Strategic Customers

How Do You Keep Members Engaged Between Council Meetings?

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 by Karen Penney

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.

Focus on Your Core Customers

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 by Amy Spahn

Ownership, alignment and accountability are the keys to understanding a successful Customer Review program. Now that the foundation has been set for the program it is time to determine which customers should receive an Annual Customer Review. In order to provide a quality product that delivers substance i.e. an Annual Customer Review, you will need to focus on a small segment of the greater customer population. There are two key questions that you will need to answer: 1) Which customers should be the focus for an Annual Customer Review? 2) Who is the right audience for an Annual Customer Review? For this blog I will provide an answer to question #1.

Which customers should be the focus for an Annual Customer Review?

The ability to segment your customers into strategic, core and transactional groups is important in targeting customers for an Annual Customer Review. Let's look a

t a few of the attributes for each of these customer segments.

Strategic: represents 5 - 10% of customers; product management, engineering and marketing are engaged; strong customer relationships

Core: represents 15 - 30% of customers; revenue driven; forward looking; grow and penetrate with current offerings

Transactional: represents 40 - 60% of customers; the largest customer segment; vendor relationship; backward looking; premise or call center customers

There are customer programs that are targeted for each segment, but for an Annual Customer Review your Core customers are the primary candidates. The benefits you will receive with this program:

Increase retention and account growth rates

Gain higher and broader level contacts in your customer base

Have business level discovery meetings across the enterprise to understand their growth opportunities, initiatives and challenges

Establish knowledge, relationship and creditability to move away from a vendor relationship and ultimately become a "trusted advisor"

Your Core customers will benefit from the Annual Customer Review program because you:

Understand their business better

Can now help solve their business challenges

Can share observations and recommendations to improve their business

Can collaborate more effectively

These are the benefits of an Annual Customer Review program for your Core customers. Now, who within the Core customers should be our audience for your Annual Customer Review? I will answer that question in my next blog.

These Marketing Tactics are Becoming More Important to the Marketing Strategy

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 by Kelly Jones

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

...and a decline in:

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?

Customers Need to Come Together, Right Now, over YOU!

Monday, August 30, 2010 by Sean Geehan

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!

A Few Hours of Dialogue with Peers - A Game-Changing Insight

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 by Betsy Westhafer

What a fun day!

I just finished facilitating an online summit, and I'm all a-flutter based on one attendee's comment at the end of the event.

Let me back up a bit. This online webinar was no lunch hour, multitask-friendly event. This was a four-hour summit with a small break for lunch. In other words, it required a commitment of time and energy to attend.

The forum included a keynote speech by an industry leader, breakout sessions (complete with whiteboards that provided that "as close to being there" experience as possible, a panel discussion with three more industry thought leaders and a lively Q&A session. Throughout the webinar, participants were encouraged to submit questions that the presenters could take on the fly. With the limitations of not actually being face-to-face with each other, it was a remarkably casual, comfortable and interactive engagement.

Upon the conclusion of the meeting, the hosts provided the opportunity for someone to win a brand new Apple iPad. The lucky winner's name was announced and her phone line was opened up so everyone could hear her celebrate her good fortune. Although she was quite excited about the iPad, she surprised us more by making the following comment:

"I am so excited to win the iPad, but really what I am excited about is that after listening to my industry peers, I am now looking at my constituents in a whole new way. I've had this all wrong."

Although she invested a good chunk of her day, the ROI on that four hours was huge for her (iPad not withstanding). It's a testament to the power of engaging -- engaging with customers, engaging with peers, and engaging with suppliers.

While nothing compares to the benefits of face-to-face meetings, the technology we now have at our fingertips allows for interactive dialog that leads to such "A-ha!" moments. And other than her time, it didn't cost her a cent.

In Trying Times, Don’t Lose Focus on the Customer!!!

Sunday, August 22, 2010 by Rob Urbanowicz

I’m scared. I’m scared for what this recession is doing to corporate America. I’m scared that we’ve lost our innovative edge. Why? I’m seeing more and more organizations work harder with fewer people to produce results. 24X7 is becoming more the norm. Organizational planning is a precedent.

