Download to read offline
Uploaded byAchieve Internet
Showcasing Human Capital: How to Effectively Market a Professional Services Firm
Achieve Internet, Inc. is a software development company founded in 1998, specializing in creating advanced web and mobile solutions with a focus on optimizing platforms for enterprise clients. The document outlines Achieve's services, differentiation strategies, and the importance of human capital in a competitive marketplace, emphasizing marketing as a means to communicate and deliver value to customers. It also highlights key clients and the company's mission to help businesses launch digital platforms confidently while consistently exceeding client expectations.
More Related Content
Similar to Showcasing Human Capital: How to Effectively Market a Professional Services Firm
![Improving CX with AI: Microsoft Case Study [SiriusDecisions Summit 2017]](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/improvingcxwithai-microsoftcasestudysiriusdecisionssummit2017-170523005614-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
Showcasing Human Capital: How to Effectively Market a Professional Services Firm
- 1. Launch with Confidence Showcasing“Human Capital” Separating Yourself From the Crowd
- 2. About Me Marketing Manager: AchieveInternet 5+ years of Marketing expertise Utilize my economic background to increase ROI of marketing campaigns. I enjoy outdoor adventures with my wife and puppy. 4
- 3. Agenda • About Achieve • • • • Differentiation • • Set yourselfapart from your competition Defining Your Value • • • • • • • • • The goal of the Marketing Department Only As Good As Your People • • Key Clients Achieve Services Core Values Market segmentation Value proposition Meeting customer needs Communication channels Authentic communication The Customer Decision Journey Communicating Value Take Aways Conclusion 5
- 4. Achieve at aGlance legal name founded headquarters leadership mission primary contact info Achieve Internet, Inc. 1998 1767 Grand Avenue, Suite #2 | San Diego, CA 92109 | U.S.A. Ron Huber, Chief Executive Officer Achieve leverages best-in-class Open Source web application development experience, and tools to create optimized platforms for enterprise clients. 800.618.8777 | info@achieveinternet.com Achieve is a leading software development company that leverages Drupal to develop advanced enterprise web and mobile solutions for an array of clients in varying verticals. Achieve has a singular goal: To help you launch your advanced digital platforms with confidence. Our ethos is “it‟s not magic, it‟s excellence,” and our all-star developers deliver on that promise with every new project we take on by consistently exceeding client expectations. 6
- 5. Key Clients: Media& Entertainment clients 7
- 6.
- 7. Achieve Services Achieve buildscustom enterprise IT management systems to solve the most complex business challenges. Application Development Achieve makes integration easy so you can focus on what is most important to your business – your customers. Platform Integration Optimize the performance of your web site or application to increase productivity and streamline operations. Infrastructure Services Achieve has vast experience in creating global web solutions that far out perform the competition. Globalization Services „Going Mobile‟ is no longer an option. With Achieve you won‟t have to compromise design for utility. Mobility & End User Services 9
- 8. Differentiation • Only As GoodAs Your People • Defining Your Value • Customer Decision Journey • Communication Channels
- 9. Buyers Market In abuyers market there is a ton of competition and competing products - supply is greater than demand, therefore the buyer has the power. 11
- 10. Marketing Defined Marketing isthe process of creating, communicating and delivering value to customers. Marketing can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and managing customer relationships in ways that also benefit the organization and its shareholders. Additionally, marketing is the science of choosing target markets through market analysis and market segmentation, as well as understanding consumer buying behavior and providing superior customer value. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing 12
- 11. Marketing's Goal Capturing qualifiedleads to support sales. Ultimately driving and increasing revenue. 13
- 12. How Do We“Capture Leads?” By creating, communicating and delivering value LEADS, not to customers. LEAD 14
- 13. High Performance Marketing Butin order to grow we need to expand our lead pool to increase the sales pipeline. We do this through differentiation. 15
- 14. • Differentiation Only As GoodAs Your People • Defining Your Value • Customer Decision Journey • Communication Channels
- 15. Human Capital The stockof competencies, knowledge, social and personality attributes, including creativity, embodied in the ability to perform 17 labor so as to produce economic value.
