1. Chart Your Course to Business Success On Target Business Intensive: Session 5 February 7, 2012 Advisors On Target 1

2. Session 1 Create a working draft of your Mission Statement Create a working draft of your 1 and 5 year Vision Answer the 10 questions on the handout Session 2 Review your own financial statements and chart of accounts with what you learned in Session 2 Session 3 Create a budget for 2012 If you already have a budget, review and revise as needed Use the cashflow projection model (at the bottom of the budget tool) 2 Homework so far

3. Session 4 Determine your breakeven point for your 2012 budget Annual For the month of February 2012 Define your target markets Do a competition analysis Additional activities Values Exercise Business Diagnostic Assessment Homework continued 3

4. Questions about Market Analysis Process? 2011 Advisors On Target 4

5. Recap last week – Questions Reaching your target market Channels Marketing Strategies CRM Customer Communications Plan Sales Goals and Marketing Budget Tracking your marketing and sales Agenda for today 5

6. Marketing Strategy Promotion How do you get the word out? Advertising Media Frequency Effectiveness Other Marketing Methods Networking Home Shows Website/Online/Social Media Customer Communication Plan Marketing and Advertising Budget Pricing Strategy

7. Distribution Channels How do you sell your products or services? Retail Direct (mail order, internet) Wholesale Your own sales force Agents Independent reps Has your marketing strategy proven effective? Do you need to make any changes or additions to current strategies?

8. How you communicate your value proposition to your customer segment Channel Types Direct – Your Own (Your own website, marketing collateral, employees, etc) Indirect – Others (Referral Partners, Agents, lead generation services, etc) Channel Phases Awareness Evaluation Purchase Delivery Post sale Channels 8

9. Reaching your target markets Where do they hang out? Where do they want to be reached? How are you going to get their attention? How are you going to craft your message to attract the right customer for you? How are you going to differentiate yourself so that your customer will choose you over your competitors?

10. Choosing the best strategies Once you’ve brainstormed the options, ask: What strategies will work best for my company for each of my customer segments (target markets)? Which strategies can I best afford or make economic sense for me to invest in? Do I have any data to understand which of my marketing efforts in the past have paid off? Do I know the ROI on past efforts? (Start tracking now)

11. The most overlooked and under- used marketing opportunity for small businesses… 11

12. The Gold in Your Database Steps to developing and implementing a CRM strategy Creating a communications plan for staying in touch with your customers, prospects and referral partners

13. What is CRM? CRM = Customer Relationship Management Its about: Knowing your customers, and Using that knowledge to form profitable relationships Systems & Technology help us do that: CRM software applications Customer Communications Plans using multi-media

14. CRM Is A Strategy Systems: Collect information and segment customers to know their needs Collaborate with them to plan and create new value, Technology: Integrate the customer's various touch points with the business Develop a single, real-time view of each customer Know what to offer customers/customer groups and when they will be ready to buy it People Train for customer-centric service

15. Keeping Customers Can be Challenging Customer behavior can shift rapidly as markets create new purchase opportunities and alternative means of obtaining satisfaction Value propositions have changed significantly as competition across all markets has increased Customer loyalty relationships are vulnerable when a competitor offers a better solution

16. Integrating Customer Information Can Help Retain Relationships Source: LGS Group Inc., Canada

17. Customer Driven CRM What will this customer/customer group buy? When do they buy it? What will encourage them to buy it? How much will they pay for it? What creates value for them, and if we create this value will this increase their loyalty to us?

18. Getting The Answers Not all your customers have the same needs but to be able to establish the different sorts you need information It makes sense to build up a profile of your customers and group them according to their different requirements because this will give you a good idea of how likely they are to purchase what you are offering

19. And The Benefits Are.... The benefits of CRM can be substantial and include: Increased sales to new and existing customers through better timing, identifying needs more effectively and cross selling of other products More effective marketing communications using a more personal approach The development of new/improved products/services All of which result in the payoff of: Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention Increased value from your existing customers - and reduced cost- to-serve them

20. Creating Your Own CRM System Collecting information about your customers Creating a customer information database Providing a way to access the information Analyzing the customer data, and Using the information to meet customer needs; market more effectively; and enhance the customer experience

21. Collecting Information About Customers Look at your entire business to establish what customer data already resides where Don’t leave any source out of consideration. They all contain customer information, often on the same customer for different aspects of their dealings with you that might later be useful to profile their value to you and determine their needs.

22. What Information Do You Need? To segment customers and build a picture of what might appeal to them you need more than just contact details: Responses to campaigns Sales and purchase data Account information Complaints record Web registration data Service and support records Demographic data: age, occupation etc.

