My name is Paul Davis, MBA and I own NextStep Marketing, a Charlotte based marketing consultancy focused on helping small and medium sized businesses.  My professional background spans 30 years in sales and marketing. I am a certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant. At NextStep Marketing, we place an emphasis on strategy by helping clients identify core values, key messages, establish measurable goals and develop a plan.

I will share marketing strategy insights in a three-part blog to help you prepare your small business for success in 2012. I can be reached via email at  pdavis@nx-step.com or by telephone at (704) 421-8353. 

As a marketing consultant I am often asked how I manage the complexities of running a business, deal with employees, clients and manage my marketing programs. How do I manage networking, social media, and advertising and still find time to manage my business? It’s not easy!

My focus is goal centered and is always based on future sales growth and revenue projections. Once I’ve established my revenue projections, I focus on marketing strategy, tactics and development of a marketing calendar to keep my business on track for the new year.

This proven approach has consistently worked for my business and for my clients.  Beginning this week I will share some specific points on marketing strategy, tactics and effective planning that will help you position your small business for success in 2012. We’ll begin where I suggest all business owners start – with strategy.

Part 1:  Strategy

As Sun Tzu said in The Art of War,” All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” I like this quote because it places strategy as the key component to winning a battle. Marketing strategy often times is invisible to prospects and clients yet it drives business forward. In the words of John Jantsch, “a marketing strategy is a clear explanation of how you’re going to get there not where or what ‘there’ is.” It’s important to note, becoming a market leader or to double your customers in the coming year are not strategies but simply stated goals and objectives.

I start my strategic review with a review of my ideal target market and client. I ask the following series of questions of myself as well as my clients. My goal is to insure that my strategy is still focused on my ideal target market. For example:

• How has my target market changed in the past year?
• What are the common characteristics of my ideal client and target market?
• Did I add new products or programs that may have expanded my ideal target audience? 
• Geographically do I need to expand or contract my target market in order to meet customer needs?
• What issues concern my target market?
• What challenges do they face?
• How can my business meet their needs and solve their concerns?
• My key differentiators, how have they changed and am I articulating this difference in my materials and messaging? Keep in mind that better isn’t better unless it’s different.

I finish my strategic review with a thorough review of my current clients. In tough economic times it’s easy to take on new business that may not fit my vision of the ideal target market due to financial concerns. Many times these businesses are not profitable and they consume too many resources and too much time. I use a simple rating scale (1 to 5) to determine where each client fits in my ideal target market. Finally, I determine how I’m going to transition out those clients that don’t fit my ideal target market and client base.  I may elect to keep some of these clients if I feel confident I can develop a strategy and system that will move them forward in their business and up on my scale to become ideal client.

Once you have defined your strategy, you can focus on defining tactics that work.

Guest Blogger:  Helen Davis   NextStep Marketing, LLC


According to author Patsy Stone “you can never have too many hats, gloves and shoes”. I don’t know about gloves but, in today’s world, it seems we are all wearing more hats.  The shoes thing is a topic all in itself. LOL. But, back to the hats.  I Googled the subject “entrepreneurs wearing more hats”. The search came back with 3,070,000 results. Clearly I am not alone in my thinking that we are all wearing more hats these days. If you are a baby boomer, you’re wearing more hats in the work world and as part of the sandwich generation you’re wearing more hats at home as well. The question then becomes how do we manage all the hats we are wearing? If only one of the hats came with a crystal ball!

One of the biggest struggles is time – there is never enough of it. As an entrepreneur, we usually fall into bed thinking of all the things we didn’t get done and all of the things that we need to tackle tomorrow. And the cliché “work smarter, not harder” really offers no help. The biggest struggle of all is that we are so busy working in our business, there is no time to work on our business. Realizing that it can be difficult since we are wearing so many hats that require us to suddenly be experts in areas we hadn’t necessarily considered. “Entrepreneurs have to be good at many things: The “product,” the pitch, the sale, the operations and the strategic, long-term view.” Lea Strickland, Experience Is No Guarantee for Entrepreneur, thestreet.com. We simply move forward with an idea that seems viable; that seems to fill a void so we get to work. Sometimes there’s a business plan but, more often than not, there isn’t. Even if there is a plan, the reality is usually very different from expectations. And whether you have a plan or not, the reality of starting your own business can be daunting. The best laid plans offer no guarantees. According to a CNN Money article, “Across the United State, small business failure rates rose 40% between 2007 and 2010” Catherine Ford, States with Worst Business Failure Rates, Money.CNN.com.

