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July 25, 2007
By Roger Bloom
What can a firm do to get the biggest bang for its marketing buck?
As you probably have found out already, that is a question that can generate spirited debate and doesn’t really have a single answer. Associate training can have tremendous return on investment in the long term. Alumni programs are relatively inexpensive to implement and can enhance goodwill and referrals in a one- to two-year timeframe. But for short-term business development, nothing beats a targeted campaign focusing efforts on a discrete list of potential clients.
Targeted business development campaigns consist of four main components:
1. Identifying the target area or sector. This can be an industry sector, a geographic area, a revenue range, an employment range, or derived from a combination of these and other parameters. For example, Orange County manufacturers with annual revenues in the $2 million-$50 million range. Or major Inland Empire employers with out-of-state headquarters. The target area can be a geographic expansion of one of the firm’s core competencies, a new sector similar to the firm’s core competency and involving the same skill set, or a new sector the firm has added expertise to exploit.
2. Generating a list of potential clients within the target area. There are many potential sources for information in developing a target list, including SEC information (for public companies), Business Journal lists, Hoover’s, Dun & Bradstreet, and interviews with people in or familiar with the target area. The list should include relevant information such as size, units, revenue, location(s), products/services offered, and key decision makers and their contact information.
3. Developing and implementing a strategy to penetrate the target area. The goal of this component is ultimately to obtain meetings with potential clients, and a wide variety of techniques can be deployed toward this end. A basic and very focused program that does not involve a lot of partner time would be a series of three or four direct mailings, followed by telephone contact to gauge interest and secure meetings. Other strategies – depending on the culture of the target group – could include advertising in key industry publications, sponsorship of industry meetings and events that the target group historically attends, becoming involved in professional or civic organizations that attract the target group, or hosting seminars on topics of interest to the target group. Activities that result in actual face-to-face contact between firm partners and potential clients are ideal, but require more of the partners’ time.
4. Following through. As contacts are made, secure meetings in which firm partners and key decision makers at the target companies participate. The goals of the meetings are to begin developing personal relationships, to gather information on the companies’ goals and challenges, and to address questions or concerns the decision makers might have in relation to the firm’s services. Once a target company’s needs and challenges have been identified, develop a formal proposal identifying clearly how the firm can help the target company. Use this as a starting point to negotiating a service agreement.
A properly planned and executed campaign can begin generating new business in a matter of 3-6 months, with an initial investment of as little as the cost of two or three mailings.
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