Retaining Customers

In my last blog I talked about the importance of keeping Council members engaged between meetings – to Keep the Momentum Going after everyone has returned to their everyday business lives. In this blog I’ll discuss Sub-Committees and a few best practices for integrating them into your Advisory Council program.

The Sub-Committee: High Impact, Light Lifting

It is important to follow a process and approach when organizing these working groups. “High impact, light lifting” refers to the effort we put forth to make it as easy as possible for our customer and their council members to “continue the conversation” between meetings. See below for an outline the four-step process we follow for managing Sub-Committees.

1. Topics for Discussion

The Sub-Committee should focus on a specific topic or subject.  What is good “Sub-Committee” material? Here are a few examples:

• A next step identified by the host that requires further input/feedback from the Council members (or a subset of members).
• A “hot topic” that came up during the meeting that a number of members clearly could spend more time discussing.
• An innovative idea and/or suggestion that came up during the meeting that members expressed an interest in exploring.
• A specific topic/area of the business where a Subject Matter Expert is needed to continue the discussion.

2. Structure

It is very important to clearly define the purpose of the Sub-Committee and expectations of members. Develop a Sub-Committee “Charter” for all participants (customer and host) outlining:

• Mission
• Duties (for both customer and host)
• Participants (Leader, facilitator and customers)

In addition, it’s a good idea to share a “Timeline of Activities” with all members early in the process so they have an understanding of the frequency of meetings and can reserve time on their calendars in advance.

3. Format

To stay mindful of the time commitment of customers, we recommend Sub-Committee meetings are in the form of conference calls, and no more than one hour.  Based on the subject, several calls (as communicated via the Timeline) may be needed to accomplish the goals of the Sub-Committee. Agendas are sent in advance, as is any pre-work that may be required for the discussions, and progress is shared among the group at regular intervals.

4. Sharing Results

This is the best part! A “celebration” is included at the next face-to-face meeting to report accomplishments back to the group and recognize the efforts of all Sub-Committee members. It’s a great way to thank your customers for their contributions and it encourages others to join in future Sub-Committee groups.

By following these four steps, your Sub-Committee engagements will be focused, well-planned meetings, easy for members to participate in, with clear goals and purpose.  

"Our corporate headquarters, fondly nicknamed the Googleplex, is located in Mountain View, California. Today it's one of our many offices around the globe. While our offices are not identical, they tend to share some essential elements. Here are a few things you might see in a Google workspace:

• Local expressions of each location, from a mural in Buenos Aires to ski gondolas in Zurich, showcasing each office's region and personality.

• Bicycles or scooters for efficient travel between meetings; dogs; lava lamps; massage chairs; large inflatable balls.

• Googlers sharing cubes, yurts and huddle rooms – and very few solo offices.

• Laptops everywhere – standard issue for mobile coding, email on the go and note-taking.

• Foosball, pool tables, volleyball courts, assorted video games, pianos, ping pong tables, and gyms that offer yoga and dance classes.

• Grassroots employee groups for all interests, like meditation, film, wine tasting and salsa dancing.

• Healthy lunches and dinners for all staff at a variety of cafés.

• Break rooms packed with a variety of snacks and drinks to keep Googlers going."

A CMO told me the other day, "I know which customers are strategic to my company. My challenge is making my company strategic to those customers."

His comment demonstrates the shift in marketing that is currently occurring within high-tech and service companies. In these organizations the marketing function is no longer about awareness, brand or feel-good programs. It is a results-oriented entity enabling the relationships and market position necessary to increase customer value and drive revenue.

As a result of this shift, 2010 ITSMA research shows an increase in the following tactics as part of marketing strategies: 

• Thought leadership development
• References and testimonials
• Senior level relationship management programs, customer advisory boards, councils

• Collateral (brochures, datasheets, etc.)
• Hospitality
• Sponsorships of sports/Cultural events
• Print-based direct marketing
• Traditional print/media advertising
• Public trade shows

Source: ITSMA, Budget Allocations and Trends: Key Metrics Survey, 2010 www.itsma.com/access/research.asp


Has your company made the shift? If not, what's holding you back?

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!

1. Use the voice of the customer to create an outside-in plan
2. Ensure the plan is well understood by employees
3. Integrate the plan in your management system

You know how it feels when you get off a really fast ride and plant your feet back on solid ground? You feel like you’re still “moving.” I’ve experienced that same feeling after a Customer Advisory Council meeting. Things go so fast, there’s so much to talk about that when it’s over, you feel like you’re still going 100 miles an hour! 

And that’s probably a good thing. These ongoing engagement programs with top customer decision makers help the host team understand the market more clearly. The continuous customer feedback from these programs gives the executive team the ammunition they need to drive strategy, planning, marketing, innovation, acquisitions, sales and service. I emphasize continuous for a good reason. The dialog doesn’t stop when the meeting is over – you can learn even more by keeping the momentum going and engaging your customers between meetings. In her blog, "Is the End the End or Just the Beginning?" my colleague, Misty Strawser, articulates the importance of “getting to work” soon after the meeting and continuing to share the feedback received.

Keep the Momentum Going!

Council meetings are rich in member feedback with discussions that provide the host team with an intimate look into the “world of their customers.” Internally, the executive team has to very quickly “get to work” to evaluate what they heard and identify what they will do next – therein lies the opportunity to engage your customers between meetings. 

What’s the best way to do that? First and foremost, regular communications to members to keep them apprised of any updates, progress, company news, etc. are a must. But there are other options too, and in my next blog I’ll talk about Sub-committees and some best practices on how to make them successful.

