60 Days to an HVAC Marketing Plan Beth Goldstein: beth@m-edge.com Business and Marketing Growth Worksheets From Lucky By Design For Carrier University 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Worksheet 2.1: Setting SMART Goals Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth ScoreCard Worksheet 3.3 Lucky By Design Roadmap/HVAC Marketing Action Plan Worksheet 8.1: Working ON Your Business, Not IN It Worksheet 11.1: Finding Inner Genius Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge Worksheet 13.1: Playing 20 Questions with Your Customers Worksheet 14.1: Customer Lifetime Value Worksheet 14.2: Selecting the Right Customer Mix Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips Worksheet 18.1: Your Brand Value Worksheet 18.2: Test Your Brand Strength Worksheet 20:1: Choose Your Tools Wisely Worksheet 21.1: Online Networking Plan Worksheet 23.1: Creating a Winning Elevator Pitch Worksheet 27.1: Measuring Your Input and Outcome Worksheet 27.2: Data Capture Plan ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 1 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 2.1: Setting SMART Goals Please describe your single most important business goal to achieve in the next six months (Make sure this is SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based) What makes it? • Specific? • Measurable? • Achievable? • Realistic? • Time-based? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 2 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard The Business Growth Scorecard™ is a simple, self-assessment tool designed to give you a fresh perspective of your business. It will help you understand the influence of the following critical business drivers and how they influence growth, profit and, ultimately, your company’s future success. Scorecard Results Actual/A_____ Business Drivers 1. Passion & vision 2. Business & personal goal setting 3. Leadership & team building 4. Strategic & competitive differentiation 5. Industry knowledge & awareness 6. Market research 7. Customer profiles 8. Marketing outreach & mix 9. Empowerment by the numbers 10. Value proposition 11. Sales & communication skills Score Maximum Score (165) Actual Score (A) = Gap/Opportunity (B) B: Opportunity to Maximize Your Profit OR $$$ You’re Leaving on the Table Scorecard Instructions Please provide an honest evaluation of your business’ capabilities, strengths and weaknesses for each of the Business Drivers. If you come across a question where you’re simply not certain of the answer, simply respond to the best of your ability. Please keep track of your score in the area above: Review the statements and provide a score for each. A one means that you strongly disagree and a five means that you strongly agree. 1. Strongly Disagree - 2. Disagree - 3. Neutral - 4. Agree - 5. Strongly Agree How strongly do you agree with the statements below? 1. Passion and Vision Business Drivers A. I have a clear vision for how I want my company to be positioned in the next 3-5 years B. I regularly communicate my vision to my employees, so they all understand and share my vision C. I have a written business plan that I share with my key employees 2. Business and Personal Goal Setting 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. I have set clear goals for my business results for the next 3-5 years B. I have a clear understanding of what I want out of my work life and clear goals for the next 3 years C. I use a dashboard regularly to track the performance of my business against my goals ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University Score______ Your Score * www.m-edge.com 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 * Page 3 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard continued 3. Leadership & Team Building Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. Our team has the right mix of experience and skills, and the right individuals are in the right positions to support the goals of the company B. I spend at least 20% of my work week working ON my business versus IN my business C. The key employees in my company are empowered to make important operational and customer-driven decisions without me 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 4. Strategy & Competitive Differentiation Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. I have a clear understanding of my company’s key points of differentiation compared to my competition B. I track and monitor at least two competitors regularly (every quarter) C. I understand the influence of indirect competitors on our business 1 2 3 4 5 5. Industry Knowledge & Awareness Score______ Your Score 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Business Drivers A. I have a clear idea of how my industry is evolving and changing, and how those changes will impact my business B. I attend trade shows, industry events and/or webinars at least 3-4 times a year to keep up to date on changes, opportunities and threats that may impact my business C. I have a plan in place that I communicate to my team to address the changes required to remain competitive based on industry changes 6. Market Research 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. Outside of our sales team, we capture key demographic and behavioral information about our customers on an ongoing basis (at least once a year) B. I have a customer database (CRM-Customer Relationship Management system) to capture ongoing information about our sales efforts C. We conduct secondary research (study buying trends of non-customers) on an annual basis to incorporate into our own primary research 7. Customer Profiles 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. We know exactly why customers buy from us because we have specifically asked them, versus relying on gut instinct or prior knowledge of the market (e.g. we conduct primary research) B. We calculate the lifetime value of our customers, and “fire” those whose value is less than the return on our sales/marketing investment C. We share our market research findings with our entire team and incorporate this knowledge into product development, operations, customer support and our sales/marketing programs ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University 1 2 3 4 5 * www.m-edge.com * 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Page 4 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard continued 8. Market Outreach & Mix Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. I am confident that the branding and positioning that is behind