ApprovedIndex Blog

2012 brought with it highs and lows, and although most of us were enjoying the glory that was the Olympics -- and then living on a high for the rest of the year -- SME businesses were painfully aware of the large increase in Royal Mail packaging prices. So, when Royal Mail announced that in 2013 they were keeping stamp prices static and they were working on making things simpler, we all breathed a sigh of relief. However, when we actually arrived at the post office on that fateful April morning and the parcel that used to cost £2.70 had a new price tag of £5.65, we all felt that full English reducing the flow of oxygen to our hearts.

 

Now, rest assured it's not all that bad, but what was most frustrating about the whole experience was that no one could explain the price change in simple terms. It probably didn't help that we were pretty depressed that it was still 0°C one month into Spring. So upon arriving home, having narrowly escaped heart attacks and having braved the icy weather, we called on our good friend Google, demanding answers. Unfortunately, this only made matters worse as we couldn't find anything helpful through Google! After trawling the web, we were unable to find a comprehensive explanation outlining Royal Mail's 2013 price changes. This of course raised our blood pressure even further, as it is common knowledge that if Google cannot deliver answers, the apocalypse is almost certainly nigh.

 

Now I realise that at this point things may have seemed pretty bleak, but we are here to put your minds at ease and to put right all that is wrong in this scenario. We will do so by providing that comprehensive explanation of Royal Mail's 2013 price changes, which will also assist in redeeming Google's reputation -- no need to thank us Google.  

 

Times, they are a-changing

2013 brings with it a fair amount of change from Royal Mail, and to go into detail about each and every one may result in a very long and tedious post. So, we will only be addressing those which are most significant and will have the greatest effect on SMEs who deliver parcels within the UK. Right, so Royal Mail has indeed kept their promise and letter stamp prices are remaining the same. This is great news for some companies, especially those selling small, light items. But if  the last time you sent a letter was when your mother forced you to hand write one to your now deceased grandmother, this won't be much cause for celebration. Besides, most companies these days are trying to go paperless by funneling clients online.

 

The changes which are going to be most relevant to the SME business owner are the following:

•  The newly introduced 2.5% fuel surcharge for contract customers

• Reduced weight bands

• Changes in compensation

• Newly defined dimensions

We will focus on the latter two in this list.

 

Hasta la vista, compensation

Say goodbye to more than half of your compensation if you're sending first or second class unrecorded delivery. Royal Mail is dropping their insurance for these services from £46 to £20. They have attributed this decision to seeking alignment with other European countries who offer significantly lower (or no) compensation for equivalent services. On the upside they have increased their signed for compensation from £46 to £50...

 

Size does matter

If anything is going to really get you riled up, it's Royal Mail's redefined dimensions. In the bygone days of 2012 dimensions were simple. If your package was greater than 3.53x25x2.5cm or in excess of 0.75kg it was classed as a packet. You then paid various amounts depending on which weight band you slotted into (of which there were 14).  You can take a look here at the 2012 price guide.

 

The new dimensions are a completely different ball game. If your parcel weighs less than 2kg and has a dimension of 45x35x8cm or less, it is classified as a small parcel. If it is greater in dimension than 45x35x8cm, but less than 61x46x46cm and weighs anywhere up to 20kg, then it's classified as a medium parcel. Confused yet?

 

We think what makes Royal Mail's 2013 price changes so challenging to understand is that they are tricky to compare to 2012 dimensions and labels. So, in an attempt to aid comparison we have put together a little table allowing you to directly check what you would be paying in 2012 versus 2013 (both represented in first class prices).

