Urgency is often the motivating factor for my prospective clients.
For a market development or business diversification ambition that urgency is often voiced by frustrated statements like "if only we had the resource & expertise we could capture that new market now".
For a business turnaround need that urgency is often voiced by desperate statements like "things can't carry on like this for much longer".
Over the past 3 decades, I've assessed, planned and executed numerous market development and business diversification projects often from a "blank sheet of paper".
What I deliver is a proven project complete with first profitable customers and a complete commercial system ready to scale.
Business development and customer creation
Business diversification and market development are essentially business development processes.
But whilst I utilise a 360 business development skillset to deliver a project, what my clients are ultimately interested in and what proves the viability of a project, are first customers.
Therefore I use the term Customer Creation.
Because that's the purpose of any project and unlike the term business development, customer creation is always quantitatively results-focused.
What is customer creation?
Customer creation aligns & holistically combines Sales, Marketing and Customer-Centric strategies, plans, tactics & skills.
That's done for 3 fundamental reasons relevant to any market development or business diversification project in the 21st-century.
Find Customers
In the 21st Century, your B2B buyers will have made 80% of their buying decision before sales get involved. A marketing strategy & system gets your company involved from the start and engaged in the whole buying process.
Get Customers
No longer the keeper of information B2B sales is increasingly a consultative role. A buyer-centric sales strategy & system focuses effort on identifying & profitably delivering success for both parties and not relying on hopeful promises and discounting.
Keep Customers
A stable, profitable business or division that has a secure future or is saleable is built & valued on a foundation of loyal customers. A customer retention strategy & system converts mere buyers to customers optimising their loyalty and maximising profitable customer lifetime value.
Holistic and results-focused in its application, customer creation is an overarching strategy with two purposes:
First, to deliver a number of that prove the viability of a market development or diversification idea
Second, to create a system to continue generating profitable loyal customer advocates for the new market/solution
A little about me & Customeris3
Four decades of maritime & offshore industry experience at sea, offshore & ashore enable me to quickly understand my client's market, solution & situation and get on with the job of assessing, planning & executing their market development or diversification project.
At heart, I'm a salesperson with a particular proven skill in launching new solutions & developing new markets. Decades spent selling both products & services, often from a zero base, mean I'm results-driven to create customers.
But I'm both poacher and gamekeeper because the seller/buyer dynamic has changed and now marketing, (done correctly), plays an increasing role in the whole customer journey from suspect to loyal customer.
Customeris3 was chosen as a brand for two reasons.
First Customeris3 is a constant reminder of the ultimate aim of a market development, diversification or turnaround project. To create customers.
Second, the "3" instead of an "e" emphasises the three pillars of a customer creation strategy & system, to Find, Get & Keep customers.
Why choose me & who I work with?
I work exclusively with SMEs offering technology or engineered biased solutions who are currently within, or considering entry into, one of these markets:
Maritime
Ships & their management
Shipping
Ports & Cargo operations
Offshore
Offshore engineering & Hydrographic survey
Four decades in the industries above at sea, offshore and ashore have provided me with both technical experience and commercial expertise.
Leveraging that experience, expertise and industry focus enables me to quickly:
- Understand your product or service offer and the market segment(s) you operate in
- Assimilate that into the wider market context considering competition & growth opportunities
- Become effective in delivering your diversification ambition or turnaround challenge with a tailored customer creation strategy
Clients I work with tend to fall into two categories:
Turnaround mode
A business that's currently failing to generate enough leads or sales, or is failing to retain customers and therefore constantly chasing new sales, or relied too much on a few key accounts or simply reached the top of the adoption curve for their particular solution/market.
Expansion mode
An established business with good foundations that has a business development ambition. For instance to launch a new solution, develop a new market, grow regionally or add new routes to market.
Customer creation services I provide:
It's worth repeating the two purposes of an overarching customer creation strategy:
First, to deliver a number of first profitable customers that prove the viability of a market development or diversification idea.
Second, to create a repeatable, predictable & scalable system to continue generating profitable loyal customer advocates for the new market/solution.
Of course, there are a significant number of commercial sub-strategies, plans, tactics and skills within and towards forming that overall strategy and consequent system.
I find it useful to categorise them into three sub-systems Find, Get & Keep customers.
Whatever your specific diversification ambition or need, I'll draw from the skillsets above to deliver it.
Ready to discuss your market development or diversification ambition or turnaround challenge?
Book a free, no-obligation & completely confidential discovery call
It'll cost you nothing but the time to discuss your situation & how I might help your business
My process for delivering market development or diversification
A typical project whether launching a new solution, developing a new market or both takes 12-18 months.
There are three distinct phases, assessment, planning and execution.
Assessment
Typically 1 month, this is a feasibility assessment.
Done properly most market development or diversification ideas, particularly for turnarounds, fail at this stage saving significant money & resource.
For turnaround projects, financial management, current market viability and the existence of a customer creation strategy & system for the existing solution/market have to be assessed before embarking on a whole new solution or market.
Planning
Typically 3 months and often referred to as a go-to-market strategy and plan.
This involves full market, competitor and prospect customer research followed by analysis to formulate marketing, sales and customer strategies.
Strategic plans with SMART goals will be developed from those strategies so everyone is aware of "who, what when, why, where & how"
Execution
The longest part of any project, typically 8 months+.
This involves marketing, sales & customer onboarding tactics to generate the required number of first profitable customers.
With metrics monitoring & analysis and strategy or tactical adjustments if required.
At the project conclusion, documentation of the complete customer creation system is created ready for a customer-facing team to "rinse, repeat and scale".
