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Original Date: 08/08/1994
Revision Date: 01/18/2007
Information : Marketing Program
CSTA has initiated a marketing program that has provided better workload forecasting, improved relationships with customers, developed new customers, and produced customer investment in CSTA facilities. The resources required to conduct tests at CSTA are documented by TECOM through the Test Resource Management System (TRMS) database. This database is used to forecast workloads and budget levels for CSTA and the other TECOM test activities.
As workloads were reduced from the defense drawdown effort, better test workload definition was needed to defend budget requests, to obtain CSTA's share of the TECOM workload, and to receive overhead resources such as manpower and dollars from TECOM. Previously, CSTA relied on its customers to enter anticipated test resource requirements into the TRMS database. However, in 1991, CSTA initiated a Marketing and Customer Relations Program with initial marketing visits to major customers to discuss their future test workloads and document these workloads in TRMS for the customer. These initial marketing efforts were very successful as in the case of the first customer visited which produced 69 tests that had not been entered in the TRMS database.
An expanded marketing program was implemented in phases, beginning with the establishment of a marketing/customer relations specialist. The specialist developed new capability briefings, replaced black and white facilities and capabilities books with color pamphlets, and produced specific brochures outlining major CSTA capabilities. Customer awareness training was initiated for the test directors since these individuals maintained the greatest contact with CSTA customers. Updated and expanded displays were prepared for use at conferences and symposiums.
New customers were targeted, resulting in work from sources such as the Navy and Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Office of Research and Technology Applications was established to enter the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement and technology transfer arena.
This successful marketing effort by CSTA has enhanced the workload forecasting capability while providing the facility with new customers, as well as the $51 million dollars CSTA customers have invested in facilities since the program began.
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
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