Bain & Company 5 Li ! 4 &, Bain Link Scherb~akovskaya Uli tsa 40-42 105 187 Moscow, Russia Telephone: (7) (095) 369-0386, -2333, -235 1, -2643, -594S, -5950 Facsimile: (7) (095) 369-5947, 166-6867 MEMORANDUM To: Val Krylov USAID Gene Zabezhir~sky USAID AIexei Nerndovsky RPC CC: Tom Shannon Bain & COIIII~~IIIY John Tokolisll Bain & Con~pany From: Alan Sutherland Date: October 7th, 1996 Re: Marketing Tool-Kit Seminars Find Report Introduction This n~emorandum is a final report on the desig, roll-out and modification of marketing tool-kit seminars which reflect the esperience and Icssous Ienrncd during the P.I.E.S. projcct. This report will outline some ofthe feed-back that was received fro111 the seminars, the ruodifications that wqc made to the scnlinnrs as n response to that feed-back and sonic of the more gcncrnl lcssol~s learned during the project. This latter scctiorl will includc n rcview of thc bcncfits tlint this progmnlnic \vas able to nchievc. Tool-Kit Seminars and Locations The finnl seminar tinlctnblc was as follo\vs: Location Dares of Seminar Dates of Follow-UP Clielyabinsk Orenburg Pskov Sarnnsk Kirov Perm Vladirnir Krasnodar Ekaterinburg Enmaul Ku rgm Tornsk Tyunlen Abakan Krasnoyarsk July 30 - August 1 July 30 - August I August 5 - August 7 August 6 - August 8 Aupst 7 - Augi~st 9 August 7 - August 9 Augt~st 13 - Airgust 15 August 14 - August 16 August 13 - August 15 August 14 - August 16 August 19 - Augtist 2 1 August 2 1 - Augmt 23 August 2 1 - August 23 August 28 - August 3 1 September 23rd to 25th August 28 - August 3 1 August 25 - August 3 1 Septcnlber 4 - Septe~nber G September 24 - September 26 September 3 - September 5 September 4 - Septcmbcr G August 2 I - August 23 Septcmbcr I 1 - Septembcr 13 Septembcr 4 - September G September 1 8 - September 20 Septembcr 16 - September 18 September 25 - September 27 September 18 - September 20 Septe~obcr 24 - Septembcr 36 September 26th- 27th Beijing Boston Brussels Chicago Dallas Geneva Hong Kong London Madrid htilan Moscow Munich Paris Rome San Francisco San Jose. Costa Rica Singapore Stockhalu~* Sydney Tokyo Toronlo Wnrsaw Li5hI[Y.[X3C'
To: Val Krylov USAID Gene Zabezhir~sky USAID AIexei Nerndovsky RPC
CC: Tom Shannon Bain & COIIII~~IIIY John Tokolisll Bain & Con~pany
From: Alan Sutherland
Date: October 7th, 1996
Re: Marketing Tool-Kit Seminars Find Report
Introduction
This n~emorandum is a final report on the desig, roll-out and modification of marketing tool-kit seminars which reflect the esperience and Icssous Ienrncd during the P.I.E.S. projcct. This report will outline some ofthe feed-back that was received fro111 the seminars, the ruodifications that wqc made to the scnlinnrs as n response to that feed-back and sonic of the more gcncrnl lcssol~s learned during the project. This latter scctiorl will includc n rcview of thc bcncfits tlint this progmnlnic \vas able to nchievc.
