Specialty Chemicals · 7B USD
[Result]
One strategic marketing process for seven divisions
A 7B USD specialty chemicals company with seven divisions, from automotive to personal care, wanted one common way to plan.
Read the case →
No common process
Problem we solve · Marketing Capability & Commercial Excellence
No common process
“Every business unit plans and sells differently.”
When each business unit uses its own templates, terms and tools, plans cannot be compared, good practice never travels and leadership cannot see where to invest. A common process and toolbox, with room for local markets, fixes this without forcing every unit into the same strategy.
Why it happens
Cause 1
Acquisitions and reorganizations bring different methods
Cause 2
No owner for commercial excellence
Cause 3
Tools are licensed unit by unit
What we hear from clients
Paraphrased and anonymized from recent conversations.
“Several business units are pursuing improvement on pricing, segmentation and the like, each on their own.”
“Use of strategic marketing tools is fragmented and inconsistent across business units.”
How we solve it
The approaches we use most often for this problem. Most clients start with one.
How we help
A common commercial process and toolbox
We install one strategic marketing and commercial process, with linked tools, across business units and regions.
How it works →How we help
Toolbox licensing
Teams license individual tools or the full Market Edge toolbox, customized with their terms and examples, so everyone plans with the same frameworks.
How it works →How we help
Capability assessment
We assess individuals and teams against the marketing, sales and finance capabilities your strategy needs, compare them with industry best in class and link the gaps to business results.
How it works →Tools that help
Market Edge frameworks used to diagnose and fix this problem.
Market MapA Market Map breaks a market into cells, usually applications against technologies or competitors, and shows the size, growth rate and competitive share of each cell.Competitive AssessmentA Competitive Assessment scores your offer and competitors' offers on the purchase criteria that matter to a segment, weighted by importance.Value MapA Value Map plots perceived performance against price for you and your competitors.
Clients who solved this
All case studies →Chemicals & Materials · Polymers
Recent work · 2019–2026
Seven years of tools, training and support
A specialty polymers company has used Market Edge tools across its strategic marketing team since 2019.
Read the case →Further reading
Articles by Market Edge consultants on mkt-edge.com.
Questions about no common process
Does a common process mean one strategy?
No. It means one way of developing and reviewing strategy, so units can be compared and learn from each other.
Who should own it?
Usually a commercial excellence or marketing excellence lead, with leadership sponsorship.
Situations where this shows up
"I've just taken over marketing, and we don't have standard tools."
Building or rebuilding a marketing function
A new marketing leader in a lean organization needs a team, a process and early results, fast.
How we help →"Leadership wants to know if marketing is the right size, and what it delivers."
Proving the value of marketing
Executives are questioning marketing headcount and impact, and you need evidence.
How we help →"Our market development managers are all engineers."
Giving technical teams a commercial language
Brilliant technical people now own markets and customers, without a shared commercial toolkit.
How we help →Other Marketing Capability & Commercial Excellence problems we solve
Marketing Capability & Commercial Excellence →Marketing Capability & Commercial Excellence
Strategy outpaces capability
“We have a new strategy. I am not sure the team can deliver it.”
Read more →Marketing Capability & Commercial Excellence
Engineers in commercial roles
“Our market development managers are engineers. They need a commercial language.”
Read more →Marketing Capability & Commercial Excellence
Training without impact
“We have done lots of training. Nothing changed.”
Read more →Recognize this problem?
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