Marketing Plan

Devan Daniels

Matthew Gorski

Stephanie Lange

Grant Noltner

Kyle Rzentkowski

Business to Business Marketing

Business Administration 466-002

December 7, 2016

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Table of Contents Situation Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Macro Environment ................................................................................................................................... 4

Market ..................................................................................................................................................... 12

Internal Trends......................................................................................................................................... 19

Products and Services .............................................................................................................................. 21

Competition ............................................................................................................................................. 22

Customers and Consumers ...................................................................................................................... 26

Distribution Channels .............................................................................................................................. 29

Evaluation of Previous Marketing Initiatives ........................................................................................... 34

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats .................................................................................. 42

Key Issues ..................................................................................................................................................... 45

Objectives .................................................................................................................................................... 48

Marketing Strategy ...................................................................................................................................... 51

Marketing Tactics:.................................................................................................................................... 56

Lead Generation ...................................................................................................................................... 63

Qualifying Leads ....................................................................................................................................... 65

Company Awareness ............................................................................................................................... 69

Platform-Specific Recommendations: ..................................................................................................... 72

Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................ 84

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 86

References .................................................................................................................................................... 87

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Situation Analysis

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Macro Environment Main Points:

• Interest rates on loans and interest income on deposits are both very low. (Source:

https://www.treasury.gov/)

o Can allow companies to expand without large interest expenses.

o However, potential borrowers are now being subjected to rigorous

qualifications which increases difficulty in obtaining capital debt.

• The economy is currently in a deceiving state.

o Spread on interest rates makes it hard for the banking industry to function.

This can cause economic collapse as banks won’t loan money if they can’t

generate profit. This is more of a threat to the overall company and economy

in general rather than affecting the marketing plan. However, in the instance

that this happens just like it did during the 2008 recession which is unlikely

given new regulations, the impact or effect of the marketing plan could be

hindered if it does happen.

o Unemployment seems optimal by traditional indicators but more-extensive

indicators suggest a large number of people are not interested in working.

• The United States is currently undergoing a large political shift as the result of the

2016 Presidential Election.

• Foreign tensions in partnership with acts of terrorism are creating international

problems which will affect the economy.

o These events negatively affect the economy as they impact stock markets and

buyer behaviors.

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• Technology is continuing to advance which may allow Leeward to develop its

offerings further and create even greater value for customers.

Economic Analysis

United States Treasury Yield Curve

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/Historic-Yield-Data-Visualization.aspx

• The yield curve (shown above) is the most-universally recognized instrument for

determining the overall health of the economy. The curve shown above illustrates the

spread between short term and long term interest rates. When the economy is healthy, it

will have an upward sloping curve like the one shown above. If it is ever inverted, and

stays that way for a period of time, the economy will be sure to collapse in approximately

18-24 months (this is called a lag period).

• The yield curve above looks healthy because it is upward sloping. However, this is

slightly deceiving. This is because the curve has to be at a certain slope in order for the

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economy to function properly. Specifically, there needs to be approximately a 2% spread

between 3-month and 10-year treasury bonds (bench-mark bonds).

• Given the background knowledge above, it can be said that the current yield curve of the

economy is not as healthy as it should be. The approximate spread between the two

bench-mark bonds is approximately 1.35%. Without going in-depth of financial analysis,

this basically means that the banking industry has a very measly 1.35% gross margin to

make work with. This implies that banks are making very little profit and will be very

cautious when loaning out money (or not loaning it all). When banks stop loaning money,

the economy ceases to function.

• In addition to the spread being very minimal, there is another factor to consider. Short-

term bond rates are represented by the left side of the graph. As shown, 1-month rates are

currently at approximately .25%. However, this is not truly an accurate representation of

natural economic forces. This is because the Federal Reserve (Fed) is currently freezing

short term rates to give a “boost” to the economy. This was a part of “curing” the 2009

financial recession. However, as the Fed begins to ease this freeze as they just started to

in January 2016 (it was a 0% previously), short term rates will increase. However, this

doesn’t necessarily mean that long-term rates will increase simultaneously. The result?

The yield curve will become flat or inverted and the economy will re-collapse.

• TAKEAWAY: The current overall economic health of the United States is VERY

FRAGILE. Any shocks to the US economy can cause another GLOBAL RECESSION.

However, this isn’t necessarily an inevitability; instead, it is a possibility. This means that

any company today should proceed with caution when making decisions that would put

the company at risk. An example would be making large capital expenditures, executing

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expensive marketing plans, and other large company expansions. The reasoning here is

that a company would most-likely finance these large expansions with debt or equity

issuance. In Leeward’s case, the most feasible route would be through debt such as bank

loans or potentially bonds. When a lot of debt is undertaken by a company and cash-

inflows are reduced because of economic pressures, cash flows can turn negative and a

company could go bankrupt and fail. However, given that this will be Leeward’s first

official marketing plan, the budget set should be manageable enough for the company to

finance internally thus negating financial risk.

United States Unemployment

http://www.macrotrends.net/1377/u6-unemployment-rate

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• As shown by the “Official Unemployment Rate” shown by the gray line on the graph

above, unemployment levels are exactly the best it could be: 5%. However, this is

deceiving because of the parameters surrounding U3 unemployment (the official

unemployment rate is also referred to as U3). For instance, U3 doesn’t include ex-

workers that are no longer trying to find a job even though they are capable. Another fact

is that U3 would consider a McDonalds worker who holds a Bachelor’s degree as

employed when this person is, in fact, underemployed. U6 and U5 unemployment are

more-realistic when it comes to what defines a person as employed. Basically, by the

graph above, approximately 10% of workers in the United States are unemployed which

is not good.

Political Analysis

https://www.willhillarywin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/WHW_2016_election_banner_1.jpg

• Donald Trump has been nominated as President-Elect. As with any presidential

change, widespread changes within the country will most likely accompany it. This

could include the following:

o Changes to the healthcare system.

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o Changes in corporate and personal tax structure.

o Large investment into country infrastructure.

• All potential changes will have a potential positive or negative effect on Leeward.

Healthcare changes could impact the way it manages its employees; tax changes will

drive a similar result; and infrastructure improvements could make the whole country

more-unified with IT thus favoring Leeward.

Foreign Analysis

Terrorism

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/11/daily-chart-12

• Different parts of the world are not getting along with each other. As shown by the graph,

terrorism is continuing to grow as a problem in the world, especially recently.

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• As terrorism increases, parts of the world will be affected in some way which includes

the United States. Countries like France are directly affected by recent ISIS attacks while

the United States is indirectly affected by involving military to combat the group.

• There are many ways terrorism can affect a business:

o Employees can be directly targeted (unlikely in Leeward’s case).

o The government may raise taxes or redistribute budgets to fund an effort to

prevent/end terrorism which could negatively affect Leeward in the short-run.

o Employees and customers alike will have more stress in their lives which can

impact business performance and or sales.

Foreign Tension

• Tensions between the United States and Russia continue to grow.

o If these tensions ever reach critical levels, war can result.

▪ However, initial talks have been made between the new President-Elect

and disgruntled nations which suggest relationship strengthening.

• As stated above, foreign tensions can cause buyers to focus attention elsewhere and

governments to redistribute budgets and taxes.

Technology Advancements

• CRMSwitch.com shares a list of 15 business technology advancements that are

applicable to the world today. Specifically, advancements in business intelligence and

analytics has gained interest recently.

o Business analytics are now moving from the enterprise sector to mid-market for

which Leeward can compete in.

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o Advancements in data analysis software will provide greater value to customers.

o With new technology, Leeward can do more for its customers.

• Another piece of technology not focused on directly in the above article is artificial

intelligence (AI). As this becomes more prevalent, companies like Leeward’s can spend

less time collecting and interpreting data (because AI will do this) and focus on decision

making of what will provide the best solution for a customer.

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Market Geographic Market

https://explore94tv.files.wordpress.com/ 1

• Leeward Business Advisors only has one main office located in Kenosha, WI.

• Nearly all of Leeward's clients are located along highway I-94 Leeward conducts the

majority of their business along this route, which is a huge growth advantage compared

to other small IT consulting firms. Source: Tony Farella.

