a targeted approach to driving business growth in the it ...your choice of ‘tactics’ will be...

© Copyright 2015 – Shaping Business Ltd

www.shapingbusiness.com

A Targeted approach to

driving business growth

in the IT training sector

The 18th Annual Training IT Conference

6 March 2015

Printworks Conference Hall

Dublin Castle

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#ittc15 @shapingbusiness #marketing4growth

Ireland has successfully been positioned as a key

location for the Technology giants

Never has there been a greater need for an IT proficient workforce

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#ittc15 @shapingbusiness #marketing4growth 3

How can you drive the business growth?

1. Know your customer

2. Develop compelling communications

3. Identify the right mix of tactics and channels

4. Plan your approach

5. Measure, control and adapt

With a renewed focus, good planning and consistent execution of your plan

you can be more successful in filling training courses

Five practical steps to growing your IT Training operation:

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1. Know your customer/know your market

Key tip: Challenge your findings – how does that help me?

Develop a detailed understanding of your perfect customer(s) and

the market you are operating in:

? Analysis of

previous

customers

Profile

customer

types

Analysis of

your target

markets

Competitor

analysis

Market

Trends Demand

Drivers

Opportunities/

Threats

Strengths

Weaknesses

Who? Differentiation

Social

Demographic Education

Level

Originating

Source

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Think like a buyer/customer…

The

Buying

Cycle

Awareness

of Need

Assessment of

Alternatives

Evaluation

of Risk

Purchase

Decision

Achievement

of Results

Relaxed

Concerned

Ignorant

Personally

at risk

Impatient

Frustrated

Suspicious

Threatened

Sceptical

Exposed

Worried

Relieved

The hard sell doesn’t work – we need to understand and empathise with buyers

in order to help them to buy

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Would you choose this?

ECDL Essentials is a Level 1 qualification aimed at those with some experience,

such as successful completion of a Start IT course or equivalent.

It has been designed to give users a basic introduction to computing with

relevant skills in using the basic tools required for today's IT user.

Units include IT user fundamentals, using e-mail and the internet and

security for IT users.

Duration: 30 hours

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Support your communications with relevant examples – what happened previous

delegates how did it help them?

Or taking it a step further… focus on value…

Label Description Impact on Sale Overuse Objection

Feature Describes facts, data and

product/service

characteristics

Neutral or negative Price

Benefit Show how product/service

Features will help buyer in

generic terms

Small positive Suitability of solution

Value Show how product/service

Features will address

buyer’s specific issues or

aspirations

Large positive -

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3. Identify the right mix of tactics & channels

Your choice of ‘tactics’ will be influenced by your objectives, your target market

and your available resources

Learn from your success/failure from previous efforts – but be analytical,

was it the tactic that failed or our execution of that tactic:

One : One

One : Many

Category Marketing Tactics

Personal Selling Relationship Marketing

Hospitality Marketing

Referral Marketing

Direct Marketing Telemarketing

Email Marketing

Direct Mail Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Indirect Marketing Event Marketing

Network Marketing

Online Marketing

Public Relations

Advertising

Sponsorship

Analysis of Marketing Tactics

Cost/Complexity/Impact

Cost

Co

mp

lex

ity

Relationship Marketing

Hospitality Marketing

Referral Marketing

Telemarketing

Email Marketing

Direct Mail Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Online Marketing

Public Relations

Chairing/Speaking Events

Network Marketing

Sponsorship

Advertising

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3. Identify the right mix of tactics & channels

By understanding more about our potential buyer, we can get relevant content

into channels that we know they trust

The more we know our customer and ‘their world’ the more we can identify

cost effective means of getting access to groups of similar customers

• Direct access is great – but is only one route

• We are influenced by content in our ‘trusted’

feeds of information

• So we need to think like a buyer again

˗ What matters to them?

˗ Where to they go for information?

˗ What do they read?

˗ What groups are they involved in?

Networks/ Groups/ Forums

Websites

Publications

Conferences/Seminars/Events

Inner circles

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4. Plan your approach

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail…

Develop a focused 6-month plan that you can execute and measure:

Timeline (units)

Priority

Group

Activity/Campaign Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Group1 Springboard Programme

Research Prospects

Research Channels

Establish

Tools/Processes/Systems

Content Development 1 2 3 4 5 6

Website SEO

Email Marketing

Telemarketing Followup

LinkedIn Marketing

Consider piloting new ideas and approaches on smaller groups

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5. Measure, control an adapt

• Establish the means by which you measure every aspect

of your marketing

• Constantly challenge your marketing efforts

• What is working well?

• What is not working?

• Why?

• How do we improve it?

Learn from the good (and bad) experiences

to develop a commitment to continuous improvement

If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it…

Reads/Clicks

Referrals

Bookings

Leads/

Enquiries

Website

Statistics

Engagement

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The 5 key steps to drive growth

This is a well proven approach to driving growth built around your target market

Five practical steps to growing your IT Training operation:

Identify the tactics

and channels

Plan your

approach Develop compelling

communications

Know

your customer

Measure, control

and adapt

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To conclude

I wish you success for your future

“The future depends

on what you do

today…”

Mahatma Gandhi

“If you always do

what you’ve always

done, you’ll always

get what you’ve

always got…”

Henry Ford

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#ittc15 @shapingbusiness #marketing4growth

Thank you!

Q&A

[email protected]

www.shapingbusiness.com

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/raclarke

www.twitter.com/RayClarke_SBL

a targeted approach to driving business growth in the it ...your choice of ‘tactics’ will be...

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