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Will You Add? - Small Companies Really Can Compete - Here's How
A logo represents the face of a company that reflects the personality of a business. A professional logo is like an investment whose image grows as your company grows with time. A meaningful logo delivers a message about the business products it represents, so as to stay alive in the minds of the people. Logo should always be unique as it acts as the prompt identification symbol of your business or organization. The simpler your logo is, the easier it is to remember and so it leaves a stronger impression on people.A logo that provides the personality behind your company is considered to be the most basic promotional tool that differentiates you from your competitors through the use of color, shape, style, and overall design. For a logo to be visually effective, it must exhibit certain related fundamental design characteristics like shape, presence, weight and contrast. A visually pleasing logo is inviting and creates a positive perception of your organization.When we think of companies like Google, Microsoft or IBM, most of us tend to visualize their logos first. It is believed that 50% of people remember what the
However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.
What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack?
A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)
Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:
Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:
1. Understanding the valu
Call centers are created by organizations to receive inbound calls for varied day-to-day business reasons. Since companies invest tremendous amounts of money into customer- care relationships, they carefully monitor customer perceptions of their efforts to serve them. There’s a growing awareness in the business community that customers are unhappy dealing with computerized message delivery systems. Callers tend to perceive interactive voice response systems (IVR), voicemail, and even a standalone answering machine as too formal and not user friendly. Call centers and answering services that feature live phone operators are viewed much more positively by callers, and give companies a more personal, caring and relaxed image.Inbound calls to any organization generally fall into one or more categories; calls are placed to obtain information, report a problem or error, or ask for assistance. This is different than outbound calls placed by a sales agent with the purpose of selling a product. This practice is known as telemarketing, which entails a different set of methods and requirements for successful
In business terms, they claim that these findings represent a revolutionary breakthrough in understanding what makes a successful contract bidder.
Two key facts tell a worrying story:
1. 50% of them said it is important for them to win new business in order to fulfil their corporate plan.
2. And yet four out of five companies interviewed win less than half of the bids they pitch for.
Conclusion: Most companies are not winning enough new contracts to meet their business objectives.
Not unnaturally, this would cause some anxious looks around the boardroom table if it were not for another key finding from the report.
A small improvement in bidding techniques and tactics can lead to a disproportionately large increase in the number of contracts won.
Not surprisingly, the most effective bid winners prefer to draw a veil over those factors that make them successful but the research has pulled the veil aside and provides a glimpse of the critical success factors in winning major bids.
The companies answered a detailed questionnaire which focussed on two key areas – how successful they were at winning major bids and what they regard as the factors that made them most successful at winning the bids. Figures are rounded to the nearest decimal point. The companies in the survey represent a cross section of those British companies that compete in major bids either in the UK market or overseas.
The participants came from industries as diverse as information technology, construction, engineering, aerospace, media, consultancy and utilities.
The companies were candid about their success. Some 37 per cent admitted they won less than a quarter of the bids they pitched for. A further 40.1 per cent said they won between a quarter and half of their bids. Only 4.1 per cent of the companies claimed to win more than three-quarters of their bids.
But for these companies, what constitutes “success” at winning major bids? Among the companies 71 per cent “strongly agreed” that it was to win bids at “acceptable profit margins”, while an almost mirror image of 70.6 per cent “strongly disagreed” that it was to win a bid “at any cost”. Among other possible definitions of success 31 per cent strongly agreed that it was winning sufficient bids to achieve growth targets, and 19.2 per cent winning bids from blue-chip customers.
There was little disagreement that winning major bids was essential to achieving business plans – 52.8 per cent said it was very important to win bids from new customers and 64.5 per cent from existing customers.
Given that winning major bids is important for achieving business plans, just what is it that gets a company invited to bid in the first place? The companies were invited to rank a number of different factors on a scale running from “very important” to “not important at all”.
The top five factors are:
1. Perceived quality of your products/services (68.5 per cent say very important)
2. Relationships with existing or potential customers (54.4 per cent)
3. Position of the company in its market-place (52.2 per cent)
4. The company’s overall image (47.6 per cent)
5. Track record in similar projects (46.5 per cent)
However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.
What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack?
A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)
Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:
Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:
1. Understanding the value
Every year thousands of families plan to relocate and if you are one of those; then simply contact the best New York moving company. New York is one place where you can find various moving companies offering best and affordable services. But choosing best from the lot is tough deal to crack.If you are moving within or in New York, you should consider of hiring the services of best New York moving company. Nowadays families prefer to hire services of moving companies as it is easier on them. The main highlight of any New York moving company is that it will make your moving very easy, without worrying about how your belongings will be moved from one place to another.If you have decided to move then it is wise to hire moving services of Redline Movers. This New York moving company has got years of moving experience and guarantees fast and safe moving. Selection of any New York moving company depends on few prime factors such as:1. Cost of services 2. The type of services offered 3. The area that each moving company focuses on.Redline Movers thoroughly scores well on all these factors and thus,
Not surprisingly, the most effective bid winners prefer to draw a veil over those factors that make them successful but the research has pulled the veil aside and provides a glimpse of the critical success factors in winning major bids.
