Customers
- Am I addressing current customers’ needs well? -Who are possible new ones? What is the best way to approach them?
Products
- What new products would make sense to add to my existing offerings? -How can I assess demand for new products I’m considering developing?
Competition
- Who are they and how are we doing against them? -Whom should I be aware of as a future competitor?
Market analysis
- What new markets should I consider? -How big are they, and what is their expected growth rate?
New market entry
- Build, buy, partner? -Timing, resources required
John developed and honed his consulting skills from his experience with leading organizations in their fields.
High technology
- Apple, HP, Sun Microsystems, IBM
Finance and investments
- JP Morgan and Fidelity Investments
Management consulting
- Arthur D. Little
John earned a BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Yale School of Management. He has also taken classes at Stanford University in venture management and data science.
Services
Verrochi Consulting applies its extensive experience-based expertise to help client in these functional areas:
Analysis
- Market analysis
- Financial analysis
- Competitive analysis
- Quantitative modeling
- What-if analysis
- Alternative scenario envisioning, simulation
- Technology evaluation
Strategy
- Business-unit strategy
- Marketing strategy
- Business case development
Marketing
- Customer segmentation
- New-product development
- Product management
- Pricing
- Positioning
- Product marketing
- Go-to-market strategy and execution
- Storytelling
- Collateral development
- Market development
- Intellectual property licensing
If a project’s scope warrants it, John can call on his network for additional resources in various functions such as marcomm, PR, legal, finance, web-site design and development, and others.
Domain expertise
John’s industry and consulting work has given him extensive expertise in these verticals:
Technology
- Enterprise computing: hardware, software, services
- Cloud/XaaS
- Big data,artifical intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)
- Technology evaluation
- IP Licensing
Energy, green tech
- Carbon-based sources: coal, natural gas
- Renewable energy: solar and wind
- Electric vehicles
Financial services
- Investment management
- Investment banking
- Payments
Approach
Verrochi Consulting takes a structured approach to solve business problems and incorporates design thinking and agile methods.
Analysis
- Problem definition
- Situation analysis
- Deep market, financial, competitive analysis
- Financial and alternative scenario modeling
Strategy
- Synthesis
- Strategy development, presentation
Execution
- Marketing plan development and execution
- Cross-functional and cross-organizational team and project management
Results
- Increased revenues, market share, profits
- Problem solved
Experience has shown that sometimes what is initially thought to be the problem is in fact symptomatic of a deeper issue. Analysis performed early in a project is critical in correctly specifying and understanding the right question or problem at hand. Additional analysis and synthesis are critical to developing and presenting actionable strategies. Executed rigorously, these can lead to dramatic results, in terms of increased revenues, market share, and profits.
VC analyzes and solves a problem from multiple perspectives, as shown in the diagram below.
Product
- Define the customer, determine his/her needs
- Market definition, assessment
- Specify and incorporate differentiating features, benefits
Marketing
- Deep market, financial, competitive, analysis
- Positioning, messaging, sales-force enablement
- Go-to-market strategy
Financial
- Model revenues and expenses to ensure a desired return
- Consider alternative scenarios, their implications, and prepare for them
Organizational
- Lead cross-organizational,cross-functional teams
- Forge alliances with partners, coopetitors as needed/desirable
This multidimensional approach has proven effective in maximizing results in client engagements.
Portfolio
In both line and consulting roles, John Verrochi has worked on projects that span competitive to growth strategy for leading clients in their markets.
Financial Services
Technology
Consulting Clients
Employers
The tables below comprise case studies of John’s industry and consulting experience.
Apple
Challenge
Evaluate the market potential of a server version of the Macintosh operating system.
Actions
Interviewed numerous corporate, government, and university customers to ascertain their interest in and willingness to pay for a proposed server operating system combining elements of MacOS and Unix.
Results
Presented findings and recommendations to senior management, who adopted them.
AT&T
Challenge
Identify ways for AT&T commercialize technologies developed for internal use.
Actions
Evaluated the market potential of 25 technologies developed by AT&T Labs. Assessed products’ features and benefits; reviewed target markets and competitors’ products. Evaluated market, financial and organizational pros and cons of licensing and sales alternatives.
Results
Developed and presented recommendations for commercialization from market, financial, and organizational perspectives.
Covad (Medium-sized service provider, renamed MegaPath)
Challenge
Assess the market potential of bundling internet and phone services for small to medium-sized businesses.
Actions
Interviewed more than 100 SMBs to investigate their current telecom providers and interest in bundled computing and phone services.
Results
Sized the market opportunity, leading to direct mail and telesales initiatives to build business.
