Is Your Marketing Plan Flawed?
Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with Janet Schijns, CEO of The JS Group, a consulting firm in Somerville, NJ. Schijns is a well-known speaker in the AIDC industry and has worked with such notable companies as Motorola and BlueStar, Inc. By the time our conversation ended, we were amazed at how many companies are wasting huge dollars by following flawed strategic plans. Read on.
Schijns opened the conversation by saying, “I am not a fortune teller; I’m not foreseeing the future. I talk about the market as it stands today—what’s already here. Some companies may be lagging behind the times, but that doesn’t make what I am discussing the future.”
Much of what Schijns told us was backed up by numerous industry studies; some of it was more perception. For instance, when we began discussing how much time should be devoted to training, especially with channel partners, she said most companies don’t have a real handle on what needs to be done.
“In 1930, if you asked the average car owner how much he or she used the vehicle, the answer would be—all the time,” Schijns told SCAN/DCR. “In reality, they probably only used it several times per week. If you ask average resellers how much time they spend in training, they may tell you 10 hours a month…and they think that’s a lot. Two hours a day would be more realistic.” [Editor’s note: Schijns was talking about all types of training, including marketing procedures.]
By now, some of our readers may be scratching their heads and saying: “Yeah, right. Our resellers can’t spend that kind of time training. And, why would they need to?” Schijns’ response is: “Just doing something isn’t enough. You have to do it consistently—especially when it comes to marketing. I believe the industry needs a lot of training in how to market products correctly.
“The technology industry is a perfect storm,” she continued. “There is a huge need for knowledge. And, the information we get daily is going to increase greatly. Nearly 75% of what we do at work, home, and play will change by 2020; 50% of that change will occur by 2010. The world—and thus the go-to-market (GTM) strategy for vendors and their channels—must evolve. I recommend reading The Nine Shift by William Draves.”
Areas of focus
For the purpose of this article, Schijns made two important points. First, we are now living in a customer-empowered world. The second point is that much of our traditional thinking about sales and marketing is flawed. Not coincidentally, the two topics actually overlap. And, she’s not sure all leaders are equipped to meet the challenges of a changing world.
“Today, companies need to focus on collaboration, cooperation, and knowledge,” she explained. “Smart does matter. In the past, everything was about ‘technology.’ Now, everyone is focused on solutions. But, solution is an inaccurate term if the system has to be updated every year. If this is the case, all you have provided is a temporary fix/treatment for a problem. We need to offer sustained plans for maintaining the health of our customers’ businesses. Going forward, customers will determine what projects our engineers are working on.”
Okay, we agree with Schijns that customers are driving technology development. That much we hear from AIDC vendors on a fairly regular basis. But what about the flawed thinking when it comes to sales and marketing? She had volumes to say on this subject.
“First, let’s look at word-of-mouth marketing,” she stated. “We’ve all heard businesses say they get many of their leads from customers who tell others about how well they liked their products and services. If this is the case, then why don’t more companies put a place on their Web sites where customers can leave feedback? But, let’s look at the other side of the coin. If a reseller promises everything and fails, it’s been proven that, even in a small metropolitan area, the negative feedback could spread to as many as 35,000 people in a 90-day period. This, in turn, reflects badly on vendors who manufactured the products the VAR is selling. So, here is one reason why more training is needed.”
Moving on, Schijns touched on one of the most talked about subjects in the channel—leads. Ask VARs what they want from their vendors or distributors, and in most cases, they’ll say leads. And as BlueStar President/CEO Steve Cuntz told SCAN/DCR in a recent article, they actually mean “referred sales.” It is here where Schijns says the most work needs to be done in the channel.
“We need to teach resellers how to generate their own leads, if they are ever going to show any meaningful growth,” Schijns explained. “We have to be able to count on VARs and integrators to identify and develop new markets. There’s a lot of work to be done.
“Approximately 87% of the VARs we speak with, that have 50 people or under, say they need to hire a salesperson. Yet, 70% of the leads in the channel come from a joint vendor/VAR marketing campaign—not a salesperson. Adding to the confusion is the statistic that 80% of most buyers felt they had found their supplier—not vice versa. So, let’s look at this. Most VARs think a salesperson is the answer to increasing leads and, in turn, sales. But, the reality is it’s not salespeople getting leads, it’s marketing campaigns. Users are finding vendors on their own, often by searching the Internet, or, as we said, by hearing word-of-mouth endorsements. We need to learn a lesson from all this.”
Lead generators or closers?
Schijns believes VARs lack the necessary skills to effectively generate leads. Like BlueStar’s Cuntz, she says their expertise is in closing sales. “Like Steve [Cuntz] says, they want referred sales that simply require closing,” she stated. “That’s their area of expertise—not marketing. But, they need to learn how to market their products and skills.
“If you Google the term ‘go-to-market,’ you’ll find there are 34 million responses,” Schijns continued. “But, nowhere will you find a definition of the term. That means there are 34 million people talking about an undefined term. When you are doing marketing, you have to know what response you’re looking for. VARs often try to market to everything and everyone. Wrong. They need to decide what they want their target audience to do. Maybe it’s to schedule an appointment for a demo. It might be to participate in a seminar on a particular topic. When you know what you are trying to achieve, the next step is to develop a way of measuring your success. Up to 40% of the players in the AIDC industry aren’t sure if their marketing plans have increased their net profit.”
Closing
Some final advice? Schijns cautions VARs that, if your leads come exclusively from vendors, you are letting vendors determine your customers. “The vendor community is focused on getting—or at least being considered on—as many deals as possible,” Schijns closed. “It’s up to VARs to make sure any business that’s out there comes their way. The real goal is to become the ‘hunted’ rather than the ‘hunter.’ And always remember, marketing saves sales.”
Comment: Schijns addressed a number of other relevant topics in our conversation. Watch for more from her in future issues of SCAN/DCR.
For more information: The JS Group, Somerville, NJ, PH (908) 707-9960 ext. 12, Email: jschijns@thejsgroup.com,
Web site: www.thejsgroup.com. |