• I-94 passes through Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire, St. Paul and Minneapolis. This

leaves Leeward with plenty of opportunity for business.

• Leeward’s top customers are in the following industries: non-profit, start-ups, financial,

and architecture and design. However, the main target of this marketing plan will be

technology start-ups and non-profit organizations.

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o Given the unique nature of Leeward’s current legal situation (merger with another

company), exact figures within this category and others to come in this overall

plan may be limited.

Technology Start-up Industry Analysis

• Technology start-ups can be defined as any venture that has started in the past five years

and typically receives funding to expand and grow. Since these companies are new to the

scene, they will be unlikely to expense their budgets on expensive servers and data

storage as one example of Leeward’s suitable offering.

o One of Leeward’s biggest assets is their robust data storage network (source:

Tony Farella).

• According to The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin is an area of promising technology

start-ups. EatStreet, Redox, and HealthMyne are all examples of projects currently being

developed in this area. These projects, especially HealthMyne, are very data-driven. With

this said, they will require data storage in which Leeward can offer. If Leeward is able to

positioning and acquire these projects as customers, they will not only profit from initial

sales but also reoccurring monthly revenues from managing the equipment/ technology

aspect of their businesses.

• As an additional supporting source, the Wisconsin State Journal also provides factual

data suggesting that Madison is a strong upcoming market for technology start-ups.

(Article recent as of Jan. 2016)

o In 2015, 800 jobs were created and $66 million in investment funds were

generated to enable such projects. Leeward may be able to harness a portion of

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these funds in the form of revenues if it is able to augment itself within these

industries correctly and quickly.

Non-Profit Sector Analysis

http://nccsweb.urban.org/PubApps/profile1.php?state=WI

▪ The above figure depicts the amount of non-profit organizations just within

Wisconsin. This represents great opportunity for a company such as Leeward to

offer their services.

▪ Since non-profits generally have smaller budgets for non-core activities, Leeward

will be able to provide needed services more effectively and at less cost than the

non-profit having to hire and manage an IT individual/staff.

▪ Leeward currently has 30% of its customer base maintained by non-profits.

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Overall Information Technology Industry Analysis

http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/defaul 1

• The screenshot directly from Ibisworld.com shows that the industry of IT consulting has

grown 2.5% over the past 5 years even through difficult financial times after the

recession.

• The industry has a revenue of $387,000,000,000 and a fair assertion would be that it is

therefore very lucrative.

• The problem is that there are 442,748 businesses out there looking to do the same thing

(see following image for firms within the Wisconsin area).

• Leeward is a small fish in a big pond. Competition is very fierce and hard work will be

required to gain a competitive advantage and thus stand-out amongst the competition.

• Small and medium-sized companies often outspend larger ones. The average small

company spends 6.9% of revenue on IT. Midsized companies spend 4.1%. Larger

companies spent a miserly 3.2% of revenue.

• Midsized companies spend $13,100 per employee on IT. Large companies spend $11,580

per employee.

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http://thedataweb.rm.census.gov/TheDataWeb_HotReport2/econsnapshot/2012/snapshot.hrml

• Per the above figure, much of the industry (relative to Wisconsin only) is located within

South East Wisconsin. This figure is not indicative as a spread of the competition but

rather present to illustrate that data processing, hosting, and related services (NAICS

Code 518210) firms have the strongest presence in largely populated areas (therefore,

where most businesses are located).

Market Size

• Many large companies tend to have its own IT department. However, there are those that

are not at a level to fully maximize its potential. Leeward can tap into these businesses

thus benefiting both parties.

• Kenosha currently has 5,900 firms while Milwaukee has nearly 40,000! This opens-up a

lot of untapped potential for Leeward.

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• Milwaukee is home to UWM which will be opening its own entrepreneurship facility in

the coming years. Taking a proactive role in this development could lead to potential

large, profitable customers.

• Leeward should target the non-profit organizations, especially ones with more than 100

employees. Leeward currently has experience working in this industry. However, these

organizations need to be large enough in order to fully benefit from Leeward’s

capabilities.

• Tech focused start-ups and established young companies are a big opportunity for

Leeward. These are companies that have an IT department already, but do not have

support for it.

• The home office business start-ups should be a huge target for Leeward, they can reach

out to these companies and add value in a fairly easy fashion. These types of small

businesses will produce easy income, create goodwill with public, and could be a part of

something huge if the company becomes very successful!

• There are plenty of small businesses along I-94 from Chicago to the Twin Cities that

need the IT and computer consulting that Leeward can help with but just do not know

about Leeward. To reach this audience, Leewards needs to focus on raising company

awareness. But they shouldn’t reach out too far.

Market Segmentation

• Home Office Businesses – Largest and fastest growing segment. This is not to be

confused with home computer users that cannot be used as customers.

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• Small businesses – Government says this is 1-99 employees (Less than $50 Million

in Revenue)

• Medium businesses – 100-499 employees (Between $50 Million and less than $2

Billion in Revenue)

• Large businesses – 500 or more employees (Greater than $2 Billion in Revenue) –

Which Leeward has not gotten into yet.

Operational Market

• Consulting

• Managed service providers

• Partners to help out with the technology

• Finding and keeping new customers

Market Share

• The market share for Leeward is way too small in this category to even calculate and

is irrelevant for this marketing plan.

• The IT business consulting industry is massive and Leeward is trying to get into this

market enough that they can start getting more and more big customers

Current Marketing

• Current marketing is to operate by word of mouth

• Want to push for managed services as much as possible

• Building relationships with customers as much as possible

• Calling schools to set up after school activities

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• Guerilla Marketing to get sales from local companies

• Want to have the relationship with the decision maker at the company

• Want to catch the prospects unsuspected of the technology intelligence of Leeward

• These strategies are not cutting it for Leeward if they want to take

that next step in being a successful company

• We have some ideas for them though

Summary

• Leeward does not have a marketing division currently, and it is important that they start

implementing this, especially since they are a new company.

• The IT consulting business is especially difficult to get break in to, with the relationships that

are built already it is hard squeezing in.

• Leeward should keep pushing in having the relationships but also reach out more in the

market so more people know about Leeward.

• Marketing can make or break a company when they are starting to expand and reach out to

new areas. It is very important for a company to market themselves the right way.

Internal Trends • As of right now we were able to obtain very little information about Leeward’s business

performance. They are currently in the process of an acquisition of another company and

do not feel comfortable sharing the information regarding their performance. However,

they were able to provide us with a few details to create our analysis and

recommendation around.

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• Leeward has grown year over year by about 40%. (Tony Farella)

o It is growing at a very high rate which shows they have improved drastically from

year to year.

o However, the large growth rate may be attributed to earning one or two large sales

which may prove difficult to replicate on a yearly basis. The model of having a

few high-revenue clients could be very beneficial for Leeward's business as well.

• Gross profit increased by 57.4% and revenue increased by 44.4% from last year (Tony

Farella)

o This is a very positive statistic for Leeward. They have grown at a very

large rate from last year

o We do not know the specifics on how they were able to grow, but from the

information provided we can see that this company has had a lot of success in the

past year.

• Tony let me know in our email conversation that, "we [Leeward] didn’t host new events,

we hosted better events, better speakers, better email strategies)"

o This shows that they were able to keep costs roughly the same and just improved

the number of events that they hosted.

o Which is most likely the reason why gross profit increased by a larger amount

compared to the growth of revenue.

• Leeward is happy with their current growth performance, however, there is still a lot of

opportunity for them to grow even more.

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o They are close to reaching a $1 million sales mark, which is a huge indicator of

growth potential and future success of this company.

Products and Services • Overview

o Leeward provides products and services that assist other companies in basically

all their IT needs. Their main goal is to utilize and harness every piece of data

possible to organize and add value by using their skills and technology to tackle

each problem.

o They provide multiple different services that range from workshops to full on

control over every aspect of the company.

• Services

o Advisor Workshops

• These workshops provide businesses the ability to create a detailed

roadmap that maps out exactly how a business can improve in the areas

that it needs to.

