Do you know who your most profitable customers are?

Over the summer, we're going to share with you our three-step strategy for making your business more profitable by making better use of the information you use to deliver to your clients. No matter what stage your business is at – whether you’re a new start-up, or beginning to get repeat orders from clients, or looking to grow more quickly, there’s a strategy you can adopt that’s within your budget which will help you manage the way you deal with your customers.

1. This month we’ll look at ways to record information without spending money on a complicated computer system.
2. Next month we’ll show you how you can start to analyse the information to make sure you know who you’re selling to, what they’re buying from you, and how much profit you’re making.
3. Then, in September, we’ll talk about the final stage: using the information you’ve recorded to save time and money by doing administrative tasks such as creating quotes, raising purchase orders and sending out invoices automatically.

Step 1: Data Capture. Record Information in a Standard Way

If you’re just starting out, you need to use your cash carefully. You may not want to spend money on a computerised system at this stage. You may just want to concentrate on winning orders, delivering to your clients, and getting paid.

The good news is, you can still get the benefits of a structured approach by using a simple, paper-based system.

Standardise the way you record customer information

We recently designed a job form for a client who provides property maintenance services. They wanted to be able to track all of the enquiries coming into the office, and their progress through the sales, delivery and invoicing process. They also wanted to find out which of their marketing approaches was working best for them.

What they didn't want was to spend a lot of money on a computerised system without first measuring the benefits of a structured approach.

Document your business processes

We created a double-sided A4 job sheet which fits into wall-mounted trays.  There are five of these trays, one for each stage in the process:

1. enquiries,
2. assessments,
3. quotes,
4. jobs, and
5. invoices.

The job sheet has spaces to record the name, address and other contact details of the person making the enquiry. They can make notes about the job – what needs fixing? How urgent is it?

They also record information about how the person found out about them: from their website, or from newspaper advertising, or by word-of-mouth. All of this information will be useful when they move to the next step in our three-step strategy: analysing the data to help understand more about their customers.

Once an enquiry has been made, the next stage is to for them to carry out an assessment of the problem. The job sheet allows them to record the date agreed for the visit, and any additional notes about the job once the visit has happened.

If they think they can help, they produce a quote for the work. This will usually involve charging for time spent on-site, together with the materials needed to carry out the job. The job sheet has spaces for them to record quantities and supplier costs for the materials, and estimates of the time needed.

Once the quote is accepted, the job will be scheduled in. The job sheet has spaces to record the date agreed for the job, the actual time spent (as opposed to the estimated time needed), and the actual prices charged by suppliers for materials used, in case these are different from the original quote.

Finally, an invoice is prepared and sent to the client. The invoice date and the expected payment date are recorded on the job sheet. If the payment is late, the job can be flagged as overdue, and steps taken to recover payments. Once the invoice is settled, the payment date is noted and the job sheet can be filed away.
 

Track Project Status

On any given day, our client can see exactly how many quotes, jobs and invoices they have on, simply by counting the job sheets in each of the process slots. They know which quotes need to be followed up with the prospect, and which invoices need to be chased with the client.

All without the use of a computer system.

Get Ready for the Next Stage

Our strategy is for this client to move to a simple spreadsheet-based system for analysing their operational data in a few months’ time. Because they’ve started capturing their data now, they’ll have months’ worth of real data ready to be analysed once they move to the next stage. And, because we designed the job form with this next step in mind, all of the data will slot into the correct parts of the spreadsheet with no problems.

They’ll be able to start answering the important questions about their business really quickly:

• Who are our best customers?
• What’s our most effective way of getting new customers?
• Are we getting our quotes right, or are we under-estimating the work needed?
• What's our conversion rate?
• How much money are we making?

Next month, we’ll discuss how sole traders and microbusinesses can start getting their own answers to these questions without spending a fortune on complex computer software.

What's the real cost of that introductory offer?

Sometimes it pays to think twice before accepting an introductory offer for a product or service. 

• What’s included in the price, and what’s not? 
• Will you need to buy another package to provide the functionality the first one doesn’t support? 
• Will you need to pay extra for assistance in setting up your new application? 
• Will ongoing support be available via telephone when you need it, or will you be left trying to contact the supplier via e-mails? 
• What will the price go up to in twelve months’ time, when you’ve become dependent on the product?

