| |
| How to close your 'Client Revenue Gaps' |
 |
|
Tim Dearing,
Managing Partner, ClientView
|
| |
|
Clients are the lifeblood of your business
...but they are hard to acquire, easy to lose and very expensive
to replace. It is therefore essential to maximise the longevity
and value of your precious client relationships.
There are only three ways for companies to increase sales:
| |
1 |
Develop the profitability of
your existing client relationships |
| |
2 |
Keep these relationships for
longer |
| |
3 |
Acquire more clients |
Hence, given that it costs on average 6 x less
to keep and build an existing client than to win a new client, an
increasing number of companies are now revisiting the question...
| |
"Are we really maximising sales from
our existing clients?" |
In a recent survey of 250 successful business
leaders:
| |
- |
57% admitted they simply 'didn't
know' |
| |
- |
34% answered 'probably not' |
| |
- |
only 9% thought 'probably are' |
| |
|
Source:
Da Vinci Consultancy 04/05 |
Surprising? - maybe. An opportunity? - definitely.
Worth finding out? - potentially the shortest route to boosting
your sales & profits. A small change in your relationships with
key clients makes a big difference to your bottom line, either up
or down:
| |
- |
A 5% increase (decrease)
in revenue from your 'existing clients'
can increase (decrease) your bottom line by 35% - 95% |
| |
- |
A 5% reduction (increase) in
'client defections' can increase (reduce) your bottom line by
25% -125% |
| |
|
Sources:
'Zero Defections' Harvard Business Review - Reichard & Sasser.
|
| |
|
National
Client Service Week - Derek Williams. |
| |
|
'Keeping Clients for Life' - Michael LeBoeuf. |
So, is it any wonder that many businesses are
re-focussing their efforts and seeking new ways to achieve the highest
possible return from their clients. This is where an independent
intermediary, such as 'ClientView', can help businesses gain a clearer
understanding of their clients' latest thinking about expectations,
performance, competitors, the market, the future ...and any missed
sales opportunities.
At ClientView we believe in customising our R&D (Relationship
& Development) Audits to specific business needs and objectives.
We organise the whole programme, so it will be professional and
hassle free for you and your clients. Each programme includes auditing
and follow-up advice in one comprehensive package.
Typically we ...
| |
Show you your business
through your clients' eyes, revealing ... |
| |
|
|
| |
- |
things you do well your clients
really appreciate ...often you'll be unaware of these, so we
show you how to capitalise on them across the business |
| |
- |
any areas of dissatisfaction
that need addressing ...usually on both sides |
| |
- |
opportunities to change service
levels, or lift prices |
| |
- |
insights plus ideas to keep your
clients feeling special and valued |
| |
- |
benchmarks for performance, commitment,
perception insights, value delivery, market activity, likely
advocacy |
| |
- |
insights to help lock out competitors |
| |
- |
your firm benchmarked against
the market |
| |
Help close your "Client
Revenue Gaps" |
| |
|
| |
It's
one of the best kept secrets in business ...you may not be realising
the full sales potential from your existing client relationships.
We call these your "Client Revenue Gaps" (CRGs) ...areas
of sales opportunity you are missing out on. In our experience
8 out of 10 organisations have incremental revenue potential;
including most of those businesses who feel certain they don't!
|
|
|
| |
|
How
much are these CRGs costing you
each year per client?
What is the incremental CRG
sales you could gain ...5%, 10%, 15%?
Have you ever really thought
about this? |
|
|
|
| |
ClientView's
expertise helps reveal your CRGs and identifies ways to quickly
close them, hence generating incremental income and a healthy
ROI. |
Our independent audit programmes also add significant
value for those companies who already use internal 'satisfaction
surveys'. Indeed the majority of ClientView's customers use internal
satisfaction surveys, often combined with follow up reviews. As
a measure of client commitment or potential opportunity, internal
satisfaction surveys are generally not helpful. At best they provide
a view of past performance, but in reality they are very poor indicators
of future client behaviour and have serious limitations as an indicator
of loyalty ...unlike ClientView's approach, insights and analysis.
| |
"Unfortunately, more
than 80% of firms use satisfaction scores to monitor client
loyalty. That doesn't work, because in practice there is very
little correlation between satisfaction and loyalty in business
markets." |
| |
'Loyalty in Business
Markets', Harvard Business Review, Sept 2005 |
Besides, it's a fact of human nature we discover
time after time, that clients will tell a skilled intermediary all
the things that they simply don't or won't tell you.
We find our customers' clients love conversational questions. It
makes them think objectively, tangibly and emotively about themselves,
as well as about you. They feel comfortable and secure talking with
someone who is independent, professional, asking sincere, diagnostic
driven, challenging questions ...and who then listens carefully
and thoughtfully to their answers. Indeed, our role has often been
likened to a cross between a detective, investigative reporter,
psychiatrist, doctor, therapist, mediator, mentor, coach, salesman
and entrepreneur!
