Aug 26, 2015 | Uncategorized
Planning to engage a major potential customer is much more than finding the phone number on the web site and ringing reception to ask who is the right person to speak to.
Chances are, even if they know who the right person is they will connect you to the intern.
For years I have been teaching and running workshops with the eye-raising acronym of SKAM.
Strategic Key Account Management.
The underlying logic is that there are only 3 ways to engage with a customer that leads to a transaction that is of a significant size:
You can help them increase their sales
You can help them increase their productivity
You can help them reduce their costs
On another level, there are some questions that you can ask yourself, and in the answering, arrive at a number of possible approaches, as it is rare that the first you try will work, but learning from the experience will help you with the second.
- How to I add value to what they are doing
- How do I demonstrate knowledge that I can make available to them that they will benefit from
- What trends or technologies can I bring to their attention that at will impact on their future profitability
- What insights can I bring to them
- What specific knowledge can I share
2. How do I go about building trust.
- What about their internal culture can I tap into and make a contribution
- What do the need or want that I have, and can give them
3. What can I do to be pro active and demonstrate my ability to work with them and help them achieve their goals
- What insights can I bring to them that will be of benefit?
4. How am I accountable for optimum results.
- Sales do not stop with the payment cheque. After sales service, warranties, ongoing advice, and so on all demonstrate that you are accountable for the promises made before the cheque was cashed.
5. How am I going to continue the engagement after the first transaction
- Once a customer has bought from you, if you do the right thing, you will have them as a customer again, and again. It is very useful to measure your “share of wallet“
- Would they recommend your services to their networks? Asking for referrals is a powerful marketing tool when you have satisfied customers, as there is no more powerful toll that word of mouth advertising.
Success in B2B sales of significant products, not just paperclips, takes patience and planning. It almost never evolves the way you expect, and almost never as quickly as you would like, hang in there.
Aug 24, 2015 | Category, Marketing, retail, Small business
Australia’s Grocery retailers continue the march towards private label range dominance, basing their strategic decision making on two foundations, it would seem to me.
- By controlling a large section of their sales via PL, they manage to both increase their margins at the same time they reduce their transaction costs. Good trick if you can get away with it, and in the short term they certainly can, but in the long term?? Who knows.
- What works in Europe, and particularly the UK will work here. Over 40 years in this industry, this has certainly held true, what works there generally becomes translated here at some point, in some form.
However, when considering the future of PL as a part of the landscape in Australia there are a few other considerations not present in the UK, and elsewhere in Europe.
- We have large distances, and a smaller population, making the economies of scale in manufacturing and distribution that much more elusive, and less attractive. In western Europe you have 350 million, or thereabouts living is far less space than Australia occupies, with a multiplicity of manufacturing options. Just the UK has 65 million in about the space as Victoria.
- Over the last decade, the number of middle sized Australian owned FMCG manufactures has been decimated by a combination of the high $A, the GFC, and the power of the two major retailers, so there is little left. Now the $A is lower, and the opportunities emerging, they are not coming back. Imported private label products now have to carry the added cost burden as well as the substantial costs and risks of the extended supply chain.
- Where is the innovation going to come from? Medium sized suppliers have been the source of much of the innovation that has driven category growth over the last 25 years. While it is relatively easy these days to pick new stuff off the shelves in Europe and set out to copy it, the retailers still need to have the products manufactured, and often massaged to suit local tastes, not so easy any more.
- Retailers in taking their ideas from European retailers, seem hell-bent on segmenting the PL share. No longer the cheap and cheerful substitute, European PL now offers under a range of house brand labels that cover the market from ‘top’ to ‘bottom’ as well as emerging segments like organic and halal are being pushed, further eroding the power of the proprietary brand. As a marketer I ask “for whose benefit?” certainly not the consumer.
- The Private label business model that demands minimum transaction costs on both sides does not sit comfortably with the proprietary model, with its complex trading terms. In most cases, suppliers of PL also supply proprietary products, adding to the complexity of the paperwork and relationships.
- Produce is a bit of an anomaly, as there are almost no proprietary brands. Producers and their representatives have comprehensively failed over 30 years to do any sort of branding job, so consumers do not miss what they never had. However, increasingly consumers seem to be reluctant to buy anything much beyond robust commodity products from supermarkets, believing after 25 years of cricket balls masquerading as peaches, that the specialists do a much better job.
