How to make the most out of technology tools
Technology can and should be used to offer leverage and amplify the business growth efforts of professional services firms, both at the firm and individual practice level. As with anything else, before selecting which tools to use it is critical to have clear strategy, defined key performing indicators (KPIs) and realistic expectations in mind. Below is a list of the most popular technology tools with professional services firms (PSFs), some of their features, pros and cons as well as general best practices. Note that each of them might support different or several segments of the sales process (e.g. Lead generation, engagement, etc.) and offer different ROI when evaluated individually.
Email marketing is one of the most well established technologies in the PSF market. E-mail is still a very powerful tool notwithstanding its overuse in the marketplace, and dismissal by many BD professionals. When coupled with analytics, it can be a marketer’s go-to technology platform. However, if not structured properly, email marketing can often provide a one-way communication, with limited opportunities for dialogue with the audience. To make the most out of email marketing, try to launch a dialogue with the readers, strive to have compelling and relevant content, and focus the communication to the right audience with the right packaging.
Blogs have become very popular with PSFs because they offer very easy publication capabilities for individual professionals and content focus (e.g. industry, specific technical point, etc.). A blog can also be viewed as a bit more engaging than the one way broadcasting of emails because it invites feedback through reader comment sections. As such, it might be considered “higher” on the client acquisition value chain. The biggest challenge with blogs is following a diligent and disciplined approach to content creation. To make the most of blogs, the creator must develop a content schedule and distribution strategy regardless of whether the blog is powered by individual technical professional or marketing and knowledge teams.
Driven by easy access, low entry cost and an army of young marketing professionals very comfortable with the medium, Social Media has received a lot of attention with PSFs, undeservingly so, some might say. Not all social media tools are created equal. LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, and others offer different value to marketing and business growth of professional services firms. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having a clear understanding of the tools and a strategy in place on how to use them. Based on your objective, LinkedIn, for example, can be used in many different ways, e.g. as a mass communication platform, intelligence gathering tool, engagement facilitation portal with existing and prospective connections (note that there’s a difference between connections and contacts), etc. We can apply similar reasoning to Twitter; are you broadcasting or listening, and why? How do you use these tools and why?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become one of the most dreaded three letter words in professional service firms, so much so that some firms have tried to use different acronyms. In many cases CRMs have become synonyms for expensive and often unsuccessful change management exercises. This “infamy” is unfortunate. CRMs offer key functionality for smart business growth such as targeting and segmentation, and have great success stories for collaboration, cross-sell and client service efficiency, as evidenced by the 2013 “Managing Client Relationships” report, produced by the Managing Partners’ Forum and their partners (you can find a copy of the full report here) The challenges presented with CRMs are many. They include data collection, input and upkeep – which can be time consuming and require discipline, adoption and utilization – which require training and firm-wide buy-in, or what typically occurs is the CRM is limited to a few administrative functions which vastly underutilize the capabilities of the system. In order for CRMs to be successful and offer positive ROI they require big percentages of firm wide use. With that in mind, having a clear strategy and reasonable expectations must be at the forefront of CRM implementation projects. This requires cross-functional collaboration between C-level Management, Marketing, IT and HR.
Marketing Automation is the latest trend in technology tools designed to impact the top line. To a big extent, marketing automation ties all of the above-mentioned tools together plus SEO’s and analytics. A few PSFs are venturing and experimenting with this tool, but the jury is still out. The main question to consider is whether PSFs can generate enough relevant content to constantly feed the marketing automation machine and get a reasonable ROI on the investment in the system and its support personnel. Marketing and knowledge teams, assisted by technical professionals, will need to work together to map the client acquisition journey (to use product marketing terminology) and develop appropriate content. They will also need to keep in mind that the decision buying process might be different for different services and clients.
There are of course other technology tools such Websites & Content Management Systems (CMS), Search Engine Optimization, Big Data & Analytics, etc. that I will not cover now because of the questionable nature of their direct impact to business growth, at least as of this writing. Websites & CMS are mainly seen as informative and credibility building tools rather than drivers of business growth. Only a select few firms thus far are undergoing investments in Big Data & Analytics, i.e., mining and analyzing the data available to them to provide data to assist studying buyers’ behavior and for productizing services. And most importantly, even fewer still are taking the next step and acting on the data analysis. The business growth opportunity with Big Data is here, but it is not fully understood by professional services firms yet.
There’s no doubt that technology tools offer business growth leverage at both individual and firm levels. If there’s one key takeaway from this brief piece is that these tools are only as valuable as the strategy of their use. Those who don’t “think it through” before trying to implement these tools may find a lot of frustrated professionals and low adoption rates within their firms. So, before jumping on the next technology trend ask yourself why, what you expect to achieve, how you are going to use it, and if you have the time and resources to dedicate to it.
© 2010-2014 Copyright Mira Ilieva Leonard / iStile All rights reserved
By Mira Ilieva-Leonard
Mira.ilieva-leonard@istile.com
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