Archive for November, 2007
How do you like our web site?
Businesses frequently want an evaluation of their web site. They want and need to know how it compares to the competition. Equally important, is that most of them will be getting this assessment from the business development viewpoint for this first time. This is usually very complimentary to existing outlook of the web site developer and any search engine optimization (SEO) that has taken place.
The aggregated view of small to medium sized businesses shows that more than 60% of them are disappointed with their web sites.
Many people say they aren’t really sure what their web site does for them. Moreover, they showed striking similarities in “how” they got their web sites going.
Most web sites were bought from the outside by web developers or creative professionals or developed internally, frequently with little or no prospect or demand side information. Many used the web-site-in-a-box approach. The needs of the business were only occasionally included. In one instance, a seller of web site development gave away “quick content” to acquire the business.
Three Uncommon Steps for Accelerated Web Site Performance
More importantly, companies disappointed with their webs site’s business contribution excluded consistently three important steps creating the site:
Establish communication relationships with the market:
- Customer needs:
- Understand the market first
- Do not put-up content and push it out
- Communicate the “Do-Fors” that you provide
- Develop the web site’s business missions, specific purposes:
- What problems will the site help you overcome?
- What parts of the business should it accelerate
- Testing and Tuning
- Test with people who fit the your target customers
- Take the results from this testing and fine tune the site
Real Examples of Web site Business Missions
- Reduce time-to-market and time-to-revenue
- Qualified lead generator
- Expand product and service reach while reducing our costs
- Target a previously unreachable customer
- Allow partners to more easily do business with us
- Establish or increase credibility
Uncommon Steps in Action
A five year old high growth financial services firm was getting little or no value from their web site. Site support costs were up, contribution down. The company developed a better understanding of the markets they served. Prospects did not want to read about specifications but how the financial services being offered could solve their problems (within 30 seconds to three minutes).
The owners established their web site missions to be:
- Solving problems for prospects (what I call the Do-Fors)
- Company credibility
- Provide employees with an access anywhere sales presentation.
The results showed a 25% increase in clients reached in the following six months. The cost to reach these new clients has decreased by 10%. The site now serves the company as a two-way qualification tool and a distribution channel.
How can you use the three uncommon steps?
Think about the specific missions of your web site for solving problems and accelerating the business. How will the relationship between your prospects needs and web site be established? Use the three uncommon steps and measure the results and let me know how it worked out!
November 8th, 2007
Stockholders of Ford Motor Company should be very concerned about the recent marketing slip-up considering the company’s delicate state and fragile position in the auto market.
This slip-up tip-off was when Ford took the new Taurus off the market soon after it was introduced.
When the name was new, the Taurus was the car that finally positioned Ford significantly against cars like Honda’s Accord and Toyota’s Camry in terms of appeal, price and market share. The Taurus had a very good run over several years and an excellent model name with plenty of brand equity and future built into it. Even so, the company retracted the car, along with the name, from the market.
In 2007, the company introduced an all new car designed to compete with the leading Japanese sedans. Given the name “500,” a name that meant nothing to everyone, particularly, the people most likely to buy the new car.
You have to wonder: With all the experience, information and resources Ford has access to, why would they give a meaningless name to a new and important entry into the competitive sedan market?
Additionally, the company never told us how the car was different and better than its competition, basic I know, but why this additional misstep?
The new slow selling 500 model was rather quickly pulled from the market and just a few months ago, a new car called the “Ford Taurus” was introduced. Clearly the 500 renamed the Taurus.
How much did this cost the company to pull the 500 off the market, and then reintroduce the car as the Taurus? How much market share and earnings were lost during this time? How much did it cost share holders?
This was an important and basic marketing slip-up that I hope we do not see again. Now how about telling us about different and better?
November 8th, 2007
What is Business Development?