 

Dimensions (in cm)	Weight	Price in 2012	Price in 2013	% Difference
Less than 45x35x8	0-0.75kg	£2.70	£3.00	11%
	0.75-1kg	£4.30	£3.00	-30%
	1-1.25kg	£5.60	£6.85	22%
	1.25-1.5kg	£6.50	£6.85	5%
	1.5kg-1.75kg	£7.40	£6.85	-7%
	1.75-2kg	£8.30	£6.85	-17%
Less than 61x46x46	0-0.75kg	£2.70	£5.65	109%
	0.75-1kg	£4.30	£5.65	31%
	1-1.25kg	£5.60	£8.90	59%
	1.25-1.5kg	£6.50	£8.90	37%
	1.5kg-1.75kg	£7.40	£8.90	20%
	1.75-2kg	£8.30	£8.90	7%
	2-4kg	£10.30	£15.10	47%
	4-5kg	£10.30	£15.10	47%
	5-6kg	£13.80	£21.25	54%
	6-8kg	£17.30	£21.25	23%
	8-10kg	£20.80	£21.25	2%
	10kg-12kg	£24.30	£32.40	33%
	12kg-14kg	£27.80	£32.40	17%
	14kg-16kg	£31.30	£32.40	4%
	16kg-18kg	£34.80	£32.40	-7%
	18kg-20kg	£38.30	£32.40	-15%

 

From above we can see that if you had a parcel which weighed 1.1kg and had a dimension of 45x40x20cm you were paying £5.60 in 2012. For this same parcel you will be incurring a cost of £8.90 in 2013, representing a 59% increase in cost.

 

This price increase is a direct result of the change in dimension criteria. In 2012 there weren't really any restrictions on dimensions, meaning you could send the parcel in as much bubble wrap as you so wished. This change is especially relevant if you want to be classed as a small parcel, which would in some instances allow you to save money on 2012 prices, but at the very least would show a deflated cost increase. However, Royal Mail has cleverly added a parameter of 8cm, which is likely to trip up your small parcel classification.

 

Right, so let's try and visualise 8cm. Your smart phone is almost certainly greater than 8cms in length. An iPod Nano 6^th generation is 9cm in length. The length of my mouse is closer to 10cm and a pack of Wrigley's extra ice gum is just under 8cm. I think you get our point -- 8cm does not give you a lot to work with.

 

This means if you are sending an item which weighs less than 2kg, such as a helmet, a pair of shoes, a kettle, a mixing bowl etc., you'll be classed as a medium parcel, because you violate the 8cm rule.

 

Now for the good news

It's not all bad. Royal Mail has made several positive changes which offer some great

benefits:

• If your parcel is 16x16x16cm or under and weighs less than  2kgs you'll be classed as small package

• Second class is now offered with signature

• Royal Mail has a new service called "24" and "48" which offers discounts to businesses. If you send more than 1000 parcels in a year (about 20 per week) you are now able to make use of this service

•  2nd class is now offered for all weight bands, whereas in 2012 it was only offered on packages up to 1kg

Onwards and Upwards

In the words of the great Charlie Brown "In the Book of Life, the answers aren't in the back." And let's face it, times are tough and price increases are inevitable. The goal of this post is not to point fingers, but rather to offer one good point of reference which will translate what these changes mean for you. There are always other options to assist in cost cutting, such as making use of Franking Machines, using smart packaging or taking a contract out with a courier. We will be following this post up with one which will assess what alternative choices are available. Until then, remember Charlie Brown's words of wisdom and enjoy the sun, which has finally shown its face.

 Written by Trilby Rajna, Srearh Marketing Assistant at Apporoved Index

Luke Roberts - Sales Manager

Luke began working as a Sales Executive at Approved Index in January 2008. He quickly set to work selling everything that we had to sell and helping to introduce some new products that we didn't. He has since been rewarded for his innovation by being promoted to the role of Sales Manager. Despite being a season ticket holder at Fulham FC, Luke does have an interest in sports - he's an avid darts fan.

Shehra Ali - Senior Account Manager

Shehra's successful sales career leading to her current role as Senior Account Manager can be attributed to her ability to talk the hind leg off a donkey. With 9 siblings at home, she has learned the art of mothering and has earned the title of Mum around the office. The one thing Shehra loves more than sales and organising office events is chocolate, and if you ever catch her in a bad mood its best practise to offer her some.

