2002 | The Wiglaf Journal

Driving Repeat Business Part 4: Newsletters

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 16, 2002

Business-to-Business companies are increasing their focus on repeat and referral business. While this may represent a sound strategy, talk is cheap but action is the key. In this fourth installment on driving repeat business, we will explore the use of Newsletters to drive repeat or referral business. Company sponsored email newsletters as a marketing tactic…

Driving Repeat Business Part 3: Customer Group Meetings

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 13, 2002

Business-to-Business companies are increasing their focus on repeat and referral business. While this may represent a sound strategy, the bird’s eye view often looks different from the ground. In this third installment on driving repeat business, we will explore the tactic of using Customer Executive Meetings and User Group Meetings. Customer Executive Meetings and User…

Driving Repeat Business Part 2: Direct Contact Tactic

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 9, 2002

Business-to-Business companies are increasing their focus on repeat and referral business. While this may represent a sound strategy, the devil is in the details. In this second installment on driving repeat business, we will explore the direct contact tactic. Directly contacting past customers is one of the most readily identifiable methods of communicating with a…

Driving Repeat Business Part 1: Critical Success Factors

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 8, 2002

Lather, Rinse, Repeat…Lather, Rinse, Repeat…Lather, Rinse, Repeat… We don’t just buy one bottle of shampoo in our lifetime. Likewise, we shouldn’t expect our customers to buy just once from our companies. Business-to-Business companies are increasing their focus on repeat and referral business. In many instances, this is a sound strategy in which to embark, but…

From “Techno Message” to “Business Message”: Developing a Return-on-Investment Sales Tool Internally

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 7, 2002

“We can’t just state ‘our product will let you do more.’ Instead, we have to go the next step and say by doing X with our product, you can save/make more money. This is a difficult statement to substantiate, but it’s what we get paid to do.” Tim Smith, PhD, “Selling Messages“, March 22, 2002.…

Marketing is a Luxury?

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 2, 2002

It is said that Marketing is a luxury, especially in B2B or Industrial Markets. When the economic outlook is poor, many firms halt marketing since they view marketing as a wasteful extravagance. Classifying marketing as a luxury poses a problem in logical consistency however: If marketing is a luxury, why do companies participate in marketing…

Revenue Generators – Follow-up on Putting it on the Line

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | August 1, 2002

Earlier this month, we examined compensation packages for revenue generators. In regards to compensation plans in which sales people put 100% of their pay at risk, we asked: (1) is 100% incentive based pay a sound strategy? and (2) is it practiced? The results of our reader survey and interviewing have arrived. (See Revenue Generators)…

Expanding Markets: Mathew Miller of OSIsoft

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | July 25, 2002

There are four basic growth strategies for firms to increase their revenues. These are penetration, geographic, horizontal, and vertical. Each growth strategy has its own internal characteristic growth rate, beyond which growth is achieved in non-economically efficient manners. Selecting the appropriate growth strategy and growth pressure for a firm requires determining competitive strengths and managing…

Getting Funded – Synopsis of CSA Explains Funding Sources

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | July 23, 2002

A necessary process for every new business is attaining sufficient capitalization for developing their product/service, operations, and market. That need for the oxygen which drives business compelled a bevy of Chicago’s tech community to the sixth in the CSA Explain series, Funding Sources, on Friday, July 19, 2002. Moderated by Dave Dailey, a panel of…

Sales Management by RJ Calvin Book Synopsis

By Tim J. Smith, PhD | July 22, 2002

What questions should a business manager ask in the interview process in selecting a sales person? How should she create the sales force organization? What kind of training should the business manager provide for the sales force? What principals should go into constructing the sales force compensation plan? How does the sales manager motivate, manage,…