our messages addresses the main interests and concerns of our customers B. We track which marketing tactics have been the most successful in terms of generating profitable customers C. All of our marketing campaigns include a “call to action” and reinforce the opportunity for prospects to communicate with us 9. Empowerment by the Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. We continually rank our prospects in terms of their likelihood to buy from us within a short period of time (30-90 days) B. We track profit for each customer and each market segment C. I know the number of new customers required to meet our quarterly and annual business goals 10.Value Proposition 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. I am confident that my elevator pitch presents my company in its best light AND reinforces how we meet customer needs B. My company’s value proposition is based on the needs of our customers, not on our own intuition (gut instinct) about what they want C. My elevator pitch provides credible proof of how we meet customer needs better or more effectively than our primary competitors 11.Sales & Communication Skills 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Score______ Your Score Business Drivers A. I am confident that I possess strong communication skills (i.e. I ask the right questions, am a good listener and clearly present our benefits and value to prospects) B. I have a strong sales team with experience identifying qualified prospects and converting them into customers C. I provide hardware and software tools to empower and support our sales team 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Now that you know your opportunity, please review your responses and circle the five most important Business Drivers that you need to improve in the next 90 days! Write these down below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Your next step is to begin to create your Lucky By Design Roadmap: Worksheet 3.3 ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 5 Worksheet 3.3 3-Year HVAC Marketing Action Plan (Lucky By Design Roadmap) An important part of your learning experience involves the development of a 3-Year HVAC Marketing Action Plan (also known as your Lucky By Design Roadmap). You will create this by employing the strategies and methods that you learn throughout the program. Name__________________________________________________ Date________________ 3-Year Marketing Action Plan Keeping your Business Growth ScoreCard results in mind and what you’ve learned in the program, please describe your 2 – 3 most important business goals for the next three years (Make sure these goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based) 1. 2. 3. Use the next page to further develop the actions, timeline and impact on resources required to achieve these goals. Remember, this is going to change throughout the program so it’s critical to revisit at the end of each section of the program to update and refresh the activities so they remain relevant ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 6 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 3.3: Marketing Roadmap (continued) Name: ______________________________________Company: ________________________________ Date______________ Based on the information you continue to learn during the program, you will develop 2 – 3 key business goals that you will commit to achieve during the next 3 years. Include the actions required to achieve these goals, the deadline, the impact on your resources such as people, technology and cash flow), and the individual(s) responsible. Make sure these goals are SMART. GOAL 1: Action(s) required to achieve goal Deadline ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University Impact on Resources * www.m-edge.com Individual(s) Responsible * Page 7 GOAL 2: Action(s) required to achieve goal Deadline ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University Impact on Resources * www.m-edge.com Individual(s) Responsible * Page 8 GOAL 3: Action(s) required to achieve goal Deadline ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University Impact on Resources * www.m-edge.com Individual(s) Responsible * Page 9 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 8.1: Working ON Your Business, Not IN It If you answer “no” to any of the questions below, please write down what actions you need to take to get to ‘yes.’ 1. Do you hold yourself accountable by creating a roadmap that has clearly measured goals (SMART goals) with milestones and targets that you can continually evaluate progress against? Yes No 2. Do you have a dashboard that shows all of the key business drivers that impact your business and keep it front and center? Yes No 3. Do you have an advisory board that report results to on a quarterly basis? Yes No 4. Do you conduct an annual business assessment? Yes No ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 10 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 8.1: Working ON Your Business, Not IN It continued 5. Are you the member of a CEO group and attend meetings on a regular basis? Yes No 6. Do you conduct an annual survey to ensure you're benchmarking your performance each year and measuring progress as well as areas where you've fallen short of your target? Yes No 7. Have you created incentives to celebrate with your team when benchmarks are met? Yes No 8. Do you encourage your team to be involved with the growth of your company? Are their ideas encouraged openly praised, acknowledged and rewarded? Yes No ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 11 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 11.1: Finding Inner Genius 1. How do you listen to your customers (list 3 actions you currently take or will take to ensure you’re not just listening but reacting to what you hear) 2. Do you measure your Net Promoter Score? If not, what will you do to obtain this data? 3. How will/do you mystery shop your competition? 4. Can you mystery shop your own company? If yes, how will you incorporate the lessons learned as a ‘best practice?” 5. How often do you review your competitors’ marketing material, website and social media sites and compare to yours? If it’s less than once a year what do you need to change to make this a part of your business practice? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 12 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge 1. What’s most important to your customers in transacting business with your company? 