Richard Hunsley - Senior Account Manager

Richard's gentle but firm approach to sales has led him down the path to Senior Account Manager. Richard brings elegance to the sales team and he enjoys sightseeing around London, good food and fine wine. He is an entrepreneur with a budding online tea business called The Organic Tea Company. When he's not making sales, selling tea or enjoying wine he can be found watching just about any cricket match he can find on the Tele.

Ashlee McEvoy - Senior Account Manager

Ashlee is an Approved Index veteran, earning the ranks of Senior Account Manager due to his no-nonsense approach to sales. He is a dedicated fitness enthusiast and has a passion for eating noodles. Even though he has spent the majority of his adult life abroad he has not forgotten his roots and will only drink good English ale.

Aimee Sadler - Account Manager

Aimee is the youngest member of Approved Index's fireball sales team. Legend has it that she actually has sold ice to an Eskimo on more than one occasion! When Aimee isn't obsessing about sales, she has been known to cook up a storm and people are still talking of her infamous lemon drizzle.  

Conor Wilson - Account Manager

Conor is the newest addition to the Approved Index Sales team. A former Officer Cadet with the TA, he is a qualified skydiver and a firm advocate of Pink Lady apples and three piece suits. Conor's alleged secret behind his sales success is due to his lucky stuffed toy rabbit, Timothy, who sits in permanent place on his desk (and who is frequently kidnapped by the team).

On the 8^th April 2014 Microsoft plans to end support for its XP operating system, placing thousands of businesses at risk according to new research.

Despite Microsoft's recommendation for a migration period of 18-30 months, independent research by Camwood show only 42% of companies have started the upgrade away from XP. This means that three in five companies still using the system are not prepared for Microsoft dropping security updates.

IT Decision Makers Leaving Companies at Risk?

On their website, Microsoft warns that not upgrading means '[you] will no longer receive software updates ... that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software'; as a result this will also leave companies at risk from cyber attacks, security breaches and data theft. Worryingly, nearly one-fifth of IT decision-makers plan on continuing to run XP after the end of support.

In the research one quarter cited "the business" as a main barrier for not migrating, which can be assumed to be a combination of resistance from management to spend on system upgrades and the technical demands and financial 'downtime' impact upon the business caused by the upgrade process itself. For many of the organisations which had already begun migration, common barriers in the survey were named as hardware issues, lack of budget and migrating MS Office data.

Bestselling Software to be Replaced

XP has been Microsoft's bestselling operating system since 2001 and is still so popular that they have struggled to convince businesses and consumers to upgrade. Newer operating systems, Windows 7 and Windows 8 were released during recession in 2009 and 2012 respectively.

Naturally, in tough economic times, most companies will avoid investing substantial amounts of money in what can be argued to be unnecessary technology and its associated support. Unfortunately for those businesses, Microsoft are now forcing an upgrade; on the one hand, this poses a risk to a company's security that should, in turn, provide the motivation to invest; on the other hand, Microsoft will be able to offer far more streamlined support and updates that can more effectively respond to sophisticated cyber threats.

Approved Index customers are made up of all types and sizes of business and they all engage with social media to a varying degree. One of the most frequent questions we've heard about social media for business is: what's the point? Or, in other words: how can social media help me drive sales?

It's a very good question. Whilst it's all fun and games reaching out to people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc the time spent doing it has to lead to tangible benefits - just like any other business activity.

You might be building your brand online, generating a buzz, making all the right noises but if you can't prove it's adding to the bottom line then it's all wasted time (at least in the eyes of the MD).

In this post we're going to introduce you to a few ways in which you can not only drive sales via social media but also, and perhaps more importantly, prove that those sales came via social media.

 

Use Social Media in Content Marketing

We've written in-depth about content marketing before, highlighting the importance of using social media for promoting your content in a targeted way.

In short, a good content marketing plan will have identified distinct audiences and created bespoke pieces of content for them. In order to push this content to a specific crowd it's possible to identify and reach out to the influencers and opinion formers in that market.

