Archive New Ways to Win Business

8/8/2019 Archive New Ways to Win Business

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GlobalSpec White Paper

www.globalspec.com

New Ways to Win BusinessA Simple Four-Step Process for Service Providers in the Industrial Sector

Applying classic marketing fundamentals in the Internet era


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Introductiono nd new customers, service providers must stand out rom the competi-tion and stay in the minds o potential customers. Doing this comes down toexecuting marketing undamentals. Te backbone o traditional marketinghas long been the 4Ps: product, pricing, placement and promotion. Whilethese undamentals still hold true, the Internet has changed the process ohow businesses acquire customers.

Te technical, engineering and industrial communities have migrated tothe Internet to locate service providers and manuacturers, and to search orcomponents and services. Online marketing tactics now help service compa-nies build their brand and nd potential customers. From initial contact toollow-up, rom proposals to close, much o the interaction between serviceproviders and customers now takes place online.

Tis environment has created the need to complement the classic 4Ps o

marketing with a variation on the process called the 4s: arget, actics,ransact and rack. Tis paper will explain these our practical steps and howto start using them. With these our steps as a guide, you can stay in the mindo potential customers, stand out rom the competition and win new business exactly the goals you are trying to achieve.


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About the Author

Guy Maser joined GlobalSpec in 2001 and serves as senior vice presidento marketing or GlobalSpec. He is responsible or product development,Web site trac and design, media, communications, strategic planning, leadgeneration and lead management and e-publishing..

Guy Maser brings more than 25 years o experience in marketing, sales,business development and strategic planning to GlobalSpec. He has servedas President and COO o Chinabig.com and Unicom Yellow Pages Ltd. PRC.Additionally, he has held senior executive positions within R.H. DonnelleyCorporation. Mr. Maser attended the Wharton School o Business, ColumbiaUniversity Graduate School and Hostra University.


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The GlobalSpec Approach to MarketingEngineering, technical and industrial proessionals regularly use GlobalSpecto actively search or components, products, technical inormation, serviceproviders and manuacturers. Because GlobalSpec users can search orservice providers by capability and easily access technical inormation, theydo not have to si through the entire Internet to nd what they are lookingor. For this reason, GlobalSpec is popular and respected by engineers andtechnical proessionals worldwide.

For service providers and manuacturers, GlobalSpec ofers turnkey market-ing programs and expert online marketing advice quite diferent rom thego-it-alone marketing options that general search engines have to ofer. Wehelp you become highly visible to, and discovered by, potential customers through keyword ads, publishing opportunities, targeted banner advertise-ments, e-mail marketing, e-newsletters, and more.

Your customers and potential customers are on GlobalSpec. Over 3.5 milliontechnical proessionals are registered on our site, a number that is constantlygrowing. Because users are registered with us, when a user nds and viewsyour inormation, you gain a potential customer not just a click to yourWeb site. You will know who it is and their area o interest the type o criti-cal inormation you need to build a relationship and gain a new customer.

Te ability to reach potential customers . . . a deep understanding o whatyour technical audience is looking or . . . a marketing model built to deliveryou customers not just clicks . . . and a wealth o practical advice about onlinemarketing this is the GlobalSpec approach to marketing, rened andenhanced over 10+ years o customer development experience. And its whymany service providers choose GlobalSpec to be their marketing partner.

GlobalSpec oers turnkeymarketing programs and expertonline marketing advice quitedierent rom the go-it-alone

marketing options on generalsearch engines.


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Introducing the 4TsTe 4s are simple concepts that complement the traditional 4Ps o market-ing. Tey can be integrated into every service providers sales and marketingprocess without requiring dramatic changes to business processes, invest-ments in expensive soware systems or wholesale organizational changes.

Target

Te rst step o the 4s is keeping a steady ocus on your potential customers:engineers and other technical and scientic proessionals. arget is believingthat your customers behavior, needs and goals will drive your decisions onhow to market, communicate and work with them.