- This last point is really anecdotal. There appears to me to be a backlash coming from consumers. A typical comment made to me last week was ‘if I do not want any choice, I will go to Aldi, but when Woolies denies me a choice, I wonder why I pay the premium over Aldi’. The two majors had better be careful, they do not ‘own’ consumers, who will make their choices independent of a retailers profit considerations.
Private label is now irrevocably a part of our lives, but I doubt if there is too much more room in dry goods for share growth without compromising retailer margins, but I guess they will be very wise with hindsight. Meanwhile, the pressure on the few medium sized manufacturers left intensifies.
Aug 19, 2015 | Branding, Marketing
Small businesses have great opportunities to leverage their skills, but now more than ever, they need a brand as the digital spot on which to double down their marketing investment, to create a wall from which to defend their territory.
Most do not have the skills, and become bogged in the jargon and options, so following are 6 simple guidelines:
Simplicity. You cannot be all things to all people, even in a local area and pretty specific market space. The more targeted the market segment, the simpler the communication and the need to provide more and more to attract clients. One of my clients is a personal trainer, but not one of the toned, buffed 25 year olds we normally see, she is an amazingly fit, middle aged mother of two who specialises in helping immediately post natal women get their pre natal bodies back. Her journey from young Mum with a desk job to successful trainer is a story her clients all relate to exactly.
Differentiation. Even in a narrowly defined niche, there has to be something other than price that makes you different, and the difference must be relevant to the target market. Continuing the story above, a young Mum can come along to the classes, exercise and relax in a very social way with others in the same boat, while their babies are being looked after in a crèche in easy eye-line.
Originality. Being different is great, being original in the manner in which you express your value propositionn is even better, then delivering that value in a differentiated manner is the core of brand building. The value proposition of a business is remarkably important, and remarkably challenging for most to get right.
Disruptive. Doing things in an entirely different way to everyone else gets you noticed, and when the disruption favours your target market, you can be way ahead, although those outside your target will probably not “get it”. My elderly mother lives in a regional town, and has her fair share of medication and mobility challenges, but still lives alone in a terrific spot for an old girl. One of the pharmacists in town packages up her medications into a card that puts each of the meds to be taken at a specific time in the one blister, then delivers the card weekly. Any change in med is immediately reflected in the updated card that will be delivered the day she tells them, and any remainder from the previous card taken away. On top of that, the pharmacist is one of the few licensed to mix his own meds from ingredient, so rather than taking a handful of pills, Mum takes just one or two that have the actives combined in one pill where they are compatible. As another bonus, they are generally smaller than many of the throat stuffers that come from “big pharma” Guess who has the market for the elderly in that town tied up!
Symbolism. Humans are visual animals, we value and put meaning into symbols that come to mean way more than just the illustration, or expression. Think about the Nike logo, 
a powerful symbol of sporting aspiration and achievement, or the Apple logo, a symbol of beautiful, functional original design, or in Australia where I live, 
the Aboriginal flag, that has come to express the need for our aboriginal people to express themselves as part of, but different to the rest of Australians.
Meaning. I struggled here for the right word, a word to convey more than just relevance, more than just delivering on a value proposition, something that has a deeper humanity in it than just a brand. Several businesses have made a commitment of “one for you, one for Africa” as a way of adding meaning to their brand, and it works. My personal trainer mate above achieves this by genuinely caring, and demonstrating that care in a variety of ways, about the health of happiness of her clients, even when they are no longer clients, usually because they go back to work in much better shape than would have otherwise been the case.
Let me know what you have done to build your brand.
Aug 10, 2015 | Customers, Marketing, Sales, Small business
cold calling
Almost everybody I know hates cold phone calling, there is something in the psychology that prevents us putting ourselves in a position where absolute strangers can reject us 99% of the time.
“Cold email calling” is the less confronting and can be a hugely effective option, but unless you follow some simple rules, will still be 99% ineffective. It is just that the email will go to the trash, and you will not have to put up with someone rejecting you verbally.
If you follow these rules, and optimise your emails, their effectiveness will explode.
1. Research the prospect list.
It is easier today than ever before to create and segment your prospect list into finely drawn groups, each having a persona that is likely to respond to specific messaging. Sending an email to a professional chef outlining your Aunt Mabel’s favourite cup cake recipe is unlikely to be read.
Ensure you have a strong value proposition for each persona that you draw, one that feeds into their motivations, problems and fears.
2. Have a compelling subject line.
Your subject line is like a headline in a newspaper, or the cover of a magazine in the newsagent. In a very few words it needs to capture attention and lead you to the next action.