Here's an example of how to do it: let's say we work in the marketing department at a printer manufacturer and we have a great new video we've produced on the quality of our products. The video is targeted at high-end print users at big media companies. How do we find people who might be interested?

The free tools Followerwonk and Tweepz both allow you to search within the Twitter bios of users. We search for 'printers' to begin with and, refining our results for people with a minimum of 500 followers, this is what we get:

The second result is a printers and ink review site: perfect. And straight away we're building a list of prospects for re-tweeting our content. Of course you have scope for getting infinitely clever with the terms you search for. We could try 'print department', 'office supplies' etc - remember, we're not necessarily searching for potential customers but people our potential customers might be following and influenced by. We want to amplify our reach.

How to approach our prospects? Well the first step is following them - they'll be alerted to the fact that they've got new followers and might check out your profile, even follow back. Check their Twitter profile for links to their website, email address and other social media profiles. 

If you become a fan of their Facebook profile, add them to your Google+ circles and follow them on Twitter they're already starting to get exposure to your brand. The best result is that they add you back and get exposure to your content as a matter of course. But, if that doesn't happen we could gently nudge them in the right direction by, perhaps, mentioning them in a Tweet with a link to the video or including the link in response to a Tweet they've written. 

E.g. "@PrintersInkMag Love your review of the HP WonderJet500 - have you seen the quality of our offering in the same range? www.youtube.com/ourvideo"

Sure, it's not a subtle example but there will no doubt be creative and less in-your-face ways of doing something similar for a piece of content you believe in (and it's important that you do believe in the quality of your content for this kind of outreach).

This kind of proactive content promotion can dramatically enhance the effectiveness of your content as a lead generation tool - much better than hoping it goes viral of its own accord (hardly ever happens btw).

 

Social Media Monitoring for Sales and Customer Service Wins

Actively listening on the major social media platforms can alert you to potential sales opportunities and help you manage the reputation of your brand in the eyes of current and potential future customers.

Savvy consumers are learning that by making a fuss of their customer service problems on Twitter, Facebook and the rest, their problems are more likely to receive attention. This can work in your favour in two ways: first, by listening for complaints about your competitors you can swoop in with competing service offerings; second, you can resolve your own customers' problems speedily and show all their friends and followers that you're a top notch company, potentially leading to more sales.

How to do this? Here's one example: the free (in a limited sense) tool Hootsuite allows you to add Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ accounts to a single dashboard. You can then set the tool up to show streams where your brand is actively mentioned (e.g. Tweets containing @yourbrand) or that simply contain a set search term (e.g. '@yourcompetitor').

This puts you in an ideal position for swooping in whenever your brand is mentioned (in a positive or negative light), or your competitor's brand (in a negative light) and taking appropriate action.

For example, if someone Tweets "Your Brand or Competitor's Brand - which is the best?" there's definitely a sales opportunity.

 

Social Media Attribution

So you've jumped in to social media activity, you're building follower numbers, interacting with potential customers and generally having a lovely time. But how can you prove that your efforts are actually bringing in revenue?

This is where you'll need some web analytics software, the most popular and free, of course, being Google Analytics.

(Google provide lots of information and guides on how to set this up - you'll need goal tracking in place at least in order to attribute value to your social media campaigns.)

In Google Analytics the first place to look for the success of your social media interaction is the Traffic Sources > Sources > Referrals report. It should be fairly easy to pick out the social media sources from the rest (e.g. t.co referrals come from Twitter, facebook.com come from, you guessed it...).

Make sure your Goal Set tab is selected and you'll be able to see which channels led to the highest conversion rates and, in the case of ecommerce sites, the most revenue.

If your website is used for generating leads rather than closing sales you can multiply the number of conversions by your average revenue per lead for a rough and ready measure of how much social media contributes.

Of course, the next step would be to create custom segments and reports for the social media channels themselves but Google Analytics Help is the best place to look for such advice.

If you want to get more complex, there are a number of paid for tools which can help with attributing your revenue streams to different online marketing channels e.g. Hubspot, Optify etc.

