Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary ………...........................……………..……………...…………………. 3 2. Marketing Environment ………………………............................…………………………… 4 2.1 Competitive forces ………………………………………………........................………… 4

2.2 SWOT Analysis ………………………………………………………………….................... 4

2.3 Consumer and trends ………………………………………………………….................… 5

2.4 Target Market and Consumer Segmentation …………………………………....................5 3. Marketing Objectives ………………………………………………………………............…. 6 4. Positioning and Brand Strategy …………………………………………….......................... 6

4.1 Competitive Advantage and Strategic Focus …………………………….......................... 7

4.2 Strategy Canvas ……………………………………………………………..................…… 7

4.3 Brand Differentiation ………………………………………………….................................. 8 5. Marketing Strategies ……………………………………………………..………................... 9 5.1 Branding and Positioning ……………………………………………….............................. 9

5.2 Digital and Online Marketing ……………………………………………………................ 10

5.3 Traditional Marketing…………………………………………………………….……......... 10

5.4 Agent Technology Training……………………………………………….......................... 11

5.5 Internal Agent Management ………………………………………….….......................… 11

5.6 Customer Retention and Customer Service …………………………………….……...... 12 5.6.a More on Customer Relationship Management ………………………….…........… 12

6. Implementation Plan ……………………………………..……………................................ 14

7. Evaluation Plan ……………………………………..……………....................................... 15

1. Executive Summary

We began our first quarter with the development and implementation of a campaign targeted towards home builders. The main goal was to generate inbound leads for construction loans.

The campaign encompassed integrated marketing efforts, starting with the development of a database of home builders around the Rio Grande Valley. We created a personalized direct mail campaign for these leads that included a customized landing page.

Construction loans have a long buying cycle. During the first quarter, we successfully rached home builders directly. In the second quarter, our goal will be to establish relationships with these leads to keep the Bank of South Texas at the forefront of their minds.

2. Marketing Environment2.1 Competitive Forces

Documation• Primary Markets: San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas-Forth Worth• Secondary Markets: Harligen, McAllen, Conroe• Primary focus: SME• Secondary focus:• Strengths:• Weaknesses:• Organization: 100• Established: 1997• Web: http://www.mation.com/

CopyGraphics• Primary Markets: McAllen, Brownsville• Secondary Markets: Harlingen• Primary focus: SME, Legal, Real Estate• Secondary focus:• Strengths:• Weaknesses: Customer satisfaction• Organization: 20• Established: 1982• Web: http://www.copyg.com/

Neville Business Machines• Primary Markets: Dallas, Forth Worth, Corpus• Secondary Markets: McAllen, Reynosa, Harlingen, Laredo• Primary focus: Enterprise, Education, Healthcare• Secondary focus: SME, Real Estate, Accounting• Strengths: Fast-service, large part inventory, large company• Weaknesses: Online presence• Organization: 100+• Established: 1975• Web: http://www.nevillsolutions.com/

Archer Business Systems• Primary Markets: Harlingen, Brownsville and McAllen• Secondary Markets: None• Primary focus: Sharp products• Secondary focus:• Strengths: Customer service, strong promotion• Weaknesses: Depth of services offered• Organization: 25 Employees• Established: 2002• Web: http://sharp-abs.com

XRX Business Consultants• Primary Markets: McAllen, Mission, Edinburg• Secondary Markets: Harlingen, Brownsville, Rio Grande City• Primary focus: Multi-Function Devices, Managed Print Services• Secondary focus: Production Printers & Supplies• Strengths: Authorized Xerox Dealer, aggressive price promotion• Weaknesses: small presence, depth of services offered, low brand recall• Organization Size: 28 Employees• Established: 1990• Web: http://xrxinc.com/

Hillard Office Solutions• Primary Markets: Dallas• Secondary Markets: Corpus Christi• Primary focus:• Secondary focus:• Strengths:• Weaknesses:• Organization Size:• Established:• Web: http://www.hilliardos.com/Established: 1990

Primary markets: Competitors in these markets rely heavily on existing relationshipsand word-of-mouth (viral) advertising. Also, there seems to be little focus amongcompetitors on online marketing, upselling opportunities, and demonstrating the valueof a wide-range of brands, local support, and fast service.

Secondary markets: Competitors in these markets are increasingly attempting to erodeCORE’s market share by combining aggressive promotional tactics with customer service.However, this is a short-term solution. CORE’s steady focus on retaining profitable andsatisfied customers will result in more than enough growth to compensate.