• Will help with things such as leadership utilization, market activity, and

solution development

• These workshops will directly help startups the most because of the

growing pains a lot of startups have.

• With a focus on startups this product will succeed because it directly will

affect them in a positive way.

o Business Solutions

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• Work with the company to manage business info and analysis,

governance, risk, and compliance, and cost reduction and financial

management

• Being able to provide services on such a broad spectrum will stand out to a

lot of companies.

• Most companies have multiple different departments dealing with these

tasks so it is not very transparent when dealing with multiple different

tasks.

• With being in an information age, a lot of things go unnoticed when new

things are released.

• Products

o Data Centers

• Allow companys to store their data in off site and secure spaces

• This is a very popular service in the business world

• Many companies cannot store or handle the amount of data they

have acquired

Competition

Breakthrough Business Advisors:

• Offer business advice and implement solutions to help businesses grow by examining

their clients' processes, procedures, people, products, and profits.

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• Breakthough Business Advisors offer an easy route to implementing and adopting tested,

high quality management practices in sales, marketing, business operations, leadership,

and engagement by using the theory used by leaders like Baldrige, Gallup, Six Sigma,

and ISO.

• Breakthough Business Advisors are uniquely positioned because each process is

specialized.

• Cost: $1,000 - $5,000 per month depending on the organization and services used

• Strength: backed by Baldrige, a trusted source and data center

• Weakness: Do not have any partners to help fix problems that they do not personally

have the capacity to fix. They also do not have the capacity to look at the whole business

to provide improvement, unlike Leeward.

• Leeward's competitive advantage over Breakthough Business Advisors is their

willingness to do anything to improve their client's business – including using partner

organizations and referring clients to outside companies that can best meet their needs.

Wipfli

• WIPFLI offers a variety of services and consultations for human resources and

information technology companies including audit, accounting and tax services.

• WIPFLI focus on improving key components of their clients business, even if businesses

are already successful.

• Strength: Has a strong reputation of continuous client improvement and a strong brand

image in the business advising community.

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• Weakness: only focus in financial which limits their consumer base

• Have a very advanced website within the consulting industry and is very user friendly.

• In addition to WIPFLI paid services, they also offer free self-help business links, such as

online tax calculators, on their webpage for clients and potential customers to use.

Leeward's website does not have this type of feature or offering.

Platinum Systems

• Offer IT services, technology

management, and cloud services and

management.

• Platinum Systems is doing very well in the information technology industry for their IT

management practices and services. Platinum Systems pride themselves in providing

their clients with IT solutions that are proactive and provide predictable results.

• Strength: Platinum Systems are able to manage the cloud your business currently uses

and make it better.

• Weakness: Platinum Systems do not offer consulting or services for other parts of

business such as finances, tax and hardware as many competitors in the industry do.

CDW

• CDW has a unique placement in the business advising

industry, they help companies with both hardware and

software solutions.

• CDW focus mainly on small businesses that are expanding and moving but also provide

services to well-established organizations

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• Work with management service and IT partners to upgrade client, professional and

managed services partners can help them upgrade their IT environments as well.

• CDW buy and sell products that they sell online. Online is where most of their marketing

is done.

• Strength: CDW evaluates existing hardware and tries to implement and revamp it by

through system upgrades and new equipment additions. They are good at working with

the software that clients already have in place and want to improve that, not just selling

new products.

• Weakness: CDW operates mostly online so they do not have very many strong customer

relationships

• Leeward offers many different services that CDW does not and if Leeward isn't able to

provide their clients with the right service or solution they use outside sources and their

business partners to achieve client goals.

QTS

• QTS offers many services, but are mainly for their

management and cloud storage services.

• QTSservice solutions for five distinct industries: enterprise, government, IT departments,

financial services and healthcare

• Strength: QTS uses their own data center in order to help yours meaning that they can act

as a support system to keep their clients functioning at a high level. QTS are known for

this service and can do it better than anyone else in the industry can.

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• Weakness: Have a limited offering of products and services because QTS focuses closely

on two elements of the industry.

• QTS is well recognized for their excellent data centers and innovative products that have

been designed to meet the changing needs of their customers.

• Leeward cannot compete with QTS's world class data centers because that is not one of

their main business services. However, Leeward has a competitive advantage over QTS

with their accounting and financial consultation services.

• Out of the five listed competitors Leeward has, each does something well that seems to

keep their business afloat and thriving. Leeward claims to have the best of all worlds.

Leeward can help your business in the accounting, IT, and financial department better

than most of these competing firms. The things they do well with, they thrive with them.

If Leeward cannot help you in a certain area within your business, then they will certainly

channel you through to the right way you need to go for help.

Customers and Consumers

Types of Customers & Consumers:

• Since Leeward only uses direct distribution channels their customer and consumer are

usually the same person.

• Most of Leeward’s customers and consumers are some schools, financial firms,

manufacturing firms, community organization, and small business offices. They do not

have many big firms within their dozens of clients. The firms they deal with tend to be

smaller in their own size and industry.

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• Leeward does not have a set industry or type of customer that they focus their attention

on. Leeward considers their customers and consumers any industry that needs IT

services, cloud storage or business advice. Leeward should narrow their customer and

consumer base in order to have more effective with their clients.

• Most of their clients are small, local businesses and startups.

• Leewards customers and consumers are located primarily in southeastern Wisconsin,

northern Illinois and along highway I-94 toward eastern Minnesota.

• The majority of consumers and customers are from the Kenosha area, however the most

profitable clients are located in larger cities, such as Milwaukee and Minnesota. It would

be a better idea to put more money into these larger cities because this is where most of

their profitable clients are

• They currently have 15 contracted clients and multiple single-time contracting jobs in

various industries. These clients generate anywhere in between $30 - $300,000 in revenue

depending on their needs and company size.

Relationships with Customers & Consumers

• Leeward's business consists of a few short term consumers who spend smaller amounts of

money and time with Leeward, consumers continue the relationship for 1-3 years and

provide decent business revenue, and long term consumers that rely on Leeward's

systems for their business to function. The long term clients serve as Leeward's highest

source of income It is important that Leeward starts to target some new clients that can

help their business expand and provide more revenue. These customers can potentially

turn into long-term customers and give revenue for a long time. They can hopefully

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within their big city markets like Minneapolis and Milwaukee area so they can attract big

clients.

• Leeward prefers to have long-term business with their clients verses short term so

Leeward works hard to provide continuous value to their consumers so they favorably

about working with Leeward for an extended period. With a long-term relationship, it is

easier to maintain a consist flow of business from consumers, allowing Leeward to excel.

What do they buy?

• Business and IT Consulting: Leeward examines each company's existing technology to

determine areas of improvement and their solutions. The costs could be reduced within

the consumer’s business with just a little help from Leeward.

• Cost reduction. Many client's daily functioning costs can be reduced with Leeward's

help. They examine current systems and habits and find solutions to cut costs and

increase efficiency.

• Tailored Solutions: Often, customers and consumers are not fully aware of all of

Leeward's capabilities and offerings until they meet with them for the first time since

Leeward's product and service range is so vast and customizable.

• One-Time Assistance: If there is a specific task or project that clients need help

managing or organizing within their business, Leeward will assist them as a one-time

solution consultant.

• IT System Revamp. Leeward will assess their client’s IT processes to determine whether

to restructure or replace the IT system to create a smooth, properly functioning system.

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Where do they buy?

• Leeward prefers to conduct business in person and usually only sells their services to

customers and consumers through face-to-face interactions.

• All of their transactions take place face-to-face with the client since that is the most

effective way exchange information.

• Leeward likes to build good personal relationships with customers and consumers as

individuals to make sure they are a good fit for each other before diving into a committed

relationship where money is exchanged and they conduct business. If they are given the

run around with certain clients that is alright as long as they do not get screwed over in

the long run.

Why do they buy?

• Consumers and customers buy Leeward's products and services because they truly

believe in what they have to offer and value the relationship that they have with them.

• Leeward provides their clients piece of mind when searching for a solution. If Leeward

isn't able to find a solution for their clients problems and goals they work to find a

solution through one of their partners or outside sources to ensure their clients receive the

best possible outcome for their situation.