Total Cost of Ownership is the term some suppliers will hope you’ve never come across.  It’s the amount you’ll actually wind up paying for the goods or services, once all of the optional (but necessary) extras have been added in.  


Some vendors charge a mandatory annual support cost in addition to the license fee.  Others look to recoup the money they lose on the cut-price license costs by selling you professional services to set up the application to work the way you need it to.


If you’re trying to save money on your IT budget, do your research first before you sign up to an introductory offer.  Make sure you understand just what you’re paying for, and what extra you may have to spend in order to get a system that’s still working for you in two years’ time.

Innovating the business process

Another thought, following on from the video about generating business outcomes via value networks which sparked my last post.

One of the arguments made for developing these value networks was that they allow individuals to introduce their own variations into a process designed to achieve a consistent outcome.  This then helps organisations to innovate more easily, letting them try out different ways of developing or delivering products and services because they aren't tied down to a single prescribed method.

I'm all for innovation - it's what gets me out of bed and to my desk every day - but the idea that anyone within an organisation has the ability to do their own thing when it comes to providing customers with the stuff they're paying you for - the stuff on which your company's reputation is based - makes me very nervous.

These kinds of innovations need to be managed carefully.  Any changes to the way a product is delivered should be analysed and tested first: are the cost savings sustainable?  What are the impacts on the supply chain?  Can we confirm that quality won't be affected?  What are the risks associated with the change? 

By all means, look for ways to improve the way you do business, but do it in a sandbox environment: behind closed doors, away from the watchful eyes of your customers: 

• Carry out an impact analysis: make sure that you aren't introducing problems in other areas of your operation which will end up costing you money in the long run.
• Compare the predicted costs and benefits against your existing baseline, and not just over the next few months, but forecast over the next few years. 
• Implement the process changes in a development environment. Run the new process in parallel with the existing one for a while and make sure the changes have the effect you though they'd have. 

Then (and only then) migrate the tested processes into your production environment and start looking for the next thing to improve.

Continuous process improvement is all about shortening the cycle time to complete these tests and introduce changes, not about taking the gloves off and turning your operation into a free-for-all.

How many ways are there to get to where we want to be?

I just found an interesting post on business processes as value networks from Joe Dager, one of the people I follow on Twitter.

The idea that there may be a benefit in not prescribing one single method of achieving an end result from a business activity got me thinking back to my first job.  When I worked at ME&P, we built models of traffic flows through transport networks in order to understand how different people react to the same problem: how to get to work in the morning (or afternoon, or whenever - timing can be everything in answering this question).

Most people want to spend as little time commuting as possible.  Some people will even move house if it means shaving ten minutes a trip off the journey to work (that works out at 75 hours a year, by the way; how much more could you achieve if you had almost two more working weeks in your schedules?)

By default, navigation aids such as SatNav systems or route planners will work out the quickest route from A to B.

That's fine until everyone tries to drive down the same stretch of road at 8.25 a.m. and traffic grinds to a halt.

The models we built at ME&P used the full transport network, both private vehicle and public transport.  We included all of the alternative routes between two points, and we used feedback loops which allowed alternative routes between the same start and end points to be used if the 'quickest' route became clogged up.

The models we now build at Thorneycreek also take into consideration different ways of achieving the same result.  For the most part, our clients want a simple, repeatable process; one which ensures a quality product at the end; one which is as streamlined as we can make it.  However, we realise that sometimes things go wrong: an internet connection breaks; postal workers go on strike; a key member of staff calls in sick.

That's when we need an alternative route through the network.  Can we manage without the internet?  If so, what does our new business process need to do to work around it?  If not, do we have an alternative way to connect to it?  In either case, we need to know how quickly we can change direction and start along the new route.

Risk analysis and contingency planning should form part of any business process analysis project.  A little investment in time and effort up front could save your entire business if something unexpected happens.

What Makes A Good Customer?

When we’re starting out in business, any customer can seem like a good customer, so long as they pay on time.

