Live Blog: Don’t be for Your Eyes Only: In-Plants & Their Marketing Plan Needs

Written by:
Joel Basa
eMarketing Manager
Xerox Corporation
It’s In-Plant week here on our social channels at Xerox. Today we’re hosting a James Bond Inspired Workshop for In-Plants, “In-Plants are Forever.” Our agents (attendees) come from around the country and have made their way to the Gil Hatch Center on an Aston Martin Shuttle Bus. Their mission: to transform their in-plant from being perceived as a “cost” to the organization to a valuable partner that saves your organization money.

Last night our agents participated in a Keynote by Peter Muir. Peter shared some of his thoughts on how to be like Bond….James Bond. Here are a few slides from his keynote.
At 1:00 PM Et, Peter will speak about In-Plants and their need to develop a marketing plan. We’ll cover this with a Live Blog. Tune back in fellow agents!
[01:03] – Running a little late here. Our mission will start soon…stay tuned!
[01:09] – Okay Peter is getting started and he’s showing a photo book that was produced with photos taken from last night’s customer dinner.
[01:10] – Peter starts with: There are 5 things to achieving Strategic Relevance: 1.Consider your customer 2.Understand the market 3.Develop a plan 4.Market your services 5.Expand your offerings
[01:12] – A question to the audience, “what are some of your objectives of your organization?” One customer responds, “to take on 90% of the print work that is done in our organization rather than having it sent out.” Does that sound like a goal you have?
[01:19] – Another customer responds saying, “we’d like to create a DVD to distribute internally to market our services.”
[01:24] – What are some of the objectives that you, in-plants, are striving for? Share by commenting below and I’ll share with the live audience. here.
[01:25] – Let’s talk about step 1. Consider your customer. Here are some questions to ask: Do you know who your customers are? How do you identify them? How often do you really engage with them beyond the ordering process? Beyond the satisfaction card? Your customers – both current and future – are the core of a successful profit strategy.
[01:30] – Peter asking the question, “has anyone received negative feedback?” and “How have you handled it.?” Peter talks about how similar to social media responses, negative responses and failures often turn into positive circumstances depending on how it is handled.
[01:35] – Adding to “Consider Your Customer:” Discuss existing strategies for learning more about your customer’s needs: Identify what has worked and what hasn’t, Identify customer service strategy strengths and weaknesses, Share how your existing product/service mix fit into your customer service strategy, and Use this as an opportunity to learn and share
[01:39] – What are you doing to figure out what your customers are doing? How about Face to Face meetings? A customer chimes in saying he checks what they are producing. Another customer looks at what jobs are going “out the door” and sees what they are capable of keeping in house.
[01:44] – How about aligning yourself with new hires? That way you’re better aligned…
[01:45] – #2: Understand Your Market. Before you can assume to anticipate your customer’s needs you need to understand their/your industry Elements to learn: Daily tasks, Products/Services they work with/develop, Trends in their industry, Their challenges, Your customer’s position within their industry
[01:46] – #3:  Develop A Plan. The plan parts according to Peter:  Value statement, Business evaluation, Develop goals, objectives and tactics –Use SMART objectives, Marketing to Succeed (4P’s Product, Pricing, Placement, Promotion, (Partnership), Determine product/service needs, Produce products/services that meet needs)
[01:47] – #4. Market Your Services: All of your efforts working towards improved positioning within your in-plant will be for not if you can’t properly market your services. However, the manner you choose to do so should also be influenced by the new information you’ve acquired about your customer and market
[01:49] – Face to face is still an effective way to market. How about referrals? Do you reward for referrals? How about product displays? A Facebook fan page? How about a seminar or workshop to help your customers do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. How about an open house?
[01:59] – Similar to the themed James Bond that we’re hosting right now…how about a themed workshop or open house? Create buzz about your shop so they don’t forget the value you bring to your organization.
[01:59] – Another forgotten aspect of a marketing plan is having a formal schedule. It is often overlooked but it is critical. Have a schedule for your great marketing activities.
[02:00] – So this session became more of a brainstorm of ideas rather than a step by step of the plan. Hopefully we’ve provided some great ideas to you on how to make your organization more strategically relevant. If you’re interested in Xerox’s “Guide To Strategic Relevance,” please comment below and we’ll work with you to put a copy in your hands.