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3 min read

Change is Coming: The Role of Executives in Change Management

By Melissa Newcomb on Mon, Mar 14, 2022

“Change is coming”--it's a bit of a troupe. After the world-changing experience of the COVID pandemic, frequent, rapid change in business has become universal and continual. [Check out our blog on important lessons learned.] Some of the biggest changes are common across all businesses:

Topics: Marketing Strategy Internal Communication Positioning Strategic Planning Transformation Change Management Digital Transformation employee engagement
2 min read

Change Management and Digital Transformation: Tips for Success

By Michele Nichols on Mon, Dec 06, 2021

Digital transformation today is taking place at a pace that is 20-25x faster than pre-2020. Changing at unprecedented speed comes with inherent risk, and in this case, digital transformation is largely treated by leadership and operations teams as a series of independent IT projects instead of realizing its full potential as a driver of competitive advantage.

Topics: Change and Innovation Positioning Strategic Planning Change Management Digital Transformation
5 min read

Mergers & Acquisitions: Communication Strategy for a Smooth Transition

By Alison Arnold on Mon, Dec 06, 2021

Mergers and acquisitions present challenges to even the most seasoned leadership teams. Executing a strong and organized communications planone that delivers the right messages to the right constituents at the right time—can help a merger or acquisition go smoothly and establish unity and profitability. Yet, despite the best-laid plans, change management is always hard and you’re sure to encounter challenges along the way.

Topics: Business Insights Internal Communication Positioning Sales Strategic Planning Marketing and Sales Alignment Change Management Digital Transformation
3 min read

When Should You Outsource? How to Identify Core Competencies

By Michele Nichols on Mon, Aug 02, 2021

In a high-growth economy and tight labor market, understanding your company’s core competencies can help you quickly and effectively seize opportunities and improve financial performance. These are the foundation for:

Topics: Positioning Strategic Planning
4 min read

Pandemics and Product Launches: How to Effectively Go to Market in a Changing World

By Aimee Schenck on Fri, May 08, 2020

Effective product launches and rebrands are thoroughly planned out according to specific timelines – the best time to announce the name, events with the biggest audiences, tactics that get the most traffic. It's rare that product launch planning has a contingency plan for a global pandemic.

Topics: Business Insights Marketing Strategy Product Launch Positioning Branding and Identity
4 min read

Extended Reality: An Overview of Augmented, Virtual, & Mixed Reality

By Matthew O'Donnell on Fri, Mar 13, 2020

Extended reality is the umbrella term for all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology. Over the last 20 years, augmented, virtual, and mixed reality technologies have seen mass adoption for consumer use due to new innovations in the semiconductor and photonics industries. While these extended reality (XR) technologies are heavily implemented in a creative economy, it’s predicted that ER technology will spread into more diverse industries with extensive near-term growth potential. As worldwide spending on XR products and services is predicted to be $18.8 billion in 2020, it is useful to understand this complicated market to better position your brand in the market.

Topics: Business Insights Positioning Tech
3 min read

B2B Corporate Positioning: Start at the Beginning

By Aimee Schenck on Thu, Jan 03, 2019

Corporate positioning is one of the most important ingredients in establishing a company’s position in the marketplace. However, it’s often overlooked because most organizations believe they know what their target audience needs and wants. Strong positioning starts from the beginning and creates a clear path highlighting your product or service in the market.

Topics: Positioning Strategic Planning
3 min read

Reaching Your Customers' Customers: Market Outlook in Additive Manufacturing & Automation

By Michele Nichols on Fri, Nov 10, 2017

FABTECH in Chicago represents some of the fastest growing segments in U.S. manufacturing today, including laser marking and automation. Attendees are the ultimate users of many of the technologies we work in: laser diodes, optical assemblies, laser steering systems, coating technology, and capital equipment. Yet many of these companies know little about the end application and the users’ needs.

Topics: Business Insights Positioning
2 min read

Looking Back at XPONENTIAL 2017: UAV Market Trends and Implications

By Katie Steelman on Thu, May 18, 2017

Last spring, Michele Nichols and Aimee Schenck attended AUVSI XPONENTIAL, the prominent unmanned vehicle conference and exhibit, where some of our clients were presenting technical papers. Our team was also there for market intelligence, looking for market fit and viability for many of our component manufacturing clients. Even if you aren't ready to exhibit at a show, you can learn so much about the upcoming industry trends by simply walking the floor. Here are a few of our takeaways from last year's show:

Topics: Business Insights Positioning
1 min read

Commercial Autonomous Aircraft Market: Three Lessons on Customer Research

By Damon Diehl on Tue, Apr 25, 2017

In our last post, we discussed the growing interest in commercial applications for compact unmanned aircraft, or drones. Imaging, in particular, presents a real opportunity for optics and photonics component manufacturers. This emerging UAV market provides important lessons on the criticality of understanding and anticipating the needs of your target customers. Here are three things to remember:

Topics: Business Insights Positioning Market Research
3 min read

Emerging Market Strategy: Market Positioning for UAV

By Michele Nichols on Thu, Apr 20, 2017

Just back from SPIE’s Defense & Commercial Sensing (DCS) conference in Anaheim, and preparing for XPONENTIAL in Dallas next month, we’re noticing that the emerging drone market presents real promise as well as challenges.

The optics, photonics, and imaging exhibitors at SPIE DCS share a common challenge with XPONENTIAL’s component exhibitors—a great deal of unknowns in:

  • UAV adoption curve
  • UAV applications to invest in
  • Requirements
  • Regulatory environment
Topics: Marketing Strategy Positioning
3 min read

Why Brand Development is Necessary for Product Launch

By Mandy Bly on Tue, Jul 26, 2016

Launching a company or product is an exciting endeavor. You’ve developed a solution to an unfulfilled consumer need, and you’re ready to share it with the world. But the extensive planning process, from content development to sales training to PR, means your launch team has a lot on its plate.

Topics: Product Launch Positioning Branding and Identity