The question to ask: Are we focused on our customers and our growth opportunities, or are we getting bogged down on internal activities that don’t drive meaningful results.

A.G. Lafley, CEO at Proctor and Gamble made a keen observation of the impact internal focus rather than external focus can have on an organization. In a recent HBR article entitled “What only the CEO can do”, he says that shaping values and standards of your organization is one of the critical roles of the CEO. But his point is that you can’t focus your values and standards internally – rather, you must define and focus your values and standards externally - to your customers and gain market alignment through the voice of the customer.

Last week I went walking through the headquarters of a large B2B organization. I noticed many people busy working away at spreadsheets, e-mails, and editing documents. What I didn’t notice, were many conversations or webinars with customers. Was anyone focused on account expansion or customer loyalty?

Lafley noticed the same issue at P&G when he decided he needed to reshape the values of the company. Take for instance his approach to redefining one of the company’s core values – “trust”. P&G employees interpreted “trust” in a way that put employees’ needs ahead of consumers’ - the employees, could trust that P&G was a good place to work and lifetime employment. Very internally focused. Lafley changed the meaning of “trust” to mean that customers could trust the brand P&G. This shift meant the company had to focus on understanding and delivering the brand promise to customers. Since this and many other shifts to focus on the customer, P&G’s revenues have doubled.

Are your company values rooted in working with each other and delivering internally – or are they oriented toward how you and your organization focus on serving the customer? After all, what would your organization be without your customers?

What Makes an Annual Customer Review a Program?

Thursday, August 19, 2010 by Amy Spahn

In my last blogs on Annual Customer Reviews you learned, at a high level, what a review is all about. Now it is time to find out what the 3 keys to implementing a successful program are...Ownership, Alignment and Accountability.

In order to drive the desired behavior from your sales force, implementing an Annual Customer Review needs to have a consistent and repeatable process tied to it or the results you will receive will fall well below expectations. The Annual Customer Review needs to be a formal Program. So, in order to establish a Program there must be a clear owner, alignment with sales leaders and accountability to drive successful adoption by the sales force.

Ownership

When considering which team within your organization should be the owner of an Annual Customer Review program a few might come to mind…Marketing, Client Relations, Sales. In my experience the largest success will be found when Sales owns and drives the initiative. As the owner, Sales must define the goals and objectives for the review and communicate the expectations to the sales force.

A team within the Sales organization needs to drive the implementation of the program through the delivery of a consistent review template, clearly defined process steps and the ability to measure results. Sales Operations or Sales Strategy/Productivity are teams that are equipped to drive a program like an Annual Customer Review.

Alignment

No program can be successful without the full cooperation of the leaders in the field. In order to drive alignment with your sales leaders it is imperative that there be constant communication throughout the early stages of the program. Communicate the goals, objectives, expectations and requirements for their sales teams.

Another best practice is to seek out the best practice leaders in the field; who has already displayed best in class when presenting Annual Customer Reviews to their customers? Utilize those who represent the ideal state to take everyone else along for the ride; they will be your best supporters. Those who exemplify what success looks like will lead others down that same road.

Accountability

If there are not defined expectations how can anyone be held accountable for desired behaviors. Early in the development of your Annual Customer Review program the expectations for the sales leaders and the sales force needs to be communicated.

How many reviews must be delivered?
What steps in the process will the sales force be responsible for delivering?
How will success be measured?
What training will be delivered?

Through effective communication everyone will understand the part they play in the overall Annual Customer Review program.

Once ownership, alignment and accountability have been defined and communicated you will be well on your way to implementing a sustainable, repeatable process that will be your Annual Customer Review program.

Using the Voice of the Customer to Create an Outside in Plan

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 by Kelly Jones

In my last post I discussed three key elements for strategic planning:

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

Let's focus on the first element: an outside-in approach.