July 30 - August 1 July 30 - August I August 5 - August 7 August 6 - August 8 Aups t 7 - Augi~st 9 August 7 - August 9 Augt~st 13 - Airgust 15 August 14 - August 16 August 13 - August 15 August 14 - August 16 August 19 - Augtist 2 1 August 2 1 - Augmt 23 August 2 1 - August 23 August 28 - August 3 1 September 23rd to 25th
August 28 - August 3 1 August 25 - August 3 1 Septcnlber 4 - Septe~nber G September 24 - September 26 September 3 - September 5 September 4 - Septcmbcr G August 2 I - August 23 Septcmbcr I 1 - Septembcr 13 Septembcr 4 - September G September 1 8 - September 20 Septembcr 16 - September 18 September 25 - September 27 September 18 - September 20 Septe~obcr 24 - Septembcr 36 September 26th- 27th
Beijing Boston Brussels Chicago Dallas Geneva Hong Kong London Madrid htilan Moscow Munich Paris Rome San Francisco San Jose. Costa Rica Singapore Stockhalu~* Sydney Tokyo Toronlo Wnrsaw
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Seminar Feed-Back
The sur~unarised feed-back to the seminar roll-out is ontlined in Appendis One to this fmal report. The '
attendees at each seminar were surveyed on a range of criteria which included:
Importance of the modules Effectiveness of the modules Relevance Satisfaction Necessity for improvenient How n~ucll they would be prepared to pay for such a seminar
On a one to five scale, participants consistently rated each of the modules above 4.0 across all four centml criteria of importance, relevnnce, effectiveness 2nd satisfaction. In only three resions ivas the importance of any of the rnodules rated below four (Barnaul for module one (3.871; Cheyabinsk [3.88] and Orenburg [3.67] for n~odule two). Top scores were achieved in Kmsnoyarsk for n~odules one and two [4.75 and 5.01; in Ekaterinburg for module three [4.71] and in Pem~ for modi~le four [4.83].
Satisfaction on all criteria was above 4.0, with the exception of module one homework [3.9] (probably not surprising) and nlodt~le len$h [3.5, 3.7, 3.9, 3.9 respectively].
Throughout the seminars, the area which scored consistcntly highly \\.as the Iiand-out materials. These seemed to have filled a gap between the test-book infomintion that is available and the practical application of theory which the hand-outs represented.
The amount participants would be prepared to pay for this seminar Ivas slightly lower thnn was recorded in the trial swninars- but this ivas n much Inrgx sample 2nd the first time that all the materials were presented together. For module one, the average amount participants ivould have bccn prcparcd to pay was $175. This rangcd from $600 and $400 in Cliclyabinsk and Kmsnoyarsk rcspcctively, to $47 and $38 in Kurgm and Orenburg respectively.
For module two, the average amount participants wodd linve buen prcparcd to pay Jvas % 178. This rxnged from $420 and $350 in Cllelyabirisk and Bamaul respcctivcly, to $65 and $jG in Orenburg and Krasnodar respectivcly.
For module three, the nverage amount participants would liave becn prcparcd to pay was $150. This ranged from $290 and $275 in Saransk and Bamnul respectively, to $50 in Tl-unien and Kmsnodnr.
For module four, the nverage amount participants would have bcen prcparcd to pay Ivas $158. This ranged from $554 md $450 in Chelyabinsk and Bamaul respectively, to $46 in Kurgnn and Kmsnodnr.
A f i i d note on the sopl~isticntion of the materials: the pnrticipants- perhaps even contrary to the espectations of the presentins team judged the materials to be more or less at the right level. The feed back suggested that if anything the riiaterials were a little too sophisticated- but this is esactly where the materials should be if they are to have a reasonable shelf life.
Revised Modules
Modifications to the tool-kit presentations are being made accordirig to the feed-back of both the audiences and the presentation teams. These potential modificntions cnri be split into three separate catezories:
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Changes designed to clarify the presentation of concepts Changes to materials to increase relevance
Presentation o f Concepfs
These are in the nlain relatively cosmetic clinnges to tern~inology, to the forniat of slides and an increased use of "road-map" slides. In many cases, there are accepted academic translations of marketing terminology (which were used in the original version) which have caused the audiences to misunderstand important concepts. The trat~slations Ilave been fully revised and tvhere necessary additional clarification added to the slide in order to ensure that tlie key nlessnge is not lost thro~~gh a simple vocabulary issue.
There has also been an attempt to simplify and clarify the content of some of the more difficult slides in order that their centml message does not get lost. In addition, increased use of road map slides to esplain the role of the follotv-up session as a part of tlie learning espcrience and to g ~ ~ i d e both audience and presenter through the material (and hopefidly increase undersh~tding of the logical order of the materials) have been added.