What is your definition of business development? Ask seven people what it is and you are likely to wind up with seven different answers. My work with small and medium sized clients has shown that companies define business development based on the situation they are presently in including making a new sale, investing in advertising or offering a new product or service. Also, too many small and medium sized businesses believe that business development options or programs are only for large companies. This is not so.
Clients are often surprised and pleased when they learn that there are at least ten business development options that they can choose from to help solve a problem or accelerate an already successful situation. But you need to consider a few key points critical to a successful outcome.
What problem or acceleration point(s) do you want business development to improve?
Business development options can be used for a wide variety of reasons. To make longer term strategic improvements or the much needed tactical “quick-win”.
Here is a list of the challenges and acceleration points that are most often addressed:
- Reduce time-to-market and time-to-revenue
- Improve the scalability of your company
- Strengthen the go-to-market model for better targeting and ROI
- Expand product and service reach while reducing costs
- Leverage your brand or someone else’s
- Lift your brand
- Target a previously unreachable customer
For instance, I was contacted by a client who said they wanted to discuss increasing sales with advertising. I wanted to understand how they came to the conclusion advertising was the answer. After a two hour session with them it was very apparent that they did not need more advertising. They needed to sort out their sales process since they were unable to work half of the 75 qualified leads already coming in each month. I recommended they sort out their sales process and then, when they have additional capacity to address about 125 leads each month, we can work on a specific business development program (such as a lead agent program) to efficiently generate the additional 50 leads.
Why Will My Company Do Business Development
Understanding why you need to do business development, beyond saying that you want to increase sales and revenues, brings you much closer to defining what the problem or acceleration point is and its successful solution. In order to do this, you must understand what defines good businesses development and what problem(s) you would like business development to solve for you.
A case in point: A 20 person financial services firm had invested in having a very nice logo developed after being assured that this was the next logical step to their growth. While the logo developer was satisfied, the business results were disappointing to the client. After this, the financial services company and I met through a referral. I applied the business development considerations (above) to how they were going to market. It turned out that they did not need a logo, they had a distribution challenge in reaching the correct propsects. We then proceeded to select the best business development option. In this case, it was to form distribution alliances to solve for their distribution problem. Together, we obtained the results the CEO wanted within 120 days.
Define What Business Development Means for Your Business. The most effective business development definition includes these key points:
- The business development program or activity is well defined.
- There will be ramp-up and wind-down time.
- Business development is used to solve specific business challenges or used to accelerate selected parts of the business.
- The business development activity is reasonably sustainable.
- Outside relationships such as referral sources and alliances are two-way activities in benefit (not vendor-client relationships)
- There are measures of success such as revenue, number of clients, reduced cost, increased profitability and more.
Between now and the time we meet again in this space, think about business development options and the challenges you have that may be solved with them. Also, how do you want to accelerate your business? What are your next steps?
November 8th, 2007
It’s going to be interesting to see how the multi-company alignment that Google has put together gains traction to redefine open architecture, wireless communications and very interestingly, local mobile services and its demands for advertising.
The potential to reach certain markets, segments, individuals no less, with pin-point accuracy and timing will have been redefined by technology. Location based services will drive the need for companies developing applications to fully understand and embrace what is known as “the user experience (UX).”
Instead of merely slapping on a graphical user interface, or even a well developed GUI and asking the user to adopt and fill in the blanks, the experience of the user, no matter what the device, must be designed to not only attract and engage users, but to do it in a way that retains them consistently for advertisers.
This strategic alliance portends to not only seed innovation with openness and tools, but to change business models, and in doing so, break many of the rules that have kept many institutional players in business.
It certainly will be interesting to see the strategic and tactical responses of those companies with a vested interest in keeping the status quo. This is one of those interesting and dynamic times, that is extra engaging, particularly for those who are experienced in developing and marketing technology solutions.
What is old is new again in the technology, applications development and marketing worlds. In this case, it is resource rich Google that is pushing the envelope in a new sensible open way, and that’s why Google’s got game.
November 8th, 2007