The document discusses strategies for becoming an expert in understanding and supporting customers' businesses to promote mutual growth. It outlines the importance of developing a business and marketing plan, engaging in customer acquisition and retention discussions, and leveraging expert knowledge to share insights. Additionally, it emphasizes active communication and understanding customer needs as crucial elements for business success.

1. Being the Expert:
Growing Your Customer’s Business
Presenter: Peter Muir, Bizucate Inc.
© 2008 Bizucate Inc.

2. Today’s Objectives
• We’ll be polling to customize the experience
• Review the last call to action
• Discuss “Being an Expert” and how to be one
• Identify ways to leverage your expert knowledge
and skills into customer ideas you can share
• Focus on using their customer as a main point of
focus
• Discuss actions you can take away to help your
customer and your business grow
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3. Previous Call to Action on February 12, 2008
1. Discuss changes in communications with customers
2. Business Plan
 Don’t have one? Write one!
 Got One? Review it and check your progress.
3. Marketing Plan. Same as the Business Plan
4. Sales Process. Same as Business Plan
 Understand what your customers are going through
 Use a Business Development Sales Approach to create a
deeper relationship with your customers
• The time you spend on these four things will be the best
time you spend on your business this year!
• www.brainshark.com/xerox/vu?pi=290522261
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4. “Being the Expert”…too Bold?
• Who and what defines an “expert”?
• Webster says:
“One with the special skill or knowledge
representing mastery of a particular subject.”
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5. Skill/Knowledge Comes from a
Genuine Interest in…
• Business beyond your own
• A market (Commercial or Consumer)
• Local and global influences
• Your customer’s business
 Relation they have with potential customer
 Relation they have with their existing customers
…you may be that existing customer
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6. Being the “Educational” Expert
• Someone who attempts to keep up and share
opinions and information about the topic at hand
• Understands there is ALWAYS more than one
perspective…and listens to it
 That’s how you grow your knowledge
• Has passion about the journey and shows
it in all they do
• Can tie the journey to their business to be able to
continue to learn and share
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7. Two Words to Get You Started
GET OUT!
• Local
• Regional
• National
• International
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8. Vertical Approach to New Business
And Xerox’s Vertical Market Kits
PIA/GATF’s Marketing 4 Digital
1. Health Care 17. Pharmaceutical
2. Gambling and Wagering 18. Retail Food
3. Insurance 19. Wholesale Food
4. Department Stores 20. Higher Ed
5. Auto Industry 21. Fundraising
6. Advertising Agencies 22. Sports Entertainment
7. Cruise Industry 23. Associations
8. Real Estate 24. Publishing
9. Telecom 25. Architectural and Engineering
10. Banks 26. Beverage
11. Home Office 27. Book Publishing
12. Investment Companies 28. Fashion Apparel
13. Hotel 29. Franchise Options
14. Utilities 30. Greeting Cards
15. Travel 31. High Technology
16. Professional 32. Toys and Games
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PIA: gain.org

9. I Call It…Absorbing an Industry
• What do they do? • Where do they advertise?
• What do they read? • Who are their customers?
• What are their interests? • How do they communicate
• What are their worries? with their customers?
• What have early adopters • What are the trends?
learned? • How can I capitalize on
• What have/haven’t they trends in their world?
taken time to figure? • What other industries do I
• What trade orgs do they find out about along the
join? way?
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10. Working With One is Easier than Many
• When you try to take a broad approach you miss a
great opportunity to explore the individual
relationship
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11. Consider Three Levels of Knowledge
1. The Individual
• Role in the organization
• Personal goals
• What makes them look good?
2. Their Organization
• What does the company want?
• Willingness to do what it takes to go there?
3. Their Customer
• Why do they do business with the company?
• What more/What less do they wish for?
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12. What Could You Talk About?
• Their world
• Their business
• Their customer’s world
• The world outside the business
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13. Two Topics You Can ALWAYS Talk About
1. Money
2. Customers
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14. *Pause in the Story*
• The term customer going forward can also represent
a
 Constituent
 Member
 Student
 Donor
 And many more…
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15. Two Customer Discussions Everyone Wants
to Know More About
1. Getting them (Acquisition)
2. Keeping them (Retention)
• When you start talking about their customers
(existing and potential) they’ll want to know what
you know
• You don’t need to name names, talk in “type of”
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16. Message
Constant
Sender Message Soc.
Feedback TV Ntwrk
Message Message
Message SMS Text Message
E-News Radio
Message E-Stmnt
E-Mail
Message Message
Message Message
PURL Inst.
Blog Phone Messg.
Message
Print
Message
Website
Instantaneous
Feedback Receiver
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© 2008 Bizucate Inc.

