Smart Marketing in the Age of Technology
If you've just spent a fortune on new computers and software to build up your business, but you don't know the first thing about your customers, then you might as well have poured all your hard-earned cash down the drain.
In fact, the less you know about your customers, the more likely you are to fail, says Dirk Beveridge, President of the Beveridge Consulting Group, Barrington, Illinois.
"If selling your products is more important to you than your customers, you won't be in business for long," Beveridge says. "The only way you're going to generate profit is by finding out what your customers need and being able to deliver."
Unfortunately, most companies make the mistake of focusing on their products instead of their customers, a mistake Beveridge says can be fatal in today's competitive marketplace.
"Smart marketing in the age of technology isn't about having the latest software packages or the best looking web site; it's about knowing what your customers need and making them more than satisfied," Beveridge says. "Technology is secondary to having the right sales strategy and vision in place."
Recipe for Success
You don't need to spend a fortune on technology, Beveridge says, because there is no magic box that will make you an overnight success. You can start a thriving business in your garage, or with index cards in a recipe box -- as long as you have the right ingredients for success.
There are eight ingredients - or critical success factors - to Beveridge's recipe for success. Any company, large or small, can follow his simple eight-step plan, which he calls B.O.S.S., or the Business Operating System Standards, by putting their customers first.
You'll need to add an equal measure of competitive products and value-added services to help your customers prosper, then give your employees the skills and training they need to do their jobs well. Market unique systems - not just products - that will continually improve the quality of your business. Make sure that everyone in your company understands your expectations and has the resources to accomplish the goals you've set. And finally, remember, your employees are your best customers. It's your job to make sure they succeed.
Though Beveridge's message may sound a little too homespun for businesses that are chomping at the bit to get into the high-tech race, it's a message that more and more companies -- from big-name corporations like IBM to small and medium-size businesses -- want to hear.
"If you switch your focus from your products to your customers starting today, and you make sure everyone in your organization buys into this strategy, not only will you beat out your competition, but you'll improve performance and boost revenue by up to 30 percent," Beveridge says. "I guarantee it."
Beveridge tells it like it is
Not many consultants would go out on a limb and make that kind of guarantee, but helping businesses grow is Beveridge's business, and he has a reputation of putting his money where his mouth is. Unlike many consultants who are paid to tell companies what they want to hear, Beveridge, the author of Sales Management, Why the Best are Better, tells it like it is - like it or not.
IBM, UPS and Inc. have made him their keynote speaker at marketing seminars in cities all over the country for the past several years, and they believe their customers can benefit from what he has to say.
"Most of the people who attend our seminars don't know much about IBM's operating systems, but they have lots of interest in using e-commerce and the internet to grow their businesses," said Denny Insell, IBM's senior consulting AS400 specialist.
But once people hear what Beveridge has to say, Insell says his job is easy.
"I just demonstrate some of our products - like Lotus Notes and Domino -- and after 25 minutes of seeing these applications run on our AS400, people see how easy it is to make his approach work for them," Insell says. "Dirk does a great job of keeping the audience entertained as well as teaching them about moving from yesterday's sales and marketing methods to a more advanced way of running a business, which includes the use of technology and the World Wide Web."
Insell says it's not hard to create a web site or sell your products on the Internet, but it isn't always easy to stay in touch with your customers out in cyberspace. "Dirk does a phenomenal job of getting our customers to understand needed marketing concepts and showing them what IBM and our Business Partners can do to help them on their journeys into this new technology-assisted marketplace," Insell says. "I show people how our products can help them do that, whether their companies are big or small."
Insell, who has worked for IBM for 24 years, is on the road 41 out of 52 weeks of the year and recently covered 40 cities in just 10 days. He's seen all kinds of people along the way, and has high praise for Beveridge and his customer-focused system. "Dirk is like Will Rogers," Insell says. "I never met a guy who didn't like him."
Beveridge's message has also helped IBM achieve some business goals of its own. "I'm always surprised that at least 200 people show up for these seminars in every city," Insell says. "That just blows me away. Dirk's an excellent resource. He has very high energy and he knows what he's talking about."
UPS's Marketing Manager, Shelly Calano, agrees.
"We heard about Dirk through Inc.," says Calano. "We chose him because he's such an energetic speaker, and we've featured him as one of our keynote speakers since our first seminar series in 1996."
Like IBM, UPS co-sponsored a series of seminars with Inc. in order to provide its customers with a value-added service that goes beyond its major function: worldwide shipping. Beveridge's presentation, Marketing in the Age of Technology, is one of the most popular seminars in the series.
"Dirk has done an excellent job for us in terms of getting our messages across," Calano said. "We made him aware of some of the things we offer on our web site, and he took it upon himself to promote that, and that was great for us. He uses one of our web site features - Internet tools -- as an example of how a good customer-focused web site is supposed to work."
UPS's customers can download Internet tools to their web sites and offer their customers a value-added service - the ability to track their packages. Customers who order books from Amazon, for example, can now place and track orders directly through Amazon instead of going to UPS. Amazon provides each reader with a tracking number, which not only makes ordering books easier, but also gets Amazon return customers, which in turn, benefits UPS.
"We want to help our customers grow their businesses, and Internet tools are one way to do that by encouraging repeat business," Calano adds. "We don't want someone else's customers to visit us when they can go back to the seller and add more business, which in turn, helps our business grow."
Value-added service is the key to success
UPS is also coming out with more enhancements to its web site this year, including an Internet "ship." This feature will allow anyone to ship a package just by using a credit card.
"You won't have to pick up a phone or wait to hear a real voice," Calano says. "Through your computer, you'll be able to request a driver, print your labels and have your package ready for pick up. If you want to drop off parcels, this site will also give you information on the nearest drop-off location."
UPS's merchants and shippers will also be able to provide their customers with another value-added feature — the quick-cost calculator -- which will allow their customers to rate shop and determine how they want merchandise shipped.
"The whole point of this function is to provide choices to our customers, from how they want materials shipped to what they want to pay," Calano says. "We think features like this will certainly add value to our customers' sites."
Like many people who have hired Beveridge, Calano is convinced that the key to success is to focus on your customer and to keep coming up with innovative solutions. "You can't be complacent," Calano says. "The more services and value-added solutions we come out with, the better it is for our customers."
Value-added service is one of the watchwords of Beveridge's business system.
"Gone are the days when prices, or even products, will make or break your business," Beveridge says. "Instead, companies today will either succeed or fail based on the services they can offer their customers."
In the end, what really makes Beveridge's message so different from other speakers is his unshakable faith in the customer-comes-first principle. "Going that extra mile for your customers is the secret to beating out the competition," he says. "If you want to be successful, the only way to do that is to help your customers be profitable." |
