Fad, Failure or Future? The rise & fail of technologies

Like many, I would be utterly lost without my smart phone. The constant ability to connect, and be connected with the wider stream of text, email and web browser is an absolute lifeline both professionally and personally. On the very rare occasion that I leave home without it, I feel bereft – out of touch with what is going on (despite being engaged in real time connection with friends, family or work colleagues).  It’s a craving; satisfied only momentarily by just one more quick peek to see who has just DM’d or SMS’d me. No wonder whole new industries are emerging around the ubiquitous device. In just a few short years, according to some futuristic predictions, we will no longer require credit cards, GPS devices, DVDs, gaming systems or separate MP3 players.  The growth of mobile technology can hardly be described as a fad. It is an evolving platform that continues to satisfy needs both real and as yet unimagined.

For many businesses, mobile technology provides a highly addictive and tantalizing marketing channel. The ability to achieve direct access to your customer base and push highly focused and precision messages based on their location, texting and messaging activities, buying behaviours, and even GPS tracked walking patterns has the data analytics gurus salivating.  As Business Week recently reported, the new tech bubble might just turn out to be about placing bets on the erratic predictability of human behaviour.  Clearly some are beginning to question the long-term sustainability and ethics of that idea.

So, as technology has improved, has it really provided enhancements to the interactions between business and their customers? When customers relinquish the hold on their personal data by avidly consuming the new technology offered, is there a suitable return on that trust equation? I’ll happily share my data if I believe the return on that interaction will improve my experience, yet some businesses either don’t use the information they learn to directly serve me better (are you listening Chapters-Indigo) or they destroy the trust by a catastrophic failure to protect personal data (PlayStation Networks).

In my view, the success or failure of technology has less to do with the design or functionality of the tools and far more to do with the motive, intent and application of the business leaders applying innovation to the ways they interact with their clients.  The starting point for effective use of marketing technology has to be a belief that sharing information is helpful to how you can deliver better service to clients.

For your business – what obligation do you have to use the information you have about your clients to serve their best interests? How can you use the information they share with you to identify patterns that would actually help them (rather than simply increase your ability to sell to them). In the same way I find it helpful for a family doctor to know my medical history and my local pharmacist to know what my most recent prescriptions have been, I want to know how the information I provide to the companies I interact with might help me and how the guidance I receive from advisors in different functional areas (Finance, IT, Legal, HR, Marketing) will interact in a complimentary rather than conflicting manner.

Technology enabled connection points such as portals, webinars, e-newsletters, RSS feeds, Client Extranets and social media can amplify the social and interactive nature of company but unless the intent to assist and serve is there, the technology can simply add to the size of the lost opportunity.

What do you think?

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Do you continue to court your clients?

The other day I posted about welcoming new contacts into your world by tweaking the way you respond to ‘interruptions’ in your day. If you are open to it, it can be exciting to meet new people and you never know what you may learn from each other. In my world in particular, developing new relationships is key to future business growth.

But what about banking time in our existing relationships?

I was listening to a Six Pixels pod-cast by Mitch Joel and Joseph Jaffe talking about the absence of real conversations and how people open the door to a relationship, only to find that their conversant (or commenter in the case of a blog) has disappeared…radio silence  “Hello, are you still there??” Got me thinking, how often do we inadvertently do that to clients or new business contacts? How often do we deliver a piece of work and move on to the next client or contact without checking back and asking “Hey, how was that? Did that get you to what you needed? Is there anything else you need help with?”

Meanwhile, your best clients are no doubt being actively courted by your competitors. They are being asked about their business challenges, about the gaps in service, about the areas that bug them about the service providers they work with today(A.K.A. YOU!) What are they not getting from their current service providers that would like to get? Where could they be getting more value? What could help them advance their business interests further?

My real challenge is this – what’s stopping you from exploring those questions with them yourself? From asking them how else you could step up your game and become irreplaceable in their eyes. Or, if you were trying to win this client away from your competition, what else could you offer them to convince them to move (and then offer it to them to stay). How can you improve their business beyond solid delivery of the expected? How can you keep them aware of, and confident in your continued attraction to serving their business? If they weren’t working with you today, who would they choose to work with and why?

Don’t be afraid to ask your existing contacts – how can I be of better service to you? Their answers may surprise you and you will help deepen and extend your relationship with them. And just because you are confident that what you deliver to them today is of very high quality, and you have a good relationship with your existing clients, doesn’t mean those relationships can’t be strengthened by some extra time and TLC.

