Ricker and Smart

1. Ricker and Smart Strategic Planning – Marketing –Education and Training Bob Ricker www.rickerandsmart.com bob@rickerandsmart.com(615) 329-2882

2. The Plan Strategic Planning Market Plan Market Message Tactical Plans Employee Messages Employee Education and Training New and Old Customer Messages and Education Advertising

3. Strategic Planning • New Strategic Plan that you can work with(Meaning “getting a plan in shorter order”). • A facilitative meeting to go over initial information for plan. • A report you can use. • Charts you can use to present your case and evaluate the project or situation. • You can analyze faster. • Use the plan to make current and near future decisions. • Helps you “discover issues” you may not have thought of. • Consider the competition in all aspects. • Consider new technologies that compliment your business and benefit your customer base.

4. Marketing • Assist with Market Planning. • Help understand new services and features. • Help examine methods of effective andeconomical advertising. • Help boost current penetration rates. • Examine what new services could benefit your current subscribers and community. • Increase revenues by examining service suite more closely. • Understanding competition and market to your advantage.

5. Education and Training • Assist company employees with seeing “the big picture”. • Help employees understand “everyone sells”. • Training in business concepts that relate to day to day activities. • Marketing and customer service education. • Understanding of services and how to communicate their value to customers, including competition. • Customer communication, education and interactive exercises.

6. Education and Training • Exploring customer needs. • Making relationship betweenservices offered andcustomer need. • Expanding service penetration rates. • Problem Solving. • Handling customer issues. • Brainstorming Methodologies.

7. Education Process Understanding of: Planning EmployeeActivities EmployeeActions Customers Educate Marketing Customer Service Advertising Products &Services Onsite Education

8. Why is this important? Why Now? • Competition is stronger than ever before. • Methods of competitive product delivery in your “backyard”. • Competitive advertising. • Competitive devices. • Customers are much more knowledgeable. • More market segments to address. • Customer service and support is a must. • Advertising has to get your critical messages across.

9. Things I have been toldDuring Planning • It confuses people to talk about digital switching. • Only doctors, veterinarians, maybe a lawyer or two will use wireless phones in the rural market. • No one will ever advertise over the internet. • Rural customers won’t be interested in voice mail.

10. A few more. • GR-303 will never be used or adopted in the rural market. • After flying with an Osborne portable computer- a flight attendant asked if she could put my sewing machine upfront. • I can barely sell dial tone. • My customers never buy anything. • I suppose I haven’t been advertising.

11. What does a customer expect? • Multiple services (Telephone-Internet-TV-Wireless) • One Bill • Fast repair • Easy Access – Via Phone, Locations, Internet • Information – Training – information via Web or Email • Service can’t “LACK or be sub-standard” • Priced competitively • Customers Know Competition Factor – Sees Advertising How often does this change?Has it changed in recent times?

12. Customer Profile • Need Dial Tone? • Mobility? • Email? • Internet? • Video? • Video-High Def? • Long Distance? (package or special pricing) • Own a Business? Multiple Businesses? Business services? • CLASS services? • Voice mail? • Advanced services? • Personal Agent? • Conference? • Services such as Advertising on IPTV? • Family or Business requirements? Multiple Lines – Multiple wireless phones - multiple mailboxes - various locations • Billing? Online? Contracts? How much of what you have to offer is driven by other consumer products? -- iPods - new TV’s – Pod casts - Downloadable items.

13. Planning - the Idea Market Trends Impacting Business Statement Of Opportunity Competition Activity Potential Threat Market Windows Important Customer Segments Segment Needs Potential Market Size Strength And Weakness In Respect To Opportunities And Threats • Required Features or Services • Required Timing • Required Investment • Required Resources • New Market Entry • Revenue Generation • Customer Support • Revenue Protection

14. Strategic Planning The Process New Idea! Have a facilitative meeting: One on one or with a team. Go over questions and consider a project or services. Record all inputs. Create a report and charts and go over results. Comparisons can be made in the future. Creates a good way to track ideas and impressions. You have charts and a report to share and discuss with others.

15. Strategic Planning Company Executives Management Planning Groups Implementing Plans Plan Creation and Monitoring Plan Motion Management Implementing Plans Staff Carry Out Plans Workers Reporting Results back to planners and management

16. Strategic Planning Strategic Plan Levels InOrganization Tactical Plan Tactical Plan Tactical Plan Tactical Plan Tactical Plan Tactical Plan Time

17. Strategic Planning Evaluate: Define the project, service or idea Your Company Degree of development Advantages Reputation Market Focus Market Share Competition Customer loyalty Experience Staying power Availability to abandon Speed of response Cost of response The Market The Service Difference in service or offeringcompared to competition or other products/services. Size of your advantage. Expected market growth rate What are the threats of new or like products or offerings? How many market segments Do you depend on suppliersEase of changing suppliers PerformanceDurabilityMeets Standards FeaturesHow do features compare Reliability Serviceability Market Focus in an new or existing market Price fit in the new market Differentiation ROI Profitability The Customer Importance of price in the decision. Product importance to the customer. Customer price awareness Competition function awareness Product Distribution Size of marketplace Availability and service Ability to deliver and support

18. Environmental Factors New Technology Technology Impact Obsolescence effect. New Equipment, Staff Area Demographics Age of customers Age mix Income levels Education Geographic Supportive? Government Impact on your business Are the trends supportive Economics Interest Rates Unemployment Markets Cultural Trends Do they support your strategy (bottled water)

19. Position All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

20. The most positive aspect is because local and existing customers know the company. The most negative aspect is because a lot of new technology is needed and staff and training to operate it. Environmental Factors • Environmental factors are mostly favorable for our marketplace.

