We are a Leeds-based independent strategy and planning consultancy specialising in accelerating growth by focusing and aligning business and marketing objectives. We work by cutting through the noise with our hands-on approach to develop solutions born from smart insights garnered through years of experience. We work with a range of B2C and B2B clients across multiple sectors. We avoid unnecessary clutter and start by stepping back taking a holistic view of the business to help deliver a strategic plan that produces results over both the short and long term. We believe that your strategies should be fully aligned to realise your full commercial success.
COMMERCIAL CLARITY ™
Whitecap Consulting Commercial Clarity™ Whitecap is a strategy and planning consultancy that works with business leaders and their advisers to evaluate and articulate their commercial goals, then put in place and support highly focused plans to achieve them. We provide a range of professional business services and implementation support including: t Strategy development and review t Business planning t Brand and marketing strategy Across all our work we ensure clarity and alignment through corporate, business, brand and marketing strategies. This helps our clients make focused plans and decisions, and ensures effective delivery of their strategic objectives. Whether you have a specific need for our services or would simply like to discuss our approach in more detail, please get in touch or visit our website at www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
We work predominately with service-focused companies of varying sizes across multiple sectors, delivering a hands-on, pragmatic and cost-effective approach to their business challenges and opportunities Working with us, companies planning for growth, turnaround or exit can have their plans developed based on a robust analysis and evaluation of current and future internal and external factors. Our directors and associates all have considerable client-side commercial and leadership experience in well-known companies and deliver practical and independent advice and support to our clients.
Our role can be to drive strategy development, or appraise existing strategy and recommend how we could add value and improve on the process and outputs. We work with clients on a flexible basis including stand-alone projects, retained and interim assignments. Whitecap’s Strategy Survey is a free tool to gauge the effectiveness of your strategy and the related implementation activity. Find it here: www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk/strategysurvey
Typically, our clients either don’t have our skillset in-house or have reached capacity with their internal resources and are looking for incremental external support.
www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
How we help We help clients address a range of opportunities and challenges
unities Opport
Opportunities Planning next company growth phase
Market trends and competitor assessments
Strategy documentation to support new funding
Innovation of new products and services
Identifying acquisition targets and potential partners Strategy due diligence pre-acquisition Facilitating company ambitions and assessing alternative strategies Leadership team alignment around strategic and annual priorities Developing and aligning business plans
Expansion into new markets / sectors Expanding internationally Acquiring new customers Creating new customer cross-sell opportunities Increasing revenue per customer Increasing customer retention and loyalty
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Challenges Market is rapidly changing and the business model looks tired Competitors are consistently outperforming the business 1-3 year plans are not focused or aligned Functions operate in silos and are not aligned to the overall business aims Declining sales volume and/or margin value
Not sure about the brand positioning Uncertain about the marketing effectiveness in the business Declining performance in key sales channels Poor or declining customer retention Poor customer perception about the company & brand
www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
Our approach We take a hands-on, pragmatic approach to client assignments
Strategy development
Business planning
We work with clients to help analyse the current business and market situation, then shape the long term vision and business ambitions. From this we identify the necessary change/transformation required to deliver growth:
From the stated strategic aims, we help develop structured roadmaps with clear milestones to provide a focused, yet flexible framework for action. We work closely with the leadership team to ensure alignment across the business:
t Competitor analysis
t Shaping vision & strategic future
t Market appraisal
t Translating ambition to action
t Emerging consumer trends
t Choices & prioritisation
t Company objectives
t Annual business planning
t Existing strategy review
t Leadership team alignment
t Strategy formulation
t Function & partner alignment
t Strategic due diligence
Marketing & brand strategy
Programme management
Marketing is a strategic activity, central to current activities and future objectives. We ensure marketing is not developed in isolation and that it helps deliver business and commercial objectives:
In addition to advisory support, and because we all have extensive hands-on expertise, we also work with clients to help implement and deliver strategic initiatives and change management.
t Marketing & brand strategy t New markets & entry strategies
Complimentary services
t Innovation & product launches
We also work with a range of industry and service specialists to add specific skill-sets if projects and client assignments require them. These include data and digital specialists, as well as leadership and internal communications experts.
t Distribution & channel performances t Customer retention & loyalty t Customer experience & engagement
www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
How it all fits together
Strategy enablement
Strategy alignment
Business context
Client needs/ motivations
Whitecap’s strategy process
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Internal appraisal: Performance & competence
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Exec team alignment
Funding
Strategy Review
Business
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Innovation
Data & infrastructure
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Exit
External appraisal: Market competitors & trends
Brand
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Capability & skills
Examples of our work How we’ve worked with business leaders
Business strategy
Marketing strategy
Tech start up
Developed business strategy for an international financial services company which supported accelerated growth and the transition from private to public status through an IPO.
Reappraised and implemented marketing strategy for a convenience retail company during period of major transformational change and creating foundations for future growth phase.
Provided strategic advice and hands on marketing support to a new entrant in the technology-driven peer-to-peer lending market, helping it grow from start-up to operating with over £3m in lending.
Post-acquisition growth strategy
Commercial review
Launch of new digital business Designed and supported a new product launch for a new digital business into an emerging and competitive web to print market. The practical support helped the business secure a contract with one of the best known sports brands in the world.
Led commercial work streams following a post-acquisition review to deliver triple-digit growth aspirations of the VC parent, focusing on a 3 year sales and marketing strategy to drive products, distribution, e-trading and self-service automation.
Led commercial review for a major retail bank to rationalise its product range, helping a market ‘laggard’ become market leader and grow from 4th to 2nd in the market place in sales volume terms.
www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
Some recent Whitecap clients include
The benefits of working with us Focus We help leadership teams focus on the things that are important to a business’ commercial success.
Clarity We see past the noise of day-to-day activity and help develop clear plans based on robust analysis and evaluation of current and future factors, internal and external.
Alignment We ensure corporate, business, brand and marketing strategies are aligned, which helps drive focused planning, decision making and effective delivery of strategic objectives.
You might find it useful to complete the Whitecap Strategy Survey, a free tool to gauge the effectiveness of your strategy and the related implementation activity. Find it here: www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk/strategysurvey To find out more about Whitecap, please get in touch or visit our website at www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk
Find us on social media. We are on Twitter @WhitecapConsult, have LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ pages Š Whitecap Consulting Limited 2014 Company Number 8057237.
Whitecap Consulting Limited Gresham House 5-7 St Pauls Street Leeds West Yorkshire LS1 2JG Tel: 0113 834 3133 www.whitecapconsulting.co.uk info@whitecapconsulting.co.uk