The companies answered a detailed questionnaire which focussed on two key areas – how successful they were at winning major bids and what they regard as the factors that made them most successful at winning the bids. Figures are rounded to the nearest decimal point. The companies in the survey represent a cross section of those British companies that compete in major bids either in the UK market or overseas.
The participants came from industries as diverse as information technology, construction, engineering, aerospace, media, consultancy and utilities.
The companies were candid about their success. Some 37 per cent admitted they won less than a quarter of the bids they pitched for. A further 40.1 per cent said they won between a quarter and half of their bids. Only 4.1 per cent of the companies claimed to win more than three-quarters of their bids.
But for these companies, what constitutes “success” at winning major bids? Among the companies 71 per cent “strongly agreed” that it was to win bids at “acceptable profit margins”, while an almost mirror image of 70.6 per cent “strongly disagreed” that it was to win a bid “at any cost”. Among other possible definitions of success 31 per cent strongly agreed that it was winning sufficient bids to achieve growth targets, and 19.2 per cent winning bids from blue-chip customers.
There was little disagreement that winning major bids was essential to achieving business plans – 52.8 per cent said it was very important to win bids from new customers and 64.5 per cent from existing customers.
Given that winning major bids is important for achieving business plans, just what is it that gets a company invited to bid in the first place? The companies were invited to rank a number of different factors on a scale running from “very important” to “not important at all”.
The top five factors are:
1. Perceived quality of your products/services (68.5 per cent say very important)
2. Relationships with existing or potential customers (54.4 per cent)
3. Position of the company in its market-place (52.2 per cent)
4. The company’s overall image (47.6 per cent)
5. Track record in similar projects (46.5 per cent)
However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.
What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack?
A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)
Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:
Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:
1. Understanding the valu
1) Know the company and their culture. Are they trendy and artistic or conservative and elegant? Your gift giving should reflect this. Also, global customs vary significantly. Ensure you understand the proper gift etiquette to avoid offending overseas clients.2) Know the client - their likes, hobbies, and interests. When possible, personalize your gift. A theater or sports buff would really appreciate and remember tickets to an event.3) Avoid religious themes or messages. Seasonal themes such as "Happy Holidays" work for everyone.4) Stand out from the crowd! Think about sending your gift on an unexpected holiday. For example: "Thank You For Your Business" on Thanksgiving, "Looking Forward To Another Year of Doing Business With You" on New Years, or even "We love Doing Business With You" on Valentine's day.5) Don’t send the same thing every year. It's boring and will be taken for granted. Your gift provider is full of ideas and can often suggest something new and different.6) Stay away from anything too personal or that can be misconstrued. You probably know not to buy lingerie, but the
The companies were candid about their success. Some 37 per cent admitted they won less than a quarter of the bids they pitched for. A further 40.1 per cent said they won between a quarter and half of their bids. Only 4.1 per cent of the companies claimed to win more than three-quarters of their bids.
But for these companies, what constitutes “success” at winning major bids? Among the companies 71 per cent “strongly agreed” that it was to win bids at “acceptable profit margins”, while an almost mirror image of 70.6 per cent “strongly disagreed” that it was to win a bid “at any cost”. Among other possible definitions of success 31 per cent strongly agreed that it was winning sufficient bids to achieve growth targets, and 19.2 per cent winning bids from blue-chip customers.
There was little disagreement that winning major bids was essential to achieving business plans – 52.8 per cent said it was very important to win bids from new customers and 64.5 per cent from existing customers.
Given that winning major bids is important for achieving business plans, just what is it that gets a company invited to bid in the first place? The companies were invited to rank a number of different factors on a scale running from “very important” to “not important at all”.
The top five factors are:
1. Perceived quality of your products/services (68.5 per cent say very important)
2. Relationships with existing or potential customers (54.4 per cent)
3. Position of the company in its market-place (52.2 per cent)
4. The company’s overall image (47.6 per cent)
5. Track record in similar projects (46.5 per cent)
However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.
What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack?
A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)
Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:
Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:
1. Understanding the valu
Talk of China's economic impact on the global economy is all the rage at most business meetings and in media articles focused on improving North American competitiveness. The barrage of news and numbers coming out of China seems relentless. It makes even the strongest quiver. Growing technological expertise - 360,000 new engineers per year join China's workforce Low wages for both skilled and unskilled labor - Fortune Magazine (Dec. 6/04) cites 39 cents per hour for industry laborers, $2,000 per month for design engineers, and $20 per month for general laborers China is experiencing more than 10% growth per year At the same time, hundreds of thousands of jobs are disappearing in North America Fortune 1000 companies are being bought up or heavily invested in by Chinese companies Natural resource and energy prices are skyrocketing, in part because of increased global demand China seems to have become a world economic power practically overnight. As we woke up to the new environment, market pressures had increased at a phenomenal rate and our margi
There was little disagreement that winning major bids was essential to achieving business plans – 52.8 per cent said it was very important to win bids from new customers and 64.5 per cent from existing customers.