2.2 SWOT Analysis

Strengths

- SME & enterprise solutions- Extensive range of brands and technology solutions- Local presence in the marketplace- Strong support & customer service- Implemented CRM System- Addition of printing services- Industry leading solutions- PROS Elite 100 Company- Increased marketing budget- Year over year growth

Weaknesses

- Ineffective communication and promotion of all the services available- Poor customer follow-up after initial sale is closed- Lack of sales supporting material- Poor online presence- Awareness in emerging markets- Expansion costs- Prospect nurturing- High turnover

Opportunities

- Cross-selling- Emerging markets- Poor competitive marketing- Fast-growing local economy and business community

Threats

- New competitors in base market- Agents’ poor performance- Weak relationships with clients- Economic downturn in the region

2.3 Consumer and Market Trends

Fifty years ago, the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas was a rural, agriculture-based economy characterized by sporadic growth. Today, it has become a major international trade area with first-rate commercial, retail, office, industrial, medical, retirement, and educational facilities. It is one of the most successful areas along the US-Mexico border when it comes to Internatio-nal and retail trade, tourism, and manufacturing.

The Rio Grande Valley includes the four southernmost counties in Texas: Cameron, Hidal-go, Starr, and Willacy. It is in the geographic center of the region most recently termed the Rioplex, which includes the four Rio Grande Valley counties and the northern Mexico border cities between Matamoros and Ciudad Mier.

The principal cities of McAllen, Brownsville, and Harlingen combine to form the northern half of the Rioplex and are among the most rapidly growing regions in America. The 2010 Cen-sus places the population of the McAllen MSA at 774,769, a 66.8% increase over 2001. The southern half of the Rioplex includes the Mexico border cities of Matamoros, Rio Bravo, and Reynosa, contributing at least another 1.7 million to the region’s population. In 2010, the city of Reynosa had a population of 608,891. This brings the total population of this binational, multicultural, bilingual, international metropolitan area to 1.4 million.

The population, although diverse, is defined by two dominant demographic criteria: Hispanic and young. Hispanics represent approximately 90% of the McAllen area population and indivi-duals under 35 years of age make up nearly 60% of the population.

Experts predict the Rio Grande Valley’s economy will keep growing faster than the national average. However, according to a new forecast from the Center for Border Economic Studies at the University of Texas-Pan American, this growth will not outpace the region’s high unem-ployment rate. In short, the local economy just can’t keep up with the Valley’s population boom.

The economic forecast indicates that the Valley’s unemployment rate is expected to stagnate at about 10%. While Hidalgo County had a gross domestic product growth rate of 4% last year, growth will slow to about 3.5% in 2015. Cameron County’s growth rate is expected to fall to 1.7%.

Many factors can impact GDP growth. Lower oil prices have reduced oilfield employment.Along with Corpus Christi and Laredo, the Valley will feel the impact of lower gas prices and fewer high-paying petroleum jobs.Falling oil prices also hurt the Mexican peso — and a we-aker peso means Mexican shoppers will have less money to spend.

Retailers employ about 60% of the Valley’s labor force, and the weaker peso could have amajor impact on jobs. Simultaneously, a weak peso may help the Valley attract higher-paying manufacturing jobs as multinational corporations seek a competitive advantage.

2.4 Target Markets and Consumer Segmentation

CORE Business Solutions has identified seven markets as primary and secondary targets for growth in all product lines.

Primary markets: Defined as new growth opportunity markets in which CORE Business Solutions has a presence, but not a dominating footprint: Harlingen, Brownsville, Laredo,Corpus-Christi, and the Mexican Border Region.

Secondary markets: Current base markets with a strong footprint for customer retention focus without large growth opportunities: McAllen, Mission, and Edinburg.

Demographic/Psychographic ProfileCORE Business Solutions is targeting two organizational levels, both of which have purchase processes in place that guide CORE’s demographic/psychographic profiles. In most cases, the decision to purchase CORE’s products and services is made by a management-level technology expert responsible for the selection, installation, and maintenance of company technology resources and, more importantly, the return on those investments.

EnterpriseCompanies with 500 or more employees with over 15 years in the healthcare and financial sectors. Typically, CORE’s target in these organizations is a Chief Information Officer (CIO), IT Director, or similar who is 35-50 years old with hands-on professional experience with tech-nology systems. This target is responsible for company-wide purchases, large budgets, and organizational returns on technology investments. They are often time-stretched, often tro-ubleshooting instead of planning, and must always find a balance among strategy, implemen-tation, and cost.

SMECompanies in the healthcare and legal sector. Typically CORE’s target in these organizations is an IT Director, facilities director, or similar who is a 30-50 year old male with a range of pro-fessional experience in technology systems - from amateur to expert. This target is respon-sible for recommending company-wide purchases, negotiating contracts, and technology troubleshooting. They’re time-stretched from wearing different hats, often only partly focused on communications, and they are always attempting find a balance between needs and cost. However, they are more flexible than larger companies and can make purchase decisions quickly.

