Many conferences showcase and feature executives from high profile B2C companies like Starbucks, Apple, Victoria Secret, Coke, Disney, Facebook, and Amazon. The reality is that many of these B2C concepts can’t be applied to the B2B world.

And when you hear incredible B2C stories, how often have you known that it just wasn’t applicable in your company? It can also be frustrating and even worse, hard to justify the time and money invested in attending.   

The Loyalty Expo this year has a dedicated B2B track focused completely on B2B companies. The sessions won’t tell you how to develop customer intimacy like Apple, manage your rewards and social media programs like Coca-Cola, drive loyalty like Starbucks, or treat your customers like Disney. These companies operate in the consumer “B2C” world of retailers and consumer package goods organizations, and we recognize this is not your B2B world.  It’s not even close.

In the Loyalty Expo B2B track you’ll hear from leading B2B firms in the world, those who have achieved remarkable customer retention and loyalty and who have designed and built both world class Voice of the Customer and customer relationship programs. And while the names may not be as recognizable as Coke and Starbucks, their organizational successes are equally impressive.

Here are the five B2B sessions which were designed specifically for you. Hope to see you there!

To Register go to http://www.loyaltyexpo.com/

Friends of Geehan Group 20% discount code gg20.

Companies who strategically invest during a recession are rewarded with growth that outpaces competitors who focus primarily on expense reduction and risk mitigation. Growth gurus including Blueprint to a Billion's David Thomson have studied the last century's economic cycle to prove it. His research, along with the experience of CFOs highlighted in a recent article on CFO.com, "Spending into a Headwind," clearly show you can't cut to greatness. At some point you start cutting into muscle, not just the fat.

2011 can be the year you make transformational changes in your organization. Aggressive, strategic acquisitions, coupled with investments in the marketing and sales programs that bring measurable results, can catapult your market position and financial strength. I believe the "Wall Street Darlings" of 2012 will tell you they implemented in 2011 the four, can't-be-missed strategies I recommend:   

Our team's B2B Executive Strategies Newsletter discusses these topics further, both the theory and practical application.  You can read the December 2010 edition at http://tinyurl.com/2f8pgub.  We would love to have you as a frequent reader, so please join our list to receive future editions at http://www.geehangroup.com/contact-us/.

My best to you in 2011.  Hope to see you ringing the Opening Bell soon!

Today, host Paul Hebert invited me to join his radio show.  It's now available on-line.  Paul is an Incentive and Strategy Guru and Founder of i2i-Align.  I hope you find the conversation valuable.  Link to radio interview- Influence In The B2B World.  Let me know what you think.
Also checkout Paul's other Interviews and blogs....They are extremely insightful. 
Thanks Paul!!
 

The Beatle's classic song Come Together has been released by other legendary bands such as: Joe Cocker, U2, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Michael Jackson, and of course Marilyn Manson.  The chorus is simple, yet powerful:

“Come together, right now, over me.”

 I worked with a large manufacturer and services company who brought us in to design and launch a Customer Advisory  Council (CAC). I asked the Executive Sponsor and EVP, why was it important to have his top customers come together.  He rolled his eyes and proceeded to share an all too common story that starts with “My CEO met with the CEO of our  biggest customer and here's what …” 

The dream: This customer wanted them to build a solution that would change the industry. The customer convinced his boss (the CEO) to invest $100 Million in developing this solution, stating that the other 20 players in the industry had the same problem and would all but beg to have it.

The result: Two years after the release, no one including the original customer wanted this solution. The firm had rechanneled key resources down an innovation path that didn’t solve a problem or enable their customers to reach new levels. In the process, this company lost much credibility in the market, fell behind the competitors on developing solutions for real issues, and ended up writing off the $100 million investment. 

How common is this: All too often I have found CEOs or key executives have not had a single conversation with a customer or key industry person. CEOs and Executives have used their power to unilaterally and without validation from anyone else re-direct key people, dollars, and strategy only to be completely off base, setting the company behind.

The reality: Most products and solutions need a market, not just one customer.  It is critical to include more than one in the ideation, design, testing and launching of any key initiative. This goes for development as well as strategy, marketing programs, sales approaches, and pricing models. In fact, the only topic off limits is profit margin. Everything else should be filtered through a group decision makers…this is the key to sustainability and predictability.

Bottom line: Unless your offerings can be supported by a single customer, make sure to secure Collective market input and validation from the decision makers of your most important customers by having them come together, right now, over you!

It is simple: Everyone gets excited when a new customer is secured. There’s a celebration, bells are ringing, lots of recognition and rewards are handed out. Song’s like the Black Eyed Peas“BOOM-BOOM POW” or “I Gotta Feeling” are blasting in the hallways and everyone feels as though the most popular person in school just asked them to prom.

Been there, done that: How much celebration is there when a long standing customer renews for the 6^th straight year? Forget that they haven’t bid out the work in 3 years (no competition=greater margin) and they are already in your system (low cost of support, faster payment = greater cash flow).

It still only generates the excitement of going to prom with the back-up date and dancing to an old Richard Marx song. Yes you are at the prom, but that spark just isn’t.

Now the reality: It costs 3-5 times more to acquire vs. retain a customer. Getting your current customers buying more of your stuff means it’s harder for them to leave you (increased switching cost) and current customers are much less likely to bid out your work (increasing profitability). Shouldn’t you evaluate how your how you are spending your marketing dollars? 

Opportunity: Evaluating your marketing mix today and making the proper adjustments from acquisition to account growth can make a huge difference in top and bottom line results. Now that’s something the entire leadership team will be thrilled to hear about. 

Just maybe then you’ll become the most popular person in school (or at least the leadership team) and the CEO throws you the keys to the company G5 and backstage passes to the Black Eyed Peas.