1. Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

2. MARKETING AND SALES PROCESS
MARKETING AND SALES PROCESS (MSP)
Marketing and Sales are the front end of any business. The two disciplines are linked but different. Marketing is the preparation of people to buy whereas Sales is the conversion of the buying desire into an actual sale. In this program we will merge the marketing and sales issues into one. By following the steps you will end up with a one page plan that will develop your brand and result in increased sales.
The starting point is an audit of your current marketing and sales activities. By understanding where you are now you can work out where you want to be at some time in the future. The next step is to find out what your Customers think are their future needs. Ideally this is done segment by segment.
Emerging marketing and sales trends and tools need to be reviewed and incorporated into your strategy where relevant. E-Business is changing the way we market and sell. Understanding the new business rules is essential.
The science of how people make their buying decisions is also a key element of your marketing and sales strategy. How is your organization incorporating the different needs of each customer group? As the vision for your business becomes clear you must consider the capability of your organization to change with the business environment.
The marketing and sales logistics include elements such as pricing, selling and contact programs. Do you have the resources that you need to make it happen? If not how do you create them? Strategic partnerships are one way. What are the criteria for selecting a partner?
How do you develop the Marketing strategy? How do you implement it? Mindshop developed the one page plan concept in the middle nineties, a natural extension of mind mapping. Your one page Marketing and Sales plan becomes your control document that is used for the implementation.
What is your growth capability? What do you need to maximise your growth. Speed is a competitive advantage in all industries. First corner advantage has always been true, but it is even more important today.
DIFFUSION OF
INNOVATION
CONSUMER
DECISION MAKING
MARKET
SEGMENTATION
MINDSHOP
PROCESS
CUSTOMER
NEEDS
BUYER
BEHAVIOUR
STRATEGIC
SWOT
PRODUCT
BENEFITS
MARKETING AND
SALES PROCESS
PRODUCT
STRATEGY
PRICING
SALES GROWTH
GROWTH
STRATEGY
GROWTH
CAPABILITY
SALES ONE
PAGE PLAN
MARKETING &
SALES AUDIT
MARKETING
ONE PAGE PLAN
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

3. Small highly focussed sales force.
MAGIC WAND
One of the simplest tools that can be used in the Continuous Improvement process is the Magic Wand.  
If you had a magic wand, and you didn't have to worry about the How or the Cost involved, what would you change about how your organization markets and sells?
The Magic Wand is the ideal tool to stretch the boundaries in your organization. If you didn’t have to think about the cost or the how, what would you change? What would you change about the people, the customers, the products and services? What would you change about yourself? It’s not difficult developing a list of items using the Magic Wand analysis.
Record what you would change about marketing and sales within your organization. This becomes a target list of issues to be addressed using the Continuous Improvement process. Experience has proven that no issues are too big to be handled by this process. Success is assured if the process is used correctly. 
When you are starting out on the Continuous Improvement journey, you often only need the Magic Wand technique to generate the key issues. This is particularly the case with a small organization. You can bring the more sophisticated key issues into the eight week team cycle at any time you like.
The dilemma is, which of all these magic wand issues do we fix first? Which are the core problems and which are merely symptoms? In this program you will learn how the Mindshop process can be used to identify the high priority issues.
Most people feel overwhelmed when facing hundreds of issues in their business. Once you realise that there are only a few key issues and that there is a process that can be used to deal with them there is a sense of relief.
You probably have over two hundred issues in your business, the day you retire there will still be two hundred issues, it is just that they will be different issues. You are about to learn the Mindshop tools and processes that can be used to improve your business. From Product Portfolio Analysis through to how to price your products and services, Mindshop has an innovative tool.
If you had a Magic Wand with no limitations, what
changes would you make to your organization?
Double our sales.
Small highly focussed sales force.
High impact point of sales documentation.
Price points that maximise sales and margin.
Management involvement in the sales process.
Innovative incentive program for the sales team.
No poor quality customers.
No bad debts.
Everyone pays on time.
Leading edge product development.
Use of the latest technology.
Video links to Customers and field staff.
Global sales to reduce risk and local economic issues.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

4. WHERE HOW NOW THE WHERE Sales in year 3 of US$10,000,000.
How do we get there?
NOW - WHERE – HOW
As part of any change management process you need to look at where you are now. To measure our improvement and to monitor change we need to stick a peg in the ground. The Mindshop framework provides us with a better way of understanding where we are now in more depth and from a balanced perspective. There are many ways that you can conduct the Now Analysis. You can do a customer survey, a product benefits analysis, a review of the sales performance of the organization or even a competitor analysis.
The temptation that arises from the Now analysis is to start fixing all the things that you find wrong. We say that is jumping from the Now analysis directly to the How. Why do people do this? They see a sales problem so they sack the sales team and hire better ones? Usually this is done because the reward systems in organizations are focussed on who is most visible, what things can we fix immediately and who is the most clever?
The correct approach is to avoid this temptation and invest the time into conducting a Where Analysis. It is not as short term, it requires vision, it is much harder to do. It may not be the sales team that is the problem, it may be their training? Where do we want to be at some future point in time? What is our business vision? What is the personal vision of each of our people? What are our marketing and sales objectives? Do they link together or are they in conflict?
The Where part of the equation is all about the performance outcomes or the results. The Where Analysis involves establishing a vision, developing a sustainable competitive advantage and even a target price point. The key is to have a good understanding of where we are heading so that when we do get to the How we know what is important and what is not.
We all get excited about the How because it means action. How do we get to where we want to be? This is about the drivers and enablers of performance. These are the actions that move us from the Now to the Where.
In Marketing it might be our price point, our understanding of Customer needs or even our strategic analysis of our Competitors. In Sales it might be our contact program, or benefits focussed point of sale information or our web site.
WHERE
HOW
Strategic
Planning
NOW
Business
Plan
Where will we be in the future?
THE WHERE
Sales in year 3 of US$10,000,000.
Price point in top quartile.
Small regional sales team.
All teams linked vial Lotus Notes.
Three new products launched annually.
Each region has ten core clients.
Relegation system for poor performing products and services.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