- 16.
- 17. Subject Matter Experts(SME) Your Human Capital are SME and have the ability to influence purchasing behavior with their expertise.
- 18. The Achieve DreamTeam 20
- 19. • Differentiation • Only As GoodAs Your People Defining Your Value • Customer Decision Journey • Communication Channels
- 20. Market Segmentation A fictionalcharacter that represents your DREAM customer. They help provide direction and influence for all marketing and sales activities. Our target buyer persona 22
- 21. Value Proposition A valueproposition is the reason why customers turn to one company over another. 23
- 22. Meeting Customer Needs Identifycore competencies and leverage those to meet your target markets’ needs. SME Focus Market Demand Responsive Web Design Customer A Needs Platform Integration Customer B Needs Optimized Performance Customer C Needs
- 23. Communication Channels The MarketingMix • Advertising • Word of Mouth Marketing • Sales Promotion • Public Relations and Publicity • Personal Selling • Events • Direct and Interactive Marketing • Inbound Marketing • Social Media • Buzz 25
- 24. Authentic Content TakesTeamwork
- 25. • Differentiation • Only As GoodAs Your People • Defining Your Value Customer Decision Journey • Communication Channels
- 26. The Customer DecisionJourney Leverage SME here! Use your Human Capital to influence a buying decision 1. Adapted from Ant’s Eye View, PwC and McKinsey 28
- 27. • Differentiation • Only As GoodAs Your People • Defining Your Value • Customer Decision Journey Communicating Value
- 28. A Proactive Approach Evolutionof Media and Marketing Communications One-Way Communication Two-Way Communication All-Way Communication What does “All-Way Communication” Mean • • • Conversations will happen whether we want them to or not Monitoring the conversations is critical You are able to influence what conversations happen • • • “Plant Seeds” Know what questions to ask This is where Subject Matter Experts (SME) are important 30
- 29. On to SocialMedia 31
- 30. Content Mix MONTHLY EDITORIALCALENDAR Weekly Newsletter Attract: the darker shade represents a prospect that is closer to making a purchasing decision Social Media Focus Attract Blogs Attract Case Study Convert Events Convert Webinars Convert Downloadable Content WHITEPAPERS 32 TIP/FACT SHEETS PRICING SHEETS
- 31. Take Aways 33 Separate yourselffrom the competition
- 32.
- 33.
- 34. it‟s not magic, it‟sexcellence. Ben Schluter Marketing Manager benjamin.schluter@achieveinternet.com 800.618.8777 o. @SchluterRooter
- 35. Main Resources Cisco SocialMedia Playbook: • http://www.slideshare.net/Cisco/cisco-social-mediaplaybook Social Media Marketing Workshop: Is My Brand Ready? • September 19th, 2013: The Rady Center for Executive Development Communicating Value • Professor On Amir, The Rady Business School 37
- 36. Why Should WeTake it Seriously? Buyers say they are likely to buy from a company whose CEO uses social media2 77% Of people believe company employees are the most credible specialist sources of information1 41% Will use support forums and technical discussion groups to inform the purchase decision3 1. 2. 3. 94% Social Media 60% Michel Brito, Edelman Digital, Smart Business, Social Business eMarketer via jeffbullas.com Adapted from Ant’s Eye View, PwC and McKinsey 88% 38 Said C-suite social media participation enhances a brand image2 Suggest that social channels are strong influencers during the decision process3
- 37. The Achieve Roster Player Position Specialty BenSchluter QB Marketing, distributing the ball Shawn Smiley FB Server performance, breaking bottlenecks and speed Dagoberto Aceves FS Idea man, innovative approaches to tackling new projects Esteban Solano TE Multi-lingual development Mike Lee DE Can take on any task and complete it in a rush Roberto Montero RB Responsive Web Design William O’Connor WR Apache Solr Marc Hermsmeyer MLB Operations and management Ron Huber GM Team manager, ownership, and front office David Makalsy OL Project architecture, building a sound foundation German Licon DB Design, UX, and theming Darlene Holden OLB Accounts payable, billing, and time entry czar Lamin Turay SS Account management and client communications
Editor's Notes
- #5 Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #6 Human capital as a means of differentiation from the competitionBecause for the majority we are all in the professional services market and we do not sell product. Our product is our people. This presentation will cover the importance of leveraging your human capital to drive new business opportunities. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #7 Achieve has been involved with web development projects since our inception in 1998. We began leveraging Drupal as our primary tool of choice in 2005. We focus on the performance, infrastructure and foundation of web development. We focus on building high-end enterprise platforms that can scale to meet growing demands. Achieve is headquarter in San Diego, we have an office in Los Angeles and dispersed team members in Silicon Valley and the greater Philadelphia are. We have worked with a number of top tier Media and Entertainment clients, building them Enterprise solutions those clients include….