Your business in constantly changing. Agreed? The individuals closest to this change are your customers. Still with me? By tapping into their knowledge base, you stay ahead of the curve and create strategy that can live, grow and adapt with your organization.

Your customers know what is happening in their business. They know where they want to be in the next 12-24 months and they can tell you what you need to do to be a partner in getting them there. So to have a dynamic and organic plan, you have to be connected to your customers and you need to have deep relationships with your most strategic customers.

How do you do this? Through Customer Advisory Councils (CACs). This is a formal program involving the decision makers from your top customers (define top as largest revenue, most profitable, or most strategic).

Geehan Group research shows most B2B companies have 80% of their revenue tied up in as little as 20% of their accounts. What does this look like for your organization? Segment your base and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to find this is true.

Imagine what you can learn about your direction and strategies from the customers driving 80% of your revenue. Now imagine the impact these customers can have on future growth when you start building relationships with them and enabling them to advocate on your behalf.

During the initial meeting you can gain market insight to help drive your strategic plan. At a follow-up meeting you can validate elements of the plan or gain input for your product/service/solution roadmap, brand position, innovation...you get the idea.

This group becomes an integral part of your strategy development process. They also become tightly linked with your company and an advocate for your success.

In the next blog we'll look at what to do with information gained from your Customer Advisory Council.

Keep the Momentum Going - Engage Your Customers between Council Meetings

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 by Karen Penney

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.

Executive Sponsor Program, CSF #3 - Pace

Thursday, August 12, 2010 by Karen Posey

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.

Congratulations Hallmark... 100 Years & Loyal Customers for Life!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 by Misty Strawser

While traveling earlier this year, I came across an article in an in-flight magazine, MyMidwest, about the 100th anniversary of Hallmark Cards, Inc. The article was a brief interview with Hallmark's CEO, Donald J. Hall, Jr., sharing a few sentiments about how his company has remained an industry leader all these years. He talked about the crucial keys to their success, the most important business lessons he has learned since becoming CEO in 2002, and about some of the social trends impacting his business.

What really resonated with me though, having just attended an advisory council meeting, was his closing comment, that "for Hallmark, it's less about trends, and more about listening to our customers, being open to what they say and able to look beyond their words to understand the needs underlying their comments. There's no better way to stay ahead of what people expect than to talk to them." So true, so true!

We hear all the time about the benefits of talking with customers, but all too often it goes in one ear and out the other. Listen up though... right here is living proof!

For 100 years, despite war, economic hardship, and massive changes in technology, Hallmark remains an industry leader and shows no sign of slowing down. They survived an industry that, not long ago, was nearly pronounced dead. E-cards were to become the new norm. We were all going to be printing cards from our home computers, and running to the store for a birthday or anniversary card was going to become a thing of the past. These previously identified trends have not happened. In fact, according to Hall, 6 billion cards per year are still being sent in the U.S. alone! And more than half of them have the Hallmark crown on the back.

Hallmark has lifelong customers. They are emotionally loyal. They are the kind of customers we all strive for. My mother-in-law, Jane, is one of them. She is as loyal as they come. She is a member of Hallmark's Gold Crown Club. She sends only Hallmark Christmas cards. One of her Christmas trees has nothing but Hallmark ornaments, and for every special occasion, her loved ones, me included, receive Hallmark cards because she "cares enough to send the very best!"

Don't we all want customers as loyal as Jane? Of course we do. So start listening to your customers! Be open to what they have to say. Look beyond their words to understand their needs. Respond to their needs and do it better than anyone else! Like Hallmark, your customers will become emotionally loyal. They will be customers for life and you will soon be celebrating another anniversary!

Advisory Panels - Benefits as Seen by Industry Leaders

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 by Betsy Westhafer

You've previously heard me talk about the benefits of Customer Advisory Panels from the vantage point of the host company. Among the many benefits is that these panels often create advocates, the power of which is undeniable.