5. X X X X X X X X X X MARKETING AUDIT 1. Accuracy of pricing points
Where do we start? How do you currently perform in each of the key marketing and sales areas? When is the last time that you formally reviewed your performance? We do it in the financial areas but not in marketing? Why is Marketing so difficult to measure?
Where do you think you currently are on each issue, then think about where you must be within six months to be successful in the marketing arena. When you have completed your audit, look at the areas that need the most work and then complete your action plans.
How do we fix the poor performing areas? Don’t be tempted to jump into action. We are still in the data gathering stage, the Now analysis. Fight the temptation for action. Every organization has weaknesses, which of yours are the most strategic?
How have you made your assessment? How would your Customers rate you? How would your Competitors rate you? If you are in Marketing do you rate it differently to someone in Production or Operations? Do the shop floor people have a view? Are you interested in what they think?
How often should you conduct this audit? Every year, every six months or even more frequently? Who should do the review? Should Customers be involved? How should the results be reported? Who should have access to the report?
The answers to all these questions varies from organization to organization and from time to time. There is no right or wrong answer. Make a decision, implement it, if it works do more of it. If it doesn’t work do something different.
Marketing is a bit science and a bit art form. Sales is the same. You can learn about sales and marketing from a program like this, but the deep learning comes from the doing. What are your key issues? Who has solved this issue before? Will the same solution work for you?
MARKETING AUDIT
1. Accuracy of pricing points
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
2.Quality of sales brochures
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
3. Skills and experience of Sales
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
4. Web site quality, ease of use l
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
5. E-Business strategy
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
6. Competitor analysis
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
7. Product development
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
8. Sales analysis & reports
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
9. Brand awareness
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
10.Response time
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

6. OPTION 1 - PRODUCTS OPTION 2 - GEOGRAPHIC OPTION 3 - CUSTOMERS
SEGMENTATION OPTIONS
You have many options available to you regarding segmenting the market. Try several segmentation alternatives. What can you learn from each? As you have learned each market segment needs its own SCA so the correct segmentation decision is essential.
Product Segmentation: Can you segment by product? What can you learn? Which segments give you the most value? Which segments give you the most problems? What resources do each segment require?
Segmenting by product provides a product focussed organization. Does this make sense to you?
OPTION 1 - PRODUCTS
LOCKS
FUEL CELLS
SEATS
LIGHTING
ALARMS
AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS
OPTION 2 - GEOGRAPHIC
SE ASIA
AUSTRALIA
Geographic Segmentation: The common way of segmenting a market is by region because the barriers are easily defined. What are the segment elements? What are the common elements? Can we combine resources?
Segmenting geographically will give your organization a focus based on location, is this what you want? With globalisation as the current issue for most growing organizations this segmentation option needs careful consideration. UK
USA
MIDDLE EAST
TOTAL SALES
OPTION 3 - CUSTOMERS
OTHER
GENERAL MOTORS
Customer Segmentation: You can do this by customer name or even customer type. You are only limited by your innovation. Take time to look at the other segmentation options. Apply the Pareto Principle. What are you learning?
Segmenting by customer makes sense if you want to be customer focussed. It is common to find that the needs and expectations of customers vary and the business strategy must accommodate these variations.
FORD
MAZDA
TOYOTA
PRODUCT SALES
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

7. WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER NEED? Product quality. On time delivery.
CUSTOMER SURVEY
Let’s find out what our Customers think. The needs and preferences of customers, within each market segment, need to be established, together with their perceptions on your performance. There is a fourth dimension to any customer survey, and it is an assessment of the value required and provided to the customers.
Value is the key ingredient in any customer - supplier relationship. Make sure that your customer survey addresses this issue. If you are not sure what or who your customers value about what you are offering, then find out!
The customer survey needs to be designed in a format that allows for easy quantification of the results. In this way you can undertake trend analysis. Using a rating scale such as the Mindshop –5 to +5 scale is the most practical way to achieve this objective.
The concept of needs, preferences and perceptions makes the data gathering straight forward. Successful organizations know that meeting the needs is a give. They want to compete on the preferences, a person wanting a hamburger from McDonalds knows they need a hamburger but they prefer one of consistent quality, cost, speed of service and even entertainment of the children. These preferences are the competitive edge.
Once the needs and preferences are clearly defined than all that is left to do is to find out the Customers perceptions on each. Getting the Customer to indicate their perceptions on a scale makes it easier to gather and process.
Once you have gathered the data, present it in a graphical format. This visual management technique helps understand the data gathered by the survey. A customer survey needs to be conducted regularly, particularly when a market is under constant change.
A Customer survey is a valuable exercise, easy to do and provides a wealth of information. A basic knowledge of statistics helps but is not essential. Customers are usually willing to help you in the data gathering particularly if you indicate that you will be feeding back the results to them and, more importantly, doing something to fix the issues identified by the survey.
WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER NEED?
Product quality.
On time delivery.
Guaranteed price.
Good personal service.
WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER PREFER?
Continuous reduction in price.
Product innovation.
Taking initiative.
Good communications.
WHAT ARE THE CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS?
Needs.
Preferences.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