Targeted CustomersThe end-users of CORE’s products and services (as opposed to the purchase decision ma-ker) are the employees of these companies who want their work to be more efficient, power-ful, and „invisible.” However, every employee’s needs vary, from the salesperson on the road to the administrator at the entrance, so it is impossible to generalize how, when, or why they’ll use CORE’s products.

However, all target customers recognize that CORE’s technology products and services can help them be more efficient, connected, and flexible. They want a „trusted advisor” with expe-rience planning and implementing this solutions quickly and at a competitive price.

Purchase ProcessAt the SME level, the purchase process varies. It can be one CEO or IT Director researching alone or several parties involved in research, procurement, and approval. The advantage of SME can be the speed and flexibility of the decision-making process.

At the enterprise level, there is a more formalized purchase process that often involves several departments and related approvals. In most cases, budgets for large projects are secured by the beginning of the fiscal year and projects are bid to several vendors before moving into the approval phase.

In both cases, demonstrating relevant experience, competitive pricing, and proven returns on investment are crucial to the purchase process.

2.5 Marketing Objectives

The objectives for CORE’s marketing plan are the following:

- Position CORE as the #1 provider of office equipment, IT, and business services in the South Texas and border region for SMEs and large enterprises.- Achieve brand differentiation amongst CORE’s competitors by catering to both SMEs and large enterprises.- Position CORE as a local provider that combines personalized service with the latest technology at competitive prices.- Position CORE as the company that offers the most flexibility and brand variety in the area.- Use the PROS Elite 100 Award to position CORE as an established, reputable company with outstanding customer service.- Educate current and potential clients on all the services that CORE has to offer.- Amplify brand awareness through South Texas and the border region.- Effectively implement supporting sales collateral and improve conversion rates for agents.

- Implement an inbound lead generation process through online channels.- Implement customer development program to increase cross-selling and customer advocacy.- Increase market share by at least 5% within the first two quarters upon the implementation of this plan.

4. Positioning & Brand Strategy

Objective: The objective of the brand strategy is to position CORE not only as the #1business solutions provider in South Texas, but also as a local company that identifieswith its customers and partners and cares about their continuous business success andgrowth. The proposed brand positioning will also achieve CORE’s brand differentiationamong its competitors by pairing a local, attentive approach to business with thetechnology and capabilities of a national enterprise. “Solutions that Work.”

CORE provides all the benefits of a local company, including flexibility, personalizedservice, and attention to detail. Yet CORE also has the infrastructure to support largeenterprises. Regardless of size, each customer has access to a complete offering of thelatest office technology at competitive prices.

The PROS Elite 100 award can be used to position CORE as an established company withoutstanding customer service. Customers will see CORE as trustworthy, responsive, andreliable. Yet, the local presence means that CORE is also agile enough to respond quicklyto changes in the marketplace.

Key Benefits:- Local provider of the latest office equipment, IT, and printing technologies.- Only provider in South Texas with streamlined technology and print services.- A one-stop-shop for business owners .- Competitive pricing strategy catering to SME & Enterprises.- Partnered with trusted brands such as Sharp, Dell, and Epson.- Tailored solutions for a bilingual market.- PROS Elite 100 award recipient.

Methodology: Strategies to be implemented to achieve the objective are:- Featured case studies from current and past CORE customers demonstrating the company’s ability to deliver the highest quality in business solutions for any type of industry. The case studies will show how CORE has proven to be a reliable, local partner. Potential customers will see these local stories as experiences they can relate to, and in return, they will be more likely to reward CORE with their business and trust.

- Development of new branding material and branded content reflecting CORE’s values and core competences with an emphasis on a local approach to conducting business, technology-driven solutions, and customer satisfaction. We will develop this content to promote and enhance CORE’s brand image.

4.1 Competitive Advantages and Strategic Focus

Operational excellence:- Focus on efficiency of operations and processes via optimization of the customer acquisition process, improved supporting sales collateral, and prospect education.- Implement customer development programs to increase cross-selling opportunities, and create brand advocacy and loyalty.

Product leadership:- Continue acquiring the latest office technology to help optimize customers business process.- Offer the most advanced, highest quality products in the industry.- Educate customers and prospects on industry trends, and assist in problem realisation.

Customer intimacy:- Optimize the CRM system to leverage existing clients and generate more leads.- Create effective sales collateral for agents.- Establish follow-up processes through marketing automation.- Use the existing database of past and current clients to find cross-selling and upselling opportunities.- Measure customer satisfaction.

