Unlike most marketing consultants who work on a 60-day or 90-day cycle, Ries & Ries conducts one-day strategy sessions only. There are reasons for this approach.

The problem facing most clients is not the need to generate a lot of facts, opinions, ideas and concepts and then package them all together in a binder. Most companies have more information than any one prospect can possibly absorb. The problem is how to simplify and generalize the data. In other words, how to find a focus.

Furthermore, many members of a company's management team have different ideas about the direction a company or its brands should take. A great idea that doesn’t have the support of the entire management team is not going to be as effective as a good idea that everybody gets behind.

Ries & Ries conducts one-day strategy sessions with a company’s top management team (up to 8 to 10 people). We explore possibilities together and reach the branding solutions jointly making sure everyone on the team has an opportunity to participate in the process.

At the end of the day, we will have formulated a “miniature” marketing plan. That is, a marketing plan without the numbers. (Dates, costs, publications, etc.) If at the end of the day, everyone doesn’t enthusiastically support the strategy developed by the team, then Ries & Ries will have failed.

• How can we expand our business and still stay focused?/li>
• Do we have too many brands or too few?
• Do we need to change any of our brand names?
• Do we need to launch a new brand?
• What word does each of our brands own in the consumer's mind?
• What words do we want to own?
• Who is the competition and what can we do about them?
• How can we generate publicity?
• What should our advertising strategy be?
• What should we do about the Internet?
• Pricing issues?
• Distribution issues?
• Any other issue that might arise during the discussions.

Roughly a week after the session is completed, we will send you a seven or eight page report summarizing the strategic recommendations. In addition we are available via telephone or email to discuss any questions you still might have. Also, we are available to comment on advertising or publicity campaigns or new names developed as a result of the recommendations.

Al Ries and Laura Ries have studied thousands of companies, how they became successful or why they failed. In addition we have consulted with hundreds of companies around the world to help them solve marketing problems. (Our 12 books on marketing are based on this research.) While we are not experts in any one field, we are experts in developing marketing strategy because we have worked for so many different companies in so many different industries, including both consumer and business-to-business. In general, we help your company find a focus, own a word in the consumer's mind and dominate a market.

Where the meeting takes place is up to you. Usually we have it at your offices. We will fly in the night before so we can start the meeting first thing in the morning. Otherwise, we can have the meeting at an office we have in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, a 30-minute drive from Hartsfield International airport.

A week or two before the strategy session you should send us an information package so we can familiarize ourselves with your situation, your market, your competition, etc. The package might contain a description of your products or services and their target audiences. You might also include marketing plans, press releases, research data, advertisements, brochures, competitive information, etc.

All the key decision makers should participate in the strategy session, including representatives from your advertising and PR agencies, if appropriate. We suggest, however, that no more than 8 to 10 people participate. Too few people and we don't get all the input needed; too many people and we have to slow down the pace of the meeting which makes it harder to reach decisions.

Scheduling a session is determined by your calendar and our availability. Finding a day is usually not a problem. It can be a week from now or several months, whatever works best for you.

A full-day strategy session costs $30,000, plus our travel and hotel costs.

Sure. Upon request, we will be happy to provide you with a reference list and contact numbers. You can also read the testimonials published on our site.

The Ries & Ries one-day strategy session is designed to provide an overall direction for a company or a brand. It’s a day which allows you to get everything on the table, in order to learn, discuss, analyze and formulate a company’s focus. To start, we will ask specific questions designed to isolate the issues involved. Our philosophy is simple: The answer is in the problem. Only after a thorough discussion of your situation do we start to work on your problems. Then we work with you and your team to figure out the answers.

Yes, of course. We have conducted multiple sessions for a number of clients. Normally, however, it is a year or so before a client finds the need to schedule another session. The ideas and concepts developed in the initial session are long-term in nature and usually don’t need modification unless there are substantial changes in the competition or in the marketplace.

Contact Ries & Ries by phone, fax or email. Al or Laura Ries would be happy to talk with you about your particular situation and how a strategy session might be helpful.
Phone: 770-643-0880
Email: laura@ries.com