Tactics

Te second step, actics, are the sales and marketing programs you use tokeep your company top o mind with prospects when they need your type

o services. raditional marketing programs such as trade shows and printmedia are still in the mix or service providers, but their share is shrinkingcompared to online tactics, which can help you reach potential customersaster and more efectively. Marketing priorities now include a healthy mix osearch engine marketing, e-mail marketing, online directories and turnkeyonline programs such as GlobalSpec.

Transact

Tis key step is the bridge you create between potential customers and yourorganization. ransact reers to opening a two-way line o communicationbetween your organization and prospects to win new customers. Having

marketing and sales working together is critical to quickly turn hot prospectsinto customers and to keep longer term prospects thinking o you when theyare ready to buy.

Track

With executives demanding more accountability rom marketing, ewmarketers can justiy a program whose efectiveness is dicult to measure.Te adage that you can only manage what youmeasure is true. Fortunately, it is easier thanever to track the results o online marketing

programs and access data to support or shiyour decisions.From 4Ps to 4TsFrom 4Ps to 4Ts

1.Target1.Target

4.Track4.Track

3.Transact3.Transact

2.Tactics2.Tactics

From 4Ps to 4TsFrom 4Ps to 4Ts

1.Target1.Target

4.Track4.Track


2.Tactics2.Tactics

1.Target1.Target

4.Track4.Track


2.Tactics2.Tactics

Te 4 s can be integrated intoevery service providers sales

and marketing process withoutrequiring dramatic changes tobusiness processes, investmentsin expensive soware systems orwholesale organizational changes.


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Why Have the 4Ts Become so Important?Te 4s have become important because they address two primary objectivesin the sales and marketing process:

1. To help you get the most out o the Internet in your business-to-business

sales and marketing eforts. oday, widespread use o the Internet largelydetermines what tactics are efective or nding potential new customers.Te Internet also provides a communication channel to interact withyour prospects and customers. Surveys show that more than 75% oengineers and technical buyers preer online communication (such ase-mail or Web sites) or contacting suppliers. arget and actics addressthis objective.

2. To help improve the alignment between sales and marketing within anorganization. When it comes to harvesting new business prospects, lessthan 7% o corporate ocers reported their sales and marketing depart-

ments worked together very efectively. urning prospects into satisedcustomers is one area where sales and marketing can work bettertogether.

Te concepts o ransact and rack have a lot to do with sales andmarketing working to achieve the same goals: new business. Appropriateinternal processes in the ransact phase allow your organization tocommunicate regularly with potential customers, so that when prospectsare ready to buy they remember your company.

1 2006 GlobalSpec Engineering rends Survey.

2 2004 BPO Forum and CMO Council Survey.

Following the 4s helps to

improve the alignment betweensales and marketing within anorganization, allowing each groupto ocus on what it does best whileworking together to gain morecustomers and stand out rom thecompetition.


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1. Targeto efectively reach potential customers, you must ask and answer a numbero key questions:

Who are they?

What are their goals, needs and problems? How do they locate service providers to work with?

Tese are classic questions every marketer must ask. Te answers will driveyour decisions about how to market, communicate and work with customersand prospects. Here are a ew acts about the engineering, technical andscientic proessionals who are your likely potential customers:

Tey are inormation hungry, seeking ast, easy access to technical,design and product details

Tey use the Internet to locate service providers, suppliers, technical

specications and other technical inormation More than 75% use at least two search engines or work, includingspecialty search engines such as GlobalSpec

42% o engineers report that a visit to a suppliers Web site is their pre-erred way to make contact; 36% preer sending e-mail to suppliers thatinterest them (see chart below)

In short, the Internet is the No. 1 communications lieline orwork-related matters

Service providers must usethe Internet to target potentialcustomers it is their No. 1communications lieline or workrelated matters.

1 2006 GlobalSpec Engineering rends Survey.

