WorkForce Center System Repositioning Study Presentation

WorkForce Center System Repositioning

May 5, 2006

Jefferson Bishop, Mike Boull, Sarah Shanley, Rebecca Thompson, Lindsey Wahl

Agenda

Introduce Carlson Brand Enterprise (CBE) team members Review project objectives and CBE methodology Discuss repositioning strategies Present creative campaign Address primary take-away

CBE Team

• Jefferson Bishop, Project Manager (CSOM ’06): A second year full-time student at the Carlson School, Jefferson has experience in Sales and Marketing as an Account Executive for a telecommunications company. He interned at ADC Telecommunications as a Product Manager working on product compliance strategies and has worked on distribution channel strategies in his past Enterprise projects. Jefferson will graduate with a focus on Marketing and Strategic Management and begin his career as Director of Regulatory Affairs at Lakedale Communications in Annandale, MN. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Grinnell College.

• Mike Boull, Consultant (CSOM ’06): Prior to attending Carlson, Mike gained experience in the areas of Marketing and Human Resource Management as an account manager for a business services outsourcing firm. He spent last summer working for General Mills, where he focused on business to business customer segmentation and elements of the Marketing mix. Mike is pursuing an MBA in Marketing and Strategy, and will continue his career as an Assistant Channel Manager at General Mills. Mike holds a bachelors degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

• Sarah Shanley, Consultant (CSOM ’07): Sarah has five years experience in the non-profit sector, with expertise in Fundraising, Community Outreach, and Project Management. In her first year as a full-time MBA student at Carlson, Sarah is concentrating on Marketing, Strategic Management, and Social Entrepreneurship. Currently, Sarah is a part-time marketing consultant with the LifeSkills Center for Leadership. This summer, she will work at Best Buy as a Strategic Marketing intern in the government and education department. Sarah received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies at Vassar College.

• Rebecca Thompson, Consultant (CSOM ’06): Rebecca's experience is in the Project Management field, with expertise in both the Human Resources and Marketing functions. Most recently, Rebecca was a member of the ATV Marketing team at Polaris Industries. Her responsibilities included executing a marketing launch for a new category of ATVs and leading market research of the use of power sports in the Hispanic population. At Carlson, Rebecca is pursuing a concentration in Marketing and will be joining General Mills as an Associate Marketing Manager. She holds a bachelors degree in Management and Organizations from the University of Iowa.

• Lindsey Wahl, Consultant (CSOM ’07): Prior to attending Carlson, Lindsey gained experience in the areas of Customer Service and Foodservice Management. Lindsey is currently pursuing a degree in Marketing and Finance. Throughout her Carlson experience, she has engaged in numerous leadership activities, including Vice President of Marketing in the Consulting Club. Lindsey is an active member of the Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity, where she is involved in training and education. She will be interning at SIRVA Relocation Group in Plymouth this summer.

Introduction Objectives Findings & Analysis Recommendations Next Steps

Why Are We Here?

GWDC is charged with improving the state’s economy through DEED’s significant resources, including:

The state’s largest job bank An established system of 49 WorkForce Centers A unique network of Business Service Specialists A central warehouse of business/market information on positivelymn.com A wealth of answers and services for employers and employees

GWDCmust now determine

how to leverage these resources to “bring employers into the

system.”1

The Carlson Brand Enterprise has identified strategies to shift the image of the WFCS as a place

for employers to go to for resources, services and answers.

1 Matt Kramer at BSS Forum


CBE Approach

Stakeholder Insights Committee member interviews

Analysis of internal data

External Research 58 interviews with a random sample of businesses

26 interviews with Job Bank users Benchmarking of other states

Evaluation & Recommendation Distill client insights

Develop strategies and creative recommendations Outline operations considerations

Implementation by DEED/GWDC


Organizational Picture

Employer Focus

Employee Focus

Business Community

GWDC DEED

BSS

Local WIBs

LWC

EDS

EDAMMWCA

MNSCU

Majority of resources are focused towards employees and services remain tied to legacy organizations.


WF

CS

Marketing Analysis Framework

Customers Company Competitors Collaborators Context

MarketSegmentation

Portfolio of ServicesPositioning

Target MarketSelection

PricingService Portfolio PromotionPlace

Business Acquisition Business Retention

Economic Growth


Org. structure Other states & countries Partnerships Economic health

Small, core industries, users & non-users

Size, life stage,industry, needs

HR services,industry and economic issues

Businesses

Multiple channels Government-financed Consistent Multiple options

New customers, cross sell Track customer satisfaction, build loyalty

Customer Behavior Framework

Problem Recognition

Information Search

Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post-Purchase Behavior

Recall of services/products/brands; easy search

Satisfied customers; reuse, recommend

Clearly understand benefits of the different service options

Have positive interactions & reason to buy (need, time, etc.)

