BAPC Leader Spring 2021

BAPC LEADER — SPRING 2021 7 Grunt Commit to prospecting for new customers – you may not be able to ‘walk the patch’ (though you should when you can), but how many of you have been on LinkedIn – searched for ‘appropriate’ contacts and made a connection – one hour a day you should be able to connect with 15-20 new accounts and that is 100 a week. Join a networking club (or 2 or 3) and get your name out there. A fantastic conduit at this time is the latest initiative from BAPC sister association, the IPIA. Every two weeks they run the free IPIA Big Breakfast online networking event (find out more at ipia.org.uk/bb and register for their next event). ECommerce This is perhaps one of the most critical areas of investigation for your business if you are not already setup for customers to specify, order, and pay for your products via an online storefront. You need a clean, easy to navigate interface that allows a user to find, edit and checkout with payment in as few clicks as possible, without over selling what they could have in addition to what they want. This way theywill come back again and again, and youwill be on the road to building trust in your online brand presence. But you have do everything you say you can do, turn around the job and get it delivered to a high standard, it is a fact that people will pay more for convenience. PASSAGE is not the total answer, but without it there may not be an answer. A wareness is a cornerstone of any business. Use every tool and every opportunity to engage with your customers. B usiness prospecting is critical and what better time to get new customers than now when competitors are struggling, when people are looking over their shoulder. C reating brand value now is so very important. The value you create today will stand you in good stead for when businesses start to come out of hibernation. D eveloping key accounts is all about looking after your top 20% and selling themmore of what you do, or indeed asking what they want and finding a way to make it. Structure A plan is not just about activity, though that is key, it is about knowing your customers – what makes them tick, what they usually buy, when do they buy and for what reason, and what could they buy but choose to go elsewhere for. Another critical concern is who is the person with the money, authority and need - and what do you know about them and their levers. Very important is spending time creating a plan on how you can augment your relationship with this customer demographic. Answer these questions and address the answers with an activity schedule and you have the basis of a solid plan. Account (customer) contact Success in business-to-business is built on customer relationships. It is your understanding of their company, their aspirations and their objectives that allows you to contribute and for you to provide solutions. So, in these challenging times, this hiatus does give us the opportunity to plan, to prepare, to communicate and to be ready. A fully laid out annual strategy to sell more to existing customers, win new ones and retain them is critical Your real competitive edge is you and it is your understanding of the nuances that are important to the customer that will give you the edge Giving your customers the ability be able to browse, specify, order and pay for your products and services online is critical to growth for print businesses