Clients enable you to pursue your business
Your clients make it possible for you to pursue your and your company's purpose, its mission. However, few companies do market research and fewer really know their clients or customers.
- Do you make a serious effort to place yourself in their shoes?
- Do you know exactly what they value and appreciate?
The client/customer simply has to be the departure point in developing your company's Marketing Plan.
Do you have a major marketing goal?
What is your marketing goal?
- Is it profitable revenue growth?
- Is it attracting new customers or a specific niche of high-value customers?
- Is it retaining customers?
- Is it creating engaged customers who are totally devoted to you?
- If you are a non-profit organisation, is it raising donations?
Marketing should be part and parcel of your strategic thinking. In fact, thinking about marketing has changed radically with the advent of multiple-option Web-based marketing tools . Your company is now able to locally and globally reach people who might be seeking what you are offering.
"New Marketing" has become important. Which Web-based tools are used most by your current and potential clients/customers? What messages and brief stories would appeal to them about your offering? Be ready to personally start communicating with them, i f you are not busy doing so. In fact, the media channels which you select and the users of these channels should heavily influence the type of company you need to be to meet the demands of those who find you.
Everything you do is marketing
Your strategic plan and your scorecard are focused on supporting your marketing plan; on doing the right things before you attract and gain the support of clients. Ask yourself: "Am I so busy in doing what I like doing that I forget to ask my clients (who pay me) what it is exactly what they value and appreciate?"
Client Value Proposition (CVP)
Clients are essential to the growth of your business. Consequently, you need to set aside notions of pushing your products and services. Start by firstly taking note of the elements of a Client Value Proposition which assist you in focusing on your clients.
The next two paragraphs contain a brief explantion of the CVP elements.
Emotional motif
Observe the role of emotions in developing your messages. Lewis P. Carbone rightly advises the development of an Emotional Motif.
In essence, a company has to ensure that the client feels good about herself because of her interaction with you. This is a subtle concept. The client feels good about herself - not good about you. You could and should create clues on your website and in your marketing material based on what makes a client feel good about herself aimed at eliciting or strengthening such feelings. Create positive emotional experiences.
ABPLAN has integrated experience management and the emotional motif into its approach. The motif assists in ensuring that you measure all your outcomes in respect of your clients against three concepts. What will make your client feel good about herself in dealing with you and in buying your products or services?
I offer the development of a Customer-Engagement Strategy as engaged customers are worth their weigth in gold.
Other aspects that clients value
The other ovals in the diagramme represent the following:
- The quality, price and reputation of your products, the choice which you offer and their functionality.
- Your service - which could be a competitive advantage or sink your business.
- Your availability and the availibility of your products and services - at times which suit your clients. Tend to your client's enquiries in a smooth, hassle-free manner. Be responsive and respond fast with a concerned customised reply. Put your client's convenience first.
- A professional relationship - which should be knowledgeable, warm, concerned and helpful.
- Your company's brand - which stands for all the aforegoing items. As what do you wish to be known? What promises is your brand making? How does your client perceive you?
Buyer personas
You need more than one Client Value Proposition. Determine the personas of your main clients. Visualize your various types of clients. Do you clearly see them as distinct personas with different needs? Write a paragraph about each persona.
ABPLAN really wants to know who your clients and suppliers are and what they would value about your company. To figure this out we assist you in developing a number of Client Value Propositions and also Supplier Value Propositions. We use these as a basis for developing satisfaction questionnaires.
Satisfied vs. dissatisfied clients
A satisfied client is only a step removed from a dissatisfied client. We assist you in figuring out what creates an engaged client, meaning an emotionally-engaged client. Such a client would mourn the demise of your company, if this were to happen.
Next go to new marketing for details about using Web-based marketing tools of the 21st century.
Should you be interested in creating valuable engaged clients/customers, please go to ... culture of emotional engagement.
Go to worth reading for more information about Robert Middleton's excellent manual; for information about Lewis Carbone's "Clued In - How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again" and for details about Philip Kotler's concise "Ten Deadly Marketing Sins - Signs and Solutions".
Last modified: 12-06-2010