21. Attractiveness • By measuring aspects of our targeted market we can predict the potential for profitability. When evaluating those aspects shown in the chart the profitability potential appears to be reasonable.

22. Market Forces • It appears there is a low probability that we will see new competitive entrants. We can increase competitive barriers to entry by entering the market soon and get an early good penetration. • The negotiating strength of our prospects is minimal. We can improve this status by good customer satisfaction and support of the product.

23. BCG All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

24. Aggressiveness • We can expect our competitors to aggressively respond to actions we might take with respect to quality, content or pricing of our product or to changes in distribution methods. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

25. Capabilities • In the event we introduce a new service we will have limited time to capture market share as the competition will likely be somewhat slow and others quick to respond and their expense will be high. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

26. Risk • We are addressing a highly attractive market with a product that is not consistent with our core business. We should take the following steps to improve our success potential. • Advertise more in all service areas. • Advertise cost benefits. • Advertise benefits of bundle. • Advertise our long term customer commitment and past success. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

27. Evolution • We are in the shakeout stage of our product's market life cycle and are projecting a 30% share of the market. We can improve this by good customer service and make sure offering works well making sure customers are satisfied.

28. Branding • Our product/service does have a well differentiated image in the marketplace and relative to our competition we are charging a lower price. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

29. Margin • In general we can see that the industry is achieving satisfactory profit margins and they are experiencing a reasonable return on their R&D investments. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

30. Life Cycle • Given the current growth in the market and our current pricing we would recommend that we maintain our pricing strategy because lower than the competition and we can raise the price with out losing market position. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

31. Quality • We are offering a high value product to our market at a price that is lower than the competition. We should consider radio and billboard advertising. All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

32. Our prospect faces considerable risk in making the decision to purchase our product and we are offering a highly complex product. We should consider looking at trials of similar systems for both end user functionality and service support methods Advertising All company and service names are fictitious and for presentation purpose only

33. Marketing Assistance Assist in Market Planning (much like strategic planning) Examine ideas, messages, costs. Look at new cost effective ways to advertise and get your message to the public. Personalize your advertising and marketing to your company and community. Use your advertising to your advantage.

34. Marketing Assistance Examine and know trends Many people want assistance withnew devices such as internet,computers and wireless devices. In 2007 47% of adult Americans say they have a broadband connection. Currently 71% of adults use the internet occasionally from any location.Of these 94% have an internet connection at home.Of these 70% use broadband versus 23% using dialup at home. Rural America has a larger penetration of people over age 50 and 65, and thus a lower internet penetrationthan urban areas. Pew Internet and American Life Project

35. Wireless Work at home/ Internet Business Home or work Cordless Web Based Phones The Market Services Dial Tone Long Distance Govt. CLASS features iPods Cameras Learning Calling ID/Name Voice Mail Hospice/ Home Health Internet Wireless Wireless Internet @ Hotspots Wireless Internet @ Home Wireless Internet @ Work IP TV IP TV / HD TV IP Centrex Meetings/Business Agriculture Businesses Schools

36. Product Adoption Example Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards Types of Customers

37. Training Making sure your team has the big picture!

38. Education and Training Process Every action is a marketing action – Every employee sells • Inform employees of plans and benefits of programs soemployees can relate this to customers. • Educate as many employees as youcan that interface customers • (including Installation - Repair, PBX, Data personnel). • Employees have to understand the competition factors! • Employees need to understand howto react to customer situations. Become proactive at problem solving(both positive and negative situations). • Employees need to understand the products you offer. • Employees can generate revenue by being knowledgeable • about products and then can create opportunities by product/customer matches. Customer Service is a MUST!

39. Training and Education Process • Educate the concept of overall business components (i.e. Planning, Marketing, Advertising, Distribution, Support). • You have to monitor customer service and support. • Effective ways of finding customer needs. • Effective ways to approach customers with new products that fit their needs. • Effective ways to express and explain services. • Recording and monitoring customer requests.

40. Education and Training • Examine advertising and the internet. • How to brain storm effectively. • Exercises in customer service and problem solving. • Categorizing market segments and customer profiles. • Increase penetration rates by examining market segments and matching services. • Understanding technologies. • Explain services and use. • Team building and building understanding.

41. Thank You! Bob Ricker bob@rickerandsmart.com Website: www.rickerandsmart.com