23. Selling B2B? Selling B2B requires collecting information about your business customers – firmographics: What industry sector they are in Public or private Size of company How they buy from you and the size and frequency of their purchase Also rate how valuable they are to your business All this information gives an idea of who are your best and worst customers, and what they buy from you

24. Create A Customer Information Database Centralize your information by bringing it together in a database of some sort Standardize your information by making sure you have a consistent way of recording it Keep it centralized as a database so other team members can access it and be up to date on that customer

25. What Sort Of Database Do I Need? Consider: Number of customers and amount/types of data you want to collect – and the possibility of scaling up in the future Your budget Your in house expertise The need or the benefit of integration with other business systems

26. Analyzing Customer Data Data mining can now start to give some really useful information about your customers to: Develop targeted marketing campaigns Sales offers Identify trends in product likes and dislikes Develop new services for the customer Result - increased customer loyalty

27. Using The Information It’s five to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an old one Do more business with your your current customer Use customer data productively to: meeting your current customer’s needs, marketing more effectively to them, identifying cross selling and upselling opportunities to them enhancing their experience in dealing with you

28. Improving Your Marketing Typically, 80% of profits will come from just 20% of your customer base. If you could identify that 20% and gain an understanding of what it is they like about your product or service, you can develop personalized marketing for them With this knowledge of customers you can: Develop targeted marketing campaigns aimed at your most profitable customers Cross sell and upsell to them Identify what marketing channels are most successful

29. Enhancing The Level Of Service Offer special services to specific segments Offer improved service level Offer new services

30. Marketing to your Customers Most under-utilized marketing Largest source of business 65-70% of Painting Contractors business comes from Existing Customers Referrals from Customers Referrals from Contractors/Designers Referrals from other Referral Partners/Business Networking

31. Your Customer Communications Plan

32. Start with Your Database Customer List Prospects Referral Partners

33. Tools to Manage Your Contact Data CRM Software ACT! Goldmine Salesforce Microsoft Outlook Google Apps Custom Software Others Other Tools QuickBooks Microsoft Excel Microsoft Access

34. Key to Success – Commitment!!! Keep Your Master Database Up to Date EVERYONE who handles customer information must be committed to maintaining the database Auxiliary Lists in other software must be updated from the Master Database Email Newsletter Software (Constant Contact, etc.) QuickBooks Maintain Segmented Lists so you can reach out to a subset

35. Database Segments Define Groups Customers Home Owner Customers Business Customers Contractors Commercial Property Owners Prospects Bid a project Inquired about your services Referral Partners Contractors Designers Property Managers Business Contacts

36. Classify Your Customers Classifying Your Customers Characteristics Buying Patterns Interests Types of Services purchased When services were performed

37. Rate Your Customers Rating Your Customers A - Best (Ideal) Customers B – Pretty Good/Average Customers C – Substandard (Upgradable?) D – There shouldn’t be any (Fire them)

38. Develop a Communications Plan – 1 Who Customers Prospects (Prior bids) Referral Partners How Often Depends on the “Who” At least 4 times per year, probably no more frequently than monthly When Peak interest periods Slow business cycles Natural touch points (holidays, at the end of a job, at “X” period following a job)

39. Develop a Communications Plan – 2 Media – What’s best for your “who” lists? Direct Mail (Postcards, brochures, flyers) Letters Newsletters (Print or Electronic) E-blasts (Specific Purpose – Special Offer) Greeting Cards Telephone Calls In Person Meetings (lunch, coffee) Social Media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) Variety – Mix up media Reach more people where or how they like to participate Manage costs with less expensive media

40. Develop a Communications Plan – 3 Cost Review Annual Budget If needed, time larger expenditures to projected cash flow Choose marketing media that fits your budget Refine Monthly Budgets to reflect marketing plan costs Action Steps Set Action Plan so you can deploy communications on schedule Keep Marketing and Keep Your Brand Alive!

41. Develop a Communications Plan – 4 What do I say? Relevant information to customer’s needs/wants Highlight timely services Provide value (Educate, Inform, Inspire, Entertain) Offer specials Ask for referrals Call to Action How do I say it? Be customer centric – make it about them Be yourself, use your own voice

42. Conclusion CRM really comes down to this – it’s a way to store the sort of information that adds value for your customers when they do business with you It needs to be supported by a team trained in a customer- centric approach You must be committed to the process With a solid CRM system, you can create a customer communications plan that’s easy to implement When you communicate with your customers you get more business!

43. Using Customer Information In New Ways New CRM possibilities can make a business more customer- centric It can work for Small to Medium Businesses If you can identify your most valuable customers and market to them more effectively, you can increase your revenue substantially.

44. Sales Forecast/Sales Goals Provide a month by month sales forecast for the next year based on Historical Sales Market Research Seasonal Flow Growth Assumptions ( Budget) Project Number of Leads/Bids required to achieve sales goals Average size job Close Ratio Lead to Bid Ratio (use 95% if you don’t know) To calculate required leads: Sales Goal ($) divided by Average size job, divided by close ratio, divided by Lead to Bid Ratio Example: $60,000 sales goal divided by $4,000 Average job, divided by 35% close ratio, divided by 95% = 45 leads needed

45. Why track sales? Track effectiveness of marketing efforts Track return on investment of marketing dollars Track effectiveness of sale techniques Track effectiveness of various sales people – owner, estimator, outside sales person, etc.

46. Sales Tracking Tools Should help you measure: Close Ratio – Bid to Sales Dollar Value Bid to Dollar Value Sales Days to close Lead to Bid Ratio Lead to Sales Ratio Cost per lead Cost per sale Effectiveness of Marketing Tactics

47. Fill in information for Target Markets, Competition and Marketing Strategy (Marketing Plan – Parts 1, 2, 3) Create a Marketing Budget using the template Homework 47