It's important to remember though that social media marketing doesn't exist in a vacuum and that to truly reap the rewards you also need a great website that's optimised for search and conversions, a great content marketing strategy, email marketing and perhaps some PPC too.

In short, it's just one piece of a total marketing strategy and even where you're not seeing direct conversions from social you should be asking 'how is our social media activity supporting our other marketing activity?' to assess its full benefit.

 

In the endless battle between Sales and Marketing, the only ones left victorious are your competitors. So perhaps it's time to wave a white flag and concentrate on a treaty which will aid your business in flourishing rather than flailing.

The tale is age old and we've all heard it before - sales and marketing just don't get along. At times, it may even seem that these two functions, on which businesses so heavily rely, have in fact been set up with the sole purpose of butting heads (who knows, perhaps for the entertainment benefit it provides the office). But as these two fundamental departments lock antlers, it's the business which is left suffering. And what's worse is we all know that in ending the feud we'd be creating a healthier company with better customer retention.

Unfortunately, merely knowing this fact doesn't make it any easier to enforce positive change. Attempting to align sales and marketing without any structure is somewhat comparable to motivating yourself to go to the gym in the winter months - failure is imminent.
 
But fear not, we have some simple steps to lead you down the path of glory.

1. All you need is love

Well no, we're not new age hippies, but The Beatles had something right, you need to learn how to play the game. And this game is all about free flowing communication and empathy, which for the purpose of supporting my comparison drawn between The Beatles 1967 hit and inter departmental communication could be referred to as love... No?

Well, either way, one of the biggest issues you will face in your attempts to align Sales and Marketing is that their core instincts are in direct opposition. Sales often work on commission and are pressured to make immediate sales when company metrics fall short, while the marketing department is working on a long term plan, often with no way of really measuring their success. Marketing argues that Sales aren't looking at the bigger picture and Sales argues that marketing aren't delivering quality leads. And so the endless cycle of squabbling continues.

So, what should you do?

• You need to bring the Sales and Marketing teams to the same table. This is not meant as a metaphor. You need to actually physically bring these teams closer together, even if you have to drag them by their left ears, kicking and screaming (although this should only be used as a final resort as you may face some trouble from HR if you do indeed drag your employees/colleagues by their ears). The fact is, Marketing and Sales lack empathy and understanding for each other's roles. If they are within close proximity of each other they are going to have to start talking. And when they start talking they are going to gain a greater understanding of the issues each department faces. From this simple step, you can greatly affect attitudes and beliefs.
  

• Next you need to organise scheduled formal meetings which create an open forum for these two departments to brainstorm problems, and come up with solutions. This will act as a space where a common language can be formed and where definitions can be redefined to better suit your business.
  

An example of how we at Approved Index spread the love between Marketing and Sales (while we sit at our closely positioned desks) is by sharing content. Marketing spends a lot of time developing relevant and informative content for our customers, which we then promote through our social media channels. However, by handing this content to Sales to include as a link in their email signature, we can drastically increase the reach of our hard work. An additional benefit here is that Sales is able to give feedback and assist Marketing in delivering the best possible content.

Another example of how we work together at Approved Index is by having Marketing alert Sales to potential leads we encounter through Social Media. Although we don't always generate immediate leads through this channel, we often connect with businesses who would make ideal clients. Marketing then passes a snapshot of their details to Sales, thus delivering a hot lead.

2. Link it to your bottom line

This step is slightly more tricky. The meetings are going well, and the 'love'/empathy and communication is flowing; but Sales and Marketing are still held accountable to opposing goals and metrics. As a business, you have to find a way to unite goals and share them across the teams. I can understand how this may sound daunting. And the trouble lies in that there really is no simple answer as your goals and metrics will be unique to your business. Let this be a work in progress, but you can certainly kick start the process by:

• Integrating Sales and Marketing systems and software
• Defining goals together
  
• Finding metrics that can be aligned
• Sharing ownership of objectives and initiatives
• Sharing rewards  

The most difficult hurdle in achieving congruity is finding a way to share metrics. It won't always be difficult, and you will find that with some activities the metrics will naturally integrate. However with some marketing activities the metrics required will be softer and more subjective. In these instances, continued work and development will be required. Remember this is not a quick fix, it's going to take time to hit that optimum dosage.

