InTouch Active Customer ™ Development
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Active Customer ™ Development
InTouch Active Customer Development™
We believe that integrating the effort of both the sales and marketing functions within a business is the key to developing strong and resilient brands, harmonising your personnel, energising your sales potential and turning your customers on. We have used our experience to develop a powerful blueprint for sustainable business growth, called Active Customer Development™
It will help you to: > identify and understand your most receptive target audience > grow and add value to your customer database > develop higher quality sales leads > engage and communicate more effectively with your audience > drive efficient use of your budget > minimise wastage and maximise returns
Finding customers for keeps
“By asking leftbrainers and right-brainers to work as a team, you bridge the gap between logic and magic.”
By ensuring that the audience perspective remains in focus at all times, Active Customer Development™ will create a sustained and manageable lead flow. It will take the audience on the journey from awareness to advocacy, build your brand and maximise return on investment, results guaranteed.
Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
What is it? Active Customer Development™ is: > The marriage of the sales process and marketing communications activity… > To maximise return from customers, and efficiency from the sales and marketing processes… > And to drive long term customer profitability.
Sales
= Efficiency & InTouch Active Customer Development™
Marketing
& Profitability www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
The marriage of two core processes We can align each stage in the sales process to one in the communication process.
Sales
Who
am I selling to?
What
am I selling?
Why
would they buy it?
How
can they get it?
InTouch Active Customer Development™
Communication
Awareness
What is it?
Interest
Why should I care?
Desire
Tell me more!
Engage
Where can I get it?
The right tools for the right job There are always exceptions but the communication tool kit should also be aligned to the sales process to maximise efficiency.
Sales
Who?
What?
Marketing communication mix Research, Data sourcing/analysis Planning/strategy development Advertising, PR, exhibitions, events, direct mail
Why?
Relationship development programmes
How?
Loyalty, brand engagement
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
The journey from Suspects to Advocates Taking Suspects through to Trial and ultimately to Advocacy is a journey. We begin by asking 3 key questions:
1 Who do we want to talk to? Audience. The sort of people we think will be interested.
2 What do they want to hear? Message. The key messages we think will interest them.
3 How do they want to hear it? Media. The best way to get the message through.
Once we have answered questions 1-3 we can begin the communication phase. To ensure we’ve answered the questions correctly, we must make sure we ask question 4:
4 Did they hear it?
Measure. Enhance and replay the message.
InTouch Active Customer Development™
2
Prospects
What will motivate their interest?
1
Suspects
Finding our target audience
3
4
Leads
Sales dialogue
Having established interest how can we engage and hold that interest?
Establishing a rapport/ building trust and encouraging a relationship
5
Presentation A ‘first date’ – demonstrating ability to meet key needs
6 Conversion
7
Negotiation/ closing the deal
Trial
Initial new customer phase – the ‘honeymoon’
8
Commitment Repeat purchase
9 Advocacy
Ongoing loyalty
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Filling the data pool As we gather Suspects, we need to guide them into our communication programme. By utilising marketing communication tools and techniques in an integrated way we can improve sales process effectiveness and build our customer database pool.
Hi there!
InTouch Active Customer Development™
Suspects
Prospects
Driving sales leads
Maximising conversion
Trialists Ensuring lasting lifetime value from customers
Advocates www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Active Customer ™ Development The details
InTouch Active Customer Development™
1
Suspects
The key first phase in the sales process is to define the target audience. People do business with people, consumers purchase products and empathise with brands that match their lifestyle, desires and aspirations. You might call this their ‘life brand portfolio’. But we can’t be all things to all men. Even mass market positioning doesn’t appeal to everyone. Thus targeting is the key first step.
Suspect definition methods and processes At InTouch we have a range of tools, models and processes to assist in defining and honing suspect definitions. We can employ research to define target markets, and/or use client customer data to profile and assess where current strengths and weaknesses are. This will then help us identify future prospects. Suspects are people we think might be interested.
> Who do we want to talk to? > Why do we want to talk to them? > What characteristics do they have which set them apart from other groups of consumers or businesses? The better the targeting the better the results. All our evidence shows that spending time defining and honing the target improves response, saliency and empathy.