4.2 Strategy Canvas

Strategy Canvas: The Four Actions Framework

Which factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated?• All the above factors are important to obtain competitive advantages and achieve differentiation. However, since most of the industry uses online support and cloud solutions, personalized customer service could be a key differentiating factor.

Which factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard?• Have products or services been over designed in a way to beat the competition? Price standards could play an important role, since bidding wars for the lowest rate can occur as market saturation reaches a critical point.

4.3 Achieving Brand Differentiation

Building a 360-degree view of existing perceptions: CORE will be able to improve itscurrent brand positioning by acknowledging where the brand currently stands.Maintaining an ongoing monitoring and research on how customers, prospects,employees, and the industry perceive the organization, competitors, and the market as awhole, is an essential activity for strengthening the CORE brand. Understanding inparticular the features that customers care about the most is a powerful guide forpotential differentiation.

Managing the customer experience: Achieving differentiation in the services industry isall about the ultimate service delivery. Ensuring the delivery of real business value is thegreatest contribution that CORE can make to position the brand within its customers,prospects and influencers. The question to be answered is whether CORE can deliverconsistently on its business propositions and provide value to its customers.

There are two questions that serve as fundamental filters through which to run CORE’spoints-of-difference benefits: Are those points-of-difference desirable to customers? And,can CORE deliver on those points? When the answer to both is yes, a point of differencecan become a strong, favorable, unique brand association.

Desirability: To qualify as desirable, a point of difference must be perceived by thebrand’s audience as both relevant and believable. Relevance is easily over-looked. It’sworth noting that as long as benefits are perceived as they are enhancing performance,they needn’t have any real effect. In the case of CORE, the quality of being a localbusiness solutions provider could be perceived as relevant to local business owners andexecutives because of the reliability and accountability it offers to deal with a businesssolutions provider located in the same area as their business; a quality that’s bothbelievable and desirable.

Deliverability: A product’s point of difference needs to meet three deliverability criteria.First, creating the point of difference must be feasible. Second, positioning on a particularbenefit must be profitable. And finally, the positioning must be preemptive, defensible,and difficult to attack. While consumers may find low rates or bundle promotionsattractive as points of difference, all too often these features compromise profitabilityand are easily imitated. That is why CORE should focus on its current strategy of offeringa wide array of the latest technology on business solutions. A local services provider withthe experience and capabilities of a national brand.

5. Marketing Strategies

5.1 Integrated Lead Generation Campaign

Lead generation campaign focusing on SME services to begin moving the market into aprimary focus and establish online dominance for CORE in the market place.

Objective: The objective of this marketing initiative will be to establish an on-goingstrategy to generate “sales-ready leads”, the proposed approach is based on the fact thatin B2B markets professional buyers rarely “impulse” buy. In the vast majority ofinstances, a considerable amount of work needs to be done in advance to be on theprospect’s radar as a credible potential solution provider when the prospect is “salesready”.

When the prospect is “sales ready” is dictated by the prospect and marketing has onlylimited influence on the timescale, which is unpredictable and can vary from “currentlyready” now to a period of 18 months. This timescale can change at anytime and bedictated by numerous factors such as the magnitude of the business need or problem,growth/capacity limitation, restructuring or M&A activity, competitive environment,economic environment, business model deployed or stage in the business lifecycle.

It is neither desirable nor feasible to divert experienced sales professionals to nurtureprospects through this period of undefined length. The most effective use of these salesskills and resources is in having them focus on the activities within the active sales cycle.

Methodology: The task of creating brand awareness and preference is best done in theMarketing Pipeline before the prospect is “sales-ready” and enters the Sales Pipeline, asdepicted here in figure

Marketing & Sales Pipeline

Figure 1

Nurturing prospects through the marketing pipeline consists of the following:• Identifying and profiling potential customers in the target segments• Creating brand awareness in the chosen segments• Building brand awareness, credibility and reputation to bring about brand consideration• Developing high value brand equity and thought leadership positions to encourage brand preference and mindshare.

This requires consistent, regular, and relevant high quality communication with thetarget market segments over an extended period to build awareness, brand credibility,brand preference, and mindshare.

It necessitates very significant resources, if done using traditional offline marketingmethods, e.g. advertising, trade-shows, events, seminars, etc.

Therefore, the appropriate approach to use is an integrated marketing model that uses traditional offline marketing but focuses heavily on more economic emarketing methods to:

• Build the brand awareness in the individual market segments• Generate and identify leads and potential prospects; and• Nurture them through the marketing pipeline until they can be passed to the sales pipeline as “sales-ready” leads.