2. Compared to what your competition offers, what makes your products or services unique or more valuable to your customers? 3. What are most common needs that your customers share? 4. What are the top problems that you solve for your customers? 5. What opportunities are you creating for your customers when they purchase your products or services? 6. What are your customers’ decision-making processes (meaning, what issues do they consider before they purchase products or services from you or from a competitor)? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 13 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge continued 7. Why do your customers value your products and/or services? 8. How do your customers find out about your products and/or services? 9. If a consultant were to interview your top three customers, what would they say about your company? How would they describe your products and/or services? 10. What influence does price play in your customers’ decision to purchase products or services from you? 11. What customer touch points exist in your business? 12. What is the message conveyed at each of these touch points, and are these messages consistent? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 14 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 13.1: Playing 20 Questions with Customers Compose 8 – 10 questions (20 isn’t necessary) that will help you define your customers. Next to each question briefly describe why you want it (what’s your goal) and the source you’ll use to obtain it. Question Goal Source 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 15 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 14.1: Customer Lifetime Value A. How much does your target customer spend on each purchase from your company? $________ B. Annually, how often does your customer make a purchase from your company? ________ C. How many years does your customer stay with your company? ________ D. How many new customers will he or she refer to your business? ________ E. What percentage of referrals become clients? ________% A $______ x B______ x C______ = gross sales over customer’s lifetime $______ (F) D ______ x E______% x F $______ = gross sales from new referrals $______ (G) F $______ + G $______= total lifetime value of a satisfied customer $______ (H) How much it costs you to attract and retain these customers ___________ (I) (“I” is your marketing + customer service costs) If “I” your investment in attracting and retaining customers is greater than “H” their lifetime value to you, list 3 actions that you will take to ensure “H” is significantly greater than “I” 1. 2. 3. ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 16 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 14.2: Selecting the Right Customer Mix Not every customer will be “right” for your company. Use the following information to ensure both sides are making the best decisions to create “win-win” business scenarios. 1. Write down the Lifetime Value of your most important customers/customer groups (use Worksheet 14.1): 2. What are the top 2 to 3 reasons these customers/customer groups buy from you? 3. List the top five customers/customer groups who are creating the greatest LTV. 4. List the top five customers/customer groups who are creating the lowest LTV. 5. What actions will you take to eliminate those with the lowest LTV (without burning bridges)? 6. What actions will you include in your Lucky By Design Roadmap that proactively targets the customer groups that are most profitable (highest LTV) for your business and avoid those who generate the lowest LTV? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 17 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips Please conduct research to ensure you understand industry dynamics that impact your growth potential 1. Key associations and publications in your industry 2. Websites of companies that belong to these associations 3. Surveys or research the associations conduct 4. Value proposition/messaging from companies affiliated with the industry 5. Annual industry statistics ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 18 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips continued 6. Conferences well respected by the industry and why 7. Hot topics and ‘buzzwords’ being discussed at each conference 8. Speaker presentations and white papers from the conference sites 9. Consulting and research firms respected in the industry ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 19 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 18.1: Your Brand Value Review your marketing material and all of your touch points with prospects and customers to determine the answers below. As with the other worksheets, think about what you need to do to get to ‘yes’ if your answer is ‘no’ and capture that action. 1. What is the message that we are conveying to customers about our brand value? 2. Is the message consistent? 3. Is this the message we want to be heard and experienced? 4. Do customers understand how we differentiate ourselves from ‘like’ organizations? 5. Do they experience our brand in the manner that we want them to? How do we know this? 6. Does reality align with our promise? 7. Is our brand what customers seek and truly value the most? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 20 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 18.2: Test Your Brand Strength To determine your Brand Strength you can give yourself a score between 1 and a 10, 1 meaning you strongly disagree with the statement and 10 meaning you strongly agree. Brand Sustainability Score 1. We know exactly why customers buy from us based on research not 'gut instinct." 2. We always present our benefits/value to our customers instead of selling features. 3. We calculate the lifetime value of our customers - and regularly fire those customers who are not generating enough revenue or profit. 4. We conduct annual customer surveys or interviews and incorporate findings into our marketing plan. 5. We study our competitors and understand what makes us UNIQUE. 6. We have a strategy to manage the impact of indirect competitors who threaten our revenue potential. 7. We know exactly what information customers require to make a purchasing decision and where they obtain the data. 8. We are confident that our price reflects the value customers seek and reinforces our brand message. 9. I am confident EVERY person in my company clearly presents our correct brand value. 