Springer, a publisher of Science, Medical and Technology (STM) content just released their quarterly eNewsletter to members of their Global Library Advisory Board (LAB) program. In it were not one, but two articles penned by members of their councils. Not only is this significant because of what they had to say, but these members are influential within their industry and respective geographic regions, and people naturally pay attention to what they have to say.

Rob Haran, Electronic Resources Manager at Shire in the UK and a veteran LAB member had this to say about the benefits of collaborating with Springer via the advisory council:

"This innovative interaction with a major supplier benefits Shire and the other customers in two principal ways: Firstly, we (the customers) have an early insight into future Springer developments which is essential if we are to develop our own information resources to to take advantage of these developments. Secondly, industry has a chance to communicate directly with the supplier experts and collectively influence Springer strategy."

Council Members Discuss Strategy with Springer

Another LAB member, Houeida Kammourie-Charara from Lebanon noted the importance of having direct access to the leadership team at Springer.

"Springer spirit was a major factor in the sucess of the LAB. The presence of Presidents and VPs and their interaction with other colleagues is a model that, in my opinion, should be followed by other companies." She continued, "One of the LAB objectives was to improve the strategic partnership between Springer and their customers. I think Springer attained this objective in a bright way."

So if you have customers who will advocate on your behalf and who clearly recognize the value of engaging in high-level strategic discussions, why would any company make a conscious decision not to take the same course of action?

Three Ways to Avoid the Dread in Strategic Planning

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 by Kelly Jones

If you are on a January-December fiscal calendar then you are entering the dreaded strategic planning cycle. Why is it dreaded? Usually it's because reams of data are poured over by strategic planners who create organizational thrusts and send them up the chain for review--only to be asked for a different slice or direction by senior leadership. I often hear organizations refer to the early stages of strategic planning as "analysis by paralysis." There is lots of great data, but no real compass to direct the analysis.

Where do you fit in this cycle? Are you the frustrated executive or the frustrated planner? Where is your presentation or binder from the past year? Please say it's not sitting on the shelf.

Materials on shelves are good for reference, not for day-to-day execution. The best strategic plans live within the organization.

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

If I've piqued your interest, check back for more on these three steps.

Inside-Out or Outside-In?

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 by Kelly Jones

I just read an article by Chief Learning Officer that states "Alignment Starts From the Inside Out." The article is based on research of 1,500 chief learning and development executives who say their organizations will align more closely to organizational objectives this year.

The article describes how performance management, competency development and leadership need to align to organization priorities. I fully agree. Having worked in and with a number of dysfunctional organizations I concluded years ago that companies need an inside-out approach. I even started a consulting firm to help companies gain this alignment.

As my blog title suggests, I now question my initial conclusions. Based on discussions with executives it became clear they really didn't have an anchor point to use for the alignment journey. They agreed with my value proposition and asked for proposals on how to achieve alignment, but at the end of the day they had to admit their strategic plans weren't very strategic and their brand destination not well defined.

Of course this wasn't true of every company. It was true, though, of organizations that most needed my help and were struggling to transform themselves.

So what do well performing organizations do? They continually gain market insight and build relationships with users, influencers and decision makers who keep their organizations on the front end of change. In essence, they use an outside-in approach. I see it time and time again in my work here at the Geehan Group.

The Chief Learning Officer article references the use of customer sat metrics to create feedback loops and even states alignment shouldn't be based on internal HR processes--rather on what clients and employees want.

At the end of the day I'm pretty sure we're saying the same thing. You don't build a company and then find the market. You find the market and then build the company. Whether you call it inside-out or outside-in, what matters is alignment of resources to a market-based strategy.

What do you think?

How Executive Summits Can Help You Reach Your Year-End Sales Goals

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 by Karen Battist

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.

This Week in Golden Nuggets

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 by Betsy Westhafer

After recently attending a webinar about Building a Thought Leadership Platform presented by Scott Ginsberg (the guy who always wears a nametag and author of "The Approachable Leader"), I thought it might be fun to throw out some little nuggets of information and insight he shared:

Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.
Ideas are free but execution is priceless.
Nobody notices normal. Nobody buys boring. Nobody pays for average.
Create a strategy for staying constantly relevant.
Thoughts are local; messages are global.
Hustle while you wait.
Make the mundane memorable.