3. Customer, Customer, Customer

The saying used to go, location, location, location, and although this still holds true for some high street retailers, in the land of B2B the buzz word is CRM. Everyone needs to acknowledge that Customer is King and it's up to your business to make sure these customers are kept happy. Tactically positioning both Sales and Marketing as customer centric entities will help align their priorities creating an advantage for your business. Shared communication will reveal where issues lie and shed light on clever ways to problem solve.

Remember, Sales holds a mountain of insight into what customers desire, where there are gaps in your service and what processes are just not working. This kind of information is a Marketer's dream and, when shared, will help refine your offering and keep your customers coming back for more. In a world where no service or product is truly unique, the relationships you have built with your customers could be your point of triumph (we've already covered the importance of lead nurturing in our previous post). This step will not only assist in improving Sales and Marketing's delicate relationship, but will also put the "R" in CRM with some flair.

4. Management is key 

Now, this one is really the clincher. You may have followed steps 1 to 3 and even seen some wonderful results. Perhaps Sales and Marketing are having lunch together? Perhaps you've managed to get through a meeting with no finger pointing? Maybe you have even seen the amount of eye rolling and sarcastic comments plummet? But no matter what magnificent improvements you've witnessed, you'll never achieve true enlightenment if management is not fully on board.

It's easy enough to talk about making changes and even to start with all the good intentions you can garner, but it's stamina which is required to make this work. You are doomed to fail if management aren't leading this crusade, armed with perseverance. To align Sales and Marketing requires Senior Management's full commitment, their motivation and an open approach. If management is on board, and they're leading by example, you're set to win this war!

Written by Trilby Rajna, Search Marketing Assistant at Approved Index

'Big Data' is a term that's been bandied about in ever increasing frequency over the last few years - usually by people selling incredibly expensive technology solutions. The claim is that getting a handle on your big data can lead to big gains in productivity, efficiency and competitive edge. But are these claims justified? And if they are, what constitutes big data and how do you know when you've passed a threshold that requires a different approach to data management?

 

What is it?

Big Data is an elastic term - there's no numerical definition of what constitutes a big data set. For some organisations a database that expands into the tens of gigabytes starts to become unwieldy. For others, that cut-off lies in the tens of terabytes. As technology advances and computing power grows, in accordance with Moore's Law, the lines keep moving ever upwards. (Almost to illustrate the point, the version of MS Word I'm using to type this post recognises the word 'gigabytes' but marks up 'terabytes' as a spelling error.)

 

Big Data therefore refers more to an approach to data handling than it does to the actual amount of data that needs to be handled. When your current set-up no longer allows you to use data in an efficient way or doesn't allow you to pull the information you need from your data easily then you need to start thinking in terms of big data.

 

Examples of Big Data

Big data approaches originated in the spheres of scientific research and government. Scientists regularly need to mine and visualise massive datasets of e.g. weather readings, to draw conclusions and recognise trends. Governments need to handle incredible amounts of data on tax, criminal records, vehicle registration etc. Techniques of manipulating big data were developed to make these processes as efficient and useful as possible.

 

Then came the internet revolution and the amount of data flying around the world exploded. Website interactions, online transactions and social networking meant that all of a sudden masses of data on customer activity was available and companies rapidly started working out how they could use it to their advantage.

 

Companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon led the way.

 

• Amazon process millions of transactions every day - both through direct sales and via third-party sellers. In 2005 they had the world's three largest Linux databases.
• Facebook needs to hold billions of pictures and make them available for instant recall. They also need to keep tabs on the myriad interconnections between their users and all their updates, not to mention advertising data. Their latest data centre in Lulea, Sweden, is the size of 11 football pitches.
• Google's data makes Facebook's look like an amateur stamp collection. They are incredibly secretive about their huge data centres but they admit to at least a dozen of comparable size.
•  Walmart - the US supermarket chain and owners of ASDA - process about a million transactions an hour. The database which records them all is estimated to be in the range of 250 petabytes large (2560 terbaytes).