2 Ibid.


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2. Tacticsactics include the sales and marketing programs you use to gain visibilityand reach potential customers. As marketers and business people, were allamiliar with many marketing tactics, rom cold calls and trade shows todirect mail and search engine placement.

I you havent evaluated your marketing programs recently, its time to doso. While a blend o programs and media is essential to make potentialcustomers aware o your company and services, online marketing is the mostimportant strategy today. Te reason is simple: your customers and uturecustomers are on the Internet.

Efective online marketing in itsel requires a mix o programs and strate-gies. It is not enough to develop a Web site without giving prospects theopportunity to nd you. Instead, you need to balance your site developmentwith a strong presence on the search engines and directories your potential

customers use. A specialized search engine and inormation resource such asGlobalSpec aggregates your audience o engineering, technical and industrialproessionals or you.

Once a prospect discovers you, your next step is to learn more about them.Visitor clicks are not the same as customers, and in act, clicks are not worthmuch unless you are converting them.

One way to convert these clicks into customers is through landing pages onyour Web site. Tese single-purpose pages ocus on certain themes or key-words and ask visitors to take specic actions. Oen the landing page is notyour home page, but rather a page deeper within your Web site linked rom

search engine ads, e-mail marketing programs or other online tactics.Another way to encourage prospects to take the next step is to ofer themsomething o value or visiting your site and telling you who they are.Ofering access to data sheets, technical specications or white papers, orofering to send e-mail notication when you introduce new capabilities,can encourage prospects to supply their contact inormation. Tis supportsrelationship building and can shorten the sales cycle.

Finally, you should have your phone number, an e-mail link and contactorms appear on landing pages and other pages on your Web site, allowingpotential customers to get in touch with you easily. Te contact orm allows

you to collect valuable data by asking a ew questions that will help yousegment and qualiy prospects and understand their preerred way to com-municate with you.

One advantage o GlobalSpec is that we provide you with a turnkey solutionthat will meet your needs and complement your other marketing eforts.We also give you ull contact inormation o prospects who have registeredon our Web site and viewed your inormation. You will know their area ointerest and preerred way o communicating with you which will help youcra the appropriate response and get your relationship of to a good start.Our ocus is on delivering customers, not just clicks.

While a blend o programsand media is essential to make

potential customers aware o yourcompany and services, onlinemarketing is the most importantstrategy or service providers inthe industrial sector today.

When it comes to onlinemarketing tactics, GlobalSpecs

ocus is on delivering customers,not just clicks.


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Segmenting Prospects Helps Win More Business

What do you do when a potential customer rst contacts your organization?First, you must recognize that not all prospects are the same. While you mayknow a lot about your audience, not everyone ts the same prole. Moreimportantly, not every prospect has the same propensity or readiness to

contract or your services, or the same inormation needs. But wherever theyare now, the point is that eventually you want them to become a customer.

Segmenting your audience into our prospect types will help you betterunderstand how to communicate with them:

1. Best Friends Tis group consists o your current customers, the onesyou speak with on a regular basis. Tey are loyal to you. You have dataabout them that enables you to create a customer prole: the types ocompanies they work or, what they buy, how they buy.

2. Underutilized Resources Not all customers who have done business

with your company automatically come back. We term these customersUnderutilized Resources. Tey know why they bought rom you, but maynot know the ull breadth and depth o your services and capabilities.

With the Internet making it easy to nd out who else is out there, thesecustomers can and will explore other options i they arent aware o theull extent o your oferings.

3. Golden Eggs Golden Eggs have a prole similar to your Best Friends.Tey may have a need and be ready to buy, but you dont know them yet.Tey may or may not have heard o your company or ormed a strongimpression o your brand or product and service oferings.

Tey are on the Internet in the U.S. and in other countries search-ing or products, services and technical inormation. Tey have oundyou because you have been successul reaching out with the right mar-keting tactics and transacting with them. You are able to convert themquickly and there you have your Golden Egg: the short term hot prospectyou can immediately close.

