Business Challenge

Faced with the prospect of a challenging economic and competitive environment in 2009, the Australian Institute of Management NSW & ACT engaged Sense Marketing to develop its 2009 Strategic Marketing Plan.

Sense Marketing Solution

In early 2008, AIM NSW/ACT undertook extensive member and non-member market research revealing the AIM brand was in need of revitalisation to make it contemporary and even more relevant to the market.

The 2009 AIM Strategic Marketing Plan recommends strategies and tactics required to invest, rebuild and reposition AIM in the market and addresses:

1. Key marketing priorities to support the entire organisation
2. Marketing and Sales focusing on building the business in a cohesive manner
3. Identifying and allocating appropriately internal and external resources
4. Building an AIM value proposition for ‘whole of AIM’ and constructing the associated brand messaging to support it
5. Improving the customer experience from communications through to service delivery
6. Minimising risk to the business through a greater degree of co-ordination and identification of overlaps
7. Identifying new areas for investment in 2009 and the ceasing of unproductive activities
8. Identifying key business issues to be addressed to achieve AIM’s strategic business objectives.

An integral part of the planning process was to understand the profitability of each AIM business unit. In recessionary times, businesses must focus resources on those business areas which offer the greatest returns.

Key Results

Working closely with AIM's General Manager, Sense Marketing:

• Conducted a thorough business review of each AIM business unit. This highlighted business trends, issues and opportunities, with a commitment to building a product management focus within the organisation

• Recommended a greater emphasis on selling ‘whole of AIM’ rather than specific product/service silos

• Undertook a process of refining and improving the customer segmentation process to provide  members and prospects with only relevant content thereby encouraging increased engagement with AIM

• Found savings of around $400,000 per annum by streamlining marketing communications

• Doubled Member engagement

• Stablised Membership lead indicators

• Helped the first event held in 2009 be a sell out - the first time in 3 years.

"Working with Lisa at Sense Marketing enabled me to keep running my business day-to-day whilst we worked on setting the strategic marketing direction for the organisation. Lisa was able to understand AIM’s challenges immediately with her extensive services marketing experience and provide realistic strategies which the business could implement. Some of the recommendations were challenging, however as we head into an economic time like no other, it is those tough decisions that will see AIM not only survive but thrive.”
Annalisa Haskell, General Manager, Membership, Marketing & Communications