So how do we succeed then? The key is to not get mired down in the reality of day-to-day “must dos”. Remove yourself from react mode and shift to pro-act mode. Set time aside to assess your reality from your perception. Is your business going in the direction you intended? Or has it moved in a direction you didn’t expect? Are you okay with that? If not, what do you need to do to get your plan back on track? Look at the big picture first and decide which direction you need to move toward as your overall goal. When you can see the big picture, then you can begin the process of creating a strategy. “A strategic plan is the key to stay focused on your goals and objectives” Lynn Brown, Social Media Marketing Coach, Blogging Strategist & Linkedin Marketing Manager for Your Online Business Success! San Luis Obisbo, CA. The strategy must come before the tactics. Tactics are great but, without a strategy, they are purposeless. Tactics are a reaction to the “must dos”. While it’s not easy to step back and take the time, it just might be the best business decision you ever make! It’s something we all have to do from time to time.

- Helen Davis

Choosing the right CRM can be a bear! In my past life as a Director and VP of Sales, my sales teams used ACT for Lotus Notes, Saleforce.com and SalesNow. Recently I tried one designed specifically for the Mac but it was very difficult to implement and use. All CRMs have their ups and downs, positives and negatives. Before you choose the right CRM you might want to consider the follow point:

Features

Keep in mind that CRMs vary from simple to fully loaded models that do everything except wash your car. With so many features, it is easy to buy more than you need and pay too much. Make sure they offer the right features for your business needs. A few considerations:

• General ease of use
• Does it work well with your current email program
• How easy is it to implement and maintain
• What resources might you need to support the program and system
• Cloud based program or in-house server
• How does it keep track of your contacts, appointments and reminders
• Does it handle and store attachments in your contact record
• Can it handle multiple users and how difficult is it to add or change users and reassign user records
• How many records will it store and what sort of backup procedures will you need to keep your data safe
• Finally, check out the Dashboard feature for the CRM. It is a great tool for keeping up with appointments, activities and monitoring your sales pipeline. It can even be used as a project management tool to track projects.

Cell Phone Integration

In today’s demanding world having a CRM that works with cell phones or tablets is a must. Make sure the CRM being considered works on multiple platforms (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid) to meet you and your employee’s needs. Is there an App for the CRM that support the types of phones being used by your employees? How difficult is it to input and sync data, and use it in the field?

Laptop Integration

I love my Mac! However, Windows based systems are still dominant in the work world. Pick a CRM that works on both Mac and Windows platforms if possible. This is key if you are expanding your business or work with outside contractors and consultants. They can easily link into your CRM and begin to work quickly.

Costs

CRMs can vary greatly in cost depending on features and platforms. In-house CRMs are less expensive ($60 to $120 per user copy) up front but you will need some type of server or workstation to support multiple users. Any changes in operating systems or updates will require someone to tweak your server or you will need to purchase upgrades to keep it working. This will continue to add cost.

Cloud based CRMs have a monthly user fee and they can vary from $30 to $110 per month depending on complexity and services so do the math. However, there are no server requirements and the CRM manages the data, systems, backup and security protection that can reduce the cost as well as the need to provide in-house support.

“C” Stands for Customer

In order to maximize your return on investment the CRM must meet all customer needs. Keep in mind that the “C” stands for Customer both internal and external to the organization.

Internal Customers

Internal customers consist of your Sales, Customer Service, Project Management, Sales and General Management Teams. Data obtained from your CRM can help track call activity and marketing response. A good CRM will monitor projects and provide quick reference Dashboards for management.

When selecting a CRM, it is imperative to include management and other departments in the decision making process. While it is important to get management’s buy-in you should weigh the choices and recommendations of those that use the system most - your Sales and Customer Service Teams. Ease of use is key and these teams are on the front line being required to input data and manage the accounts from the field. Include at least one member from Sales and Customer Service in the decision making process to gain buy-in and support. It will make the implementation process smoother.

External Customers

Most organizations deploy a CRM to meet internal customer needs and stop. That is a big mistake. Not only does that philosophy restrict the use of the CRM, it also limits its value and ROI. The ultimate goal of any organization is to meet External Customer Needs. Consider how your CRM can enhance your customer’s buying experience. A few possibilities are to use your CRM to:

1. Educate your customers and provide valuable information about your products, services and your people
2. Connect with your customers via email, e-zines, newsletters and direct mail programs
3. Track customer response times, complaints and solutions to improve the customer experience.

Use your CRM to build “Know, Like and Trust” with your customers. That is the key to successfully growing your business. Keep in mind that “Know, Like and Trust” turns into “Try, Buy, Repeat and Refer” i.e. increased sales and enhanced customer experience. If you want to know more about these concepts you can contact me through http://www.nx-step.com or http://www.linkedin.com/in/pbdavis. Also check out these two great reads: Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine by John Jantsch at http://www.ducttapemarketing.com.

So remember, there are a lot of considerations when selecting a CRM: i.e. features, cell phone and laptop integration, ease of use, cost and the customer experience. Selecting the right CRM is critical to growth and should be made carefully. Whatever system you or your organization chooses you are on the right track so Congratulations! A strategically considered CRM will enhance your sales, marketing and customer experience. Good luck!


Written By: Paul Davis - NextStep Marketing LLC