4. Futures I you had your way, youd only receive RFQs that t right intothe sweet spot o what your company delivers. And, youd only receivethe RFQs when you need them and not when youre stretched tocapacity lling orders or other clients.

Reality doesnt work that way. Youll receive inquiries rom prospectsthat dont t your sweet spot perectly, or that are not ready to buy. Someservice providers might be tempted to ignore this prospect as a waste otime.

But dont do it! Youve already invested marketing money to get thisprospect to contact you and you may be throwing away a big utureopportunity. Tat is, a Futures.

Not every prospect has thesame propensity or readiness tocontract or your services butthe point is that eventually youwant them to become a customer.


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Heres an example o a Futures: lets say youre a die cutter and you get anRFQ or some die cut oam products. You have the capabilities but thetolerances are just a little tight your company can do it but you haveto bid high to compensate or waste and dont win the contract. It wasntexactly in your sweet spot.

Yet the prospect expressed interest in your company; you shouldnt orgetabout them. By continuing to reach out to them in riendly, no-pressureways and keeping your message in ront o them, you can set yourselapart rom competitors and win a new customer down the road whentheir need is a good match or your sweet spot.

What many companies orget about Futures is that youve already over-come some major hurdles in the marketing and sales process. Somehowtheyve reached you: theyve heard o your brand and proven responsiveto your message. Your ability to understand their need and status willdrive decisions on how to ransact (communicate) with them, which in

turn will largely determine how successul you are with them.

ransact is the stage where youqualiy and nurture prospects on

your way to converting them tocustomers.

Your prospects expect a astresponse to their inquiries, andi you dont deliver, the lead youthought you had is not reallya lead its likely become acompetitors new customer.


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Understand Needs o Diferent Prospect Types

Te chart below summarizes the our types o prospects and what they needrom you to increase the likelihood they will do business with you.

GlobalSpecs online marketing programs give service providers an advantagebecause you get inormation that can help you understand the needs o aprospect and save considerable time in the sales process. We let you knowwhat inormation a prospect viewed on your listing or example, technicalspecications or your company overview. You will know i the prospect hassubmitted a specic RFQ or a general e-mail inquiry. Tis type o inorma-

tion helps you determine what type o prospect they are and how to transactwith them.

For example, i you have dened an inquiry as coming rom a Futures pros-pect, you will want to share specic inormation and resources designed tonurture them throughout a longer sales cycle. As the chart above illustrates,this can include a portolio o capabilities and products, as well as case stud-ies, technical specs and other items that can serve to educate these prospects.

Current customerCurrent customer

Ready to buyReady to buy

Unknown prospectUnknown prospect

Long termLong term

Best Friends

Product specs

Account manager

Golden Eggs

Brand comfort

Product specs

Futures

Brand comfort

Technical info/ideas

Product portfolio

Capabilities portfolio

Case studies

Product specs

Underutilized Resources

Brand awareness

Product portfolio


Current customerCurrent customer

Ready to buyReady to buy

Unknown prospectUnknown prospect

Long termLong term

Best Friends

Product specs

Account manager

Golden Eggs

Brand comfort

Product specs

Futures

Brand comfort

Technical info/ideas

Product portfolio


Case studies

Product specs

Underutilized Resources

Brand awareness

Product portfolio


GlobalSpecs online marketingprograms give service providersan advantage because they

provide inormation that can helpyou understand the needs o aprospect and save considerable

time in the sales process.


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3. Transactransact means communicate building a relationship with the prospectyou captured through marketing tactics. Tis is the step where you start toturn prospects into customers. Its time or lead nurturing and lead man-agement, which may seem like painul concepts but in act can be straight-orward and are extremely important or winning business. Te question is:Who does it and how?

A successul relationship between sales and marketing is so critical in thisstep. Sales and marketing must agree on the answers to these questions:

What is the denition o a lead?