8. In terms of your vision, identify who your A class clients would be.
BUSINESS STATEMENT
You need to have a clear understanding of what business you are in so that you are not tempted to diversify into non-core activities. Of course, you can always redefine your business statement at some time in the future but it is advisable to keep a consistent focus.
The process for establishing a strategically focused Business Statement is shown opposite. Try out various options below. On occasions, it’s advisable to develop a Business Statement, put it to one side for day or two, and come back to it later. In some ways intuition has a place to play in developing a clear understanding of the organizations business statement.
A business statement contains these essential ingredients;
1. Activities.
2. Products and Services.
3. Customers.
And usually takes the format of:
We provide (products and services)
To (customers)
By (activities)
Having a Business Statement allows you to focus. It links to your Vision. You know what to say yes to and what to say no to. It is your decision making tool. It provides a clear direction. It helps you explain to your people, your customers, your suppliers and even your bankers where you are going.
The Business Statement is like a Mission Statement. Knowing where you are going (Vision) and what you do (Business Statement) helps you work out how you will get there (Business Plan). All three elements are critical to the success of your organization. Most businesses cannot define their Vision, Business Statement or Business Plan. A failure to plan is a plan for failure.
The Business Statement is the start of the Marketing Strategy. You can see how the Customer Survey can feed into it. The Marketing strategy emerges and is identified by the Business Statement.
In terms of your vision, identify who your A class clients would be.
Based on analysis of market, your strengths and experience, determine market segments and industries you want to target.
What issues and challenges will they have to confront over the next 5-10 years?
What products and services will they need to meet those challenges?
Audit yourself on current performance in regards to these products and services.
Audit where you need to be on these products and services on the same scale.
Carry out a gap analysis and determine what products and services you need to concentrate on.
Develop a business statement for your business.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

9. CURRENT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES STRATEGY
With the rate of change increasing, the product mix of your business in two years time will be a combination of some of your current products and services and some new products and services. You can assume that the balance can be 50:50.
In each product or service there is a core product, the substance. This core is normally 80% of the cost but provides only 20% of the impact. It is the product surround, which is only 20% of the cost, which contributes 80% of the impact. Where is your strategy focussed, at the core or at the product surround? Often most Management attention is focussed on the core product. Keep in mind that this is only twenty percent of the impact. You are best focussing on the product surround.
Can you define what is core and what is surround for each of your current products and services? Can you do this for your future products and services? Which of your products will still be in your portfolio in two years time? Which ones won’t make it? How much re-engineering will be required?
You have probably seen the Pareto Rule before, the 80:20 rule. Which twenty percent of your products are contributing eighty percent of your sales? Can you make a list? Which twenty percent of your products are contributing eighty percent of your margin? Can you make a list of these? Which twenty percent of your products contribute to eighty percent of your problems? Can you make a list? Finally, which twenty percent of your products are contributing eighty percent of your teams job satisfaction? Compare all the lists and you will probably know which products will succeed and which will fail.
The product surround is where the customer value comes from. It is harder to define because it often includes benefits such as peace of mind and self esteem. Take a BMW motor vehicle, what is is the product surround? The answer you will get from a BMW owner is quality, reliability, style, retained value and image. These benefits take decades to develop.
The Marketing strategy must address the issue of Brand. Do you have a brand? What does it stand for? How are you managing it? What is your plan? Who is in charge of the brand? Which of your team are contributing to the brand?
CURRENT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
PRODUCT SURROUND
CORE PRODUCT 20% Impact 80% Costs
80% Impact 20% Costs
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

10. MARKETING DIFFERENTIATION
EMERGING ISSUES
We have covered many issues that apply to marketing, how do we determine which issues are the most critical to our plan? Our aim is to have outstanding success, to do this we need to be highly differentiated at the same time as having relatively low costs. This may not be achievable on day one. Our starting point can be to have the differentiation but high costs or perhaps low costs but low differentiation. The disaster strategy is to have high costs and low differentiation.
What are the things that you can do to differentiate yourself? You may be able to be faster to market than anyone else in your industry? It may be your product innovation? Maybe it is your strategic partnerships that gives you the competitive edge.
What are the things that you can do to reduce your relative costs? Using the Toyota seven wastes to pull 20% 0f your costs out would be a good start. Your Mindshop Facilitator can show you how. Developing export markets may be what you need to spread your overheads and product development costs. An innovative approach, often used by Japanese firms is to set a target price and work backwards.
If you have high market differentiation but high costs you will need to be in a Niche market to succeed. Low differentiation and low costs makes you a cost leader. Low differentiation and high costs is a disaster and not sustainable.
High differentiation and low costs is a certain outstanding success. It is essential in today’s rapidly changing business environment. Are you targeting this for your future markets?
High 10
OUTSTANDING SUCCESS
NICHE/FLOWS
MARKET DIFFERENTIATION 5
COST LEADERSHIP
DISASTER
Low 0 5
High 10
RELATIVE COSTS
MARKETING DIFFERENTIATION
Faster time to market
Product innovation
Strategic partnerships
RELATIVE COSTS
Remove seven wastes
Develop export markets
Set target prices
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

11. BENEFITS PRODUCT TOTAL RANKING PRODUCT BENEFITS
Customers buy products and services for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are; Price, Reputation, After Sales Service, Company Image, Prompt Delivery, Efficient Performance, Product Design, Fashionable, Reliability, Safety, Quality, Recommendation and Availability.
Select ten factors that you think are relevant to your business. It is best if the factors that you select can apply to all of your products and services. Then you can rate all your products and compare the scores.
Review each product group and score your benefit package. What score did each get? What score is the target score for each product. Is there a minimum score that your products must get to stay in your portfolio? How could you improve your score?
Let’s assume your product was an air conditioner. The factors you selected included reliability, after sales service, warranty, controls and safety. If the product scored 48 out of a possible 100 and you want to target a score of 75 then all you need to do is to look at each factor for where you can get a higher score.
If controls is currently scoring 5 out of a possible 20 points then adding a remote control with a timer may give you another 12 points, only 15 more points to find. Every time you add points you need to develop an action plan. Once you hit or exceed the target score combine all the actions into a plan.
It is recommended that you review your products and services at least every six months. The scoring process generates strategy and action plans. It is a professional approach to a common problem. It is practical and easy to do. Your Mindshop Facilitator can guide you through the process.
Every product and service in your portfolio can be a contributor to your organization. Imagine if every product scored above 75 points. What difference would it make to your competitive position? What impact would it have on your sales and profit.
BENEFITS
PRODUCT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TOTAL
RANKING
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

12. MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS
PRODUCT STRATEGY 
There are several ways to develop a Product Strategy through a Portfolio Analysis. The Mindshop way is to calculate the Market Attractiveness and Business Strength for each product or market segment group. The process for completing the analysis is straight forward and measures Market Attractiveness and Business Strengths.
Calculate Market Attractiveness by selecting Factors and scoring each Product out of ten against each of these factors. Then total up the score for each product.
Calculate Business Strength by selecting Factors and scoring each Product out of ten against each of these factors. Then total up the score for each product..
By calculating the Market Attractiveness and Business Strength for each product, then plotting their product total scores on the matrix you can determine whether the product is a Wild Cat, Star, Dog or Cash Cow.
This is where each product is now. Look at the portfolio. Do you have any “dogs”? How can you get rid of them? Do you have any “cash cows”? Are you “milking” them and using the cash to develop the “wild cats” and the “stars”?
Once you have reviewed where you are now you need to develop the where you want to be in the future. The time frame depends on your industry, your competitors and your business. It could be two years or as long as ten years.
Are you investing in “wild cats”? Are you protecting your “stars”? If your “stars” are not protected and you lose business strength at the same time as the market attractiveness drops you end up with a “dog”.
It is wise to due a product review at least every six months. A balanced portfolio can lead to enhanced profits. The logic that is used to develop the portfolio can be used to developed clever strategy.
High 10
WILD CAT
STAR
MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS 5
DOG
CASH COW
Low 0 5
High 10
BUSINESS STRENGTH
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

13. People will not pay for data.
THE INTERNET STRATEGIC ISSUES
The internet creates it’s own Marketing and Sales issues. These need some explanation. Let’s review them. Every business can now operate locally and globally. Your customer can be on the other side of the world. What issues does this create for you? They operate on a twenty-four hour a day and seven days a week basis. Are you geared for this type of operation? What needs to change for you to be able to do this? Digital products are easily transferred to the customer. Can your products and services be digitised? People are now used to getting data for free from the internet. What will you be providing at no cost? What will your Competitors provide? Interaction that provides value will generate money. Where can you build in interaction?
Every community has it’s own culture, their own language requiring localisation to make it both understandable and useable. Multi media, 3D animation and eventually, virtual reality, will become standard business tools available from the internet. All these benefits will combine to enable fast growth. Those organizations which can tap into these benefits will be the winners. Those organizations that fail to grow with the changes will fail. The strong will become stronger. Small organizations can compete equally with large organizations, new organizations with old. Where are the opportunities for your organization?
How will use the internet in the Marketing and Sales activities of your organization? What are the expectations of your key Customers with regard to the internet. How to they plan to use it? How will their plans impact on you? Will they require you to link to them? How? What information will you share? What security issues does this create?
How much lead time will you need to get ready? Have you provided the resources for this in your plan? Who will be the driver in your business? How much do they know about e-business and the internet? What do you know?
What are your Suppliers doing about the internet? Can you brief them on what you require of them? What are their other customers doing? What changes are planned? Can any of these changes benefit you?
Local and Global.
168 hours per week.
Digital products.
People will not pay for data.
Interaction is the key.
Localisation is essential.
Multimedia in business.
Fast growth enabled.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

14. 1. E-Commerce readiness audit.
MINDSHOP’S TEN STEPS TO E-COMMERCE SUCCESS
Mindshop has developed a ten step process for e-business. Starting with the E-Commerce readiness audit and finishing with the business plan, this process will ensure the required focus is brought to bear on the opportunities that you have identified.
You can see that many of the Marketing and Sales tools and processes are used. The product strategy, pricing, competitor analysis and growth all are drawn from this program. E-Business is just another Marketing and Sales tool, nothing to be frightened of. It is a great opportunity, how are you going to use it?
E-Business is creating winners and losers. The early losers are the ones who didn’t plan. They ran out of money or they ran out of talent. Some people think it was because they went too fast. Maybe they did at the planning stage, but the key is to be highly flexible so that you can change as you go. A lean and mean machine is what is required. Mindshop adopted a virtual organization in the middle nineties. It has been able to maintain this over the following years in spite of pressure from some Customers for Mindshop to add resources.
E-Business means an ever present opportunity to lower costs by removing waste. The integration of organizations through strategic partnerships means sharing resources and economies of scale. If you are fat you are a target. How will use e-business to reduce cost and increase value?
These partnerships will have a big impact on how you market and sell. It may be that your products are sold by your partner for a fee . It may be that you sell their products for a fee. What if the partnership fails, how do you undo such an arrangement?
Notice step seven of the Mindshop process, Building Trust and Reliability, how will you do this? How does your marketing plan address the issue of trust?
1. E-Commerce readiness audit.
2. Product and service strategy.
3. Developing the price point.
4. Competitor review.
5. Marketing and sales strategy.
6. Distribution strategy.
7. Building trust and reliability.
8. Growing the business.
9. The long term plan.
10. The business plan.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

15. Business Collaboration
CURRENT BUSINESS MODELS
The current business models that have emerged over the last few years are worth reviewing.
E-Purchasing occurs when options are reviewed,the decision process managed and the purchase made via the internet. E-Purchasing often is used to describe B to B transactions.
E-Malls are portals where many different retailers are grouped to offer their goods and services to customers in the same way as shopping malls have replaced strip retail shops.
E-Shops are the equivalent of the retail shop, offering the same services and products with the convenience of the internet.
E-Auctions are where suppliers and customers are introduced with the aim of achieving a purchase at the lowest cost. This model is often used for commodities such as appliances, cars and furniture.
Virtual Communities are portals where communities can be listed and accessed. These communities can be social or business groups.
Business collaboration occurs where small groups link up via the internet. Mindshop uses a business collaboration model.
Value Chain providers are a form of business collaboration in a particular supply chain.
Many of these models overlap, in time the use of many of these terms will be simplified. Which of these models can apply to your organization?
You need to be aware of the changes in business models, don’t write it off as theory. Your competitors aren’t, they are getting on with it. Who is your e-business champion?
E-Purchasing
E-Malls (Portals)
E-Shops
E-Auctions
Virtual Communities
Business Collaboration
Value chain providers
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

16. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Motives Perception Attitudes Learning
CONSUMER DECISION MAKING
To be able to develop a Customer Service strategy you must have a good understanding off how your customers make their buying decisions. You will find that customer service is a key part of the process
Whilst the Customer Service plan can’t address all the variables identified in the model, you need to be aware of the issues that impact on your strategy. In respect to your customers, list the key factors that each stage impacts on.
PROBLEM
RECOGNITION
REFERENCE GROUPS
ROLES AND FAMILY
SOCIAL CLASS
CULTURE
SOCIAL FACTORS
INFORMATION
SEARCH
The first stage is Problem Recognition, where the customer realises that they have a need and want to invest energy into fixing it.
The second stage is Information Search where the customer looks for the various options to fix their need.
EVALUATION OF
ALTERNATIVES
The third stage is Evaluation of Alternatives where a comparison of the options is carried out.
The fourth stage is Purchase Decision where the actual decision purchase is made.
PERSONAL FACTORS
PURCHASE
DECISION
SITUATION
DEMOGRAPHICS
The fifth stage is Post Purchase Evaluation where the customer reviews whether the purchase decision was a correct one.
Does your Customer Service plan address each of these stages? What influence do you have in each step? Do you need more? How will you do it?
POST PURCHASE
EVALUATION
Impacting on each of the five stages are some environmental issues. Firstly the Social Factors impact on the decision process. How do these social factors impact on your process? Does you plan cover this aspect? How is it changing?
The second issue is the Personal Factors which includes demographics, disposable income, personal situation and so on. A person recently divorced may decide differently to a person recently married as an example.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Motives
Perception
Attitudes
Psychological Factors also have an impact. For example confidence levels impact on the level of customer service being offered and required.
How does this model impact on your plan?
Learning
Personality
Confidence
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

17. DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION
Buyers can be categorised into five key types. What are the typical Types for each of your market segments. The Innovators are about 3% of market, they buy anything new and different, the latest PDA, the latest software.
The Early Adopters are the next 13%. They are the thinkers, they also like innovation but it must be commercial. They like new things, sell to them if your product is innovative.
The Early Majority are the first big group, 34% in all. They usually follow the Early Adopters, following sometimes a year or two behind. They are more cautious so take longer to decide to buy.
The Late Majority are next, also a 34% group. They watch the Early Majority and so another delay occurs. They are even harder to sell.
The remaining 16% are the Laggards, they never do anything so you can forget about them.
The lesson in this model is that there is no point blanket marketing the total population, you need to target your group. Launching a new dot.com company? Don’t try to sell everyone, it is likely only the first 16% who are targets. If your business model does not stand up on a market of 16% then it won’t work.
Too often you hear people say, all I need to get is 1% of the market and I will be a millionaire! For a start they only have a total market of 16%, they may be lucky to get 1% of this group.
There is some good news here. Get your innovative product launched successfully with the first 16% then a few years down the track the next 34% are ready to come on board, then the next 34% a few years later.
Your existing Customer base are probably distributed in the same way. Do you have any laggard customers? How did they get there? Why are they still there? 3%
13%
34%
34%
16%
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Innovators
NEW ADOPTERS
Laggards
DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION
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18. CLASS BUYING BEHAVIOUR
BUYER BEHAVIOUR
You may have a very clever Business Mission in your market, but if it isn’t focussed on attracting customers you have targeted you will not be successful. There are two related principles that will help you understand your customer segments. List the characteristics of the buyers in each of your key market segments.
Class Buying Behaviour: Different socio-economic groups can also be segmented by their purchasing patterns. The graph looks very similar to the diffusion of innovation model. The point is also the same. Don’t assume all buyers think and act in the same way.
If you are selling prestige cars you know you don’t have the total population as your target market. The selection of your marketing medium is a key factor. Don’t advertise in the local newspapers in a developing nation as only 3% of the population are in the market for a unique product. So how do you find this market? Firstly they probably go to the same events, know each other, even read the same magazines. This is how you reach them. It is real target marketing as the group is so small.
If your product has wide appeal, a product such as milk or bread then your focus would need to have appeal to all groups. Understanding how your target group thinks and feels is essential.
The class buying behaviour varies from country to country. The figures shown are for western developed countries, don’t assume it works for third world nations. We are all operating in a global market so we need to think globally.
Even if we have no intentions to expand our market internationally there are international businesses who are planning right now to attack your market.
What impact will Diffusion of Innovation and Class Buying Behaviour models have on your marketing plan? Determine the key issues. 3%
13%
34%
34%
16%
Unique Products
Expensive Homes
Socially Acceptable
Kitchen Appliances
High Interest Rates
NEW ADOPTERS
Respectable
Do It Yourself
Price Sensitive
National Brand
Small Houses
Brand Loyalty
High Prices
Local Stores
Impulsive
CLASS BUYING BEHAVIOUR
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19. CAN YOU THINK OF 25 REASONS WHY? They should buy your product.
SALES STRATEGY
Developing a sales plan is one thing, but implementing it is another. We have found that everyone in an organization needs to be a sales person. You can tell whether a person is able to wear a sales hat by asking them to complete the following questions:
Why should they buy from you? Give me 25 reasons.
Why should they buy from our company? Give me 25 reasons.
Why should they buy our products or services? Give me 25 reasons.
Why should they buy today? Give me 25 reasons.
If a person in sales cannot come up with the twenty five reasons then they will not have the front of mind responses required to handle questions from potential customers.
Having a good contact program is an essential sales tool. Most people don’t buy on the first contact. We assume that on average people need five contacts before buying. This means some will buy on the first contact, others may require ten contacts. How do you make the contacts cost effective and variable?
Special events, , slow mail,newsletters, visits and telephone calls are all valid contact mechanisms. How will you control this process? Will you use a card system or a computer database?
We have already used the Pareto Rule. By applying the Pareto Rule as shown your sales targets become obvious. Once you have your targets, your contact program and the right belief system the sales should just flow in. What if they don’t?
Use the Mindshop problem solving tools to resolve the specific issue. These tools result in actions. It is actions that create sales. Many organizations have an order taking sales process. They open their mail each day, if an order comes in then they have made a sale. If no order is received they don’t get a sale. This reactive approach is high risk.
What if you knew that by contacting 1,000 people you eventually got sales of US$200,000? If you could make this claim then you have a sales machine. Put 2,000 people into the machine and US$400,000 comes out.
The next step is to adjust the machine so you get US$400,00 for every 1,00 contacts.
CAN YOU THINK OF 25 REASONS WHY?
They should buy your product.
They should buy from you.
They should buy from your company.
They should buy today.
HOW DO YOU MAKE CUSTOMER CONTACT?
Telephone call.
Personal visit.
Newsletter.
Mail something. .
Special event.
WHICH 20% OF YOUR CUSTOMERS GIVE YOU
80% of your sales?
80% of your profit?
80% of your growth?
80% of your problems?
WHO ARE YOUR SALES TARGETS?
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