Then, as we progress, we start to get a feel for what a good customer looks like:

·         They keep coming back for more
·         The value of each engagement starts to increase
·         They tell their friends and other contacts about us

Over time, we may begin to depend on their business more than we should.  Then, one day, they’re not there any more and suddenly we’re in trouble. 

We need to use what we’ve learned about our good customers to identify other people or organisations that fit the same pattern.  That way, we can concentrate on selling to the contacts which are most likely to turn into good customers over time.

One way to do this is to measure the way our good customers behave – how frequently they give us business; how much revenue we’ve gained from them, both directly and indirectly, and also how profitable they’ve been.

This last measure can sometimes be a surprise.  If we add up all of the time we spend working on a particular customer’s account – answering support calls, additional site visits, the odd hour of unpaid work here and there – suddenly they may not seem so profitable. 

Keeping track of all of the costs associated with a client can seem a real chore, but it’s the only real way to decide whether they’re a good customer for our business or not.  At Thorneycreek Consulting, we can help you bring together and analyse all of the information you have about your clients, so you can make informed decisions about just who your best customers really are, and start looking for more of the same.

Contact us today to arrange a free initial consultation and take the first step towards really understanding who your good customers are.

Do You Know Where You're Going To?

I was recently invited to a client meeting in Lincoln.  That’s not a place I know very well, so I decided to call in an old friend to help me find out how to get there: the AA route planner website.

I typed in my starting point, my home postcode, and the postcode of the place I wanted to get to.  The website worked out the best route and drew me a map.  It told me how far away the destination was, how long it would take to drive there and, by implication, what it would cost.

When it comes to getting the best value for money from information technology, our clients often find themselves in a similar situation: they know where they want to get to, but they’re not sure of the best way to get there.

At Thorneycreek Consulting, we provide a business equivalent to the AA route planner.  We call it a Now and Next Review.  We look at where you're starting from, understand where you want to be, and then work out the best way for you to get there.  We’ll draw you a map, and give you some idea of how long it will take and how much it will cost.  And, for organisations with fewer than ten employees who sign up for an IT review with us during February, we’re offering this service for only £500 + VAT.

Contact us today to arrange a free initial consultation, and start moving your business towards where you want it to be.

What's Next?

How do you keep track of what you need to do at work today?  What jobs need to be completed?  What new work has been booked in since yesterday?  Is that high-value project ready to be invoiced yet?

Perhaps you use a diary, or a paper Things-To-Do list?  If you do, how easy is it to update the details of a task if problems arise, or the client changes a deadline on you?  How can you tell which piece of paper is correct?  Which task list is the most up-to-date?

These approaches rely on you to keep them current.  If you forget to enter a meeting, or don’t write down the thing you agreed to do for a client during that telephone conversation, it may get lost in the rush of getting the next task done.  It’s only when the reminder e-mail lands in your in-box, or the client calls back wondering why they haven’t received the goods you promised, that the omission comes to light.

That’s bad enough.  But what happens when you delegate a task to someone else, and they forget to do it? Or maybe they’re new to your organisation and they don’t yet know all of your procedures?  What if they don’t know what the next step in the process is?  A lot of valuable management time can be taken up helping employees do the things you’re paying them to do.

Transferring the control of your business processes to a computerised system will help with this:

• The steps in your process are always carried out in the correct order; no more confusion about what happens next 
• At each stage, the system automatically generates details of the necessary tasks and allocates them to the appropriate employees; nothing gets forgotten
• Tasks appear in the employee’s TTD list in priority order, ready to be actioned
• Team leaders can get an overview of all work in progress
• Overdue tasks will be highlighted for particular attention, allowing work to be re-allocated to other members of staff if one person is temporarily overloaded
• Finally, the system won’t let you move on to the next stage until all the tasks for the current stage have been completed; no chance that something vital will be missed out.

If this sounds like something which only larger organisations can benefit from, that needn’t be the case.  At Thorneycreek Consulting, we can provide computerised task management solutions tailored to your specific business processes at a cost which is still affordable, even if you’re a sole trader, or a micro-business operating with two employees.

Contact us today to find out how you can keep track of your Work-In-Progress and make sure that none of the tasks which keep your organisation running will be forgotten in the rush.