Who is responsible or qualiying a lead: salesperson, marketer, telemar-keter, etc.?

When does a lead get passed to sales and when is it still the responsibilityo marketing to nurture?

Te key concept is agreement between sales and marketing on denitions andprocesses to ensure prospects are responded to and managed appropriatelythroughout the sales cycle. Te costly mistake that some companies make isto assume the other guy is doing it. Ideally, the CEO appoints a dedicatedindividual or team responsible or developing consistent processes across theorganization.

Even i you are a small company, its simple to keep a spreadsheet o allinquiries. Programs like GlobalSpec make this easy or you because inquiriescan be downloaded right into Excel, saving the time and errors associatedwith data entry. When other prospects contact your company or ll out a

orm on your Web site, you can simply add them to your spreadsheet.

Tis list o prospects is gold. I your business hits a brie lull, you can set yoursales people to calling the prospects on this list, who have already expressedinterest in your company once, and may be ready to do so again.

ransact is the stage where youqualiy and nurture prospects on

your way to converting them to

customers.


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Your prospects expect a astresponse to their inquiries, andi you dont deliver, the lead youthought you had is not really

a lead its likely become acompetitors new customer.

Timing Your Response

In the Internet era, you need to respond quickly to inquiries rom potentialcustomers. Your prospects expect it, and i you dont deliver, the lead youthought you had is not really a lead its likely become a competitors newcustomer. Te chart below shows that 55% o engineering, technical and

industrial proessionals who use GlobalSpec and sent an e-mail to a manuac-turer heard back within two days but an astonishing 45% had to wait threedays or more.

55% o engineering, technical and industrial proessionals who use GlobalSpec and sent ane-mail to a supplier heard back within two days but an astonishing 45% had to wait threedays or more to hear rom a supplier

How to Begin the Conversation

Te nature o a prospects inquiry provides clues to how and when to re-spond. A ew examples illustrate the situation:

Situation #1: The Hot Prospect

Te gure below shows an example o an RFQ sales lead a service providergets rom GlobalSpec. It was created by a GlobalSpec visitor who conducted

a search and discovered this service providers capabilities catalog. Perhapsthis lead is a Golden Egg a qualied, motivated prospect that ts right intoyour sweet spot and knows exactly what they are looking or.

How do you respond to this prospect? Obviously, with a quote rom a specicsalesperson assigned to the lead. And what media do you use? In this case,via email. Te prospect even tells you so in the RFQ. With this prospect, youhave a good chance o closing a sale quickly.

5 5 %

4 0 %

0 %1%

4%

1 - 2 d a y s

3 - 7 d a y s

8 - 1 4 d a y s

1 5 - 3 0 d a y s

> 3 0 d a y s

Average Response Time

From Suppliers


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Situation #2: Informational Inquiry

Lets say you get an e-mail inquiry rom your Web site or rom GlobalSpec.Tis prospect may be in a diferent state o mind than the RFQ prospect. Ithe prospect is making an inquiry about your services or company, you canconclude he or she is at a much earlier stage in their search, exploring optionsand comparing suppliers. Youre not on the verge o getting an order.

Tis may be one o the Futures who doesnt know your company yet andmay not be ready to buy. Yet something about your presence on the Internetmotivated them to contact you. How do you respond?

An e-mail inquiry begets an e-mail response. Your goal is to provide useulinormation so when they are ready to buy they come back to you. Here is anexample o a more general, nurturing response:

Tank you or your interest in our electronic contract manuacturing services. You willfnd companies such as GE, Boeing and other industry leaders using us to manuactureparts or large and small jobs. Whether you need prototypes, board production or ullbox build, we have your solution.

Please ollow these links to learn more about us . . .

As you can see, there is nothing pushy or sales-oriented about this response.Depending on how your organization is set up and how you align marketingand sales, nurturing may be a job or marketing, not sales. I a lead such asthis ends up in a salespersons hand it could be discarded quickly becausesalespeople are rewarded or generating short-term revenue.