 

What Can You Do with Big Data?

From a business perspective, the more data you can collect on your customers' habits, preferences and behaviour - whether related to purchases they've made from you or not - the better. You can use this data to build a model of different types of customer, what marketing, selling and customer services approaches they best respond to and to help predict what their demands are likely to be in the future.

 

Types of beneficial data include:

 

• Transactional data can be used to find price points, determine product line-up, identify barriers to purchase and provide re-marketing information.
• Web analytics will show you how customers are finding you, which marketing methods work best, how well visitors to your site are converting and what can be done to improve that rate.
• Customer services data can help you identify weaknesses in your service offering and help you retain more customers that would otherwise find the waiting arms of your competitors.
• Social media data can help you build profiles of your customers to better target them with marketing material. It can also help to identify gaps in the marketplace and provide information on how you and your competitors are generally perceived.
• Purchasing data can help you identify trends in contract prices, which suppliers are better value over the long term and where there is room for renegotiation.
• Employee data provides insight on the performance of individual staff members, whole teams and managers. It can also help you determine the productivity benefits of changes to processes or technology.

 

The big data approach means putting in place technology that allows you to not only record and store the above types of data but also be able to use it in a beneficial way. Being able to put the data in a format from which you can draw meaningful, actionable conclusions that actually benefit your business is crucial.

 

If you can't easily use your data for visualisations, comparisons, trend-spotting, model building and all the other kinds of analysis that lead to efficiency, productivity or revenue gains then you're just collecting data for the sake of it.

 

Do You Have Big Data?

Perhaps a more sensible question is: do you have the potential to collect data? To which the answer is undoubtedly 'yes'. Would that data allow you to improve your business? Again, the answer is probably 'yes'. Which leads to the question: could you be doing better?

 

Depending on the size of your business you might find that your current set-up involving spreadsheets and free software like Google Analytics lets you do everything you need to. On the other hand, your current relational databases might be creaking under the demands of your sales and marketing teams and you simply can't keep up with the social media activity surrounding your brand online. In this case, it's time to review your approach to data and start investigating how you can make the data available to you start working for you.

Leads are our business - and if you're anything like us, the B2B marketplace is central to your company and leads probably mean a great deal to you too. 

 

The traditional plan with a lead is to strike while the iron is hot, so as a salesperson, when you get hold of a hot lead you give the prospect a call, hit them with your best pitch and bingo - a sale.    

 

At least that's the idea - but of course as we all know it doesn't always go that way - not every lead turns into a big sale - some are just inevitable dead ends. At least you tried though, right?

 

So what do you do now? Screw up that post-it note with the customer details and resign it to the recycling bin of course. What's the worry about wasting a post-it? But what about the time and money you spent generating that lead? Is that so easy to toss away? 

 

'But there's nothing I can do' you say 'not everyone wants to buy!' In reality however this just isn't accurate. The fact is that not everyone wants to buy straight away. 

 

The vast majority of leads are buyers, and if they're not buying from you, that sale is going go to a competitor. Maybe not today, or in a month even, but eventually the customer you just discarded is going to be ready to buy.  

 

But that lead, and the money and time spent acquiring it doesn't have to go to waste. By adopting a lead nurturing process and principles, you can learn to convert more inquiries into qualified leads and qualified leads into sales.  

 

'Hey,' you say, 'I'm already doing this, I call people back a month or so later and try again.'

 

However there is more to lead nurturing than simply calling up a prospect every couple of months to see if they're ready to buy yet. The aim of lead nurturing is to create a meaningful dialogue with prospects irrelevant of their position in the buying cycle. 

 

Basically this is about building relationships, building trust and getting to the point where your prospective clients know you and your company and what you do. 

