Do you have a playbook for your marketing strategy? Michigan State Spartan Basketball team has a playbook and look where they are!

1. Michigan State University’s Basketball Team Has A Playbook, Every Winning Team Does.
Making it to college basketball’s “Final Four” bracket doesn’t just happen. It takes commitment,
passion for the game, and a playbook that strategically leverages the Team’s strengths so that
they can ultimately outperform their opponents. The same holds true for businesses today.
The recession has prompted companies in all sectors to fall back and take a defensive stance, in
many cases merely to survive. Now that the economic tide has started to shift, these
companies need to “change it up”, and quickly get back on the offensive. The million dollar
question – how can businesses best leverage their resources to expand sales in a marketplace
that has surely changed?
David Thorp, Director of Research and Professional Development at The Chartered Institute of
Marketing, commented…“It’s concerning to see that even after the resource constraints of an
economic downturn, many marketers are still not fully embracing the rigors and accountability
that their businesses demand of them. As we now plan for growth, managers must put more
effort into establishing true accountability for customer investments”.
Today’s marketers are responsible for more than ever…sales management, product
development, social media, channel management, public relations, market research, design,
content, white papers, articles, lead generation and customer service. With limited post-
recession resources(i.e. both in terms of personnel and funding), many companies are struggling
as they try to figure out how they can tap into a broad range of talent, without the cost of hiring
2-3 full time employees. Fortunately, today there are alternatives available to companies which
allow them to do just that. Debbie Scartozzi and her team of marketing professionals at
Checkmate Associates are positioned to give businesses the marketing edge that they need to
dominate their completion in today’s ever changing marketplace.
Scartozzi, a 25 year marketing veteran launched Checkmate Associates in February 2006. Her
full service marketing firm supports companies with less than 500 employees and, seamlessly
supplements internal teams for larger companies.
Timeless Challenge – How To Leverage Resources
Checkmate Associates approach and process is exciting because it opens up a lot of new
possibilities for companies that simply cannot staff a full-time marketing group. At Checkmate,
clients are hooked up with a dedicated Project Manager who works with their team – helping to
sort out their marketing needs, and then providing them with access to all the marketing tools
and resources necessary to support the client’s business goals.
Every winning team has a game plan that leverages a customized playbook, and players that
successfully dig deep to flawlessly execute that plan. MSU’s victory on the basketball court last
weekend is a perfect case in point – they had a focused plan and a team “in the zone”.
Shifting gears off the court and into the business arena, a number of companies find that they
don’t have the resources they need to develop their marketing playbook. Many companies
www.ck-mate.com
248-230-4383
Rochester, MI

2. were forced to let their marketing team go during the recession and are not prepared to rehire.
Whereas other companies simply don’t have marketing resources, yet recognize that they need
this expertise to widen their footprint in the marketplace.
That’s where Checkmate Associates comes in…literally.
“We free up an organization’s existing resources so that they can zero in on targeted sales
opportunities,” Debbie Scartozzi said. “Each company that we partner with has a solid
marketing plan that eliminates guesswork. A client’s staff will be dedicated to executing the
plays and motivated to succeed because they: (1) understand the plan, (2) buy into the plan,
and (3) have ownership in the plan.”
Shared resources, leveraging talent, it might seem like a leap, but it’s critical to leverage best
practices and resources to be successful with marketing. How does this work?
 Step #1: Assess the current state of business and marketing strategies.
Understand where the organization stands today with its demand
generation activities and then map its current state to where it
wants to go with lead generation and customer retention
campaigns.
 Step #2: The second step is developing your sales/marketing game plan –
The Playbook.
 Step #3: Establish organizational alignment between sales and marketing,
ensuring that demand generation activities are supported,
measured, and integrated with sales so there is a hand-off of strong
opportunities between marketing and sales.
 Step #4: Measure and mange through bi-weekly onsite meetings, and our
‘Score Board’ which insures all activities are aimed towards specific
business goals.
Every step is time based, it’s focused and deliberate.
Checkmate Associates supports its clients by sharing best practices, leveraging relationships,
and driving sales. They work hard building a community of successful marketers who are
responsive, professional and experienced.
“Our goal is to enable our clients to compete,” Scartozzi said. “Before the recession, small-to-
medium size firms may have been pushed out of the way by larger companies with more
people and marketing resources. By engaging Checkmate Associates, our clients develop a
playbook that opens new markets, and expands existing markets. Our clients discover that the
recent crippling economic factors hit their larger competitors hard, leaving them vulnerable and
slow to adapt. Ultimately, Checkmate clients will be better prepared to serve their clients – and
potentially their competitor’s clients – with an aggressive approach toward goals and measured
steps that make the best use of resources.”
www.ck-mate.com
248-230-4383
Rochester, MI

3. Checkmate. Scartozzi said that she is often asked why she chose Checkmate as a name for her
business development firm. “After all, when people hear ‘Checkmate’, it means you’re stymied
and the chess match is over. I say it depends on which side of the board you’re on and whether
you play to win.”
A trend in business today and with business books, has been – be brief (i.e. in terms of content),
and to the point. In February, Scartozzi, the CEO of Checkmate Associates, released The
Marketing Playbook. “Just like our internal sales/marketing play book, we
keep it simple, measureable, and right to the point.
Now more than ever, successful business strategies are executed one play
at a time. The good news – it’s your move and you don’t have to go it
alone.
www.ck-mate.com
248-230-4383
Rochester, MI