17. Understanding Your Customer’s World:
Target Marketing's Media Usage Forecast 2008
• Media fragmentation more pronounced
• Direct mail could become a casualty of costs that rise too
greatly compared to its performance
• Few respondents indicated greater reliance on direct
mail due to technological advancements—such as
variable data personalization and personalized URLs—
and targeting abilities, the majority of mail-related
comments cited rising postal and paper costs as the
reasons behind their media reallocations for 2008.
• The upside is that marketers are interested in multi-
channel, integrated marketing and ROI more than ever,
so they’re getting smarter about effective testing and
measurement with each campaign.
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Target Marketing Magazine: March 2008

18. Overall Media Spend on Marketing
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Target Marketing Magazine: March 2008

19. Acquisition vs. Retention Spend
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Target Marketing Magazine: March 2008

20. Page 20
Target Marketing Magazine: March 2008

21. Get Your Multi-channel Game On!
Customer Acquisition Customer Retention
• Direct Mail • E-Mail
 VI and pURL • Direct Mail
• E-Mail  VI and pURL
• Search Engine Marketing • (Telemarketing)
(Paid) • Catalogs
• (Telemarketing) • Advertising on websites
• Search Engine Optimization • DR Space Advertising
• Catalogs • Insert Media
• Advertising on websites
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22. Kevin Litten, EU Expert
“We’re getting a 7.5% return
on a thank you campaign. We
used to send out letters of
thanks, now our thank you
address labels and additional
support card and BRE are
generating additional support!”
 Customer of EU Services, a direct
marketing production company
“My best successes are
when I show my customer an
application that can drive their
cause!”
 Kevin Litten, Sales, EU Services
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23. Business Development Approaches
• Program ideas (repetitive personalized work)
• Campaign ideas (multi-channel, multi touch)
• Newsletter topics
• Seminar themes
• What if you did your own studies with your own
customers and shared generic results?
• And more…email me yours
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24. The Hardest Parts
• How much time can you spend?
• Do you charge for what you are doing?
• How much do you charge?
• Closing if it’s the right fit
• These can be good challenges to have
• It will get easier as you do more
• It sounds more interesting than a price, quality or
speed discussion to many customers
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25. Sy Sperling Knew How…
“I’m not only the Hair Club president,
but I’m also a client.”
• Practice using your business and tell the story!
• Makes a great case study
• Empathize and understand the challenges you face
• Problem nothing to be ashamed of
• As a result of first-hand experience,
I can sincerely recommend my product
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26. Good Reads and Resources
• Now is Gone: nowisgone.com
• Target Marketing: targetmarketingmag.com
• Direct Marketing Association: the-dma.org
• American Marketing Assoc.: marketingpower.com
• Xerox ProfitAccelerator: xerox.com/driveprofit
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27. Einstein on creativity…
“Imagination is more
important than knowledge.
For while knowledge defines
all we currently know and
understand, imagination
points to all we might yet
discover and create. ”
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28. Call to Action!
1. Business Plan, Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy Review
along with following changes in communications
2. Decide if you want to “be an expert” and immerse yourself
in your customers business and their relationship with their
existing and potential customers
3. Develop ideas you can share helping your customer reach
their goals while including services and products you offer
• The time you spend on these three things could be the best
time you spend on your customer’s business this year!
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29. Thank You!
 E-Mail: pmuir@bizucate.com
 Website: www.bizucate.com
 Blog: www.bizucate.typepad.com
 Skype/AIM/Google Talk: pimuir
 Mail: 157 Hausman RD
Green Lane, PA 18054 USA
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