In terms of identifying and generating leads that have the potential to generate salesrevenue, the market can be segmented into three groups. These are:

1. Identified or known prospects whose details (including particularly their email address) are recorded in CRM, and are already in the marketing pipeline2. Organisations/individuals who are not in the marketing pipeline but have the right profile (industry sector, size, technology platform, etc.) to have, now or in the future, business requirements that could be satisfied by the product and services offerings3. Organisations that currently use competitors’ products or services to address their business problem/need. The marketing activities will address each of these segments.

The different types of activities and the process flow is depicted diagrammatically belowin figure 2

Type 1 activities are a whole series of online and offline activities (website SEO, search mar-keting, direct mail, press releases, speaker engagements, event sponsorship, direct sales, etc.) that are used to generate initial marketing leads. All marketing leads identified should be added to the CRM Marketing database and added to appropriate marketing lists within the CRM database.

These marketing leads are now in the marketing pipeline and by providing their contact infor-mation have given implicit permission to market to them and nurture them through the mar-keting pipeline to become sales-ready leads. Initial permission may be given by attending a sponsored event, registering for a seminar, downloading rich content such as a thought leadership whitepaper, etc.

Type 2 activities usually involve taking them through the education and awareness phase to problem realisation and definition stages, information gathering, and the identification of potential solutions and vendors (blog, social media, rich website content, presentations, drip campaign, social media, follow-up calls etc.)

The objective is that by the time he/she is sales ready the marketing organisation has signi-ficant mindshare/brand awareness and is perceived as having one of the market leading so-lutions and the ability to meet his/her business and technical needs, ideally resulting in brand preference

The process proposed is based on Permission Marketing rather than the more traditional Interrupt Marketing approach.

5.2 Customer Development Initiatives

The lack of connection between pre-sales campaigns and post-sale delivery is a growingproblem for CORE, like many of CORE’s competitors, most companies don’t have a plan inplace to manage the customer relationship after the sale has been established.

Objective: This customer development strategy will be the focus of CORE’s existingcustomer database in-order to implement the infrastructure to launch campaigns soCORE can learn how to „move the needle” with existing customers who are satisfied withtheir products and service. We’ll focus on marketing CORE’s brand and CORE’s servicesthrough education and awareness. This effort will include incentives for referrals inCORE’s primary markets to close the loop.

The objective is to optimize CORE’s opportunities to promote products with both currentand past customers, leveraging cross-selling and upselling opportunities. With aneffective CRM system in place, CORE has the opportunity to develop forecasts based onpast trends as well as obtain valuable customer data through customer feedback such assurveys. This strategy will also focus on nurturing current customer relations andeducating potential customers by providing valuable content and enhancing thefollow-up process.

CORE’s immediate focus on customer retention and loyalty will also be CORE’s first forayinto deep database marketing. CODESM will lead CORE’s customer loyalty program andanticipate testing eight promotional campaigns throughout the year to see which type ofprograms motivate CORE’s customers the most. CORE’s objectives are industry averageresponse rate (~2%) for all campaigns with any stronger returns to be evaluated forfuture use and optimization.

Nurturing prospects through the customer marketing pipeline consists of the following:

Methodology: The task of creating customer advocacy while creating cross-selling opportu-nities is best done by creating a separate Marketing Pipeline focus on building stronger post--sale relationships, increasing customer support and educating customers on new products and services.

• Nurturing current customer relationships• Keep brand top of mind, and educate customers• Expanding relationships by cross-selling, up-selling and asking for referrals• Identify customers who are at risk of defecting• Continually deliver on our value proposition and brand promise

This will require very personalized high quality communication with the customer marketsegments over an extended period to increase customer satisfaction, build loyalty, andcustomer advocacy.

CORE will use an integrated marketing model that uses traditional offline marketing but focuses heavily on more economic emarketing methods to:

• Develop customer satisfaction surveys fueled by incentives• Generate personalized marketing communication focused by industry• Nurture them through the customer marketing pipeline until they show interest on a new product or service

In terms of identifying customer segments that have the potential to generate new salesrevenue, this market can be segmented into three groups. These are:

1. Purchasers focused on cost, easily lured away by a better offer2. Frequent purchasers with impersonal contact3. High value customers with high importance, lots of personal contact

The different types of activities and the process flow is depicted diagrammatically belowin figure 4

Type 1 activities are a whole series of online and offline touch points with thecustomers (direct mail, email marketing, quarterly calls, customer satisfactionsurveys, customer incentives, personal engagements, past purchase analysis) thisare used to identify customer satisfaction levels, and customer market segment. Allcustomers identified should be added to the CRM Marketing database and addedto appropriate marketing lists within the CRM database.

