Client Testimonials
Mike’s coaching was excellent! It didn’t matter whether we were tackling a pop-up issue, developing an MRD, or formulating a voice-of-the-customer plan. Mike’s guidance was always appreciated, useful, and actionable.
We knew that in order to reach our growth and profitability objectives, we would need to become a more market-driven company. To get there, we needed to understand our customers’ problems better, develop the best possible solutions to those problems, and be compensated for the value those solutions provide to our customers.
Our strategy included creating scalable business units to serve each of our target market segments and then staffing those business units with product managers with the skills to grow product line profitability and market share. We brought Mike in to help us drive this effort and develop the competencies that we needed.
This has been a real success story, and I can’t thank Mike enough. Today our market-focused business units are up and running; we have developed customer value definition, creation, and marketing skills in our product managers; and we are winning more orders at prices that reflect the value that we deliver to our customers.
Our annual Executive Summit is attended by the senior management teams of each of our portfolio companies. They come to share ideas, best practices, and challenges. The need to attract more customers and improve pricing is always a primary objective for our companies, and a core element of building enterprise value.
To that end, we asked Mike to develop and lead an executive session at our summit this year on how to implement a value-based strategy. Mike’s content and delivery was spot on. Several of our CEOs and heads of marketing & sales made it a point to tell me that it was a thought provoking session and that they came away with ideas they can use to improve their companies.
Mike’s contribution to our event was exactly what we were looking for!
Mike’s an expert in both strategy development and high-tech capital equipment, so he understands the unique challenges of our business. There was no learning curve with Mike, and his approach was perfect for us.
He drove the process, provided the tools and coached the team. In very short order we had our integrated multi-year product strategy. I’ll call on Mike whenever I need help with strategy, marketing, product management, or business development.
We brought Mike in to help us develop a strategy to engage the HB-LED industry. Mike really did a great job connecting our quantum dot technology to clear value propositions for this market. As a result of Mike’s work, we now know where our best opportunities lie, how to approach them, and who to engage. Leveraging his proficiency at connecting dots and articulating opportunities, Mike delivered the goods in a timely and effective manner.
Mike’s “How to Implement a Value-Based Strategy” workshop, connected the dots for me. By using examples directly related to our industry, Mike made each value-strategy concept immediately useful. I came away with a toolbox full of practical techniques to that I can apply right away.
Mike’s work with us made a significant contribution to our strong market position, rapid growth, and new market entry. Plus the knowledge, tools, and mentoring that Mike gave the team put us on solid footing for continued success.
Tekcess International is on my short list of who to call when I need expert high technology management and implementation help.
Mike’s a world-class coach. His process, time, energy, and enthusiasm set in motion a complete change to how we approach sales-and-marketing-tool creation. As a result, my business is more profitable, and I am a more capable marketing professional. Thanks, Mike!
We had what we thought was an impossible role to fill. GSI Group had made a strategic decision to focus on high-tech component level products. We therefore needed to divest our laser equipment business which at the time did not have a general manager. This was a board-level initiative that needed someone that could instantly understand the business, run it, and then market it to potential buyers.
That someone was Mike Chase. Mike took command of the situation immediately. He addressed critical product and market issues, held the team together through the uncertainty of a divestiture process, and secured a buyer for the business. Mike did an A+ job in an assignment that had an “off the charts” degree of difficulty.
Once I completed the opportunity analysis, I had to communicate my product and market engagement recommendations. My audience included the c-suite, so I wanted to get this right. With Mike’s help and guidance, I was able to put together a pitch-perfect presentation that very effectively communicated my message .
Like any good coach, Mike got the best out of me. Plus, I added new skills and learned new approaches that will help me on future projects. Thanks, Mike! I look forward to the next time we can work together.
As my coach, Mike helped me on my journey from an engineer with a tremendous amount of product knowledge to a product manager with the skills to grow my business. A 100% positive experience!
I very much enjoyed Mike’s value-based strategy workshop and found the content directly applicable to my business. With Mike’s coaching, I’ve applied value-based pricing to my current portfolio and developed a roadmap that focuses engineering efforts on solutions that drive economic value for our customers.
As a result, my customers are getting products that they highly value, and we’re getting paid for that value. Since working with Mike and adopting a value-based strategy, we’ve literally added millions of gross margin dollars to our bottom line each year.
When we engaged Mike to help us prepare for an important investor event, he was able to contribute from the moment he walked through the door. Mike really helped us craft and articulate our growth strategy, which in turn lead to a very successful investor event. The speed in which he grasped both our business and the task at hand has been unmatched by any other consultant with whom I have worked.
Mike put together the team, product roadmaps and the selling tools that reversed a multi-year market share decline and lead to a number one position for us.
This included value proposition, market launch, marketing communications, and customer selling strategies. We successfully developed relationships with 80% of the companies in less than nine months. Mike is highly recommended for any business strategy, marketing, or product-launch initiative.
To get our company where we needed to go, we were going to have to get a lot better at defining, developing, and marketing our products. We had work to do with the team, the process and the tools. The problem was our plate was already full with critical initiatives, and to be honest the list of people to pick from that could really whip our product management capability into shape was pretty short.
I had worked with Mike before and knew he was the right person for this job. He knows our industry and is among those few who can really put all the pieces together when it comes to managing and marketing capital equipment. Mike tackled it all including product strategy development, life cycle management, and positioning. His efforts made a big improvement in how we manage and market our products. More importantly, Mike left behind a team fully trained and equipped with everything they need to ensure the improvement continues.
It’s easy to recommend Mike to anyone looking to improve the way they define, develop, or market their products.
I engaged Mike to help guide growth options development for our business. Mike provided us with an approach and coaching that resulted in a more efficient process and an improved ability to assess our opportunities.