Marketing

CRM, Customer Relational Management software, as a concept is outdated and needs to change, now.  Who has the time or inclination to update yet another software system with mundane data about your clients.  You don’t want to do it.  I guarantee the people that work for you don’t want to do it.  Notes, conversations, call backs, forecasts….it never ends.

Sure, it sounds impressive when you can say to a client, “we spoke about this three months ago and determined that you had interest in updating your website.”  But really, where is the value?

These times call for a new interpretation of CRM. Call it CRM 2.0.  Call it CRM for social media.  Doesn’t matter.  The way we communicate has fundamentally changed over the last twenty-four months.  Yes, that quickly.  In the last two years, nascent technologies like blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and RSS have moved into the mainstream.  These new conduits for conversation are being rapidly adopted by business professionals. 

Your customers are speaking via these new mediums.  Are you listening?  Here is what they are saying:

* “I am working on project X”

* “I need to learn more about Y”

* “I am concerned about Z”

Your customers are posting, venting, and expressing their needs and wants on social media outlets.  Rich data is being presented.  Data, that if listened to properly, can point you in the direction of crafting valuable offers for your clients.

The “New CRM” needs to capture and organize these streams of valuable information.  Captured in a way that a complete profile of your customer’s social media interactions can be viewed simply and effortlessly. Organized in a way, that a dashboard of all new customer “feeds” can alert you instantly to what your customers are saying.  

Oh, and one more thing.  The New CRM will gather information on the profiles of your clients, then troll social networks and blogs for potential clients with similar concerns. Now we’re talking!

Couple these feeds from the new social conduits with traditional email communications, add in a pinch of voice mail to text transcription, and we have a recipe for CRM success.  A tool that requires very little input from us, but delivers exceptional value by dramatically increasing our ability to act.

Stay tuned.  Its coming.

To your success!

Scott

A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to meet  Julian VanWinkle, fourth generation owner of the Old Rip VanWinkle distillery located in Frankfort, KY.  For bourbon connoisseurs,  the VanWinkle brand means the tip of the top shelf.  The flagship brand, Pappy VanWinkle is the #1 rated bourbon in the world as noted by the Wall Street Journal and others.  The 20 year, lovingly aged “Pappy”, is a beautiful caramel color with a pleasant nose.  But what is more interesting to me, is the VanWinkle business model.

Pappy is produced in SMALL batches, with annual production of a vintage reaching around 5000 bottles per year.  Compare this with say, Maker’s Mark which produces over four million bottles annually.  It is the small batch production, better ingredients and better aging that makes Pappy a star.  

As a result, Pappy sells its top of the line 20 and 23 year vintages for over $200 per bottle, if you can find it.  A combination of superior quality and scarcity allows Julian to command a super premium price in the marketplace.  All production sells out long before demand diminishes.  This leaves pent up demand for the next batch, further driving up the selling price and profits.

So, what the heck does making high end bourbon have to do with the business of service?  Using the VanWinkle model helps us understand where we eventually want to be with OUR service business.  As a small, B2B service provider, we must differentiate ourselves from our competitors.  To live a good life, we must have highly profitable customer engagements.  To be highly profitable, we must realize a “gross service margin”  (GSM) that beats industry norms.  Your GSM is simple the price you sell your services for minus your cost to deliver the services.

How do we realize a high GSM?  Back to Pappy!  We declare that we are the “small batch” service provider.  We must deliver a unique service that customers cannot find elsewhere.  We must work to build our identity of high quality and scarcity.  Once we have this identity, customers will be willing to do two things:

1. pay a premium for our service

2. wait in line to receive our services

What are some of the steps to building this identity?

Stay, tuned.  More coming soon.

Your thoughts?

Happy New Year!

Scott

It’s a great time to be a SoHo (small office / home office) business!  Independent consultants, designers, writers, technicians all have distinct competitive advantages in bad economic times.  Here are some of the reasons why:

Customers look to outsource.  During poor economic climates, businesses seek to reduce fixed costs in favor of variable costs.  In a recession, companies are much more “project oriented”…..asking the question, “what resources do we need to accomplish a specific objective”.  Customers will first look to outsource to the B2B service provider (variable cost) before hiring an employee (fixed cost).

Customers need help.   This may sound counter intuitive.  Our “common sense” would have us believe that all customers when faced with a recession look to cut all spending.  Not true.  In bad times, customers desperately seek offers that will allow them to increase revenue and decrease costs.  All of our offers should be framed in that context.  Ex.  show the customer how a new website design will drive more traffic and increase conversions and sales.

SoHo’s have low overhead.  By definition, you have lower overhead relative to your larger competitors.  This allows you to package more cost effective offers in times of economic uncertainty.  Listen to your marketplace.  Look for customers shifting from larger service providers to smaller, more nimble, more cost effective providers……….like you!

Tools have never been better.  The tools to run your business have never been better.  High speed Internet, business software, Skype, Twitter, blogs, you name it.  You have the tools to compete with the big guys. You can be just as efficient, just as professional.

Don’t let the bad economic news get you down.  Boundless opportunities exist for the SoHo.   Do you agree?

Action:  Carpe diem!

To your success!

Scott