Customers with low satisfaction, problems should be identified immediately andcorrected. An incentive which also serves as a customer education tool, such as afree service, will help ease the pain and build loyalty to the brand.

Type 2 activities usually involve taking them through the education and awarenessphase to problem realisation and definition stages, information gathering, and theidentification of potential solutions and vendors (blog, social media, rich websitecontent, presentations, drip campaign, social media, product demos etc.)

The objective is to educate existing customers in the wide variety of products coreoffers, and assist in problem realisation to create a demand for solutions. Increasepurchase of services while having active communication with the customer tocreate strong brand loyalty.

6. Marketing Components

CORE needs to develop a range of marketing programmes, both offline and online, thatare part of a set of integrated activities to achieve the objectives set out above. These aredepicted in the figure 3 overleaf. At the heart of these programmes are two essentialrepositories that complement and feed each other; a CRM Marketing database and awebsite.

6.1 CRM Marketing Database

CORE’s CRM Marketing database is a database of all prospects and customers, while thewebsite is used to identify and add new prospects to the CRM Marketing database. Theentries in the CRM Marketing database are included in multiple Marketing Lists.

Marketing lists are used to segment the market and are typically on the basis of:• Geography• Industry sector• Role

Other short-term marketing lists can be created to meet specific requirements.Customers and prospects can be on multiple marketing lists depending on their profile.

The marketing lists are then used to drive regular valuable communication targeted andrelevant to the different marketing segments.

6.2 WebsiteThe website is CORE’s shop window that showcases the CORE’s products and servicesand is a repository of the organisation’s marketing collateral and other rich content.

The website will be improved in order for better user experience while accessed viatablets and smart phones as well as traditional computers and laptops.

6.3 pURL Landing PagesCORE will create personalized landing pages, to the prospect, we will utilize contactname, geographic data, and industry in order to provide the most relevant informationas possible.

Marketing automation campaigns, will funnel prospects and customers into theirrespective landing pages, personalization is key when increasing engagement.

7. Marketing Activities

7.1 Drip Campaigns

Using the CRM marketing lists, permission-based email is an excellent tool to haveregular communication with each customer and prospect in the database. CORE’sobjective should be to inform and nurture them through the marketing pipeline ratherthan a “hard sell”. Key features of all email marketing communications should be:

• The messages are targeted to the relevant marketing list, rather than the total database• All content is processed through a SPAM checker to ensure that it will not be considered

SPAM on receipt• Links to the content on the website, rather than attachments, are used to direct the recipient to the website preferebly through a pURL. This serves two purposes; - It avoids the communication being blocked by firewalls, as is frequently the case with attachments - It drives the recipient to the website and exposes him to, say, a full portfolio of white papers or product information, rather that a single one as an attachment. Activity on the website can be tracked, unlike the email

A strenuous effort will be made to keep “unsubscribes” to a minimum by:

Sending only useful added value content, rather that a sales pitch, to individuals that arestill in the marketing pipeline

• Targeting the content to the individual’s role or special interest• Limiting the number of emails an individual receives.

CORE will utilize a “best of breed” email systems, Mail Chimp, which will enable fulltracking of which emails are delivered, which emails are opened and which links theyhave clicked on.

This kind of tracking is essential to get the full marketing intelligence and benefits ofemail marketing and is not available from common email systems such as Outlook, Gmailand Hotmail.

7.2 Newsletters

A bi-monthly newsletter will be e-mailed to individuals in the CRM database. Theobjective of the e-mail will be to enhance the brand and communicate positivedevelopments and news about the company.

Like the emails described above, the content will be relatively short with links to richcontent on the website, where the activity can be tracked.

A Blog that has regular new content may be a more appropriate alternative as it has thepotential to establish a loyal readership that can be nurtured over a period until they aresales ready.

7.3 Press Releases & Media Relations

PR is an important part of brand building. As well as general brand building, mediacoverage generates marketing leads from people who download reports/whitepapersfeatured in the press release/articles. While traditional media is becoming less important,online media continues to grow rapidly in coverage and importance. Pick-up by theelectronic media provides good links back to the website. These links provide websitetraffic in their own right and significantly improve search engine rankings.

A key feature of press releases is that they must be news worthy from the perspective ofthe editors of the targeted publications.

Typical topics for press releases are:• Events• Activities• Services or customer announcements• Industry related statements or comments• Comments on business and industry developments and trends by thought leaders.

7.4 Web Marketing

CORE’s website is effectively a shop window and, as with a real life scenario, potentialcustomers can come from two sources. These are:

• Customers and prospects known to the company and in the marketing pipeline. Email contact, links from blogs and other sites, and search engine optimisation (SEO) can be used to direct them to rich content on the website with the ultimate objective to nurture them through the marketing pipeline until they are “sales ready” leads. These equate in the real life scenario to the members of a store loyalty club who get regular communications and offers from the store.

