A great friend of mine named Sarah, took a new job as the Director of Marketing for a large B2B services firm. In her first week on the job, Sarah attended her first senior staff meeting with the CEO.
The situation was dire, and sales were flat as a pancake. Everyone’s piercing eyes glared at Sarah during the meeting; despite the fact they blamed Joe the former Director of Marketing for the current situation. Glued like a child to the television, Sarah intently listened to the tennis match discussion between the senior staff. She learned that the company had made a series of decisions to cut costs and not update their website or invest in marketing automation tools. The coup de grâce was that their closest competitor had invested heavily in marketing to include a new website, marketing automation, and a slick new mobile application. The investments their competitor made were paying off, and they were gaining market share.
The CEO and the rest of the senior staff latched onto the idea of purchasing a mobile application like a kid who had just seen a commercial for a new toy right before Christmas. Quickly they came to the consensus that Sarah’s first priority should be a mobile application and the CEO was ready to cut a check and make it happen.
Sarah did not agree. She felt that the senior staff was focused on the flash and cool factor of the mobile app rather than the foundation and fundamentals required for a good marketing strategy. Sarah then turned to me for some advice on how to proceed.
The Plan Before the Plan
Together Sarah and I agreed that first and foremost a marketing strategy was needed and that a mobile application should not be the first priority. I helped her outline a case to present to the senior staff that entailed the foundation that must be in place before incorporating a mobile application into your marketing strategy. The foundation includes these main points:
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As Sarah outlined her plan of attack to lay a marketing foundation, we turned to discuss mobile application strategy. Sarah asked, “So now that we have the fundamentals, what are the business considerations when building a mobile application?” Read
Part II of this B2B Mobile Application Tale to find out the answer to Sarah’s question!