The third and final Critical Success Factor for the Executive Sponsor Program (ESP) is Pace. The Executive Sponsor Program is a journey, not a destination. I realize this sounds cliché. However, you can’t image how many organizations are not in alignment with this very simple principle.

Why? It’s typically because the Executive Sponsor at a high level knows what they want to achieve. They want improved client loyalty at an executive level, retention, increased testimonials/referencability and increased wallet share with these accounts, which is all very obtainable.

However, what they don’t understand are all the factors to help them achieve this objective. The Executive Sponsor Program (ESP) should be an executive relationship that is outside of any sales transaction.  It should be about strategically collaborating with your most important customers to help them solve critical business challenges or innovate something together that neither company could have achieved on their own.

You won’t achieve that by saying "I want our top 50 customer matched with our top 15 executives in the next two weeks." This is where the Pace comes in.

The graph below shows the journey based on our experience and research. The red graph shows when a company tries to implement themselves. You’re probably saying to yourself, we’re better than most organizations our results will be in the blue.

Sometimes, you need to go slow to go fast. Meaning, if done right, 80% of a successful launch is about the plan and 20% is the execution. We recommend that organizations start with no more than 3-10 pilots. This also goes back to Executive Sponsor alignment (CEO/President) and clearly understanding and communicating the goals, objectives and where this falls in the company’s priorities.

I will discuss "Common Myths in Building an Executive Sponsor Program" in my next blog.

1. They are created from the outside-in based on the voice of the customer
2. They are well understood by employees
3. They are integrated into your management systems

For any company concerned with year-end sales goals, the logical question is how can I accelerate prospects through the pipeline and convert them to sales? The answer is an Executive Summit. An Executive Summit provides a non-sales gathering between executive peers to learn and explore services and solutions offered by your B2B Company. A well planned, organized and executed Executive Summit accelerates a call to action from all prospects and can yield a 50% conversion rate. Can you say that about other Marketing Campaigns or Sales Tactics, or are you just throwing money at a target hoping you hit a bull’s eye?

The next natural question to ask is can your company justify the cost of an Executive Summit? Marketing teams are always challenged to provide ROI justifications in order obtain funding for campaigns. Because an Executive Summit’s costs and results are completely measureable (you know how much you spent, and you know how much in sales it directly generated), it provides a highly effective, easily funded program.  As a result, marketing groups are able to score an bull’s eye with all executives on their company’s leadership team, especially the financial leaders who hold your purse strings.

When is the right time to address meeting your year-end sales goals? From the perspective of a financial leader, Suzanne Smith, Chief Financial Officer of Geehan Group who has also managed several large IT outsourcing budgets states, "While it is a concern throughout the year, third quarter is the time most companies look to see if they are ahead or behind to meet year-end sales goals." An Executive Summit provides reliable and predictable sales results and truly is the Ultimate Weapon to reach your sales targets.

The Center of Excellence (COE) is the "infrastructure" you need to have a program that is a standard, repeatable process that is sustainable. Without it, the program will become another "event" that your organization tried again but failed.

Here are some common questions we get asked when discussing the Executive Sponsor Program:

• How do we set our Executive Sponsors up for success?
• How do we keep the Customer Executive engaged?
• What criteria do you use to match the Customer Executive with our Executive?
• What criteria should we use to select the accounts?
• How many accounts should be in the program?
• How do you handle Global Accounts?
• How do you capture the great insight gained and leverage within the organization?

These are all excellent questions and ones that I’m always excited to answer, because when built correctly leveraging proven methodology,  best practices and our experience it will ensure the program is set up for success.

I will discuss "Executive Sponsor Program CSF#3 - Pace" in my next blog.

When clients come to us asking how to take their customer relationship programs to the next level they are typically asking how they can increase the level of relationship within the account. In other words, how do they move from vendor-type relationships with procurement to C-suite trusted partner status?

 The answer: Customer Advisory Councils and Executive Sponsor Programs.

A Customer Advisory Council is the first step in our B2B playbook. This forum of 20-30 decision makers represents your best accounts. A typical program includes facilitated, face-to-face discussions twice per year with sustaining activities, such as subcommittees, between meetings to keep members engaged.

Unlike other marketing activities that are focused on lead generation or measurement, Customer Advisory Councils are solely focused on building relationships and generating the market insight necessary to keep your business ahead of the curve.

Clients who have implemented Councils have seen, on average:

• 6% increase in customer retention
• 22% increase in new sales
• 10 additional customer references

The second tool is an Executive Sponsor Program (ESP). This formal approach to one-on-one relationships is best implemented following a Customer Advisory Council.

An ESP aligns an executive within your company with an executive in the customer account. The program exists outside of the sales cycle and outside of any particular deal or transaction. The intention is, over time, to create interdependency.

In interdependency, you become co-creators with your customers. Together, you and your customer create something that neither of you could do on your own. You become part of your customer’s long-term strategy.

Used in tandem, Customer Advisory Councils and Executive Sponsor Programs strengthen customer relationships and create sustainable, predictable, profitable growth. In doing so, they require the commitment and resourcing of any major corporate initiative.

 So, if you truly want to take your customer relationships to the next level, start with a Customer Advisory Council. Integrate the insights gained from the Council into your organizational planning process. As your company becomes more market focused, move to programs like ESP. Along the way, use your referral process and NPS programs to gauge how well you are moving the needle.