And finally I leave you with this thought to ponder:
If everyone did what you said, what would the world look like?

If you want more where that came from, go to www.hellomynameisScott.com

Have a great week!

~Betsy

Executive Sponsor Program, CSF #2 ~ Standard, Repeatable Process that is Sustainable

Thursday, July 29, 2010 by Karen Posey

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.

How to Make Your Marketing Dollars Go Further

Thursday, July 29, 2010 by Kelly Jones

"If sustainable, predictable, profitable growth is the holy grail you are seeking, you have to build relationships with decision makers," says Sean Geehan, founder of the Geehan Group and author of the upcoming book The B2B Executive Playbook.

This assertion at a recent Columbus AMA Special Interest Group Meeting prompted an interesting question from the audience.

"Are you suggesting we focus all our relationship efforts on decision makers?" asked a B2B marketer.

I like this question because I think it is at the heart of a fundamental change we are making not just as marketers, but as selling organizations. More and more companies are asking for assistance in "moving up the food chain"--being able to call on and have relationships with higher level executives.

They realize that customer satisfaction and NPS scores are only a portion of what we need to do with regard to customer loyalty and retention. To sell solutions, to solve problems, to become trusted business partners means we have to build relationships at the decision maker level. We have to understand their business aspirations and we have to deliver value. And to answer the gentleman's question, we have to do this while maintaining our relationships with users and influencers.

Wow! A big job to be sure. But I think we are up to it. We've mastered expense control and quality management. We've seen our organizations through mergers and divestitures. There's no reason why we can't step up and help our organization's build profitable customer relationships with decision makers.

And, as Sean shared in his presentation, this can be accomplished without spending any additional money. We simply need to re-balance the money we are spending today.

Where is your organization at today? Where do you want to be? What are you doing to help your organization make the shift? I'd love to hear your comments.

Commonly Held Myths about Annual Customer Reviews

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 by Amy Spahn

If I were to ask a group of salespeople whether or not they deliver Performance Reviews to their customers today they would tell me, very emphatically; yes! If I asked probing questions to find out the information delivered, the audience or the frequency of delivery the answers would be all over the map. The point is, everyone believes they are delivering customers reviews that meet the expectations of their customers, but is that fact or fiction? Let's take a look at a few commonly held myths surrounding the Annual Customer Review:

1. "I'm doing a performance review with my customers - I'm covered."
Most top performance reviews I have evaluated look like a scorecard. The information reflects past performance.

2. "I know my customer really well; I don't need to do more discovery."
Your customer's top initiatives, priorities and challenges are constantly changing. Have you ever asked key business owners what are their challenges? Get out of your comfort zone and seek out individuals that are key decision makers, not users.

3. "I have been delivering the same dashboard information to my customers for years; I don't need to change a thing."
Perception and reality are two vastly different things. Have you ever asked your customer the value they receive from sitting in a two hour meeting to review the same information year after year? Oh, and when you invite a supporter to provide a testimonial on your behalf, they are rewarded by being tortured to sit in the meeting.

What should a Customer Review really be for you and your customers? It really is a strategic discussion that is solely focused on your customer. It is your opportunity to speak to your customer about their business through in depth discovery meetings. The review provides an opportunity to gain perspective on what your customer's top initiatives, priorities and challenges are across each of their functional business units.

By presenting your recommendations and the key findings that support those recommendations to your customer during the review you become more than just the Sales Representative with a briefcase full of collateral. You have actively listened to your customer. Take the opportunity at the Annual Customer Review to change the way your customer perceives you; make them see that you can be more than just an order taker. Start leveraging tools like an Annual Customer Review to have business conversations with your customers so that they begin to see you as a problem solver instead of just a vendor.

Beyond NPS: Ways to Elevate Customer Relationships

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 by Kelly Jones

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.