[next slide]Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #8 Shawn = MAGICOnline (built a custom admin interface to make it easier for content editors to create and publish content. More intuitive platform for marketing team)Dago = LatinGRAMMY (helped re-vamp the LG platform to include multilingual support. Migrated and support over 1000 pages of content for multilingual)Dago = UMG (Helped build a recording artist profile center with customized social interaction capabilities)Along with the Media and Entertainment space we have worked with large healthcare and Life Sciences clients as well as…[next slide]Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #9 Bill = Drupal.org for the Apache Solr implementation Shawn = Hunter for countless hours building a huge resource center in 7+ languages across the globeSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #10 Achieve focuses on 5 pillars of developmentWeb application development, building full sites form the ground up as well as enhancing current platformsWe specialize in custom integrations with copious third party platforms from Oracle ERPs to Salesforce, Social Media, Marketing Software, along with many many othersInfrastructure related- we can fine tune an environment to take on any type of traffic loadA 4th of our staff is bilingual and we have done tons of work helping clients expand their reach to an international and multilingual audience. Including the LatinGrammysWe strive to build and architect our solutions in a way that adhere to UX best practices. We have been leveraging Responsive Design for many years to help our clients increase their online presence regardless of which device their users are on. This is how WE differentiate. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #11 Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #12 We, as Drupal Development Firms, are in a Buyer’s market. This is a fragmented and saturated market and it requires a customer focused marketing approach. We need to focus on the customer to get that customer to buy from your company rather then the competition. When you have more sellers then buyers the market becomes lopsided and customers have trouble differentiating one firm from the next. What sets Achieve apart from the other firms here this weekend?It is marketing’s job to differentiate its product offering from the competition, and in a services market your product is your people. These are your differentiating factors.But lets take a step back…and take a look at effective marketing, and why is it important? Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #13 Marketing goal is to increase awareness and differentiate ourselves from the competition with the end goal of increasing revenue. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #14 Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #15 Yourvalue is your people. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #16 In order to grow the business there needs to be differentiation amongst you and your competitors. How do we differentiate? Our PeopleSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #17 Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #18 The United States took a stacked b-ball team to the Olympics in 92 and dominated the competition. In a saturated and fragmented market, the best way to differentiate is with your human capital or your people. Your human capital is what helps you separate your self from the crowd and rise above the noise. How do we as PSF deliver value to our clients? This is where human capital comes in. We are using human capital to show off skills that we excel in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_capitalSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #19 McKinsey Company is a consulting firm and they have built their global foundation on the people that work there. This is one of the first things a visitor sees on the homepage. Im an IBMer “Lets build a smarter planet” Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #20 . An expert source is a key factor in influencing buyer decisions… people will come to you for help regarding those areas of expertise“Comic Book Guy/Jeff Albertson” is a SME in all things comic books, he is knowledgeable and credible and people come to him to find out more information on comic books and have a high probability to purchase comic books through him. (In a transactional/economic Simpsons fantasy) Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #21 Actively leveraging our expertise helps us differentiate ourselves from the competition [pitch achieve] Each individual at Achieve is our product and is marketable. Our development staff has over 90,000 hours of Drupal specific experience and I make sure I market that whenever I can. They are part of the Achieve team b/c they are experts at Drupal/web development, they are the differentiator b/w Achieve and the rest of the competition. We Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #22 Define the Who, What Where and How. A strategy 101 Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #23 1st class Biz class and coach and within each segment you have a persona. And each message is unique to each person. Your marketing segments should be defined on the things you and your team do well. Play to the strengths of your human capital and continue to refine your strategy as you grow. If you focus your marketing activities