S S Ten Slides in Ten Minutes: Client Crusades and Campaigns [Capturing the Hearts and Minds of Prospects & Clients]

Presented by:

Bill Graham APM.APMP

January, 2014

bill.graham@sales-synthesis.co.za

2

Crusades and Campaigns expedite the journey

Dominant Exclusive Emerging Pervasive Absent

Sustainability

Making the competitors irrelevant

Projects Particular Performing Pertinent People Places

The Sustainable Business Imperative

Building mutually beneficial and sustainable long-term client relationships

Source: www.sales-synthesis.co.za

Symbiotic relationship with clients

Focus on Client’s Business Imperatives

Identify where Value is Defined and Realised

Value Proposition Value Definition Value Derivation

Client

X

Validate Solution Functionality

Realise the Benefits

Vendor

Understand the Problem

Architect Solution X

Lengthy discourse with the prospects are necessary to identify the problem they are attempting to resolve [Account Management]

The Client Value Continuum Needs to be Understood

3

Focal Point

Source: www.sales-synthesis.co.za

• They repeatedly strive to please their clients

• They design the correct offerings for the correct clients

• They build their organisations around cross-functional & virtual teams

• They make decisions that resonate with clients

• They seek to create positive, memorable experiences for their clients.

‘Many companies have the client focus of a vulture - they pay close attention to

what the clients are up to, but only in order to figure out the right time to

pounce and tear at their flesh!’

- Charles Green

Client-Centric Service Providers ‘Resonate’ with their Clients

Source: FiServ

4

Working with clients is a continuous crusade for any service provider organisation

5

When developing strategies, analysis of the organisation and its environment - as it is at

the moment and how it may develop in the future - is an imperative.

The analysis has to be executed at an internal level as well as an external level, to

identify all possible opportunities and threats posed by the new strategy.

There are several factors to assess in the external situation analysis:

• Industries & Trends

• Markets (customers) & their business imperatives

• Competition & their value chain

• Technologies & their pedigree

• Solutions portfolio

• Supplier markets

• Labour markets

• The economy

• The regulatory environment.

Undertake Rigorous Situational Analysis

Store the munitions for your journey and craft the plan [Who,

When, Where & How etc.]

Symbiotic relationship with clients

Slide:

• Strategies based on market dominance

• Porter generic strategies

• Innovation strategies

• Growth strategies

• Aggressiveness strategies

• Warfare based strategies

Each is well documented and

can be implemented with ease

The correct strategy will be required for both clients and Industries

Select the Applicable Marketing Strategy

6

A relevant strategy can only be selected/adopted by using a robust Account Plan as primary source of input

Does your organisation have – and utilise - strategic thinkers

Include brand management and brand value management

7

• Facilitate and manage the campaign strategy development process

• Include the relevant portions of the solutions portfolio (incl. product & service lines)

• Develop and implement an external/internal communication/s strategy

• Undertake market research, interpretation and organisational infusion

• Plan and facilitate strategic marketing interventions

• Implement professional – and formal - marketing investment management.

Develop the Campaign Strategy & Implement

Source: Various

Foster innovation and creativity while encouraging staff to question

conventional thinking

Ensure correct selection of portfolio solution/s

Symbiotic relationship with clients

Focus on Client’s Business Imperatives

8

Points to Ponder:

1. Do not allow organisational positional power to compromise a pertinent & workable campaign

2. Ensure that the marketing department focuses on Strategic Market Development & not just PR

3. Continue to identify the key operational challenges facing the client & address in the campaign

4. Leverage all relevant channels to deliver the value derivation message to clients and Industries

5. Work with Subject Matter Experts/Masters to ensure the build of innovative and relevant solutions

6. Clients choose to do business with companies that provide the solutions they need

7. Continuously delivery excellent service, as clients will quickly abandon a business relationship

when service quality does not live up to their expectations

8. The Service Provider must find ways to satisfy increasingly demanding clients while decreasing

their own operating costs and improving profit margins and retention

9. All client engagements must support client centricity, client service quality and loyalty

10. An engagement model must be produced to interlock with the client’s business model.

Maintain an Independent Holistic View of the Campaign & Marketplace

9

Direct impact of the Campaign: Compare revenue changes against financial investment

Additional value may be derived from intangibles, for example:

• Brand Awareness interventions: Extent to which a brand is recognised by the focused

marketplace and is correctly associated with a particular solution

• Market research that can be infused into Account Plan crafting

• Client feedback that can be shared with the product development department

• Identification of new/emerging markets and solution requirements

• Dwell Time (Internet marketing): The amount of time a website visitor expends on a

specific website.

Measure the Outcome: Success or Otherwise

Return on Marketing Investment

(ROMI)

+

-

Market

Management Relationship

Building Opportunity

Scouting

Prompts:

• Global trends • Industry knowledge • Unfolding

opportunities • Emerging risks

Prompts:

• Pedigree/s • Preferences • Requirement/s for

advancement • Resource alignment • Communication plan/s

Prompts:

• Wants vs. needs • Resourcing

requirements • Solutions vs. Risks • Ability to deliver • Competition

Account Managers

should be “Thought

Leaders” in specific

industries Account Managers

need to be articulate &

be the Single Point of

Contact [SPOC]

Account Managers

need to understand

the clients’ needs and

deliver against this

need

Abundance of

Solutions Selection of

Solutions

Mutually Agreed

Solutions

Source: www.sales-synthesis.co.za

Client

10

Closing: Strategic Market Development supports the full lifecycle of Opportunity Management

Client Crusades and Campaigns support the full lifecycle of Opportunity Management