Distribution Channels Direct Channels

• Leeward currently only uses direct distribution channels

o Relationship-based selling and set up

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o Mostly face-to-face interaction

o Send emails

o Share their expertise by volunteering in the community

o Often take clients and prospects out for lunch and dinner

• Strengths

o Complete control

o Builds relationships

o Greater confidentiality

o Cheaper since a middleman is not paid

• Weaknesses

o Financial risk

o More challenging to grow business and adapt to new markets

• Leeward BA Success

o Have been fairly successful using solely direct distribution

o Currently considering the option of using indirect distribution for a portion of

their business, but have not explored the idea extensively

• Sales

o 100% of Leeward's revenue generation comes from direct distribution

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o Very cost effective since they do not have to employ a middle man

• Comparison to Competitors

o Leeward's competitors vary in size and use both direct and indirect channels.

However, these competitors are on a national scale (examples include Amazon

Cloud Services and Dell Hardware) while Leeward services on a local level.

However, their size allows them to serve their customers in a more customized

manner; a huge benefit.

o Leeward has a majority share of the market on a local level since they are so

specialized.

o Although they cannot directly compete with their large competitors, Leeward is

able to build strong relationships and loyal customers through their direct

channels and customized services

Indirect Channels

• Leeward currently does not use indirect distribution channels to sell their products and

services. However, they are currently thinking about incorporating it into their business

within the next few years.

• Although they do not use indirect channels in their own business, Leeward acts as an

indirect distributor for their partners – Nutanix, Jive, and Exablox by providing their

services and systems to their clients.

o This allows Leeward to offer more competitive products without completely

investing in their own systems

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o Increases business appeal for customers and revenue generation for Leeward since

they can provide solutions to more of their client's needs.

Direct Channels

• Leeward currently only uses direct distribution channels

o Relationship-based selling and set up

o Mostly face-to-face interaction

o Send emails

o Share their expertise by volunteering in the community

o Often take clients and prospects out for lunch and dinner

• Strengths

o Complete control

o Builds relationships

o Greater confidentiality

o Cheaper since a middleman is not paid

• Weaknesses

o Financial risk

o More challenging to grow business and adapt to new markets

• Leeward BA Success

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o Have been fairly successful using solely direct distribution

o Currently considering the option of using indirect distribution for a portion of

their business, but have not explored the idea extensively

• Sales

o 100% of Leeward's revenue generation comes from direct distribution

o Very cost effective since they do not have to employ a middle man

• Comparison to Competitors

o Leeward's competitors vary in size and use both direct and indirect channels.

However, these competitors are on a national scale (examples include Amazon

Cloud Services and Dell Hardware) while Leeward services on a local level and

can be more customized.

o Leeward has a majority share of the market on a local level since they are so

specialized.

o Although they cannot directly compete with their large competitors, Leeward is

able to build strong relationships and loyal customers through their direct

channels and customized services

Indirect Channels

• Leeward currently does not use indirect distribution channels to sell their products and

services. However, they are currently thinking about incorporating it into their business

within the next few years.

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• Although they do not use indirect channels in their own business, Leeward acts as an

indirect distributor for their partners – Nutanix, Jive, and Exablox by providing their

services and systems to their clients.

o This allows Leeward to offer more competitive products without completely

investing in their own systems

o Increases business appeal for customers and revenue generation for Leeward since

they can provide solutions to more of their client's needs.

Evaluation of Previous Marketing Initiatives Social Media

• Overview of Social

o Leeward Business Advisors currently has a very strong, robust social presence.

They are posting regularly, have up-to-date profile information, and have an

average of 120 followers across their most active platforms.

o They have profiles on all major platforms including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,

Instagram, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest and Tumblr. Some of these profiles are

more active than others – such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and

LinkedIn – and others do not have any posts, such as Pinterest and Tumblr.

o Leeward mainly uses their social media to share information and photos from

their community efforts and to begin and be a part of conversations online. They

do not share information about their industry expertise or product solutions, which

would be appealing to a company considering business with Leeward. The

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community engagement posts are beneficial, but Leeward needs more of a content

mix in their posting to reach potential clients.

• Quantifiable Objectives

o Main goals included generating company awareness through thought leadership

and industry expertise in addition to sharing their community involvement.

o Leeward should set quantifiable goals for their social media posts and

interactions. Because they do not collect social media metrics or analyze their

platforms, it is impossible for them to accurately measure how successfully or

poorly they are utilizing the medium to meet their goals.

• Strengths & Weaknesses

o Strengths:

• Pages have a uniform name and profile imagery.

• Leeward is actively posting interesting content fairly frequently.

• Located on all major popular platforms

• Posting some third-party thought leadership pieces about a variety of

topics – IT, politics, current events.

• Properly mentioning and tagging other organizations and individuals on

social media using @ and retweets.

o Weaknesses:

• Do not share any thought leadership – mostly community involvement.

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• Some social media channels get more attention than others – Tumblr and

Pinterest accounts haven’t been touched in a long time.

• Publish identical content across all platforms, sometimes using

inappropriately for the medium. Reusing not recycling their content.

• Key Takeaways

o There is lots of potential for Leeward to grow their social media

leveraging.

o Received a fair amount of likes and comments on their posts – 1-5 each –

meaning that their followers are at least a little interested.

o Easiest to facilitate a good discussion on social media than to push product,

however Leeward needs to transition the topics away from only community based

events.

• Areas for Improvement & Recommendations

o Use existing content across multiple mediums, but tailor it to fit each specific

platform to avoid redundant and awkwardly placed messages.

o Track user engagement to learn which content and platform generates the most

interaction.

o On their YouTube page they should include thought leadership pieces and share

them across different media. Currently they only have videos of Harbor Fest and

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other community involvement – these videos have not generated a lot of views or

likes.

o Utilize Instagram to focus on community involvement. The user style of the

platforms makes it the perfect medium to share goodwill, feel-good messaging.

o Use LinkedIn to share thought leadership and facilitate industry related

discussions. Also, place content marketing pieces on SlideShare to reach an even

larger audience.

o Continue current use of social but tweak messages and use to be more effective.

o Currently, posts are published sporadically; here are week long phases of nothing

and then days with seven posts on one platform. Create a social media posting

schedule to distribute content more evenly.

Community Outreach

• Harbor Fest

o Leeward has organized and hosted Harbor Fest in Kenosha for the event two

years (2015 & 2016).

o Harbor Fest is a community event focused on showcasing educational programs

and organizations for Kenosha youth to get involved with. Leeward is a sponsor

or involved with nearly all of these organizations.

o Purpose of Harbor Fest is to build positive associations with their business,

generate new client leads and to help support KTEC and other student educational

programs.

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o In 2016, Harbor Fest attracted over 300 attendees but Leeward did not experience

any significant business growth from it. However, the community thoroughly

enjoyed the event and it was a great PR opportunity for their business.

• Kenosha School of Technology Enhanced Curriculum (KTEC)

o Leeward works very closely with KTEC in a variety of ways to share their

expertise with its students.

o Some of the activities include running an afterschool Coding Club that teaches

students code basics and a coding summer camp that allowed students to design

their own video game. They also come in to classes as guest speakers, host field

trip and help out at the annual Science Education Week. Additionally, Leeward

partnered with the national organization, Junior Achievement, to teach KTEC

students about entrepreneurial business and guiding them through the entire

process of creating, pitching and implementing an idea. Leeward also donated a

complete computer system to KTEC's innovation lab.

o Leeward also recently took on a college intern who had previously attended

KTEC for the summer to develop his IT skills and help him learn more about a

career in technology.

• The Great Cloud Debate

o A thought leadership event set up by Leeward to talk about cloud storage.

Attendees watched a debate between Leeward BA founder, Mike Polzin and

business management professional, John Vanderheyden and could interact with

questions and comments.

