Tips for SMEs in winning big business |
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| Management | |
| Written by Steve James at Opus Energy | |
| Wednesday, 27 May 2009 | |
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A combination of delivery, innovation and flexibility are needed to attract corporate customers. Understanding your audience
Financial stabilityBig business may have concerns that SMEs are less financially stable and therefore less able to provide a guaranteed level and duration of service. It is vital to quash any uncertainties by actively promoting your business’ financial health and long term plans to prospective clients. Be prepared to lucidly discuss your business plan and structure, noting milestones and targets, making it clear that you are able to partner your clients for the long term. Pricing sensiblyPrices should be based on your operational costs and must be sustainable from the outset. Companies that win business simply by undercutting the market have a tendency to be unstable and often go bust. Be competitive, but price sensibly to maintain a stable position and demonstrate to prospective customers the your service represents value for money. Customer serviceA good technique is to ensure that your core team are trained to understand as many different areas of your business and the general business landscape as possible, so that when speaking to a customer they can address any question or request directly. A knowledgeable account manager is vital for corporates that demand a quick, responsive service. InnovationHaving a good understanding of your customer base is key to providing a service that is relevant and useful. Ask your customers what additional business requirements they have. By doing this, Opus was able to identify a need in the corporate market for an online flexible energy purchasing platform. This was then developed in house and launched as Opus Evolution in September 2007. This service has since become one of Opus Energy’s leading products, boosting turnover in the past 12 months by 25%. In a competitive market, smaller players need to use their flexibility to innovate and quickly respond to customer needs in order to stay at the forefront of the market. Getting in front of new ClientsExisting contacts and referrals are likely to make up the majority of good business leads, particularly for SMEs with smaller marketing budgets. Ensure that you are involved in industry business associations. Attending industry events with a demonstrable product is also a good way to encourage interaction with potential customers. Case studies also help potential customers to identify with similar problems that your service has provided the solution for. Corporates are much more likely to consider you as a contender having seen glowing reviews from their peers. Retain customersCustomer retention should be a priority. Face-to-face contact is essential to build and maintain working relationships with corporate customers, as it shows a commitment to their business. It is amazing how few businesses do this as standard. Opus Energy’s high customer retention rate has been achieved by ensuring that account managers travel to their client’s sites for regular after sale meetings and account reviews. The effort should not stop once the sale has been closed, instead it should increase, with each customer being valued as a long term investment.
Comments (1)
 ... Posted by Gareth Jones, 02 June 2009
It seems that people forget in times of economic crisis not to keep undercutting the competition just to keep winning business......if your product/service is value-for-money, has added value and a good quality service people will want to use your business. Maybe these times are good for flushing out the wheat from the chaff? Those businesses which will succeed are the ones that deserve to?
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