Recognize discrepancy between current and ideal state


Unaware/AwareVisit website, WFC, event

Call from BSS

AttitudeEnhance positive affectChange negative affect

ActionUtilize services:

JOBZ, BSS, Job Bank, WFC, etc.

Reuse

Recommend

Expand Service Portfolio

Retention

Problem Recognition

Current State: “A lot of times, businesses don’t know they need help.” “I had no idea what the state did. I had no idea that these

services were available.” Awareness statistics from random sample:

63% aware of Job Bank 33% aware of Employee Training 32% aware of LMI 10% aware of BSS 8/82 respondents have heard of BSS or BSS services

Ideal State: New businesses receive literature on WFCS services at

time of incorporation/EIN application: immediately establish the state as an advocate for small businesses

WFCS is aware and able to provide answers to potential business questions and "unknown needs"

Lack of awareness is better than negative perception. Build awareness for WFCS services, benefits and use.

Awareness

Attitude

Action

Retention


Information Search

Current State: Word of mouth is main awareness driver:

38% of surveyed Job Bank users were referred to the Job Bank Only 8% heard about the Job Bank through direct sales 17% heard about the Job Bank through DEED marketing efforts

Current users of single services are not aware of full service portfolio: 50% are aware of Employee Training 13% have heard of BSS or BSS services 50% are aware of Labor Market Information

The web-site is a primary method for information search “Businesses were amazed at what there was for resources online”

Opportunities to build awareness: Make information search straight-forward, easy and logical. Potential to leverage

current channels to facilitate information search process.

Ideal State: The WFCS delivers easy to find, consistent external messaging

(website, ads, word of mouth recommendations, BSS) Users of any one WFCS service are aware of all other WFCS services


Awareness

Attitude

Action

Retention

Evaluation of Alternatives

Current State: Businesses prefer working with someone with expertise above all other

attributes…including “pre-paid” Depth of knowledge: rated 4.49 (out of 5) on attribute importance Ease of use: 4.39 Pre-paid: 4.25

80% of random sample responses were positive or neutral about the government providing business services “It’d be great if the government were able to provide these services.” “Anything government can do to help small businesses, especially

tax cuts.” But… businesses sampled believe their needs are not met

Ideal State: Key industries receive targeted messaging Businesses clearly understand benefits provided by the WFCS

The WFCS should organize internal resources and expertise to position itself as knowledgeable about industry-specific issues.


Awareness

Attitude

Action

Retention

Purchase Decision

Current State: Those that use the Job Bank are more likely to utilize other

services offered by the WFCS Randomly surveyed businesses cited the website as the

preferred method of accessing the WFCS Surveyed businesses least preferred attending events, however

events currently account for 50% of the marketing budget

Ideal State: Service delivery meets customers’ key expectations: answers,

speed, simplicity, etc. Customers experience positive and consistent interactions with

all aspects of the WFCS (BSS, website, events, Job Bank, etc.) Positive and consistent interactions drive repeat business and

referrals, which enable cross-selling of other WFCS services Budget allocation is proportionate to the impact of each

distribution channel

Channels of delivery should be simple. Emphasis should be placed on the channels that customers prefer.


Awareness

Attitude

Action

Retention

Marketing Budget Distribution

Insights Currently spend ~ 50% of marketing $ on

activities that increase penetration but do not affect overall awareness

Survey respondents ranked preferred channels: Web-site (3.94)* Visit by a service rep. (3.54) Events (3.17) Printed literature (3.15) Others: Email*Average response on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being highest

Recommendations Allocate $ to activities that increase awareness Prioritize preferred channels Focus on activities and channels with the

greatest impact and reach Find ways to increase the impact and reach of

events like a luncheon or speaking event


Post-Purchase Behavior

Ideal State:Customer satisfaction is measured for each WFCS serviceCustomer suggestions for improvement are analyzed and

acted upon Marketing return on investment (ROI) is monitored (e.g.,

follow-up with event attendees and track future usage of services)

Customers understand and use multiple WFCS services

Current State:Customer satisfaction is not consistently or measured Customer feedback is the best source for process

improvement suggestions

Customer satisfaction should be measured holistically (i.e., consistently for each channel and WFCS service) and acted

upon. Proactive measures should be taken to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.