• Other potential customers and prospects that are not currently in the marketing pipeline. SEO, social media, links from blogs and other sites are the primary routes to direct them to rich content on the website. They are encouraged to provide their contact details to access white papers, presentations, or to register for webinars or other events. By giving their email address, they are implicitly giving permission to market to them, to put them in the marketing pipeline, and to add them to the first group. This group equates in the real life scenario to “window shoppers” who are attracted into the store by what they see in the shop window and are then encouraged to join the store’s loyalty club.

7.5 Content Development

It is important to develop a content marketing strategy in the form of white papers, customer case studies, presentations, ebooks, etc. on the website. It will help significantly in the follo-wing ways:

Potential customers find the site. This type of content is likely to be very rich food forthe search engine crawlers and the site gets good SEO rankings. It is also the type ofcontent that is likely to generate external links from blogs and other websites. These linksin themselves can deliver traffic to the site, but equally important, sites that have lots oninbound links are generally ranked highly by the search engines, on the basis that if manypeople are linking to the site, it must be important.

Impressing potential customers when they arrive at the site. Companies with goodcontent are more likely to be considered as thought leaders than lightweight brochure-type sites. “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression”.

Establishing a relationship. Potential customers who search for and download a whitepaper on a particular topic are likely to have an interest in, and potential problem for which they are seeking help/solution, and perceive the provider of such content as a potential solu-tion provider.

The following access policy is appropriate : all sales-type content such as servicesdatasheets, brochures, copies of newsletter, etc. can be accessed directly; all added valuecontent such as white papers, presentations, webinars, tools, etc. can only be accessedby registering. There is an element of self-qualification in that people are not going towaste their time registering for content in an area where they have no interest. Theinformation required to register is kept to a minimum in order to maximise the numberwho register. The information appropriate to request is name, organisation, role, andemail address.

Developing a relationship. The registration details should be added to the CRMmarketing database and the leads pipeline. These leads can be reviewed by Sales todecide on the appropriate follow-up. If deemed not to be sales ready they should beadded to the marketing pipeline, rather than be discarded. Within the CRM database, theprospect can be added to the appropriate marketing lists to receive future relevantcommunications.

7.6 Search Engine Optimization

SEO is a vital component of any marketing strategy. The objective is to have at least oneentry in the top five for the key phrases used by the target audience. The SEO processconsists of two phases. These are:

1. Research the phrases and words used by the target audience. The ideal words or phrases are those that are highly relevant, have a high volume of searches and few competing websites.

2. Once the words or phrases have been identified, individual pages are then optimised for these phrases in line with the search engine ranking criteria. These criteria typically include, title, meta description, meta keywords, word density on the page and prominence of the phrases in headings, opening paragraphs, etc.

The number and relevance of the inbound links is also an important feature of SEO. Linksto the rich website content will be actively encouraged and cultivated, through blogpostings, event notices on LinkedIn, industry association and news sites, press releasesposted to many relevant sites, links from partners’ websites and blogs, etc. Rich contentis a key feature in attracting inbound links.

Tools such as Google Webmaster and Bing Webmaster will be utilized for on-goingmonitoring and improvement of results from the SEO activities.

Having driven traffic to the website, the various registration options (white papers,events, etc) will be used to have them identify themselves and provide sufficientinformation to allow them to be put on the CRM marketing database.

Our goal from a brand building perspective is that when the prospect/customer islooking for information on any aspect of the target market/solution offered that they seethe website as the “first port of call” for relevant information.

7.7 Social Media

The newer social media and social networks are becoming important components of anoverall emarketing framework. The main ones that are relevant are:

LinkedIn: LinkedIn can be useful to communicate with people in the target markets whoare not currently in the marketing pipeline, to drive traffic to the website, and to generateevent registrations and downloads.

Facebook: Facebook is typically of limited interest in a B2B markets. However, advanceadvertising tools, with low cost per impression allows for the ability to create strongbrand awareness in emerging markets. It is also a powerful tool in-order to assist in thecustomer development strategy, to keep CORE top of mind, and educate customers inthe wide-range of products and services.

Google PlusGoogle Plus has some features similar to Facebook, e.g. “Plus” rather than “Like” and uses“Circles” to segment business and personal followers. Google Plus was recently mergedwith Google Places, adding a strong impact on SEO rankings. Google+ is an importantplatform to be on in-order to establish precense in local markets through search.

