Remember that old board game? It's probably still available as an interactive DVD or virtual reality game now. But the reason it popped into my head was because this blog is about strategic planning. It always sounds like this rather lofty undertaking but it's very important and can be critical to a company's success, especially if it is done in a very dynamic way. Gone are the days when strategic planning documents were written up once a year in big 3 inch binders, to gather dust until the next year. The markets and industries change so fast and so elements of the strategic plan have to be flexible, even if the overall foundation of the plan need to remain firm.B2B:Selling Brains
We developed a new business practice here for Strategic Consulting. (I always wondered why business units are also called practices. Don't you want someone who doesn't need any practice?) It's kind of hard to figure out how to market strategic consulting. Basically, it is selling brain power, from my business to yours.
B2B marketing can be tricky. In fact, I submitted a paper to the upcoming Marketing Summit about the unique challenges when trying to rebrand a B2B services company. I feel that every marketing conference gips those of us in the B2B services space. Sure, you get to hear from bigwigs at the brand name B2C product companies but I sit there and listen more as a consumer and not a fellow marketer hoping for sage advice. (I like marketeer instead of marketer, don't you? It's a lot like muskateer, without the plummage.)
Sometimes, the B2B folks will make an appearance but usually they are product focused, often from one of the big name software companies. You know the ones, my marketing budget is a rounding error for theirs. So, I thought it was high time somebody spoke for the B2B service providers. The ones that often make business run. We fill in the gaps that a business can't provide for themselves because they lack the skill set or because it doesn't make financial sense for them to keep that skill set on full time. Yay us!
It's easier to market B2B services when you specialize in certain industries, the way Court Square specializes in life sciences. Get all those experts in a room together and it's like a college class reunion. I sit there like I am invisible (if I were invisible, then I could just watch you in your (conference)room. Every time I hear that song on the radio, I yell WERE If I were invisible. Oh well, I guess pop music doesn't have to be grammatically correct.
Sometimes having all the experts in the room can be like dodging bullets. Everyone is trying to show off how much they know. One day I'm expecting to hear "My mother knows more about molecules than yours."
When we decided to expand our offerings to include strategic consulting, we met as the senior most people in the company and I asked around the room, "What do you know?" I was pleasantly surprised to see all the bases covered; Business Planning,Technology, Finance, Competitive Analysis, Product Management, Project Management. A couple of weirdos like me with both a chemistry and business background but the rest of the room was just filled with smart people. Smart people who can help other smart people.
So, I'm back to marketing brains again. Smart brains advising other smart brains, who just need help with one big area of transition. Where's Mr Spock when you need him?The Marketing Maven
(C)Copyright 2009
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CTO,Pharmaceutical,BIO,marketing,biotechnology,Strategic Consulting,transition,Outsourcing,interim CIO,Business to Business,Stratego,Information Technology,B2B,B2C