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o Hosted at the Hudson Business Lounge in Milwaukee

o Planning on continuing to host more cloud-focused thought leadership discussions

and more debate style events

o Leeward’s team felt that it had a fantastic turn out for the event, however,

attendance numbers were not recorded. They also reported having a lot of social

media interaction afterward, but they did not take measurement.

o The Leeward team felt that the Great Cloud Debate was one of their best

networking opportunities since the majority of the attendees were prospects

o They own the domain name www.thegreatclouddebate.com and hope to continue

the event in the future.

• Quantifiable Objectives

o The main objectives for the community based events is to get their name out to

the public using guerrilla marketing tactics.

o No set number goals or post-event metrics, just focus on creating feelings of

goodwill and name recognition in the community.

o The events' direct impact on business growth and sales is hard to quantify.

Leeward uses community involvement and events to raise awareness, however,

they do not know which clients joined them after a positive interaction at an

outreach effort.

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o To evaluate the success of their marketing tactics and define areas of

improvement, Leeward should track and measure the success of their events on

new clients and revenue growth.

o Community involvement has provided a lot of growth and acceleration for

Leeward. They have received a lot of outreach from prospects because of their

community involvement. A lot of parents of children or people who know those

children are reaching out and are very impressed.

o Leeward is very happy with their community based client turnover. However,

they would like to be getting more clients from their efforts but they understand

they are a young company and their efforts need time to produce complete results.

Proper marketing measurement and strategies can help Leeward figure out what

they need to do to achieve this.

• Areas for Improvement & Recommendations

o Continue hosting community involvement events. However, they should not

waste too much time and energy on efforts that are not getting them results. It is

still early in their career, but they might need to consider scaling back in the

upcoming years.

o Get involved in the Milwaukee community. Some of their largest clients are from

the city of Milwaukee and higher-valued accounts are located in the city as well.

They are currently spending a lot of time and money in Kenosha which is very

small city with small clients.

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Promotional Materials

• Promotional Item Overview

o Leeward has customized cups, pens, chap stick and more that they hand out at

their volunteer events and client meetings

o Leeward's partners usually pay for the swag items as a way to also promote

themselves, so promotional materials do not cost Leeward any money

• Quantifiable Objectives

o Leeward has not established any objectives, they use their promotional materials

to generate awareness and familiarity at community events and client meetings.

• Areas for Improvement & Recommendations

o Continue current use of promotional items since they are a free tool.

o Introduce new items or creative ways of distributing.

Section Summary:

• Leeward Business Advisors is employing a lot of marketing tactics, however it does not

seem that they are all effective and helping drive the business forward.

• Small tweaks to their current initiatives and adding new strategies will be able to go a

long way for them.

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Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, and

Threats

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Strengths

• A boutique firm with a strong product offering, strong customer relationships, and

customizable services that are desirable to customers.

• A one-stop shop for all company IT and business needs, al-a-cart, buy what you need and

not what you don’t.

• They have a unique product offering and have very few competitors that can match all of

Leeward's offerings, just certain aspects.

• Their strong social media presence and community involvement give them a strong brand

presence in Kenosha and Southeastern Wisconsin.

Weaknesses

• Current marketing efforts are not producing results

• Limited brand awareness outside of the Kenosha/Milwaukee area

• Their product and service offerings are not properly conveyed to clients and prospects

until they reach out for a proposal. Many prospects are unaware how Leeward can help

them.

• Website is very confusing and needs to be redesigned for user experience.

• Focus most of their time and attention in Kenosha where businesses are small and there is

not much business revenue.

Opportunities

• Redirect marketing efforts to target ideal clients, create a new, user-friendly website

• Expand geographically and take on additional clients off of I-94.

• Obtain more partner companies to better serve client needs.

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• Expand team size to incorporate growth and increase client opportunity.

• Move office to Milwaukee to focus on higher-net-worth clients.

• The amount of Mom and Pops establishments that don’t have an established IT

department.

Threats

• Companies that are more established with similar offerings.

• IT service firms are very prevalent and offer very similar products and services.

• Fragile economic state could negatively impact their new business

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Key Issues

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• Low Brand Recognition, creating lack of customers

o Leeward BA does not show up as a first page result of a Google search looking

for IT consultants in the Milwaukee area.

o Do not appear on Consulting Bench – a website that manages a list of all

Wisconsin consulting firms.

o Leeward is a very new company. They have not had as much opportunity as other

consulting firms to spread their name.

• Unclear target audience

o Currently, Leeward is trying to target literally any individual or company in any

location that needs IT service instead of targeting the most ideal candidates.

o Since they do not have a set target audience, Leeward is not successfully reaching

their most desirable prospects. The Leeward team puts a lot of marketing time and

effort catering to clients and prospects who do not generate very high sources of

revenue or benefit the most from their services.

o Leeward could benefit by focusing their target audience nonprofits and start ups

in the Kenosha area. They currently make the majority of their revenue from these

targets.

• Marketing efforts lack quantifiable goals or strategy

o The goal of most of Leeward's marketing efforts is to build a lot relationships and

then wait for clients to come to them. This strategy has proven effective to a

certain point, but Leeward could be more successful with a strategic plan.

o Most of Leeward's client prospecting is conducted face to face. This takes a lot of

time and resources with a very small amount of new clients and sales.

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o Since they do not target specific businesses, there is a lot of time wasted between

transportation and spending time with prospects who usually never turn into

clients.

o Need to create brand recognition\

• Lack of Marketing Specialist

o Leeward does not have anyone specifically designated to run marketing efforts for

the company in general. There needs to be a comprehensive strategy or direction

for their marketing efforts in order to increase efficiency.

o Since no one specifically conducts marketing efforts they often take it takes client time

and prospecting away from the firm.

o In general, Leeward is too small of a company to be conducting large scale

marketing. Their large marketing events create more work than they have man

power for.

• Not Enough Monthly Recurring Revenue

o Need more of this to have a higher sales per customer

o One big customer is not enough to have this.

o With each new customer, the percentage of sales per customer is decreasing.

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Objectives

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Company Awareness

Create awareness and recognition of the Leeward brand and product offerings in the

Southeastern Wisconsin business communities.

• Currently, Leeward has a very low brand and name recognition in Milwaukee, Madison

and Southeastern Wisconsin. All of these areas have high client potential and need

tailored marketing work.

• Kenosha currently has 5,900 business firms while Milwaukee has nearly 40,000.1

Expanding their awareness to more populated areas opens-up a lot of untapped

potential for Leeward.

• Success of marketing efforts will be measured by their Google optimization, increases in

visits to the websites, and the number of leads they receive in a month. Our goal for

Leeward’s lead generation as a result of increases in awareness is 8 leads per month, or

on average 2 per week.

Monthly Reoccurring Customers

Leeward should increase their monthly reoccurring customers (MRR) to 60% of their

clients by December 2017.

• Currently, the majority of Leeward's business comes from clients who contact them for

one-time consulting and solutions. These clients are usually not a high source of income

even though they require a lot of resources.

• By focusing on reoccurring customers who are high sources of revenue, Leeward will

maximize their time and resources on clients who are the best fit.

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• Leeward will also have more financial stability and structure if the majority of their

clients are monthly reoccurring clients.

Sales

Increase the number of services that they provide each client. utilizes.

• A large portion of Leeward's customers are only using them for one service. By

increasing the amount they provide for each client, Leeward will be able to provide more

value and increase their revenue stream without constantly seeking out new clients.

• Will make sales efforts and resources more worth it with these new customers bringing

bigger revenue

• Increasing the amount of sales per customer will also benefit the client. Although

Leeward’s services are usually a-la-cart, they often provide more value when they are

paired with other products and streamlined into each business.

• Leeward does not want to push unnecessary products on their clients, however, a lot of

the time clients can really benefit from using more of Leeward’s services. They need to

better communicate their capabilities to potential clients in order to generate a bigger

desire to integrate more of their products. Content marketing will be a major tool in

fulfilling this objective.

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Marketing Strategy

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Market Segmentation:

• Start-ups and non-profit organizations in southeastern Wisconsin – primarily in Kenosha,

Madison and Milwaukee areas – who are in search of IT consulting or services for their

business.

Target Audience:

• Primary: Tech-focused start-ups and young companies that provide software or online

services.