Given that winning major bids is important for achieving business plans, just what is it that gets a company invited to bid in the first place? The companies were invited to rank a number of different factors on a scale running from “very important” to “not important at all”.
The top five factors are:
1. Perceived quality of your products/services (68.5 per cent say very important)
2. Relationships with existing or potential customers (54.4 per cent)
3. Position of the company in its market-place (52.2 per cent)
4. The company’s overall image (47.6 per cent)
5. Track record in similar projects (46.5 per cent)
However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.
What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack?
A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)
Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:
Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:
1. Understanding the valu
Attention all business owners, consultants, artists, freelancers - you can fire your client !We all like getting paid. Some of us don’t even mind working to get paid. So why on earth would you walk from a situation in which you were getting paid great money, to do in your opinion, some great work. The answer is when you have a bad client. A lot new ventures, free lancers, artists and consultants especially, just want to get the work coming so they will put up with anything. But besides keeping you dignity in tack, firing your client can be good for your business.1. Don't sign up for something you can't do -This is not really a " when to fire scenario" but it is important enough to mention. I recently called a sales person over at software company about one of his packages. I explained my needs and wants and the first thing out of his mouth was, " I can do A and B for you, but let me be honest with you, I cant really do C. If you like I can ask around and see if there is someone out there who can". Perfect.2. When the money gets f
However, as the survey shows, more than three-quarters (77.1 per cent) of companies win less than half the bids they pitch for.
What do the best quarter have that the other three-quarters lack?
A year-long research project undertaken by Mathew O’Connor, one of the co-authors of the report, identified 18 activities which seemed to contribute to success in winning major bids. These activities fall under four main categories – assessing the customer’s perception of products/service value, understanding the customer’s buying centre, contacting customer’s and communicating key messages about the company and it’s products/services (see below)
Eighteen Critical Activities in Major Bid Projects:
Assessing your customer’s perception of product/service value:
1. Understanding the value/benefits customers expect to gain from your products/services (25.6 per cent)
2. Understanding the cost of ownership issues that impact customer decisions about your products/services (17.9 per cent)
Understanding your customer’s buying centre - DMU:
3. Understanding the business environment in which your customers operate (25 per cent)
4. Understanding each customer’s mission, objectives and markets (15.1 per cent)
5. Understanding the decision-making process each customer uses (21.3 per cent)
6. Understanding the factors the customer considers when purchasing(24.6 per cent)
7. Understanding the roles played by those in the DMU (24.3 per cent)
8. Understanding your customer’s communication network (9.9 per cent)
Contacting customers:
9. Maintaining continuing visibility with customers through advertising,mail shots, etc (11 per cent)
10. Developing person-person relationships with potential customers (44.8 per cent)
Communicating key messages about your company and product/services:
11. Communicating key marketplace issues to customers (8.2 per cent)
12. Communicating generic benefits offered by your products (8.6 per cent)
13. Establishing the superiority of your products/services (18.1 per cent)
14. Building a distinctive and helpful image of your company (26.6 per cent)
15. Establishing an understanding of your market standing (20 per cent)
16. Communicating the value/benefits of your product/services (20.5 per cent)
17. Persuading potential customers to invite you to bid (34.1 per cent)
18. Ability to offer support or ancillary services (23.1 per cent)
In the survey each of the companies was asked to rank its performance on each of these 18 activities on a five point scale from “very effective” to “not effective at all”.
The research demonstrates a clear correlation between being effective at these activities and winning a higher proportion of major bids.
Companies that win less than a quarter of bids claim to perform an average of 2.9 of the activities very effectively. Among companies winning a quarter to half of bids, the number of very effective activities rises to 3.5; those who win half to three quarters of their bids perform 4.9 activities very effectively: among those companies winning more than three-quarters of major bids, the number of very effective activities climbs to 8.7.
What is perhaps surprising here is that even the most successful companies are accomplishing less than half of the critical 18 activities “very effectively”. It seems pretty clear that those companies prepared to focus on these activities and generate even a modest increase in the number of activities performed very effectively could reap significant improvements in the number of major bids they win.
Aside from these critical activities, the research has uncovered some important issues for managing effective bid teams. The companies in the survey were asked to rate 15 aspects of managing bid teams on a five-point scale from “very important” to “not important at all”.
The top five issues are:
1. Leadership from senior departmental managers (very important for 64.3 per cent)
2. Creating a team spirit (55.8 per cent)
3. Leadership from board of directors (49.5 per cent)
4. Including team members with
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