The Quell Group specializes in helping companies unlock the true power of their brand with its Unknot. Align. Market.® method. Using this rigorous process, Quell helps businesses unknot their value, align with constituents and more effectively market to those they depend on for success. While deceptively simple, Quell’s method is decidedly effective and distinctly unique.
Step one – Unknot – helps companies recapture their essential passion, purpose and value proposition. It is the first, hardest and most critical step in the process.
Objective assessment equals competitive advantage
Assessment is part of our everyday world, though not generally recognized by that term.
Yearly physicals, portfolio reviews, report cards and performance appraisals are pervasive in today’s society. We even conduct wardrobe assessments to keep pace with fashion trends! (After all, who would be caught dead in last year’s pastel pumps or peak lapels?)
Assessment in business is also critical; however, many companies fail to assess the seemingly intangible elements that are key to its success. Therefore, Quell assesses the elements that define a company’s passion, its relevance and the imprint it is making – or not making – in the marketplace.
“Unknotting” – is a technique of determining a company’s distinct marketable value. Quell forces top executives to focus on why they got into business in the first place. While most clients want to jump directly to ad campaigns and flashy websites, none of that can be accomplished without first unknotting a company’s true purpose and being able to effectively communicate it..
Companies – like people – can get lost
We’ve all seen it: a preeminent company begins to fall out of favor. Its once-compelling value and unique selling proposition are lost. Leaders are out of touch. Employees forget the firm’s purpose. The business becomes irrelevant to customers, and its products lose their aim. It can take years or happen seemingly overnight, as in the loss of an iconic founder or exodus of intellectual capital. While it seems unthinkable, even the most robust companies can lose their way.
Unknotting sounds a wake-up call. It helps companies recapture their unique core and competitive position. Using a variety of research techniques, Quell reinvigorates a company’s singular focus. Unknotting creates a value proposition that no other competitor can claim. This is how Quell moves companies from being lost, to liked, to loved.
Consider this example:
Pepsi can no sooner claim to be Coke than Coke can claim to be Red Bull. Each is defined by attributes intrinsically unique to their brand. Without claiming a value position, a company is destined for failure.
Unknotting starts with Quell’s MarketSight™, an in-depth immersion interview with a firm’s leaders and critical thinkers. During this interview, Quell uncovers a company’s own view of its strengths, weaknesses and position in the marketplace. Does the company want to be a market leader like Coke? A niche player like Mr. PiBB? Do they define a new category like Red Bull? Or are they repositioning themselves like V8 Splash?
Following MarketSight™, Quell conducts external interviews with customers, journalists and industry thought leaders. A company’s marketing, public relations, media coverage and advertising placements are also reviewed. The same measures are taken of top competitors in the segment, and then compared.
MarketSight™ and the external audits do not measure trends or fads. They are unbiased environmental assessments to determine a company’s perceived place in the market. Following these actions, the data is compiled and analyzed. Perhaps a company believes it is known for quality, but media perceive it to be a value leader. A business might think it is forward thinking, but the market may say otherwise.
Step two – Align With all of this unknotting information, Quell can take the second step, Align. Here, Quell aligns a company’s unique position in terms that resonate and that help it achieve its business objectives. The Align process builds upon what we have learned, with all positioning considerations and decisions in step with our Unknotting discoveries.
Assessment sustains business growth and increases relevancy
The complexities of business require regular assessment, analysis and review. MarketSight™ and Quell’s other measurement tools help start-up businesses and mature companies alike conduct reality checks. They provide an objective way to see a company as others do and help businesses create a genuine connection in the marketplace.
Quell’s Unknot. Align. Market.™ process is invaluable to helping a company develop a distinct voice, reach critical audiences and move customers into positive action. Let us find your voice.
