Grupo SYC
One of DEC's strongest value added resellers (VAR's),Sistemas y Computadores de Gestion was a 300-employe consortium of 6 companies; ranging from software, hardware and services to developing proprietary systems platforms.
As Corporate Marketing Director, I was responsible for building, coaching and mentoring a team of six in the execution of all marketing and communications efforts for the company and its business partners. Highlights include:
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Funding and implementing company and co-op channel advertising programs for up to 10% of allocated budget (12 different brands).
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Launching e-commerce website for the company (mexmart.com). Created and managed the customer service center, handling over 200 online clients. Achieved overall business and sales goals, exceeding income revenue of 10% within the first year. Negotiated consignment inventories with business partners, reducing operating costs by 20%.
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Supporting the companies and the brands they represented through PR and communications.
Public Relations: Capitalizing on media relations to secure brand positioning in trade publications while optimizing the marketing budget
SyC Group has characterized itself for always introducing new technology to the Mexican market. Such is the case with the Sequent Platform. The premise of the campaign was “Windows NT and Unix Operating in the Same Box” .
In this particular case, the public relations discipline also meant taking care of our business partners by providing effective communication plans.
Maximizing a minimal budget throughout this campaign translated into a little over 30k worth of objective, focused messages; as well as two-to-three month media exposure. Press members certainly took advantage of the information of the one-on-one press tour planned for this occasion.
As a result, SyC strengthened its business relationship with Sequent, while the sales members pinpointed their strategies by using publications as sales support. Leads generated from this campaign led to the signing of important institutions in Mexico -- PEMEX and the University of Toluca were confident in migrating their information to the Sequent platform.
This is a great success story for SyC, who won the bid for implementing the vote collection system (PREP) and its publication on the Internet. The solution provided by the technological partners would make the counting of votes secure, objective and accurate, something Mexico hadn't achieved in its electoral process.
The current political situation aided in the high impact on this campaign, which consisted of an advertising ad and several press interviews with a major government/channel focused publications.
Our objective was to position SyC as THE Systems Integrator and services provider; a company that was also interested in making our country a better place by meeting the national challenges that would sure enough change the way the electoral process of the 1998 elections --and future systems in the electoral process-- were handled.
Collateral Development
Sales Support: Combining Partner Management & E-Commerce
As a successful IT VAR and Systems Integrator, Solutions Integrator, SYC couldn't be left behind in the new e-commerce trend just picking up in Mexico.
Strategy:
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Capitalize on business partner relationships to launch an e-commerce site that would allow:
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Negotiate systems and parts inventories
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Sell mid-to high end servers through the e-business site
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Implement the system integration through SyC
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Excel in service by reducing the time of service (instead of placing an order to the US and waiting for 3 weeks for the part to finally be imported and installed)
Action Items for Mexmart.com:
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Market Research that allowed to propose a viable service at market price
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Logo Design an website conceptualization
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Business Plan Development for end consumer and enterprise customers
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Re-designed the logo, and the website
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Development of communications programs that included collateral production, Advertising, PR, promotional programs and participation in tradeshows.
Results:
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Exceeding overall business expectations for the e-commerce site, billing 10% over expected sales
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Generating business for the company’s service business unit by providing valuable sales leads for the installation and maintenance of technical parts
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Successfully negotiating consignment inventories, reducing operating costs by 20%
IT Systems Integration Services Testimonial Campaign
The objectives of this project were to support the company in effectively communicating its achievements through activities that strengthened its image, while achieving an endorsement from the Government of the City. The communication program consisted of helping the RPP organize an event that was targeted to all state registries and support it with communication material.
As a result, SyC obtained exposure as a preferred IT solutions provider for government contracts. It became a valuable sales tool that ultimately was endorsed by the City’s Office, helping the company maintain its brand awareness and positioning. This testimonial piece became part of the company’s sales portfolio.