Changcs to Mntcrio1.s to lncreose Relevonce
The original fonnat of the seminar was four modules which covered both the strategic business policy aspect of marketing and the practical measuring of Custonlcr preferences and market size. Thesc four modules were:
What is marketing? Primary Market Research Industry Analysis Organisation of a lularketing and Salcs F~~nction
These four modulcs Iiave been substantially reorganiscd into fivc nlodirlcs based on the fecd-back received from the seminar participants and the sugestions of thc presenting teams. The guiding principal of this work has bccn to incrcasc the understanding of coniplcs concepts by seminar participants and to increase tlie practicality of tlic modulcs. The fivc nctv modules are:
Strategic nlarketing (comprising the first Ilalf of the formcr module three- business policy- and tlie first half of modulc one on market segn~entation) Tactical Marketing (comprising csse~itially the second half of thc fornler Module One) Primary Marketing Research (only cosmetically chnngcd from the old Module Two) Market Sizing (comprising the second llalf of the formcr Module Thrce) Organisation of the Marketing and Sales Department (Strengthened to include some of the material forn~erly discussed in Module One).
This has allowed more practical esrunplcs to be introduced earlier in thc n~odules and it secms that this does increase the perceived relevnnce for the seminar participants. A sccondnry advantage is that it may prove easier to gathcr an audience of senior managers for a lialf or two-thirds day seminar on strategic marketing and business policy issues than for an entire thrce day seminar on marketing. The response from Kirov where the revised Strategic Marketing Module was presented to an audience of senior managers was most encoumging.
A brief outline of the contents of the revised modules is provided below.
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Module One
This nlodule opens with a review of the market place, the buyer and supplier cycles and the concept of market risk as a function of the estent and scope of moves away from core competences. The module moves on to discuss the use of the 3Cs as a way to define an effective competitive strategy. Tl~e issues discussed include:
Understanding what customers really value and how much they will pay Understanding how customers view you relative to competition Understanding future denland and tllc fictors that affect i t Who are your competitors? What are their advantages and disadvantages How do customers value the products produced by conipetitors How do con~petitors manage their costs Understmding costs at each step of the value chain Understanding the behavior of costs (fised -v- semi-variable -v- variable) Understmding cost drivers Understandins relative cost position versus competition Understanding costs from a Customer perspective: which costs tnlly add to perceived value Enterprise capabilities: what is an enterprise good at, where does its advmtage lie
The module continues with a discussion of business definition which includcs addressing questions such as:
What defines the boundaries of my busincss'? What are the bounds of competition'?
A rncthodology for busincss definition is outlined and illustmtcd with csamples. Tlic nictl~odology outlines how to define siritilar business by looking at thc costs stn~cturc and similarity of customers (and their behavior) bcfore checking conclusions with a rcvielv of cornpetitors' activities.
The niodule contin~~cs with a review of Miclnel Porter's Five Forccs Modcl. This model providcs a useftrl framework to assess the fi~ndarncntals of an industry or n~arkct and therefore the boundaries of potential return on an investment.
The final section of this first n~odule links the nlaterial on con~petitive strategy (~CS) , Business Definition and Five Forces to the need for a devclopmcnt of a clcar stmtcgy uhich will be impleatcntcd.
Module Two
This niodule begins with a quick revicw of the guiding principle of a commercial ~rg~misntion (to be better and more efficient than the competition). The standard definition of marketing is then introduced as a prelude to a discussion of the 4Ps of Marketing: product, price, phcc and promotion. The n~odulc immediately draw caveats to the differences betwecn tlicory and practice (both western and Russian).
During the module each of the 4Ps is discussed in turn.
Product issues covered includc: product design, product positioning, product line length nnd depth, branding, packaging, ~varrnties and after-sales service.
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Price issues include distribution chain pricing (manufacturer, distributor and retail), discount policy and structure, t e n s and conditions of a price, various types of pricing policy (cost plus, market based, value based) and the strategy of pricing (milk versus penetrate).
Place (Distribution) issues include a discussion of issues on direct versus indirect selling, clialnel length and breadth and the importance of controllin2 the distribution c h m e l .
Promotion covers a range of issues including: Advertising Direct marketing Public relatio~ls Price promotions (frequent purchaser schemes); and Use of trade shows and special events.