Energy start up
Challenge
Estimate the market potential and develop a business plan for a new technology that improved the efficiency of electricity-generating plants.
Actions
Evaluated technology’s potentially addressable market: coal, natural gas, and nuclear electricity-generating plants, both in the US and abroad. Developed a cost-pricing model and recommendations for market entry and growth.
Results
Thorough business plan and market strategy.
Fidelity Investments
Challenge
Develop new retirement products for institutional clients.
Actions
Identified a market gap, developed and presented the business case to develop new products for this market to senior internal management. Outlined resources required, and developed a marketing plan. Developed products with Fidelity internal and external partners (e.g., investment banks, insurance companies). Developed sales and marketing collateral.
Results
Resulting new assets grew to from zero $3B in three years.
Hewlett-Packard
Challenge
Grow HP’s business in the enterprise computing market.
Actions
Wrote and executed go to market strategies; led three major product launches, messaging/competitive positioning, promotion, and pricing. Developed scores of marketing collateral pieces and led sales-training efforts. Delivered hundreds of presentations to Fortune 500 customers, ISVs, industry consultants, and press. Wrote and delivered presentations and white papers at HPWorld and other major computer trade shows.
Results
Increased HP-UX-related revenues by more than 20% annually (well above the industry) to over $100 million. Contributed substantially to the success of a new 64-bit line of Unix-based servers.
Hewlett-Packard
Challenge
Identify ways for HP to capitalize on the emerging cloud/SaaS computing model.
Actions
Developed a comprehensive competitive analysis of HP’s, IBM’s and Sun Microsystems’ hardware, software, and services and strategies in the grid/utility (cloud) computing market from technology, product, and marketing perspectives. Identified and valued 10 potential acquisition candidates to close gaps in hardware and software product lines.
Results
Findings and recommendations influenced HP’s technology investments and marketing messaging.
IBM
Challenge
Grow IBM business units’ adoption of Watson artificial intelligence technologies.
Actions
Collaborated with product managers in 6 business units to identify ways that Watson could enhance their product offerings.
Results
Business units incorporated Watson AI technologies into their roadmaps.
Mercury Computer Systems
Challenge
Develop the business case for establishing a complementary services business.
Actions
Analyzed competitors’ and comparable companies’ services businesses. Forecast the revenue and profit opportunity.
Results
Developed and presented analyses and recommendations to client’s senior management, who adopted recommendations.
Microsoft
Challenge
Specify ways to minimize customer defection from the SharePoint platform.
Actions
Drafted a questionnaire and interviewed current and prospective customers on their experience with SharePoint and competitive products (likes and dislikes). Included discussion of features and pricing.
Results
Deeper understanding of customers’ buying behavior, recommendations for product management and product marketing.
PictureTel (videoconferencing systems vendor acquired by Polycom)
Challenge
Assess customers’ purchase process and ROI for using videoconferencing.
Actions
Interviewed dozens of corporate and government users to learn their purchase process. Quizzed them on how often they used the systems, what their savings were, compared with avoided travel costs.
Results
Developed 6-10 customer success profiles that were incorporated into marketing collateral and used as sales tools to grow business.
Sun Microsystems (acquired by Oracle)
Challenge
Identify opportunities for Sun grow its business in the high-availability market.
Actions
Conceptualized a new program consisting of hardware, software, and services. Developed and presented the business case to senior internal management to develop a new product for this market. Outlined resources required and developed a marketing plan. Developed a model to simulate technology and financial risk aspects of program. Led the development of products, teaming with Sun-internal and external partners. Developed sales and marketing collateral; trained sales force.
Results
Related revenue grew by $300M in three years.
VCE (joint venture of Cisco, EMC, VMware, acquired by Dell in 2016)
Challenge
Develop a deeper understanding of potential customers’ current computing environment and needs in order to improve product development and marketing.
Actions
Composed a questionnaire and interviewed 40 current and prospective customers computing needs and Challenges.
Results
Comprehensive analysis and synthesis of findings and recommendations to improve product development and marketing.
World Bank’s Global Environment Facility
Challenge
Improve a model to allocate roughly $4B in World Bank and UN funds for sustainability projects to developing countries.
Actions
Scrubbed data. Improved and added to model’s equations. Developed model documentation to improve its ease of use.
Results
Enhancements optimized distribution of funds for climate change and biodiversity initiatives, subject to policy objectives, floors, and ceilings.
Contact
If your organization could use help solving complex problems that entail rigorous analysis as the basis for strategy development and execution, please let’s talk to discuss how Verrochi Consulting may help.
Call
(408) 835-8166
jverrochi@verrochiconsulting.com