ASSOS North America

Strategic planning for world leader in high performance cycling apparel

Situation Summary

Hans Bergman, the Sales & Marketing Director for ASSOS North America, was smart enough to involve his independent sales reps because he saw value in gathering feedback from the field. But he also wanted to create a sense of inclusion and empowerement among his team. With aggressive growth targets, he had recognized room for improvement and wanted to be sure everyone was engaged in identifying who their ideal customers were and what things they valued most.

The Solution

Keystone’s Value Inventory Workshop forced them to focus on the customer’s world, and in doing so gave everyone a chance to learn from each other’s experiences, and to hear about key strategies and issues that are now having a huge impact on the way they do business.

The exercise uncovered a need to schedule routine follow-ups, not only for the actions and strategies they had decided on and implemented, but also to see whether they were still valid and relevant to their customers within an ever-changing business landscape. These bi-annual or quarterly “health checks” ensure they are executing on the vision they had laid out for themselves.

The Results

The workshop helped shed new light on areas where performance was either subpar or where there was a significant opportunity for growth. By identifying customer pains, the team came up with ideas that would help relieve some of those pains. Here are a few of the pain relievers they discovered:

• “West Coast Offense” strategy that features expedited shipping to key accounts on the west coast who face longer lead times and more expensive freight costs;
• Pre-packaged Order Proposals with expert suggestions on how to bundle ASSOS products and accessories;
• Flexible employee purchase/incentive program to get more dealers wearing ASSOS gear to experience the brand for themselves;
• Inviting dealers to star in “How to Dress” videos and giving them media exposure to make them feel important and appreciated.

Many of these ideas have already been implemented and have been extremely well received by both dealers and reps alike. This has resulted in key accounts across the country stepping up their purchases and transitioning from a purely transactional relationship to a much more strategic partnership, where they feel a greater connection to the brand’s success.