Mocizrle Three
Module three covers Customer research. It is a fill1 description of the analytical process ,and the deriving of conclusions from the analysis. The objectives of the module are to:
estimate market research needs plan market research perfonn simple market research mnlyse results how to deal with more complex nlnrket research from specialised market research finns.
The module outlincs a conlplete exmplc from thc detergents industry and thc csamination of the potential of n. new product. The module also reviewvs an csample of an industrial product.
Module Four covers the methodology of assessing markct size. Two esamplcs arc outlined including both consumer products and industrial goods. A range of techniques are used including estmpolation, direct demnnd ,and derived dc~nand (~nultiplc rcgrcssion). Thc key point hcre is that Custon~er nccd is not equal to potential demand. It is vital to understand thc size of thc current markct and the likcly change in its size over the invest~ncut planning horizon. In thc short tern], this is important for the planning of capacity utilisation:
production planning and scheduling purchasing advertising pron~otions establishing incentives
and in the long tenn for defining long temi investment needs:
capacity pl.mning product portfolio n~nnagenlent development of a distribution nctwork.
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Module Five
Module Five begins with a discussion of the role of marketing and sales in an organisation and the structures that are commonly in place in the Russian enterprise. The module moves on to discuss thc pros and cons of various stnlctures including the product focused organisation, the market (in its broadest sense) focused orpisat ion and the fimction focused organisation.
The module concludes with a discussion of compensation and incentivisation for both company enlployees in marketing 'and sales and for distributors1 ~vholesalers who work for the company.
Lessons Learned
There were seven m i o r lessons which could be usefirlly learned from this project. These can usefidly be split into the lessons learned during the prepamtory phase; lessons learned during the in~pleti~cntation of the seminars and general lessons leanled as a result of the whole process.
Prcpnrnrory Phme
1. Need to reduce progralune intensity 2. Charging a participation fee for scminars needs to be carefillly mmagcd
3. Increase dialogue during the se~ninar Iearriin~ process 4. Increase perception of pmcticnlity and rclevnncc for cach alterprisc
Gcncrnl Lcssons Lcnrncd
5 Requirenlent to dcfine audience and tailor materials accordingly 6. Role of the LPC 7. In~portmce of Hand-Out Materials
I . Need to reduce progranune intensity
P r o g r m l e intensity divides into three areas:
Geographic Saturation: There arc n limited nunlbcr of local privatisation centres which have been functioning long enough to have developed n strong reputation with the local Directors of enterprises. The number of seminars from vnriotrs fimding sources (and not only directly through the LPC) which have been made available to enterprises has been increasing. For example, there were several occasions when seminar participants commented on other saninars which they had attended or other seminars to which they had becn invited. These seminars arc being organised by institutes, Branch Ministries and by other teclu~ical assistance progranmes (e.g. the Morozov project was said to be a factor in the low turn-out in Vlndimir). This large number of seminars ( and in many cases the questionable quality of what is provided) does llnve an affect both on the nunlber and quality of the participants in any given
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sen~inar. It is, moreover, dificult to develop enthusiasm for the long tern1 benefits that the learning process cnn develop when senior n~arlagers are busy \\.ith resolvin~ urgent short tern1 trading business issues- especially if these manazers have been disappointed by the quality of previous seminars. In ninny regions- rnost notably Kirov, but also in Krasnoyarsk and in Kurgan the presenting teams noted that more senior nlanagers \vould join tlie original seniinnr participants at the follow-up sessions. In other regions (such as Barilaul) the large attendance resulted at least in part from the shortage of seminars offered in this region. This r~ould suaes t that, notwithstnnding the quantity of seminars that is available in some regions, there is both a need aid a denland for good quality seminars. If the materials are to be used again in the near fitture by RPC, it may be worth looking beyond the regions where LPCs are currently established to potential fi~ture sites or areas where RPC may be working on other, not directly related, projects or indeed to regions where the LPC has not been so active. This may con~plicate the organisation of logistics, but it may be a useful method of spreading die benefits of the RPC's work without, or as a proniotional measure prior to, incurring the fised cost of establishing n subsidiary LP centre. With several seminars being offered in parallel, this may also reduce the pressure on tlie LPCs to round up large quantities of enterprises (especially if a fee is to be paid).