 

This will take time and above all you need to realise that the extra effort it may take is an advantage and an opportunity. It may be tough to look at it that way in a target driven business where sales people have an immediate need to meet numbers and quotas. But you can use this as an opportunity to build trust , show that you are an expert in your field and demonstrate your understanding of the client's needs. Do this  and it will show dividends. 

 

This is where leads nurturing crosses over between sales and marketing. So these two departments are usually a little more distinct and your salespeople may find themselves a little out of their comfort zone with brand building and the like but ultimately, with a little effort and a slight adjustment in work methods, they will be able to see results.

 

OK, so what's the best way to go about it?

Don't just pitch to the customer, over and over

During this period, or 'buying cycle', offer insights and solutions and consider what might be going through the customer's mind and what their concerns may be. They'll want to know how you can help. Especially if they feel that their business is doing OK at the moment whatever it is you have to offer may seem a risk they don't feel the need to take. 


Highlight the advantages of your product

Maybe their initial enquiry was made because they want to learn more about your product, but are not yet confident enough in their knowledge to make a definitive buying decision. Well then this is chance to educate them. You have the expert knowledge they need and distilling this to them at their pace is what they want.

Know your prices and competition

You need to know your marketplace and your competition. What is it they do and why are you better? Honesty is central to the above points, as with all relationships. You know that your competition has certain advantages but also disadvantages and you know the costs involved with your product and the realistic returns it can offer. Being upfront about all these will build trust and your customer wants above all to buy from someone they trust, someone they can rely on and someone who can help if there are problems. 

Get permission to stay in touch
 

An effective lead nurturing process may take 3 - 4 months but if you focus on providing content and data of value to the customer you will keep them engaged and you can build a strong brand relationship long before they are ready to buy.

 

The first step in the process is to get permission to stay in touch and may even mean softening the initial pitch so that you can contact them again in a few weeks. Gradually you will be able to educate them over a period of time whilst watching out for signs of the buying cycle.

Make use of your existing marketing material but make it personal
 

Take a look at your existing marketing content and re-work it so it's relevant to your customer if necessary. Leads nurturing is a really content focused approach to sales and marketing. So if your company engages in any of the following activities, don't be afraid to use them!

 

If your company produces a regular newsletter, send it through to them or encourage them to sign up to your mailing list. Let them know when the blog gets updated, especially if you feel the information is going to be relevant to them. Perhaps one of your other customers (in a similar line of work) has had a particularly good month you'd like to share!

 

And most of all remember to keep everything personalised - mass mailings at the wrong time can undo all the hard worked you've put in to develop trust.   

 

Keep the campaign structured and pace it well
 

Unfortunately there's no exact time-scale or programme for nurturing leads - you'll have to experiment and gauge your customer's responses, after all not everyone is the same - accepting this is fundamental to the nurturing process.  

 

You might not end up with the same roadmap for each customer but as long as you keep track of their development each roadmap and campaign will feed into others. Keeping track of them will help you learn and manage the process more efficiently in the future.

 

If people are responsive - you can move faster - if not, then slow down! Buyers want to engage at their own pace and allowing them to do so, pressure free, will assist with the growth of the relationship.

 

Take heart that there's even some evidence that nurturing leads results in happier, more informed customers who are willing to spend more cash! 

 

Inspire the lead to buy! Failing to do so will not stop them buying, but it may stop them buying from you.

 

 

In November last year we carried out our very first Buyer Survey specific to a single product. That product was Six Sigma training and with the results we produced this rather lovely infographic.

It's 2013! Twenty-thirteen! Think back to how you were in the nineties and try to remember how crazy the year 2013 sounded. Ridiculous! Imagine if someone had shown you an iPad then. You'd have gone crazy. Imagine if you'd been told that most people in 2013 would be using the internet FROM THEIR PHONE!

The silly season is upon us: the Christmas decorations are up; the office is slowly thinning out as people use up their remaining holidays; the Secret santa draw has left you needing to buy a gift for someone you've never spoken to.