The nature of all social media is the customer opts-in and selects the potential vendorsthat he chooses to have in his social network.

7.8 Events

Events can be used to build brand awareness and to generate leads in the localmarketplace. Event participation falls into different categories. These are:

• Own or partner physical event• Sponsorship of an event organised by a trade association or partner (see section on sponsorship)• Industry events where participation involves providing speakers, exhibiting or attending to network

Pre-eventEvents need to be promoted via email to selected marketing lists in the CRM marketingdatabase, through blog and website, press release where appropriate, trade associationwebsites, etc. Increasingly social media, in particular LinkedIn event posting section, isbecoming a good source of registrations for events.

All event registrations should be done online via a registration form on the website, or atthe physical event location with a sign-up sheet. Details provided should be used to addeach person who registers to the CRM marketing database. The website is also used topromote events.

During the event

During the event, one should endeavour to:

• Achieve podium time by providing a keynote speaker or by hosting a workshop• Promote CORE’s brand by using a display stand for white papers, brochures, etc.• Have a number of staff attendees who can network in a planned fashion to ensure that at least one person interacts with each of the key attendees.

Post-eventOnce the event is over, the event content/presentations should be added to the websiteand/or blog. Both attendees and non-attendees who have registered should be providedwith a link to the content via email. Once added to the website, the content also becomesavailable to a wider audience, and improves the search engine ranking for phrases andkeywords related to the topic.

All those registered should be added to Leads in CRM for Sales to review and qualify.

7.9 Blog

Blogs are now a mainstream communication medium for b2b vendors and are becomingan attractive alternative to a company email newsletter. They are opt-in, rather thanhaving to maintain an up-to-date ezine distribution list. They are search engine-friendly,and are one of the easiest, fastest and least expensive ways to increase the onlineexposure of your business.

Blogs tend to have limited but highly focused relevant target audiences. Unlike otherforms of communication, blogs facilitate dialogue and interaction with readers.

While blogs are fast and reasonably easy to create there is a challenge to maintain ablogging schedule involving staff with the appropriate expertise to be considered thoughtleaders.

8. Offline Complementary Marketing Activities

8.1 Marketing Collateral

CODESM will develop a sales support package of marketing collateral. The following willbe the initial marketing collateral.

• A high level corporate catalogue, with a company overview• A set of departmental brochures describing each of the service offerings• A company PowerPoint presentation• A technical product & service PowerPoint presentation• A set of datasheets for price-sensitive offerings and product comparisons

The corporate brochure will be relatively high level and have a reasonable shelf life. While the datasheet will be more changeable, reflecting changes in services technical or commercial profiles.

Case studies, as evidence that CORE can deliver what the brochures’ claim, will be auseful addition to the package. Independent certifications of the organisation or individualswithin the organisation also provides independent evidence, e.g. PROS Elite 100, and Microsoft Certified professional.

All collateral will be available to download from a website in PDF format.

8.2 Sponsorship & Speaker Engagements

Sponsorship of trade organisations or conferences can be very good value for money.One needs to work with, but not upstage, the event organisers being sponsored toextract maximum value. Adding genuine value to the event without seeking to upstagethe organisers is highly valued and can provide a good CORE profile of the brand amongattendees.

It is recommend during this events CORE seeks some podium time by way of presentinga keynote address or hosting a breakout session/workshop.

8.3 Partnership Marketing

Partner relationships for exporting companies typically fall into two categories; (a)partnership with suppliers, e.g. Microsoft, (b) in-country marketing collaborative partnerssuch as distributors and resellers. Partnership marketing programs can be particularlyeffective.

Partnership marketing should deliver a win-win situation for both parties. The challengeis to develop programs that provide win-win situations and enjoy the proactiveenthusiastic support of each of the partners.

8.4 Business Adviser Advertising

8.5 Direct Mail Marketing

9 Marketing Metrics

Return on investment (ROI) on traditional marketing (e.g. advertising, sponsorship, etc.) is very difficult to evaluate due to lack of reliable metrics.

On the other hand, online marketing provides a whole range of very granular metrics.Electronic interactions with customers and prospects can be actively monitored andmeasured.

Google Analytics provide comprehensive website analysis including traffic volumes, pageviews, unique visitors, traffic sources, bounce rates, keyword analysis, content, numberof inbound links and corresponding link generated traffic, and geographic analysis.

Newsletter metrics include:• Delivery rates• Open rates• Click though rates by link or content type• Number of new subscribers• Number of unsubscribe

Other useful metrics that can be clearly measured are:• number of sales ready leads generated• number of new contacts and new organisations added to the marketing database by source• event registrations• website downloads• emarketing bounce and unsubscribe rates• blog subscribers, etc.