I hate networking…

People often tell me how much they dislike networking. Many admit that they struggle to do it well and find the process of securing business opportunities from their network haphazard and unpredictable at best.  I agree – most of the activities associated with networking are vague and unfocused. So how do you network effectively, with purpose and ultimately to mutual benefit? Here are just a few ideas… 

• If you are going to get to know someone, or ask to have a coffee/information meeting with them, consider – whats in it for them to know you? Why should they take time out of their day to meet you?
• What projects/challenges have you dealt with in the past and that you now have experience in which could make their lives easier?
• What can you do to help them with their business challenges (to do this you need to ask and understand what their business challenges are)
• What can you do together to develop business for both of you (joint ventures, key account planning etc.)
• How can you promote their services to your clients and vice versa (have a supply of their cards and demonstrate willingness to hand them out)
• How can you repay them for referred work? (reciprocal referral, payment in kind – free advice etc.)
• Are there opportunities for you to work side by side on a shared project or interest, and earn their trust
• Are you able to facilitate an introduction to a potential client or good contact.
• Let them know explicitly what sort of contacts, referrals, introductions you would like and learn this about them
• Don’t try to buy your network (through sports, entertainment etc.), earn it. No matter how much they like you – your contacts must still admire and respect your work for them to feel comfortable entrusting one of their own hard-won relationships to your hands through a referral.
• If someone does provide you with a piece of referred business, be sure to keep them in the loop as the new relationship develops and let them know the ultimate outcome. By doing so, you are continuing to earn their trust and confidence in your professionalism.
• If you find a networking relationship has gone too far into a social setting/friendly basis then get it back on a business setting by suggesting to meet them at their offices or asking them for their professional opinion on something. Show interest in their current work projects and challenges. If they suggest lunch – suggest a working lunch at their office to return it to a business footing.

Networking is not about making friends – but it is about influencing people and demonstrating your professional credibility/earning their trust so that they wish to refer business to you. I can’t promised that you will learn to love networking, but doing some of the above will help give a little more direction and purpose to your meetings with new contacts. And as they say – “you never know where it might lead…”

A fine balancing act…

I was chatting growth strategy with a Senior Vice President of a professional services firm last week and was reminded about the fine balance between time spent winning new work and time spent delivering and building relationships with existing clients.

Once a strong bond of trust has formed between a client and their chosen professional advisor, it can be difficult to get clients to accept others handling their affairs – even from within the same firm. Meanwhile – when you are pitching for new business it is often helpful to roll out your heavy hitters and strongest players to lend credibility and excitement to the decision. Balancing these conflicting needs can be a challenge.

As you seek new growth opportunities, ask yourself:

• Is your current approach to Client Service and Account Management scalable?
• Can you continue to offer the same level of personal contact as your client volume grows?
• Might there be ways to offer the same high touch experience to the client while minimising the demands on you or your professional’s time (i.e. through administrative or sales support assistance)?
• Does everyone on your team know what client service expectations you have of them and are there systems in place to help support the expectations?
• How are you paying attention to your existing client relationships between projects? Do you connect with each client periodically just to ask “How’s Business…?”
• How do you introduce others to the client and onboard them to all the knowledge you have about the client’s business? Do you ensure that you transition knowledge about a client’s situation and then discuss how to have the newest member of the team demonstrate their awareness by maybe asking a relevant question or referring to work previously done to help establish client confidence.
• How do you engage your client’s in discussions about changes to their account team to ensure they don’t feel ‘downsized’ to more junior or less experienced talent?

These are tough questions, with no ‘one size fits all’ solution. It requires careful consideration and a willingness to develop a more strategic approach to balancing your business development efforts, else run the risk of clients feeling like they are no longer important to you.

So – what are you doing today to ensure that your people are able to balance the demands of servicing their existing clients and winning new business?

What do Piranhas in the Bidet have to do with adding value???

I’m always blown aware by the sincere and generous spirit of some of the people I have the good fortune to know!!!

I recently touched base with a talented speaker and expert in strategic account management who I used to work with in the UK. I originally met Phil Jesson in the mid to late 90’s when I retained him to deliver Proposal Strategy and Presentation training for Grant Thornton UK. Although I left the UK in 2001 and rarely have an opportunity to get back, we have stayed in touch and periodically a note will wing its way from here to there or vice-versa.

In the years in between, Phil has established a great reputation as a personable guide to improving sales results in a very pragmatic and practical way.  His book “Piranhas in the Bidet”, which is now available on Amazon, is a modern parable on building relationships that add value and serving clients in a consultative manner. He has consulted with the CEOs of some amazing companies and yet manages to retain that special character that put him amongst my favourite people.

With all the graciousness I remember from the years we worked together, as soon as he learned I was starting my own venture Phil kindly offered to share the tools and techniques that he has been using with great success in the UK to help me build up my own library of services. Like I said – sincere and generous spirit!

I thought I’d share a great list of ways to Add Value to your Key Accounts which I have extracted from Phil’s free e-book A-Z of Key Account Management. Enjoy!

20 ways to add value to your top accounts:

1.            Help them to increase their sales

2.            Help them to reduce their costs

3.            Help them to improve their market share

4.            Help them to become more profitable

5.            Find ways to help them stay in front of their competitors

6.            Anticipate and solve their future problems

7.            Introduce the key account to your customers, suppliers and network

8.            Give them an order

9.            Give them a lead

10.          Give extra advice for free

11.           Make them a hero – let them take the credit for your ideas – they will be keen to work with you again

12.           Influence other companies to switch business to your key account

13.           Offer advice where they are low on know-how

14.           Give them a free place on one of your own courses

15.            Sponsor their conference or social event

16.            Send them useful press cuttings and market intelligence

17.            Help them develop their plans and objectives

18.            Part fund a project or event

19.            Help your contact to achieve a personal goal

20.           “Be there” when they need you – at a business level and personal level