Qu'mtitv of Offered Material
The large supply of seminars which have been competing for attention from enterprise managers has in part resulted from the P.I.E.S. roll-out (over thirty modules were presented by Bain & Company and Deloitte Touche alone). TIlere have been examples \\.here there has bee11 a clear over-supply of material. It was not uncommon for the presenting teams to be told that they were to be follo\ved by or were procecdcd by Dcloitte Touche. This ce.rtainly included ccntml Siberia (where there was a nlarketing and finance seminar tcsts session, a finance seminar pair, n conlplete mnrkcting seminar and a nlarkcting seminar in nearby Abakan).
Rcauired Nu~ubcr of Seminars
The original number 'of fiftccu sen~inars, each \\.it11 a follo~v-up scssion had been scheduled over a period of tllrec months. This would liavc bcen a fairly irltclisc implcmcntation schedule, but the revised tinwtable which saw this san~c ~ut~nbcr of scn~inars and follow-up sessions implen~entcd in two nlontlis (including the main holiday montl~ of the year) left less time than was optimal for edits and improvcmaits to tlic material bct~vccn seminars. Each seminar comprised several thousand pages of presented and hand-out tllatcrial and the logistics of copying nlonc dictated that there was a significnnt time lag bctwecn chnnges being nlndc in the material md the revisions being presented to an audiencc. Fortunately, the feed-back to the marketing seminar both from thc participants 2nd from the presenters suggested that large changes in content were not required. Had more substantive changes been required, it would have been more difficult to have fi~lly tested the changes in this limited time frame. As it is, although the rationale behind the revised order of the modules has bcen thoro~~ghly tested, there has not been n seminar where the fill1 new and improved versions have been presented from start to finish.
Charging a participation fee for seminars needs to bc carefillly nlnnaged
The attendance at seminars remained alnlost eve~where at a fairly high level despite the decision to charge a- in some cases quite a significant- fee for participation in the seminar. It is, moreover, important that the RPC and its local representntio~i have the opportunity to finance their on-going vital work. However, it is iinportmt ns the LPCs make the transition fro111 n "free" to n "semi- conmiercinl" basis for their services that they are see11 by their perspective clients to add real value
for the money that is requested. It is also inlportant that this message is esplained to the enterprises cvlio are the clients of the LPCs. In Inany cases this was \veil done (in Kirov, for esample, the original senlinar was not free but the subsequent repeat follow-up session for senior Directors was free) and enterprises will not feel that they were escluded. In other regions, (Kmsnoyarsk and Vladimir, for esample) the presenting team was told that a significant number of enterprises had chosen not to attend when it became clear that there would be a charge. In these cases, it ma>. be wise for the LPC to follow up with these enterprises \vho m y feel disappointed in order that a quality long tern) relationship can be ~naintained.
3. Increase dialogue during tlie seminar learning process
During the iniplenientation of the seminars, it became clear some of the concepts being presented were indeed very difficult for the nlanagenlent of conlpanies to grasp and moreover it was not always immediately clear why a concept was relevant to the problc~ns Eked by nlanagers. This was especially true of some of the strategic business issues (such as business definition, industry sector attractiveness and segmentation). There coirld have been two possible approaclies to this difficulty: to prcse~it a Inore siniple seminar whicli \vould be inunediately relevant to Inanagcrs or to admit that the concepts were indeed difficult, that one seminar would not be a "magic wand" and encourage a close dialogue between the presenters and the seminar participants. In Inmy regions this dialogue became key to the s~~cccss of the seminar. It became clear from this approach at what pace the group could move, the complexity of the esample that could be used etc. It is an important part of the education process of fornier state enterprise managers that they understand tlmt there is a veiy uneven level of comprehension and implcmcntation of these concepts behveen western companies, and that this does impact relative pcrforn~iuice. 11.1 many reijons, tlie esnnlple where the range of industry profitability is shonm for 1991 has ca~~scd significant disct~ssion nnd has been referrcd back to in tlie follow-up scssions. This sort of cs;ui~plc is at the heart of gaining an i~ndcrstanding of conlpctitive adva~ltage and ~\ould have bccu lost had tllc teams opted to present (a more simple marketing seminar covering the 4Ps and Organisation Stn~cture) \\hat \volrld have bccn more inmlcdiately coniprchcnsiblc. Dcaling \\it11 and understanding the competition (in ~vliatever form, the threat to n local nlonopoly, imports, ctc.) and the needs of custon~crs is probably die single most significant challenge facing many cntcrpriscs.