• Secondary: Large non-profit organizations with more than 100 employees.

Positioning:

• Customized and reliable IT consulting and solutions

• Industry expert partners for your business

• Comprehensive product offering and technical expertise

• Client-first relationship management

Products:

• Customized IT solutions and services designed to improve each company's unique

operations.

• Anything that a company needs, Leeward can supply it either themselves or through a

partnership.

Client Service Strategy:

• Leeward BA focuses on providing technology value as it applies and enhances each

individual organization.

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o Can enhance existing IT or completely service it

o Willing to find a solution for any issue a client has

• Client-centric culture

o Committed to finding the most creative and practical solutions for each problem

o Will only provide what the client needs and will never try to add-on extras for

profit

Price Strategy:

• Pricing is competitive to similar offerings by other IT consulting firms.

• High quality and insightful work, but price perfect for their start up clients who may have

a tighter budget.

Promotion Strategy:

• Focusing on building awareness of Leeward Business Advisors and their services in the

area. They are a new company and still need to work on getting their name out there

• Promoting with content marketing within video for customer improved knowledge of

company

• Promoting the company by marketing the "Harbor Fest" that Leeward sponsors.

Budget:

• The budget will stay relatively similar to Leeward’s existing one since most

recommendations are just adjustments to their existing efforts.

• Leeward should set a marketing budget to be about 10% of their annual revenue in order

to fulfill their objectives and create content marketing materials.

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Marketing Strategies:

Content:

• Share thought leadership and expertise through content marketing on various mediums.

Lead Generation:

• Increase lead generation

• Qualify leads

• Continue to use email phone calls, and in-person meetings to maintain a strong

relationship with clients and promising leads.

Company Awareness:

• Improve social media presence to further establish company credibility and generate

awareness and interaction.

• Network and build relationships with businesses and decision makers in targeted

geographic areas.

• Utilize events as promotional opportunity's by leveraging PR tools more effectively

• Host more events that highlight expertise and capabilities

• Leverage Search Engine Optimization tactics to reach potential clients while they are in

the information gathering phase

• Use competitive intelligence to search see what competitors are doing and use that

information to improve the company and marketing efforts.

Evaluation:

• Keep track of all time and resources spent on each marketing effort

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• Measure successes against benchmarks and previous efforts

• Alter evaluation methods based on specific goals and as the company grows and changes

• If something is not working or generating the desired results, change it

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Marketing Tactics: Content Marketing

• “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and

distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-

defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” (Content

Marketing Institute)

• Content marketing is a tactic that would help Leeward save time and money while

helping their potential clients travel through the decision making process. Implementing

content marketing will help the sales team have fewer prospect questions to answer, less

time spent in prospecting meetings, and more quality leads since consumers will already

have a good idea of what Leeward can do for them.

• If a company is not using content marketing to share their capabilities and information,

they are way behind the 89% of B2B marketers who already are.

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• “Traditional marketing talks at people, Content Marketing talks with them” (Doug

Kessler B2B Slides)

o Leeward’s current strategy focuses on informing potential customers about their

products and services only during a scheduled meeting with a potential client.

o Using content marking pieces will allow Leeward to be more effective in their

marketing efforts by sharing their product and service capabilities with consumers

who are in the information search phase.

o Content marketing will allow potential customers to decide what products best fit

their needs based on previous customer’s opinions, case studies, and educational

videos that provide factual insight on the products and services Leeward offers

before reaching out for a meeting.

o This will save Leeward time and resources and will help filter out potential clients

that have a high-likelihood of becoming clients to reach out.

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o It will also allow Leeward the control to messaging and influence in addition to

targeting businesses with a high likelihood for success.

o This will also eliminate a lot of wasted time by qualifying leads

▪ Providing consumers with content that informs them why to choose the

products available allows them to have factual knowledge on why the

products will benefit them specifically

▪ When the consumer reaches out to Leeward they will not need to be

“sold” on the products because they already have the information available

that “sells” the product beforehand

▪ Leeward spends a lot of time with clients providing the same information

that content marketing materials could share.

• Tony Farella shared that it takes Leeward’s salespeople an average

of three visits to decide which products the potential customer will

use to benefit their business. Content marketing would save them a

huge amount of time and energy.

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• The average company uses at least 8 Content Marketing strategies, the above graph

shows which tactics are the most common among B2B companies.

• Case studies:

“Also known as success stories, case studies are a proven way to convince

prospects to make a purchase. After all, they feature your customers describing

how your product helped them. Excerpts from one case study can be used across

your content marketing channels – from website copy to blog posts and landing

pages.” (Content Marketing Institute)

▪ Provide specific case studies from the companies in your target market.

▪ This will directly correlate the value of the product from companies with

specific traits and features that the potential client has

▪ It eliminates a lot of the uncertainty the company currently has.

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• They have no proof to show why their products work, only

statements given from salespeople.

• Need to have direct evidence that matches the feature with the

benefit of the specific product.

o Ways Leeward can acquire case studies

▪ Ask previous customers to fill out a questionnaire that asks specific

questions on the problems Leeward helped them solve

▪ Provide a step by step process of how the problem was solved

▪ Assign the intern(‘s) to get in touch with previous customers to start the

case studies

• Testimonials

o “When researching products, one of the most persuasive pieces of content that a

consumer will view is a testimonial or a review by a another product user. These

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reviews and testimonials are the pieces of content that consumers are viewing

before they’re reaching out to companies, and that’s what makes customer

testimonials a worthy investment of your time.” (Pardot)

▪ People put more trust in another person’s opinion rather than statements

from the company.

▪ The company can choose and pick out their best features, but customer

testimonials allow consumers to feel like they trustworthy information that

reflects the statements Leeward is trying to make.

▪ Increase MRR – showcase their thought leadership and case studies to

show single time customers what leeward can do for them

o Ways Leeward can acquire testimonials

▪ Encourage your customers to write reviews about the company and their

experience. This is usually very easy as long as Leeward is not pushy and

reaches out to customers who they know have a lot of good things to say.

▪ Additionally, Leeward can use Twitter to their advantage by finding

positive tweets about their product and services and engaging with those

posts and followers via retweets and messages. More details about Twitter

use will be covered in the company awareness section.

• YouTube weekly expertise videos

▪ Can help with general knowledge of how basic tech works

▪ Brand Awareness is higher

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▪ While talking in the videos bring up the benefits of having someone else

take over certain areas of the it department that will help utilize time and

money

▪ 78% effective as a content marketing tactic, according to a 2013 study done by

the Content Marketing Institute.

▪ When these videos are created about certain topics its brings thought leadership

into potential customers about the products that may be helpful to certain

companies.

• Online distribution lists:

o When a researcher visits Leeward's website, they have the option to be added to a

list that will give them information on Leeward's service. This list will also give

them new information on Leeward's services that are now available.

o This list will also be a good spot for the content marketing. The new content that

Leeward is going to be releasing can be sent to the customer directly via this list

they were added to.

o This list also helps out with the Lead Nurturing. When a company is choosing

what B2B company they want to go with, it can take some time. If they are added

to this list, Leeward will be able to remind them about their company.

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Lead Generation

• Explore the accounts out there in the area, and nurture them until they are ready for a sale

o If you find a sale ready lead right away, great! No need to nurture.

• Lead Qualification is the bridge between marketing and sales

o With Leeward not having much of a marketing department this will keep

everyone in the sales department on the same page

• Right now, leeward generates a lot of leads through cold calling and word of mouth

o These tactics are beneficial, but leeward needs to broaden their ability to generate

leads

• Based on our findings, Leeward can successfully generate leads by the following tactics

o Company Website

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• This is the biggest one

• Since the release of their new website they now allow for people to fill out

personal info to get questions answered rather than just having a phone

number to call

• Being able to track website visits and other traits, this will enable them to

see exactly how well the information released can generate leads, and

what needs to be done in order to generate more

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Qualifying Leads

•

• "If you forget to do the qualifying step, a large percentage of your time will be wasted on

potential customers who don’t really need your offering, or can’t afford it.” (Patel 2016)

B2B Class Slides

• Qualifying the leads that Leeward generates is the next step to using

the leads they get to the best of their ability.