Ask yourself, “would I open this email”
Have a compelling “sub head”
Your first sentence is like the sub headline on that same magazine cover. If you watch what works in your local newsagent, it is often piquing curiosity that works best. Writers of these covers are the cream of direct response writers, so model your emails on the pattern that works for them.
3. It is not about you.
If your email opens with “my name is Fred Nurk from ABC Corp, and we provide the worlds best Blah Blah product” you have probably already lost them. Instead, you need to spell out exactly how you can help them do their job better.
Be conversational. Write like a peer, someone who understand the challenges and opportunities of your target, and who relates to them. Being “needy” is the best way to lose a reader, even if you think your cause is the best in the world. Avoid weak terms like “I hope..” and “I just ….”
4. Establish credibility.
Without credibility, you chances of converting are minimal. Providing social proof, data, of some sort is essential. A testimonial from an existing customer can be very effective, but these days, they have to be video, and the individual has to be clearly identified, and identifiable, otherwise you will be suspected of writing it yourself or getting one of your mates to do a video.
5. Create a process.
A cold email rarely creates a sale, at best it can create a warm reception to the follow up. This is the entry to your sales funnel.
There are three parts to a successful email process that recognise the “moments of truth” that occur. First you need the finely drawn persona noted above, second, you need to map the buying journey to be able to identify the points at which you can create interest, and third, you should have a schedule. It is easier to map out a series of posts around a topic, then write them, than it is to sit facing a blank screen trying to think of something to write today. Believe me, I have tried both.
None of this is easy, and it takes time and expertise, but does work. There is never any substitute for experienced, professional writing. It is not the case that everyone who can write a letter and ensure the spelling and grammar is OK can write a good sales letter, it is an art, so you are probably better off getting an artist.
Aug 5, 2015 | Branding, Customers, Marketing, Small business
It seems to me that in the tsunami of digital marketing going on, FMCG is being left behind.
For brands largely dependent on consumer sales via supermarkets, you would think that they would be at the forefront of finding ways to engage with consumers as a means to loosen the choke hold the retailers have on every day purchases through their scale of operations.
When in store, consumers are driven by the environment to “commoditise” their shopping, constantly bombarded by price activity that has over time eroded the impact that a brand can have, giving retailers greater control of the shoppers purse. Price has become such a central driver in FMCG that I suspect many have forgotten how to really build a brand and market value to consumers, rather than just price and availability.
On the other hand, marketers kid themselves with the notion flogged by the snake oil bunch that people want a “relationship” with your brand, and spending mega bucks on building such a relationship will delver returns. Truth is that most supermarket shoppers, confined by a finite budget give their brand “relationships” little thought when in store. They tend to have a pool of acceptable products in a category, and buy from that pool based on an almost instantaneous response to their previous experiences. Marketers really only get the chance in to get a considered response when a product is being considered for the first time, or there is some other powerful outside stimulus. It is here that an ability to deliver highly targeted messages to consumers via digital means can have a real impact.
So how do we cut through the haze?.
The old rules of marketing still apply, just digitally.
Years ago I worked for a dairy company, we had a great long life custard product, and the simple co-location of a floor stack of custard next to the bananas when they were in season and a value price, with a bit of POS material, saw the sales of both soar. I have done this time and time again, with different product combinations, and the results have been consistent, problem is finding you way through the planograms and rules imposed by central head offices bent on selling floor space to suppliers and maintaining a discipline at store level, often at the expense of innovating to sell products to consumers.
How could digital work to enable this proven technique?
Apples iBeacon technology is one of several systems that use location sensitive smart phones to deliver brand messages. Unilever appears to be successfully trialling it with a Magnum promotion in the UK in collaboration with Tesco, who have a bit of history of innovation in the digital space. Retailers also have the building blocks of truly innovative co-location and collaborative activity housed in their loyalty card data. Combine that with geo-location and opportunities really open up.
Young consumers, heavy users of digital are not their mothers, they are distinctly different, and see brands and digital through different eyes. Relying on them to accept a commoditised selection on supermarket shelves is probably going to end in pain, as they select the products and brands they want to interact with digitally, and have a whole range of considerations their mothers would never consider.
I know this digital stuff is going to work when marketers manage to crack the code, and have the grunt to either collaborate constructively with retailers, or go around them. I have written about the cottage cheese club previously, an analogue version of what is possible, now simple and highly extendable with digital tools.
For heavens sake, get on with it!