20. EXISTING PRODUCTS – EXISTING MARKETS
GROWTH STRATEGY
This is a more traditional approach to adding strategy to your company's portfolio. There are several ways that you can grow and they include market penetration, market expansion, product expansion and diversification.
Double check that you have thought of all the options. Can you think of any existing products that you can grow within your existing market? This is what we term, market penetration.
Have you got any existing products that we can sell into new markets? We call this market expansion.
Have you any existing products that we can sell into your existing markets? We call this product expansion.
Have you got any new products that you could develop in your new markets? We call this diversification.
Some people think better in pictures than in words. Why not try to develop either a written description of your market penetration, market expansion, product expansion or diversification opportunities as well as developing pictures of what this will look like for your business?
It is tempting to invest in diversification. Keep in mind that this is the most difficult option, new products and new markets. It is more exciting but don’t overlook the other options. The easiest way to grow your business is to use market penetration, not as exciting as it is more of the same, but the quickest option.
Investigate all options, rate the degree of difficulty, the likely outcomes and the resources required. You will find the degree of difficulty increases as you go down the page.
MARKET PENETRATION
EXISTING PRODUCTS – EXISTING MARKETS
WORDS
VISION
MARKET EXPANSION
EXISTING PRODUCTS – NEW MARKETS
PRODUCT EXPANSION
NEW PRODUCTS – EXISTING MARKETS
DIVERSIFICATION
NEW PRODUCTS – NEW MARKETS
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21. X X X X X X X X X X GROWTH CAPABILITY 1. Domestic market performance
Many people automatically assume that they are ready to develop new markets. You need to be ready for marketing. The Growth Capability Audit will enable you to test your capability.
Indicate where you think you currently are on each issue, then indicate where you must be within six months to be successful in the marketing arena. When you have completed your audit, look at the areas that need the most work and then complete your action plans.
There is no shame in not being ready for growth. This process will show how to get the score that you need to be ready. If you don’t agree with the ten criteria feel free to change them. It is the concept that is important not each factor.
For example, one of your key factors may be whether your Chief Executive believes in the growth strategy, if so include it as a factor. If you want you can weight each factor differently to reflect the relative importance of each. Our experience is that the -5 to +5 scale works well.
The objective is to identify the areas that need improvement. Is it your process documentation, your spare capacity or your financial strength? Once identified than you can use the Mindshop problem solving tools to resolve your poor score.
Don’t be tempted to go for growth too early. The rule of thumb is that market growth, particularly export growth, takes three times as long and costs three times as much as you originally think. There are a lot of hidden barriers.
Some of the barriers are cultural differences, loss of goods in transit, poor selection of Agents or local staff and collecting debt. Groth in your current markets reduce the risk but even then barriers still occur. Increased needs for working capital, stretched management resource and lack of capacity in peak periods are common during the growth phase.
The rewards for successfully achieving high growth rates are attractive, you can get support, so if it is what you want, go for it.
GROWTH CAPABILITY
1. Domestic market performance
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
2. International travel experience
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
3. International trade experience
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
4. Process documentation level
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
5. Quality accreditation
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
6. Spare management staff
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
7. Spare product capacity
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
8. Marketing documentation
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
9. Passion level for marketing
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
10. Financial strength
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
-50 to –5 =
More preparation required.
-4 to +20 =
You are ready for market growth.
+21 to +50 =
You are ideally placed for market success.
Your Score =
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

22. Materials + labour + overheads + profit.
PRICING STRATEGY
This is a critical step. Price too high and you will miss sales. Price too low and you'll leave money on the table. There are five steps to price a product or service. Follow these steps to establish your pricing point.
This process should be done on your key products and services every six months. The costs of getting it wrong are enormous. Lost business, lost profit and impact on Brand are just some of the costs.
Step 1 is called Cost Plus. This is the price set by calculating the cost and adding a profit margin. Most businesses attempt to price this way. Too often they get it wrong, usually handling the overheads allocation incorrectly.
Step 2 is also commonly done, it is called Competitor Analysis. You review what the competitors are pricing at and set your prices accordingly. The trouble is if your competitors have it wrong you will too.
Step 3 is called What the Market will Bear. This is like the product benefits analysis, you score your products against those of the competitors and then see what price your product can demand due to its relative score.
Step 4 only applies if the Government regulates prices in your specific industry. It doesn’t often apply but it needs to be there for those industries that are affected.
Step 5 is called What the Business Plan Targets, it means what is your policy, too make a profit, to go for growth or both. Most companies want both, a difficult outcome.
You work through each step, if you are unsure your Mindshop Facilitator will guide you. It takes a bit of practice as it requires experience and judgement.
Makes sure that you complete this exercise for the key products and services, keep in mind the cost of getting it wrong.
PRICING STRATEGY
STEP 1. COST PLUS
Materials + labour + overheads + profit.
STEP 2. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
What are the competitors charging?
STEP 3. WHAT THE MARKET WILL BEAR
What will people pay for your product?
STEP 4. GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Does the government set the price?
STEP 5. WHAT THE BUSINESS PLAN TARGETS
Are we targeting margins, growth or both?
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