• There are a couple of reasons that make qualifying leads a solution

to making the whole sales process easier.

o Leeward can have questions answered right away about

certain traits and capabilities that can be made to

individualize each customer.

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o Helps the entire purchasing process go much easier

• If both parties understand the other's intentions, they can work on any

issues later.

• Top three questions Leeward should ask themselves when qualifying a customer:

o Purpose: What is the prospect’s main goal? And how can we successfully interact

with them to meet those goals?

• Service: What type of service does the company require? Are there any specific

things they may need that are outside of the norm?

• Budget: What is the lead’s price point? And what type of value are they looking

for?

▪ Usually, people say they want the most “bang for their buck.” Leeward

can flip the question and ask the lead about what they would consider to

be the offer of a lifetime?

• This will help Leeward put a limit on the amount of work and effort they

need to do to earn their business.

• Ways to reach out and qualify a customer

o Email: Sending out basic surveys with multiple choice questions to see if a lead

reflects and agrees with the traits Leeward finds desirable in a qualified lead.

• In person: Leeward needs to stay in control of the conversation when qualifying

a potential customer. Ask should ask them specific questions that pertain to their

key qualifying features, while also having a meaningful conversation.

• Leeward needs to examine the below traits in each lead to figure out how qualified they

are and if they will be ready to buy in the near future.

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• Attributes: Does the lead fit all characteristics to be considered an ideal

customer? Do they seem like a good partner to work with?

• Position: Does Leeward’s contact have decision-making authority or influence? If

not, they need to try and get in contact with someone who does. If this can’t be

done, then this lead should not be pursued.

• Need- Is there an expressed need for Leeward’s products or services? If there is

just a general inquiry about the service, make sure that is notated right away.

Direct them to the content marketing materials. Leeward should not waste time

discussing customized solutions and options in-depth at this point.

• Readiness- How ready is the customer to buy Leeward’s products and services?

Leeward should try to answer these questions shortly after establishing the need

for the product or service they are inquiring about.

Email:

• When trying to create an email list Leeward should consult their online distribution list

(stated above) and nurture them into your products and services and creating quality

leads. It's important that Leeward shows their customers the benefits they could be

receiving when going through their company for information technology advice.

• Offering incentives to get people to sign up for emails will increase the number of people

seeing Leeward’s emails and being exposed to that information.

• Leeward should personalize the emails in order to add a personal touch and make

recipients feel more important and special.

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o One person’s positive impression of Leeward can lead to a recommendation or

positive review of them to other individuals and businesses who may need

Leeward’s services.

• To increase the chances of creating new business relationships through networking

Leeward should send out mass emails to people looking for business advice in their IT

department

o When using bulk emails, you can reach hundreds of customers in the least amount

of time

• To improve the way Leeward uses email they can use a system that provides detailed

metrics to help measure their email’s effectiveness, such as SurveyMonkey or MyEmma.

o A new system can show open rates, click rates, clicked links and bounces. These

metrics will take the guessing game out of what content to share, as they can

focus on what the recipients of their email are interested in.

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Company Awareness Social Media:

• Social media is great for building a brand image, listening and gathering insights from

consumers, and engaging with prospects and customers. It is one of the most popular,

easy and cost effective ways to share a company's message and content marketing

materials. The majority B2B companies interviewed below utilize social media to share

their marketing messages.

• Social media is one of the fastest growing mediums and has become an extremely

popular option for B2B Marketing. Below are some of the most used and most effective

social platforms for sharing B2B content.

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Social Media Recommendations:

• Overall, Leeward already has a strong social media presence, there are only a few areas

where they can improve to increase effectiveness.

• Currently, the vast majority of their posts consist of their community involvement and

third-party article sharing. To make their profiles more well-rounded and effective the

main focus of improvements will be to share more thought leadership and expertise on

social media through content marketing materials.

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• They currently do not have a ton of user engagement. One of the top social media goals is to

create more interaction with followers across all platforms in the forms of likes, shares and

comments.

• Leeward currently publish posts very sporadically; there are weeklong phases of nothing

and then days with seven posts in a row on one platform. Leeward should create a social

media posting schedule to distribute content more evenly and strategically.

• Leeward usually posts identical content across all of their social media accounts. To

maintain uniformity and medium etiquette they should use existing content across

multiple mediums, but tailor it to fit each specific platform to avoid redundant and

awkwardly placed messages.

• Lastly, Leeward should track user engagement on social media to learn which content

and platform generates the most interaction by setting goals, objectives and ways to

measure success. They currently do not measure any of their social media marketing

efforts.

• To support our recommendation for more use of content marketing on Leeward's social

media, we analyzed which platforms are the best and most popular ways to share B2B

company content online.

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Platform-Specific Recommendations: • LinkedIn:

o Focus on sharing content marketing materials as well as third-party articles that

highlight Leeward's thought leadership. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for

participating in and facilitating thoughtful discussion with industry leaders and

potential clients.

o Upload content marketing materials, such as case studies and presentations, to

LinkedIn's SlideShare site. SlideShare is an excellent way to share company

information and expertise and it has the potential to show up in organic searches

conducted by potential customers.

o Use LinkedIn to scout out potential leads and find out who are the contacts,

decision makers, and purchasers for those companies.

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o LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing media platforms. Leeward

can really benefit from harnessing its power and potential.

• Twitter:

o Continue using Twitter as a way to facilitate conversation among followers and

connect with other businesses and individuals.

o Post more Leeward-focused thought leadership and expertise in addition to third

party articles.

o Make sure that tweets pinned to the top of their profile page and current and

relevant. Right now, they have a pinned post from April 2016 that is no longer

important or relevant to followers.

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• YouTube:

o Create and house more content videos that feature Leeward's industry expertise

and thought leadership on YouTube and share them to other social media

platforms when appropriate.

o Currently, Leeward only has videos of Harbor Fest and other community

involvement – these videos have not generated a lot of views or likes.

o Increase the number of YouTube followers and views per video by creating more

attention-grabbing and interesting content that appeals to their target audience.

o YouTube improvements should be the number one social media focus for

Leeward because of its power to share meaningful and education content directly

to their target audience.

• Facebook:

o Add more posts about Leeward's thought leadership and expertise in addition to

the community involvement and third-party article sharing. This will create a

more well-rounded posting stream and keep things new and exciting for viewers.

o Since Facebook is the most popular social media platform, it is very likely that

Leeward will be able to reach the majority of their target audience and leads

though it. Because of this, it is important that they have an equal balance of

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thought leadership, content marketing and community involvement so that anyone

who visits their page gets an accurate impression of the business.

• Instagram:

o Utilize Instagram to focus on community involvement. The user style of the

platforms makes it the perfect medium to share goodwill, feel-good messaging.

o Include interesting and appropriate IT themed photos and facts. Posts of this

nature should be concise, short and offer value to the viewer. It should not be used

to directly push a product but instead to provide interesting imagery and content

that followers enjoy seeing.

• Google+:

o Although Google+ is not a ragingly popular social media platform, maintaining

an active profile has benefits in terms position and rank in Google Search results.

Public Relations:

Currently, Leeward writes their own PR pieces, however, they have had a hard time getting them

picked up by local media outlets. They should continue writing these pieces, but with a few

tweaks to be more effective.

• PR can be used by Leeward in many of the ways highlighted in this chart both currently

and in the future as they grow and their marketing goals and strategies change.

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Source: http://www.slideshare.net/septemBEN/pr-is-the-new-marketing

• Write PR pieces to be interesting and newsworthy to the general public.

o The PR pieces they currently write are important – but they are not exciting or

newsworthy to the general public. By tweaking their messages to be more timely

and interesting to this audience they will likely have more success with their PR

efforts.

o Topics can include community service, awards, and partnership announcements

that are composed in a way that makes them timely, exciting, and newsworthy to

media outlets who are looking for engaging content to share with their audience.

o A well-written, human-interest story about Leeward's community volunteering

has high potential to be published in large newspapers or even local news.

o News release topics can also feature area businesses that Leeward consulted. This

style will show off their expertise and credibility by example. They can borrow

content from their case studies in order to recycle the pieces they already have.

