Five Points of Concentration

OneAccord employs a five-point plan with our clients to gather information and understand where they are and where they perceive themselves to be, with respect to their market and customers. If a gap exists between perception and reality, our services aid in bringing the client in line with market realities. Adjustments to their offering and or their marketing serve to increase the ultimate success of their revised strategic plan.

Clients take advantage of the organizational direction and simplicity of this methodology to align internal resources and marshal resources where they will yield the best returns.

The five areas address a specific target customer profile, determination of the right message, a campaign to map current levels of awareness, planned and well executed communication tactics to keep prospects interested and the pipeline productive, and finally mechanisms to place a call to action in front of all qualified prospects.

We use a series of linked questions or practice tools to act as a catalyst for discussions supporting the five points. In each of the areas of concentration, the questions provide a framework for developing a plan to generate directed activity for increasing reach and revenue.

#1: Target Customer

We need not look far to find examples of misdirected messages and confusing marketing. It is not unusual for organizations to cast a wide net with their target setting activities. The intent is to ensure business potential is not overlooked and they have as many chances for success as they can possibly attract.

Our research has shown the best course of action is to narrowly define the profile of the target customer. By narrowing criteria and matching the message with the customer profile, the chances for successful campaigns and resulting revenue growth increases significantly.

Here are five questions to consider in setting targets:

• Who is the target customer, using as many attributes to identify actual prospects as possible in the description?
• Is this profile based upon research or historical success in their markets?
• What is the degree of difficulty in reaching the target customer, considering factors in the market like competition, economics, and the client’s ability to sustain a campaign to address target prospects?

• How large is the addressable market the client is attempting to reach?
• How is the offering taken to the prospect at the present time?

This exercise will generate to a list of eligible prospects for the client’s sales resources and lead generation personnel to contact. The list of targets is processed and distilled to “qualified prospects”, based upon conversations, education and the determination the prospect is moving from a “need” situation to a “want” condition.

In practical terms, most clients are well served to create a list of 100 or 200 new prospects, closely following the “target customer profile”. If this process can be institutionalized and managed with the steps following this, chances for revenue gains increase by an order of magnitude.

To illustrate the point driving a narrow focus, the reason companies seeking to sell to very large firms are often successful is their ability to concentrate on a very specific list. If an organization targets the Fortune 500, they have their list each May. If their personnel call on someone not on the list, it is fairly obvious to all concerned. Managing a marketing campaign to the Fortune 500 has advantages, but it is not for everyone.