23. X X X X X X X X X X COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 1. TO BE ADDED
You are in a global market environment whether you like it or not. Competitors are a fact of life. They are not sitting still. They are out there right now planning how they can beat you.
There are several ways in which you can work out how you compare with your competitors. The first step is to define who your competitors are. You need to think globally. You also need to be clear which industry you are in. The boundaries are becoming blurred.
You may use a Secret Shopper program. This involves sending a secret shopper into your competitors and testing them against some pre-determined factors. It works even better if you get the secret shopper to test your business as well. By comparing the organizations strategies for improvement can be determined.
Normally you will know a lot about your competitors, enough to rate them against yourself. The process is simple. Select ten factors and score yourself against each factor and then each competitor. Where are the differences? Where are the gaps?
We recommend that you establish a file on each Competitor. Usually your market intelligence resides all over the business, a little bit in everyone’s head and files. Collect all the data into one file and make it accessible to everyone that needs it.
A media watch can also be valuable. The media doesn’t always get it right but some journalists are very professional. Seek out articles from these writers. Search the internet for background material. Some of the business magazines are a great source of material and their web sites have search engines that enable you to search for what you need. Why not search for Mindshop and test the process?
We suggest that you conduct a formal competitor analysis every six months and review your business plan. Your competitors are not standing still. You must keep an eye on them.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
1. TO BE ADDED
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 2.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 3.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 4.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 5.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 6.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 7.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 8.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X 9.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
10.
-5|--|--|--|--|--0--|--|--|--|--|+5 X
TOTAL SCORE =
TARGET SCORE =
GAP ANALYSIS =
ACTION PLAN = Issues
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

24. P O S I T V E N E G A T I V SALES STEP 1. MINDMAP THE ISSUE - SALES
MINDSHOP PROBLEM SOLVING TOOLS
Often the first problem solving tool that a project team uses is Mindmapping. Starting with the issue, or project team objective, in the centre of the page, the team brainstorms all the elements, adding branches (and twigs) to provide a picture, or mindmap, of the project.In the case shown opposite we have mind-mapped the issue of Sales.
The next stage is to do a Pareto Analysis. If you have a hundred elements to your mind map, you should find that twenty percent of the elements are having around eighty percent of the impact. Obviously if we could fix the vital twenty percent elements, most of our issue gets fixed. You should find that you need a white board or flip chart paper to draw your mindmap. as they get quite large.
The third step is the Force Field Analysis. This process is one of the more popular tools that forms part of the Seven Tools of Total Quality Management. Force Field analysis enables you to identify the action plan you need to put in place to remove your barrier.
On the left hand side, list all the factors which are trying to make the issue successful. These are the factors impacting positively on your issue. On the right hand side, list all the forces opposing the successful issue. These are the negative influences on the issue.
Having identified the positive and negative forces, the next step is to look at which positive forces can be strengthened, and which negative forces weakened. You may be able to add additional positive forces or completely remove negative ones. If you are able to increase the force on the positive side, then your issue will move forward.
List the actions this force field analysis has identified for your issue. At this point the team is asked the following question; "Which five of these actions do you feel like doing?" There are a lot of subtle benefits in this question. It suggests that action will follow. The Force Field process provides the action plans that the project team needs to develop their plan. Allocate responsibilities and timings for each action to form your action plans.
SALES ADMINISTRATION
SALES TRAINING
RECRUITMENT
SALES PEOPLE
SALES
INCENTIVES
MANAGEMENT
BRAND NAME
PRODUCT QUALITY
POINT OF SALE MATERIAL
STEP 2. PARETO THE MINDMAP
SALES TRAINING
SALES PEOPLE
INCENTIVES
STEP 3. FORCE FIELD THE KEY ISSUES S A L E T R I N G
Document best practice
Cost P O S I T V E N E G A T I V
Jean to write process
Set training budget
Internet search for material
Monthly programs
Time
4 hour session
John to organise
Set policy 50 hrs/year
Measure benefit
Sales trainers
Management support
Train the trainer
Jean and John
All managers trained
CEO to train session one
Needs analysis
Venue
Survey
Annual review
Book conference room
Combine training
ACTION PLAN 1. Training needs analysis – June
2. Set 4 hrs/month schedule - NOW
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