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o Customers are attracted to companies that they perceive to be leaders in their

industry. Leeward can benefit from using speaking opportunities, industry

roundtables, and opinion pieces to share their expertise to the masses through

public relations.

• Use PR outlets to cross-promote and showcase events.

o PR materials will serve to further leverage Leeward's external commitments and

involvements – will help reach other people and general public, raising

awareness.

o Serves to leverage the time and resources spent on community service and event

marketing efforts.

o Can utilize PR materials even if they are not used by media sources by continuing to post

them on their website and sharing particularly exciting ones on their social media

accounts.

• Use PR to reach new audiences and create general public awareness.

o Allows Leeward to share newsworthy information with local media outlets.

o Has the ability to spread Leeward brand awareness and thought leadership to a

broader group of individuals than they currently reach.

Networking:

• Leeward should join with an association or organization that is already established that

can help them network more effectively in their field. The Association of Information

Technology Professionals is a good option for Leeward. This association facilitates

networking with IT leaders both at the local chapter level, national level, and through the

AITP online community.

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• The B2B and consulting industry are all about relationships. Focusing on building

relationships and connections will help Leeward get more leads and more customers as a

result.

Events:

• Event marketing is one of the most effective ways that B2B companies can market their

businesses and build relationships. Events allow companies to meet with clients and

prospects face-to-face and build strong connections.

• Currently, Leeward already hosts a lot marketing events. However, the majority of them

focus on hosting community wide events and volunteering at local schools in Kenosha.

• By altering the focus of their events to more industry specific topics and ways to

showcase their expertise and thought leadership, Leeward will have the opportunity to

reach more potential clients and meet their lead generation goals.

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• Below are the main reasons that companies use events in their marketing mix. Many of

Leeward's goals are listed in this chart, so events are a great tactic for them to explore

further.

Additionally, Leeward can focus the majority of their marketing budget on hosting events. They

are one of the best ways. It is common place for B2B companies to exercise the majority of their

budget on events because they have been proven to be so successful.

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Event Recommendations:

• Measure and quantify event success.

o Leeward currently does not document the time and cost spent on preparing and

hosting each event. They also do not have a way to calculate or quantify event

success. They mainly host goodwill, community-focused events with the hope

that the right person will attend and reach out to them for business.

o Set goals, objectives and measurement methods for each event and evaluate what

was accomplished afterward.

o Document how much time, money, and energy is put into each event and compare

it to the successful accomplishment of event goals and objectives.

o Events can be evaluated by attendance, media exposure, website or social media

traffic, or lead generation based on the type of event and objectives set

beforehand.

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o Once the evaluation is complete, Leeward should quit doing events that cost too

much money and do not have good enough results and focus on the things that do.

• Focus events around industry expertise and thought leadership.

o Leeward should scale back on the volunteering focused events and instead focus

on events that showcase Leeward's thought leadership – such as the Great Cloud

Debate.

o The Great Cloud Debate was one of Leeward's most successful events (according

to them) and it is worth duplicating in the future. It placed them in front of the

right audience and allowed them to share their expertise in a tactful and engaging

way.

o UW-Milwaukee is currently building and will be opening its own

entrepreneurship facility in the next few years. Taking a proactive role in this

development allows Leeward to get involved, showcase their expertise and it

could lead to potential large, profitable customers.

• Conduct more events outside of the Kenosha area.

o Since Madison and Milwaukee areas contain more businesses and opportunities

for Leeward, they should host more events (both community and thought

leadership) in these areas.

o They generate the most revenue from these areas and they are where Leeward

should be spending more marketing resources.

• Partner with other organizations or clients.

o Can also partner with other organizations so they are not always footing the full

bill

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o Event sponsorships will also be a good way for Leeward to associate themselves

with the professional community as experts and thought leaders without having to

do all the back work.

o Work with middle men – dual promotion and share of cost and work (could even partner

with a client to build good will)

• Hire an intern.

o It is likely not time or resource effective for their staff to be spending so much

time with marketing event efforts instead of spending time with clients.

Search Engine Optimization:

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• Search Engine Optimization – use the content we are recommending to them to push their

company and link to the top of a google search. This is something that the marketing

intern could be doing

• As the chart above shows, there is a lot that goes into search engine optimization. Some

companies even have an employee that is dedicated to this alone. They see the fact of

being higher up on search engines as such an advantage that they can hire someone to

improve that.

• Pay per click is calculated by dividing the advertising cost by the number of clicks

generated by an advertisement. It would be wise for Leeward to reach out to a company

that specializes in Pay Per Click to get their company awareness up.

• Analytics from marketing efforts can be used to improve marketing tactics and

performance. Continue using what works and change what doesn’t.

Competitive Intelligence:

• Have the marketing intern go through Indeed.com, Monster.com, MilwaukeeJobs.com,

etc. To stay up to date on new jobs that are being posted in the IT world. With doing this,

Leeward will have a significant advantage over the next guy in finding companies that

are changing their IT department around. Leeward has found that a good amount of their

new clients and opportunities come from companies that are switching around. That

conclusion has come from past experience that companies usually just stick with their

usual IT Consulting agencies because it is what they are used to and the relationships

they built are important.

• For Leeward, a small IT consulting company, it is difficult for them to even get their

chance to talk to the decision maker at a company if they have been there for a long time.

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That is why we are going to have Leeward target the companies that are making changes,

because those new decision makers are a lot more likely to be open to change at the

industry level and give Leeward a shot. Whether or not they go with Leeward for the IT

consulting business, the experience from these situation enough makes it worth tracking

the job sites.

• The job sites will not be a quick turnaround situation. This is something that is going to

be somewhat of cold calling to try and get their foot in the door there. This will take a

while for the company to hire the new decision maker in the IT department, or someone

close to the decision maker, and for that to happen it will take some time for the new

employee to become updated on the current processes of their company and to realize

where the faults are. Only then will the new IT employee be able to see where the

opportunities for improvements are.

• That is when hopefully Leeward will have already begun their relationship building with

the companies IT department and their new employee. If all of these things align,

Leeward could be looking at a very good new customer that could really take them

places. It is all about the right timing, and the relationships that Leeward is building with

the right people.

Evaluation

Overall, Leeward will need to begin tracking their marketing performance end effectiveness in

order to properly evaluate their efforts. They currently do not track or quantify any of their

efforts, so it will be essential for them to begin setting goals, objectives and ways to measure

their events before they begin to implement them. There are many ways for Leeward to begin

evaluating their marketing efforts below are a few of our immediate recommendations.

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• Find the bench mark of what similar IT consulting companies are doing for marketing

and beat them.

o If they are put out content marketing once a week, Leeward should put out

content marketing 2-3 times a week. Finding these benchmarks and keeping them

up to date against Leeward is something that the marketing intern can do.

• Track their position one Google.com when searching certain terms "IT Consulting

Kenosha" or "Leeward" or "IT Consultants" or "HarborFest".

o Take a look at positioning at least once a month to evaluate the company

awareness marketing.

• Track the amount of likes on social media's from a month to month basis

• Make sure for all of these that the budget and costs of marketing are being tracked.

• Since a lot of Leeward’s marketing efforts will take place online, it is important for them

to get goals for each effort and decide which way they will measure their success. Below

is a sampling of the most popular metrics used to measure digital performace.

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• Below are some ways that other B2B companies use to track their events. Since Leeward

will be hosting a lot, it will be important for them to determine which measurements they

will focus on to quantify their events success. Depending on each event’s set up and

overall goals, they will likely choose different ways to measure success for every event.

Conclusion

Leeward Business Advisors is already doing a lot of really smart things to market their

business, however, there are areas where they could be more effective. By creating content

marketing materials and building a library of resources they will be more effective in guiding

leads through the marketing funnel as well as creating more company awareness via multiple

channels. Leeward is a very young business with a lot of potential for success. By leveraging the

strategies and tactics we have presented in this marketing plan, they will only continue to grown

and become more successful.

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