on your buyer personas then you should…Drive the right traffic to your website the ones looking for solutions your SMEs already offer or have performedGet qualified (the right) leads, with a higher probability of turning those leads into customersThis takes research:Researching Buyer personasInterviewing current clientsLinkedIn Stalking (seriously, this is how I do most of it)What goes into a buyer personaTheir role Company information (industry, size, etc)GoalsCHALLENGES AND PAINS: also their needsWATERING HOLESSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #24 Your value prop is your people. This is what sets you apart from the rest. It solves a customer problem or satisfies a customer need. ITERATIVE PROCESSPick areas that you excel at and that your team excels at and leverage the hell out of that. Which one of our customer’s problems are we helping to solve? Which customer needs are we satisfying?Hone and define strategy Rinse and Repeat So lets put these two concepts together Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #25 ID Core competencies. Synthesize the market demands and needsConnect the dotsHow do you tactically “map” those two together?Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #26 What do you mean when you say “MAP”? Generate the content that highlights your expertise and through your buyer persona research you should know where and how your target market digests information regarding your core competencies.Position and showcase your human capital to increase awareness and help attract those Dream clients by conveying your ability to solve their problem or satisfy their needs. What are you communicating?Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #27 What types of content? Case StudiesHighlighting team members skillsTeam page on websiteHosting and speaking at eventsWebinarsClient testimonials The main stakeholder of content creation is the marketing department (obviously) but it is far more authentic and resonates more with your target audiences when it is written/collaborated with your team membersI can’t effectively write about implementation Memcached without the help of my teamNow we are ready to influence a passive “shopper” to make a purchasing decisionSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #28 Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #29 It is the marketing departments job to increase awareness and force the audience to consider a companies offer. Then the SME and Human Capital come in based on the buyer persona. W/O SME whats the difference, why do they go with one vendor over another? With SME they will evaluate you more favorably, and make their decision based on your expertise. They see the value in your company and that their needs can be meet by your firm and only your firm because of what you have done in the past and who is on your team. Now how do we get the word out? Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #30 Tactical delivery of content and marketingSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #31 One-Way: Marketing and Advertising to the consumer: talking “at them” no interaction (Vitavitavegamine)Two-Way: Closed feedback environment, complaint call centers and customer service hotlinesAll-Way: Limited control – open feedback environment – product of Social MediaSlow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #32 Social Media is Important, but it is only intended as a complement to your marketing efforts. Pick a few channels41% of social media users (in a study) believe that company employees are the most credible specialist source of information88% suggest that social channels are strong influencers during the decision processGoogle+ is a primarily tech savvy user baseLinkedIn members performed over 5.7B professionally-oriented searches in 2012Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #33 These are the types of content I produce with the help of the SMEs at Achieve. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #34 Take these steps to Identify your core competencies (keep it hyper focused) within your organizationPick your dream customer and develop a personaIdentify those customer needs and find ways to solve those needs based on your core competenciesPick channels and marketing mix that will resonate with your dream customer and pepper them with the targeted content showcasing and highlighting how you can solve their needs because you have solved similar needs of other customers in the past. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #35 Using your people to differentiate your self from the competition and effectively communicating the value of your people, in the right place, solving the right pains for the target people = a successful professional services marketing, leads, and increased revenue Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #36 If you had to pick one core competency of Achieve what would it be? We do application development and we do it right. With 90,000 hours of Drupal development our engineers have the expertise to get the project done. There is almost nothing they have not seen. Not software engineers but web development engineers, they take on the complex projects that other firms can not. Slow Down! Deep breaths, pause
- #40 Since this is a “playbook” I define a roster.