25. DIAGNOSTIC REVIEW STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP SWOT OPTIONS OBJECTIVES
MINDSHOP PROCESS
The Mindshop process involves establishing the correct structure, removing the waste and modifying the beliefs. We start with the Diagnostic Review and then two parallel paths are used to end up at the Business Plan. The right hand side of the process develops the long term strategy.
DIAGNOSTIC
REVIEW
Diagnostic Review: identifies the key issues.
Strategic Planning Workshop: Will develop the vision, competitive advantage and key issues currently facing the organization. The key issues are then put into the hands of a project team, to identify best practice using the Now - Where - How process.
Project Teams: Are the key success factor in the process. They gather data on their issue, develop recommendations of improvement, then implement their findings. The project team activity develops commitment and involvement. Many of the tools provided have a positive impact on the day to day activities within the organization.
STRATEGIC
PLANNING
WORKSHOP
SWOT
OPTIONS
OBJECTIVES
Draft Plan: Is drafted even though many of the issues are being resolved. At this early stage is an interim document which outlines the project team activity and can include strategic factors such as the vision, mission and competitive advantage.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
SWOT Analysis: SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By understanding the Strengths and Opportunities we can identify our options and objectives.
PROJECT
TEAMS
DRAFT
PLAN
BEST
PRACTICE
REVIEW
Best Practice Review: While the teams are undertaking their eight week cycles they quite often develop best practice processes. They can achieve this by research, or by visiting best practice companies. At the right time the relevant best practices can be integrated into the business plan through the plan maintenance activity.
Plan Maintenance: The plan needs to be kept up to date and this is carried out in eight weekly cycles. The project teams are asked to complete their activity within eight weeks and this provides an opportunity to integrate their outcomes and recommendations into the plan. Key issues, such as the vision and mission, don’t change over these periods, but some of the short term tactics do. The plan maintenance process reinforces to the organization that we are taking the planning process seriously.
PLAN
MAINTENANCE
While this is happening the senior management of the organization normally observe the process so they can learn about the organization. By watching the people in project teams and writing the plan, they will identify many of the operating characteristics of the business.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

26. STRENTGHS OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
STRATEGIC SWOT
A Strategic SWOT analysis is applicable to the development of strategy. While the development of strategy can be quite complex and difficult to do using one tool, we have found the Strategic SWOT Analysis to be quite a useful tool in starting the process. Strategy can be defined as the path the business is going to follow to achieve its objectives. There can be an overlap between strategy and action plans, although the latter is more concerned with the immediate actions, rather than the long term positioning or path.
The value of the Strategic SWOT Analysis is very much dependant on the quality of the SWOT items. They must reflect the competitive strengths and weaknesses. It must also be based on a real understanding of market opportunities and threats.
The objective of the Strategic SWOT Analysis is the development of strategies. What strategies combine the elements of your strengths and opportunities to overcome your weaknesses and threats. Look for new markets, new processes, new people and even new core values. Intuition can often help you develop the strategies so take time to develop your ideas.
The process you use is very simple. Develop about four strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths. Carefully examine the strengths and then the opportunities and ask yourself the following question. “ How can I use these strengths to commercialise these opportunities?” Write the ideas (strategies) that come to you.
For the other three quadrants the process is the same but the questions are as follows.
“How do I use these strengths to overcome these threats?”
“What do I do to make sure that these weaknesses don’t spoil these opportunities?”
“What if these weaknesses combine with these threats, what corrective action will I need to take?”
You will now have a number of strategies, which three will give you the biggest impact?
STRENTGHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

27. NOW WHERE 19 September STRATEGIES ACTION PLANS TIMING
SALES
WHERE
Sales level static
Web site not interactive
Central sales team
No strategic partnerships
No formal contact program
Limited sales training
No review process custs.
19 September
Sales growth 20% pa.
Market leader in all segments within 2 years
Small regional sales team
E-business capability within 12 months
Strategic partnerships - 3
STRATEGIES
ACTION PLANS
TIMING
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Quarterly review of clients.
Develop one page plan for category A clients.
CONTACT PROGRAM
Develop internet newsletter.
Determine contact levels.
Allocate responsibilities.
May
June
SALES TRAINING
Source course or trainer.
Train all staff.
July
TARGETS
Remove Category D clients.
Increase average sales to category A clients by 30%.
December
ONE PAGE PLAN
The Mindshop One Page Plan concept is a practical way to record the outcomes of the Mindshop Process. The top left of the plan is the Now Analysis. The top right is the Where Analysis. The bottom left has space for your Strategies. The Action Plans and Timing are listed on the bottom right.
Now Analysis: In this section summarise your current situation. You should be able to fit up to ten points. Which ten accurately describe your issue right now?
Where Analysis: What is your vision? What is your business statement? What is your competitive advantage? What are your key objectives? Summarise these elements in this section.
Strategies: What are the three or four key strategies that you need to work on over the next twelve months? These strategies need to be clearly outlined with well chosen points.
Action Plans: In this section, list what is to be done. Normally you have about ten actions. There is no need to put every step into the action plans it. Only list the strategically important ones.
Timing: Lists when you target to achieve the result and who is responsible for it. These should be in priority order.
The advantages of the one page plan include; It takes only minutes to do. It can be updated in only minutes. It’s a control document for your business improvement process. It’s simple and easily understood by all, your employees, your bank, your strategic partners (and yourself).
Where a Partner, such as a bank, needs more detail, such as a market analysis or financial projections, these can easily be added by attaching them to the One Page Plan. It’s a good idea to put a date on the plan and to have a commitment to update it on at least a bimonthly basis. It’s usually only the action plans that need changing in the short term.
You have now completed your one page plan. Keeping it up to date is a critical success factor. We suggest that you sit down every two months and review your plan. It takes only a few minutes to update your action plans and perhaps the strategies.
Nothing happens unless you do it.
There is support available.
A failure to plan is a plan for failure.
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales

28. The eight weeks will go quickly, so make a start today.
IMPLEMENTATION
The key success factor for personal improvement is implementation. As part of your training we provide an eight week coaching cycle to help you implement your plan. You can access the site via the mindshoptraining.com website. Simply locate your course resource center, enter your password and you will find everything that you need. This includes the background reading, an interactive manual with hotlinks to reference material and a place to complete your project.
Any work that you do on your project or the course manual, can be monitored by your Coach. The Coach is an accredited Mindshop Facilitator (AMSF) who is specially trained to coach this program. The Coach will add comments, ideas and suggestions to your work and together you will develop and implement your plan.
The eight weeks will go quickly, so make a start today.
AMSF COACH
Surfing the resource centre
Advice and support
Monitors progress
Provides ideas
Helps you succeed
Mindshop International © - Marketing Sales