Awareness

Attitude

Action

Retention

Customer Perception - Current

CORE ATTRIBUTES

SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES

Cumbersome

Trust in government

Low ability to deliver on expectations

Free

Taxes

Job BankEasy

Resource

Inclusive

General

Diverse

Irrelevant

Unskilled labor

Value

Unemployment


Work Force Centers

Customer Perception - Ideal

CORE ATTRIBUTES

SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES

Expertise

Local

Available

Relevant

High quality

BSS

ConnectionsHelpful

Relationship

WebTrusted

Job Bank

Easy

Resource

Inclusive

Diverse

Business


Portfolio of Services

Convenient

Value

Meeting Customer Needs

My needs are the only needs:My industryMy location (metro, rural)My life-stage (new, mature)My preferred service delivery (easy, convenient, expert)

AnswersI am looking for:Time and money saving toolsIndustry specific informationDevelopment supportExpertisePeople

You have:Comprehensive resourcesInformationDevelopment & tax adviceExpertisePeople


Positioning Statement

A government-financed network of assets that provides answers. It comprises a broad

range of convenient, time and money saving resources for Minnesota businesses

that facilitate economic growth.


Positioning

Objective: 1) Leverage preferred delivery channel (the net)2) Focus on a single, key benefit:

Time and money saving resources+ Multiple solutions and answers to meet diverse business needs+ A system that is efficient and reliable+ Expertise and depth of knowledge

Strategy: Align positioning with key concepts of: “connections,” “resources,” “answers” and “coordination”

NET: Resources, people, information and connections that “work”


Brand Architecture

• Brand: “A brand is the sum total of thoughts, feelings, associations, and connections that reside in the mind of consumers.”1

• Brand Architecture: “Structure of the brand portfolio that defines the relationships between brands.”2 – House of brands: Different brand for each offering (i.e., P&G)– Sub-brands: Modifier brand connected to master brand (i.e., Dell)– Branded house: Single master brand for all offerings (i.e., Nike)– Endorsed brands: Individual brand name combined with master

brand (i.e., Courtyard by Marriott)

1 Marketing expert Kevin Keller2 Professor Debbie John

Current Brand Architecture

Need for unifying & consistent brand for the

WFCS services.


Creative Details

Objective: Communicate a UNIFYING message to build awareness and induce action

Audience: Small business owners (<100 employees)

Opportunities: Utilize for both internal (e.g., business cards, signs, etc.) and external

marketing materials Streamline the website to make usability, navigation, and searching

as easy and intuitive as possible When benchmarking other states, the presentation of the services on the

websites was confusing and quite difficult to find.


Organizational Summary

Marketing Operations

External

Internal

Processes

Users

Non-users

EmployeesEmployers

Large Small

PartnershipsChannels

BSS OthersOp. Standards

EmployeesEmployers

Large Small

Employees

Alignment between Operations and Marketing is required for a customer experience consistent with your positioning strategy

Unskilled

Skilled

Public sector Private Sector

Placement AgenciesMNSCU DEED programsNon-core Industries Core Industries

The Bottom Line: Alignment

Marketing

Operations

Consistent branding Reinforce key benefitsCommunicate complete

portfolio

Implement and enforce brand standards

Invest in resources that drive key benefits

Coordinate internal network

Alignment between operations and marketing is required for a customer experience consistent with your positioning strategy


Group 1

Group 1: A Minnesota-based, creative marketing organization.

Client Experience

“Building brands by building relationships. We are dedicated to helping our clients capture and retain customers. We believe a successful brand will find unique ways to communicate and build relationships with its target

audience. We believe that powerful ideas are the key to success and we believe that nothing should get in the way of doing great work for our

clients.”


The NET:work BrandIntroduction Objectives Findings & Analysis Recommendations Next Steps

Brochure: Cover

Acrobat metaphor visually shows that the answers you seek are ‘within your reach.’

Colors consistent with PositivelyMN campaign

Space can be used for text


Brochure: CenterIntroduction Objectives Findings & Analysis Recommendations Next Steps

Additional UsesIntroduction Objectives Findings & Analysis Recommendations Next Steps

Call to action: provide website and phone number to connect to the NET:work

This creative example can be used for multiple purposes:

Free standing insertBrochurePosterDirect mail

Web Site Example

Quickly connect to a BSS

Current logos and links

Focus on real people making connections

Consistent branding
