Winning new Clients

Return on Investment in Business Development and Marketing

A great number of Companies and Firms are still hurting due to slow recovery in the economy.  Consumer demand is down and it looks like the Bank of England is not sufficiently confident to raise interest rates.  The economy tells us that manufacturing is up, but both business customers and consumers and many investors, are not demonstrating any real positive behaviours in their choice to buy they are waiting to see what happens.

Key Accounts Lost

The same is true for Firms who rely on B2B.  I know of many Companies and Firms who are losing key customers.  Some are losing long term contracts and they have failed to demonstrate any real ambition to replace them with new clients.  As I often say, those who fail to invest in Business Development with real tangible strategies and tactics will face a very uncertain future.

Professional Profile of Marketing

Some companies have failed to understand the role of Business Development and marketing and instead of being smart and developed customer focus strategies; they have their heads in the sand, hoping that things will work out for them.  Really, we have to think about the strategic role of marketing and unless we can build and integrate this into Companies and Professional Firms it is unlikely that they will weather the storm.

Deloitte Report on Marketeers

It is not a game, as the 2007 devastating report compiled by Deloitte highlights.  When CEO’s and CFO’s criticise the current role of Marketing as indisciplined, unaccoutable and having few metrics to indicate the ROI that should accrue to committing to building a strong Business Development Culture you’d think Marketeers would be trying to get their profile and role right - in other words being prcatically and commercially focused.

A cry for 'Accountability' Marketing

Cranfield also published a Research Report stating that, in their survey, they found that many ‘C’ suite executives consider Marketeers to be cavalier and unaccountable.  Worse, they called them ‘unaccountable, expensive and slippery- not a view that I share but it does highlight how Marketeers are viewed by their senior business colleagues. It is not good and indicates that business needs a firm ROI and actions to propel business performance.

Strategic Marketing in the Boardroom

I am very confident that the art and science of Marketing and Business Development must enter the Boardroom, but be focused totally on business needs.  This means understanding the real business needs of the executive team and providing high value added strategy and process to achieve the business plan.  The Marketeer should be valued for their input and their work integrated into the business planning process.  This is not theory, but sound business sense.

Here Business Development and Marketing have to rely on the hard tools and strategies in their toolkit rather than the soft and intangible wants and needs of the recipients of the core business service they have on offer.

Marketeers need to start to understand the financial language of the boardroom and how commercial success is measured in the real world, otherwise,marketing will remain the Cinderella of all disciplines.

A Culture of Business Development

Personally, I think we need to focus on asking how Marketing or Business Development can resolve some issues and I am certainly there to help.  What is needed is a strong cultural change to ensure that everyone from top down integrate Business Development into their work and take action to address these core problems:

• Do Marketeers play an action role in the formulation of business strategy and business planning? What do they bring to the party?  What role do they take?
• Can they read business metrics and balance sheets – do they understand the product portfolio, declining markets, new prospects and where your Business fits in terms of high growth products, problem children, cash cows and dogs?
• What organisational and customer diagnostics and metrics do they use to know whether the Firm or Company is at risk?
• Where is the Firm in the local economy pecking order and how do you know what to measure?
• Do you know how you are doing against the competition? What’s the worst thing your competition has done to you this year? What don’t you want competitors to know about the weaknesses inherent in your Firm of company?
• How do you know that your Clients and Customers are less than happy with the services you provide?
• What are the indicative signs and how does your company scan the environment for these tell tale signs of migration of departure?
• What remedial action does the Firm or company take when you receive the devastating news that your Client has migrated elsewhere?
• Do you know how long and at what cost you have to invest to win back business either with that Client or customer or with new Clients?
• What strategies are in place for winning new business?  Who has responsibility in terms of the Account Manager role?
• How does Marketing support Account Managers with the valuable data o understand the dynamics of the market place and the customer or Client?
• How can marketing provide a real ROI to the Business?

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