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Using E-Mail to Nurture Long-Term Prospects

Fortunately, there are some simple, inexpensive things you can do to helpturn these less-than-perect leads into uture customers. E-mail is a versatileand useul tool or building and maintaining relationships with long-termprospects the Futures. Your goal is to stay on their short list o potential

companies who can meet their needs. You do this by becoming a trustedresource.

Use e-mail to continue sending useul inormation until the day comes whenthey raise their hand again. It might take a week or it might take a year, butthese prospects who raised their hands once can do it again and then youhave a potential customer ready or your sales team.

What useul inormation can you send? Here are a number o examples:

Relevant links to content on your Web site

White paper ofers

Customer testimonials Notice o new services and capabilities

Event invites (seminars or Webinars)

Links to request more inormation

Examples o recent jobs

Te e-mails you send are extremely important. Prospects will judge you bythem. E-mail should be proessional, well-written and to the point. Clearlyidentiy the sender and your company to remind prospects you have a rela-tionship with them. Tey will be more likely to open and read your e-mail.

Te gure below shows an example o a nurturing e-mail. It is personalizedand provides links to valuable inormation or the prospect, helping buildyour brand and credibility with them.

E-mail is a versatile and useultool or building and maintainingrelationships with long-term

prospects the Futures. Your

goal is to stay on their short listo potential companies who canmeet their needs.


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4. TrackTe ourth step is rack. I your arget, actics and ransact initiatives areworking, you now have qualied prospects in your system. racking allowsyou to know the status o a prospect at diferent points in time: when aprospect is ready or handof rom marketing to sales, what happens to it aerthe handof and what is its resolution.

Another reason to track is to nd out what marketing programs work andwhich salespeople perorm, and to use this data to help decide how to al-locate your marketing investments. Remember, the marketing department, byits nature, is a spender, and so it makes sense to be able to demonstrate thatyour marketing investment is delivering results.

Simple or Sophisticated

racking can be simple or sophisticated, depending on the structure o yourbusiness and your needs. Some companies use integrated CRM systems with

channel inputs, alerts, a central data repository and other advanced unc-tionality. Examples include Siebel, SalesForce.com, Goldmine and Act. Forother companies, a simple spreadsheet can be the tracking tool, with columnsadded to contact names or tracking leads through the sales cycle.

Whatever system is right or your company, your goals are the same:

Acknowledge leads that come in

ie leads to marketing programs

Keep track o leads through the sales cycle

Report on outcomes

On reason to track prospectsthrough the sales cycle is to fndout what marketing programs

work and which salespeopleperorm, and to use this data tohelp decide how to allocate yourmarketing investments.


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ConclusionFollowing the steps o the 4s can help you gain a competitive advantage andmake the most o your marketing investments. Te 4s arget, actics,ransact and rack complement and extend classic marketing undamen-tals in the Internet era in the way that online marketing complements andextends traditional marketing strategies. By keeping them in mind, you canimprove your eforts o turning prospects into customers.

Te 4s present an integrated, step-by-step approach allowing you to gener-ate interest in your company and services and turn interest into customers.Although it may not be possible or you to implement all o the strategiescovered in this white paper, it should be easy to get started with the 4sapproach. It doesnt require dramatic changes to your business operations,but does require philosophical agreement and commitment rom your salesand marketing organizations.

Te right start is to get sales and marketing in agreement, and take smallsteps in launching the 4 platorm. Te important thing to keep in mind ishow the Internet now shapes your overall marketing strategy and process,and to put a plan in place to take advantage o the opportunities and pro-grams available to you.

For more inormation on GlobalSpecs comprehensive marketing solutionsthat complement your traditional programs, please call 800.261.2052 or visitwww.globalspec.com. o access additional GlobalSpec white papers, visithttp://www.globalspec.com/MediaKit/WhitePapers.

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