ClientView's expertise is knowing the right questions to ask, at
the right time, phrased in the right way. We'll tell you what your
clients are saying, what they are not saying, and what we think
this really means to your business. The real clues often lie in
the off hand remarks. How seriously should you take these? ...we
explain exactly. Also, in the event that we uncover problems or
barriers you are unaware of, we always try to be pro-active and
recommend solutions to you that cost less than the problem.
Another feature of the programme is that we also help you directly
compare the financial rewards of client loyalty with the cost of
managing your clients; so you can objectively consider the ROI case
for long-term investment in client development.
|
Summary of the challenges recently set by
our customers,
who asked ClientView to help them ...
|
| Achieve 'Closer
Client Relationships' |
| |
"Discover new insights to help keep
our clients for even longer" |
| |
"Provide in depth feedback on our relationships,
capabilities offered, team, and how we go to market" |
| |
"Deliver independent insights and benchmarks
on how clients actually rate us, rather than us guessing or
relying on internal subjectivity |
| |
| |
... all the things our
clients especially value about us and why |
|
| |
| |
... any areas of dissatisfaction
or concerns and why" |
|
| |
"Reveal any harmful client perception/reality
gaps" |
| |
"Ensure we understand our clients' future
needs, not just the current ones" |
| |
"Help steer our business objectively
down a path of continuous improvement" |
| |
"Independently measure annual improvements
in any areas of dissatisfaction" |
|
|
| Gain 'More Sales from our
Clients' |
| |
"Reveal the revenue opportunities we
are missing out on, plus advise us how we can best exploit this
potential" |
| |
"Uncover any sales or relationship barriers,
reasons why, plus advise what action is needed to overcome these" |
|
|
| Sharpen 'Business Planning' |
| |
"Provide client insights and advice
to help write our annual Business Plan" |
|
|
| Lock Out 'Competition'
|
| |
"Identify specific competitor threats,
reasons, potential counter measures" |
| |
"Ring-fence our clients and block competitors
from the outset" |
|
|
| Support 'New Business'
Pitches |
| |
"Show new prospects how much we care
about our clients' views" |
| |
"Provide a competitive differentiator
...we also see value in displaying the ClientView certification
logo on our web site and in new business presentations"
|
|
|
| Demonstrate 'Pro-activity' |
| |
"Reassures clients they are at the heart
of our thinking ...and that we never take them for granted" |
| |
"Show our clients we are innovative
and pro-active" |
| |
"Provide a stimulus for new ideas and
fresh thinking" |
|
|
| Create new 'Advertising
& PR Propositions' |
| |
"Add a new focus for brand positioning,
market differentiation, service claims" |
| |
"Support for re-launch, refresh programme
and new advertising / PR campaigns" |
|
|
| Strengthen 'Executive Control'
|
| |
"Reassure top management that the team
understands their clients' needs and are not missing any opportunities"
|
| |
"Provide a valuable check to see if
we can lift fees or change service levels" |
| |
"Provide an independent, objective tool
to gauge the accuracy of internal management reporting ...and
for setting sales and marketing targets" |
| |
"Gather the facts, deliver the insights,
help us make better decisions" |
|
|
| Insights for prospective
'Mergers, Sales & Acquisitions' |
| |
"Provide an objective, true picture
of client relationships |
| |
"Contribute an essential part of the
Due Diligence insight and reporting process" |
| |
"Reveal specific client problems or
opportunities" |
We work with large organisations and SMEs across
many sectors, including professional service firms and marketing
services groups. Different businesses with different objectives,
all sharing a common goal ...to sustain growth by keeping their
clients' more committed for longer, whilst maximising their profitability.
For example:
| |
Michael Collings, MD of Bermic
|
|
|
| |
"I do not run my business
without regularly checking sales and profit. So it makes sense
to monitor the state of our client relationships & revenue
potential; the source of our sales and profit. ClientView have
unearthed some excellent ideas for improving our business. Hence
their ROI is very favourable." |
| |
|
| |
Howard Creme, Sales Director of Innovators
International |
|
|
| |
'"In a toughening market we need
to look beyond just meeting our clients' expectations and embrace
new ways to engender greater commitment from them. ClientView
has successfully dug beneath the surface of our perceived relationships
and uncovered ways to make our core clients even more loyal"
|
We call this 'Better Business' ...a win,
win for you and your clients.
That's what ClientView is all about.
|
CONTACT DETAILS:
For ideas on how ClientView can benefit
your business, please call:
Tim Dearing, Managing Partner
tel: 020 7405 5444
e-mail: actiondesk@teamdv.co.uk.
|
back
to top
|