One exmiple of where an effcctive dialogue was cstablisl~cd was in Krasnoyarsk. The limited number of participants at this scminar allowed the prcsentcrs to work from the paper versions of the slides and to force a greater degrcc of discussion. This allo\vcd the participants more freedom to raise their otvn eesan~plcs and tlicir objections to tlic theory and, as n result appears to have generally improved the learning espcrience.
4. Increase perception of practicality and relevance for each enterprise
As noted above, the presenting teams tried as far as possible to enter into n dialogue with the seminar participants (it should probably be noted that this style of learning represents quite a "cultural" shock). This not only had the aim of improving the learning process, but also was designed to increase the perception of practicality of the prcscntcd material.
The practical problcms which face enterprise managers i n the short tern1 do differ from tlie theory of marketing, finance or any other business discipline. However, the franlework for resolving tlie underlying problems, the root causes, of the issues \vhich face managers does not change. Unfortunately, managers are busy fighting current fires and rarely have the time, even when they have the understanding, to address these root causes.
In this environnient, it is vital that the materials covered in a seminar are perceived to be inui~ediately relevant, but also that compromises in the n~aterials are not made such that the tools to address tlie underlying root causes of the problems faced by the enterprises are not made available. Experience has sliown that practical esamples from P.I.E.S. enterprises wliere tlie preserlting team has worked have proven very effective in increasing this relevance. A second technique, as outlined above, was to involve the audience in discussion; and a third was to tailor the follow-up session as a "business clinic" where ninnagers were able to come and discuss their problems and their ideas for solutions in n low risk enviro~unent.
Gcnernl Lessons Lcnrned
5 . Requirement to define audience and tailor nlaterials accordingly
One of tlie elements where in retrospect, the developers of the marketing materials were too optimistic \\.as the levcl of audie~icc \vIiich could be attracted and retained throughout the three days of a seminar. The original forn~at covered strategic issues: the general role of niarketing, why it is important and the need for focus to reduce overall business risk during a large part of the first day and then returned during the first part of day threc to discuss business definition, industry attractiveness (mnnngernent in a potentially well positioned as opposed to a poorly positioned industry) and the 3Cs.
This required the nlost senior managers to attend on two separate days in ordcr to receive the full benefit of the seminar- which in most cases they \vcre reluctant to do (for reasons discirssed above in point one of these Icssons learned).
Tlierc were at least three audiences for parts of the coniplctc nlarkcting se~ni~lar; and it is hoped that the revised ordcring of the materials will allow thcm to be prcscntcd to these audiences \\it11
even greater effectiveness than was achicvcd during the initial roll-out of tllc seminars. Tllc audiences for die ~natcrials were as follows:
Level Modde
Senior Managers: First Half Modules One alid Three Con~nlercial Managerst Second half Modulc One, Module Four Marketing nnd Sales Heads Marketing Specialists Modulc Two, Second half of Module Three
It is likely that there would be material in nlodules which wcre principally targeted at more scnior managers which tvould interest their more junior collcagues, but i t is likely (and the practical implementation has strongly suggested) that the interest in more scnior managers in topics designed for more junior colleagues is likely to be limited.
The revised ordcr of the materials should make serving the needs of these various mdiences more easy by grouping the material to incrcnse the targeting of the mcssage. It should also be easier to present ns a consequence as the audience levcl for each module should be more I~omogenous.
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Level Module
Senior Managers: Module One Comnlercial Managers1 Modules Two and Five Marketing and Sales Heads Marketing Specialists Modules Three a~ld Four
It may have been easier to attract larger ni~nibers of more senior mmagers if the materials had bee11 ordered in this revised fornut but the timing of the roll-out (August and September) also restricted participation. This would also have required a significant resource input from the staff of the Local Privatisation Centres to explain that different modulcs tvere being targeted at different audiences.
