed in detail with the company to map out next steps, if any.
This half-day, highly detailed assessment uses an assertion based methodology to help leadership determine which areas of the firm need improvement, and, if so, at what level of effort. Using a methodology developed and tested by NIST on hundreds of industrial companies, this diagnostic tool captures and in-depth, 360-view regarding the people, processes and techologies driving the success of people and functions at the company. As with every assessment or planning engagement, a detailed summary report is delivered with the collected data, along with in-depth recommendations to address critical areas.
Ready for Marketing Clarity With Reduced Risk?
Our mission is simple:
To clarify the process of business growth and to ensure that the risks in marketing services stays where they belong — with us, not you.