HOW DOES MARKETING ANALYTICS CONSULTING
PAY OFF? 

Jean-Paul, solo entrepreneur of Chocodiem, ran a small Belgium truffle shop in Clinton, NJ. The NYTimes ran a story on his exquisite handmade confections, among other top media outlets. Despite the accolades, JP thought Clinton's sales had peaked, so he launched another shop in Easton, PA. Sales were terrific, yet overall, business entity profits got tight. 

 

Kate Roa invited JP to Starbucks. After an hour-long discovery talk, Kate understood the value of JP's current marketing assets, like recent media interviews, email marketing lists, sales data, and social media engagement. She signed on as an equity investor to crunch the operation's numbers, integrate data-savvy marketing and sales technology, and pitch to media outlets. 

 

After Kate integrated the technology and cleaned up the data, she and JP co-created cost-analysis spreadsheets for Clinton and Easton to find financial wiggle room. They compared sales and marketing data by day, time, and location to evaluate the logic of keeping both shops open full-time. 

 

Numbers don't lie. The Clinton shop hindered Easton's growth. JP slowly reduced the hours in Clinton and eventually closed the shop to focus on Easton entirely. With better profit margins, he secured a business loan and purchased equipment for Easton. He then offered frozen drinks and treats with better margins that required lower labor costs. Profits got sweet. 

 

While the business transitioned to one location, Kate pitched to media outlets. The Chocodiem story made headlines as the Top 10 Chocolatier in North America. Was it Kate or someone else behind this award? We'll never know. Most important, JP received due recognition for his exquisite truffles.