10. All of our marketing material is consistent and explains our benefits to customers. Your Score ________ Circle any questions that you gave yourself a score less than 9. Write down how you will address this gap in the space below and add the action items to your Lucky By Design Roadmap. ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 21 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 20.1: Choose Your Tools Wisely 1. Where do our customers find out about our products/services now and is that evolving? 2. When are they looking for the products and services that we provide? 3. Why do they buy from us now and do they also consider purchases from our competitors? 4. How do we deliver our products and services to them and does it align with how we communicate with them? 5. Can we measure results from our efforts? What is our ROI (return on investment) for our sales and marketing efforts? ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 22 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 21.1: Online Networking Plan Use this worksheet to determine the type of markets, consumers and/or companies that you want to connect with online and which sites/tools you’ll use to achieve this. The sites might be general networking communities (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube) or niche specific communities (i.e., iVillage, Dogster). For example, if you want to target women in their 30’s with children under 10 you might check out women’s websites, look for blogs or folks actively posting on Twitter, create a video for YouTube or search LinkedIn or Facebook for communities Target Market(s) Online Communities Action Required to Engage in Each Community ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 23 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 23.1: Creating a Winning Elevator Pitch Your Pitch should include: 1. Your name, company name and your role in the organization 2. A brief but compelling statement about your product/service's value or benefit as it relates to the other person's company 3. A concise description of your product/service 4. A statement that reinforces your credibility or demonstrates what sets you apart 5. Your personal energy and passion for making this business succeed 6. A closing statement that leads to a 'next step' (i.e., an in person meeting) Start at the End. Before you create your pitch, consider what final impression you want to leave with this individual. Then use the six criteria above to develop your pitch. Remember, you will need a unique elevator pitch for different types of business relationships (i.e., a prospect doesn't care about the same benefits that a potential investor does). Customize the template below so this matches your style Hello, thank you for asking about my company. I'm _______________________________ (your name), and I'm the ______________________________________________________________________ (title) for_________________________________________________________________ (company). We offer _____________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ (value, competitive advantage or benefit) to _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________ (target customer), like you, to meet or satisfy the _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ (target customers' major want or need...this is a benefits statement). We do this by _________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ (product or service brief description). We are respected in the industry because ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ (key client experience or your unique expertise that provides credibility). We feel passionately about this because ____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________ (your passion, skills, beliefs and/or experience). If this is of interest to you, I'd love to provide you with a little more detail when we have more time (i.e., aren't stuck in an elevator or on the soccer field). Can I get your business card so I can call you/email you to set up a time to speak further? Practice this in front of the mirror and you'll be amazed at the response you get the next time you try to connect with a prospect.... in the elevator, at a networking event or perhaps sitting on a plane. ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 24 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 27.1: Measuring Your Input and Outcome Sales Analysis and Projections Sales # Active* Customers Total Revenue Total Profit Revenue/ Customer Prior Year_____ (yr) Current Year_____(yr) Next Year _____(yr) *Active = purchase in the last 12 months Prospect/Sales Cycle • • • • • Number of new prospects required for next year’s projections _________ Number of repeat customers required for next year’s projections _______ Number of prospects in your system to-date __________ Percentage of prospects anticipated to convert to sales __________% Sales cycle __________days Employee Analysis Employees # FT or FTE Employees Total Cost Cost/ Employee Profit/ Employee % of Revenue from top 20% % of Revenue from customers w/ you > 1 yr Net Promoter Score Prior Year_____ (yr) Current Year_____(yr) Next Year _____(yr) Customer Revenue & Profit Analysis Customers % of Revenue from top 3 customers Prior Year_____ (yr) Current Year_____(yr) Next Year _____(yr) ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 25 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 27.1: Measuring Your Input and Outcome continued Product/Service Analysis Top 5 Products/ Services Prior Year Revenue Profit Analysis of Marketing Tactics Marketing Tactics Amount Spent Current Yr Next Yr Current Year Revenue Profit # Clients Generated Current Yr Next Yr Next Yr Projection Revenue Profit Revenue Current Yr Next Yr Logo Design and Branding Website Design & Development Speaking Opportunities/ Seminars Conference Exhibiting/ Sponsorship Partner Marketing Public Relations Sales Literature Direct Mail Email Marketing Social Media Efforts Advertising Radio/TV Telemarketing Direct Sales Force Giveaways & Promotions Other____________ Additional Sales/Marketing Data Captured ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University * www.m-edge.com * Page 26 Lucky By Design Worksheets Worksheet 27.2: Data Capture Plan Data You Must Capture to Make Business Decisions Metrics or Key Performance Indicators Required Process to Obtain Data ©2013 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC All Rights Reserved Lucky By Design™ Worksheets for Carrier University Frequency of Updating & Reviewing Data * Person(s) Responsible www.m-edge.com * Page 27