Role of the LPC
The LPCs are not at a common level of development, nor are the resources available to them necessarily in proportion to the relative tasks ahcad. The role of the LPC is important in facilitating the orgnnisational logistics of the seminar, especially when the LPC has developed contacts with the enterprises of its region. There ttwe esccllcnt esamples of the quality work that can be done by the LPC in both Kirov (where at the follo\v-up there was a remarkable turn-out of senior managers for a strategic marketing seminar) and in Saransk where there was a very high turn-out of seminar participants. In other regions- for esample Tolnsk \\here the LPC is not yet
LI lence. ft~lly operational- the LPC was understandably less successful in attracting a high quality 7 d' It is important that the LPC is fi11Iy convinced of the value that these seminars can have for the managements of local enterprises if thc further roll-out of the serninar materials is to be as effective as possible.
The issue of the LPC charging a fcc for thc serninar should perhaps be looked at in the light of tlie value tlmt is added by the LPC. Whilst it is important that the LPCs do begin to dcvelop their own soilrces of rcvcnuc, i t may be important to rccognisc tlint thcrc is an iliiportant differcncc bettvcen a centre sirch as Vlndimir ndiich has been fimctioning for n rclativcly long period and a centre such as Barnaul or To~nsk ~vhcrc dcvclopmcnt is still at an cnrly stage and it is clcarly should be much more difficult to gcncrate a fee paying audience.
Importance of Hmd-Out Materials
The hand-out materials- if only by tlicir sheer volumc- madc an inimediate i~npression on thc participnnts of the scminars and indeed on the staff of the LPCs. The i~nportance of these niaterials in reinforcing that the presenting tcanis really were \vcll prcparcd should probably not be underestin~ated.
More signiticantly, the materials will provide a clear "how to" guide to those mnnagers who do manage to push beyond resolving imniediate criscs to look at tllcir underlying causes. This slio~~ld be tlle long tern1 success of the seminars, as it is hopcd that with tinle an increasing nunlber of seminar participants will start to me the concepts discussed in a practical way. The fact that the modules did not make concessions to inunediate relevance but established the principles for successfi~l long term operation should nlean, Iiopcf~rlly, that they will remain very relevant whether the seminar participant nlakes the effort to resolve marketing issues nest month or in a coiiple of years.
This long tenn effectiveness of the experience devcloped during the P.I.E.S. progmmme is at least, if not, more important tllan that tlie assistance that was accorded to the relatively few recipient enterprises. The esperience of these enterprises is n vital lever i n developing the credibility of the
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marketing tool-kit materials and as such of the effective education of large numbers of managements tltroi~ghoi~t R L I S S ~ ~ .
Final Note
The roll-out materials were used on a trial basis with one Ukrainian enterprise with n'hich Bain cP:
Conlpany was working, essentially in order to facilitate the introduction to this project of a new project manager. One consequence of this was that the Western NIS Investment Fund, backed by the Department of Conmerce became aware of the nlarkcting tool-kit materials. This fund is now interested in using these materials with all the individual companies in which they have made investments. This roll-out of the matcrials and their perceived relevance by a demanding audience- that of the venture capitalist- is a testament to the long tern1 value ivl~ich these materinls are likely to have for a very large number of enterprises and managers and provide an additional justification of the P.I.E.S. progranune beyond the origi~lal euterprise levcl assistance.
In this regard also, it is worth noting that several of the LPCs are ~tsiug these nlaterinls as a selling point of other RPC assistallce progmmnles- for esa~llple the World Bank loan facility for restnlcturing- in order to show that qiiality assistance is nvailable and that the apparent grcnt espense is econor~iically justifiable.
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APPENDIX ONE
RPC: Marketinq Tool-Kit Seminar Resul ts Major Indicators
Total - 15 cities
Bain Contribution 5 teams by 2 people
- 120 companies participated - presented 4 modules, distributed 8 - 99 companies have got guides and exercises
1.5-2 hour individual - made individual consultations with consultations each of the participants on their
marketing issues
Attendance -Module 1 - 151 person - Module I I - 155 person - Module I l l - 157 person - Module IV - 142 person
Participants have been surveyed about 1 . Importance of the modules 2. Effectiveness of the modules 3. Relevance of t h e module 4. Satisfaction rate 5. Necessity for improvement 6. How much would they pay for the module