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
We are trying to: > Create awareness > Generate a response > Change perception > Inform and build understanding > Create emotional rapport
InTouch Active Customer Development™
2
Prospects
Communication has a key role to play in approaching potential prospects. Having spent time building a clear picture of who we want to target and why, the most important next step is to approach them as effectively and efficiently as possible. Over time, InTouch has developed tools, models and expertise to maximise return from targeting prospects. The critical first step is to consider what we are trying to achieve. Setting realistic goals means realistic budgets so that ROI can be determined. So, beginning at the beginning, what are we trying to achieve? In the sales process sales teams need leads, but not any old leads. Sales force time is expensive thus cold calling using the sales team has been proved to be an inefficient use of this valuable resource. Prospect definition methods and processes
3
Leads
Generating interest, ie a lead, is a key measure and vitally important. But how is it nurtured, handled and progressed? > Does the lead need information? > Has their response been acknowledged? > Who owns the lead? > How is that ownership monitored, reworded and focussed? > Is a face to face meeting the next phase? > How valuable is the lead? InTouch have developed a range of tools from telephone handling, to email response, to mailed response to actively manage and filter leads, guiding the hottest leads to fruition whilst nurturing warm and cold leads to ensure they are brought to the boil
> Saliency modelling > Current customer profile assessment > Competitor weakness modelling > ROI requirement marketing > Lead flow control > Segment for effectiveness www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
4
Sales dialogue
Doing the little things well and remembering manners are still very important and can go a long way. But doing all that admin can be time consuming and difficult. InTouch has a suite of mechanisms for saying ‘thank you’, informing prospects of status, next steps or key agenda items. We can support your sales teams by putting together documentation or follow up information which can be sent physically or electronically or placed on a secure site for viewing. We log response to material sent and ensure the sales dialogue is maintained and progressed. There are a wide range of tools, techniques and opportunities to engage prospects who have expressed an interest and to keep the dialogue going.
Detail, detail, detail.
5
Presentation
Ultimately we want the customer/consumer to show clear buying signals which means that the presentation of the offer is another key element to get right. In a world of electronic immediacy time is of the essence. > How are all the elements that have gone before pulled together? > Is there a consistency of look and feel? > Is our dialogue consistent? > Or are we sending mixed messages? Detail, detail, detail. Getting it right will ensure you stand out and meet expectations. Get it wrong and it shatters confidence and wastes hours, days, weeks of hard work. At InTouch we work on weaving in all previous elements to ensure presentations are effective and relevant.
! W NE InTouch Active Customer Development™
6
Conversion
7
Trial
At this critical stage it’s important not to drop the ball. How annoying would it be, for example, to send someone on the verge of placing an order a new offer or a first introductory communication?
A virgin customer or consumer is to be highly valued.
We manage data carefully and track dialogue to avoid embarrassment.
Trialists have been hard won and are expensive, the task now is to generate lifetime value out of them.
We also utilise key communication tools and channels to ensure conversion is maximised. For large expenditure items, confidence that the right purchase choice has been made is paramount. Advertising, PR and direct communication all have their part to play here. At InTouch we work with clients to build understanding of what maximises conversion.
InTouch spend as much time thinking about the post purchase experience as moving suspects through to become sales leads.
> What is their expected lifetime value and what do we need to do to maximise this? > How can we ensure the experience of buying from you is a great one and not one that becomes a dinner party tale? Remember, bad news travels like wildfire!
YES, YES, YES!
Tell me more‌ www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
8
Commitment
A successful trial period goes more than halfway along the path towards commitment. By now, the customer/client has experienced the brand at a number of critical stages and so can form a good feeling as to whether it ‘fits’ their life brand portfolio. At this point we need to ensure their future commitment to the brand. We need to maintain their interest and keep the dialogue alive by: > Encouraging customer involvement and maximising further brand experiences. > Developing customer service propositions and standards to be best in class. Ultimately we need them to feel reassured about their purchase to keep them feeling good about the brand.
InTouch Active Customer Development™
9
Advocacy
Established, happy customers are our friends! Now is the time to ensure that the relationship remains healthy – advocates are powerful, invaluable allies who can recommend your brand to their peers. Treat them well and you will have an effective, unpaid sales force working for you. InTouch will help you to: > Maximise use of loyal customer recommendation. > Utilise techniques to recommend peers and friends. > Reward continued commitment and support. Develop ambassadors for example utilising Social Networking sites to spread the word and share real customer experiences and endorsement.
To discover more contact: Andrew Gerrard +44 (0)1295 261161 andrew.g@intouchmarketing.co.uk www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Š InTouch Marketing 2010.
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
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