Goodman On Marketing

John Willemsen, founder of Battery Patrol (now Interstate All Battery Centers), understood the value of information and controlling it. He did not want the information or knowledge of his customers (over 24,000 nationwide), or even his products (over 8,000), to be owned by his salespeople, but to be owned and controlled by the company.

John understood, and had the vision, that systems were needed to control information; simply trying to maintain it in the heads of his salespeople just wasn’t good enough. He knew that to truly manage it in a transferable and sustainable process would create value.

Like many companies, when Battery Patrol started, customer and product information was kept by the most convenient methods: on slips of paper, Post-Its, and maybe a Rolodex, (okay, I have to admit that if you saw my desk right now, you would notice piles of business cards, scads of Post-Its and several stacks of notepaper with hand scribbled notes that only I can decipher, but, this isn’t about me…).

Early on, John hired Denny Churchill, a local programmer, to help systemize his assets (customer and product information) in a more usable form. He wanted a tool for his salespeople: a system that would allow for the managing of more information than what would fit in the normal salesperson’s memory.

He needed a system so a salesperson could manage a base of 1,000 customers to truly create a one-on-one relationship with each of their customers, knowing their buying behavior, hot buttons, and history, enabling each customer to feel a personal relationship with Battery Patrol. What was developed was one of the first true Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.

But, like with any tool, if not used (or used correctly), it’s of little value. This is where discipline comes in. My college football coach at Saint John’s University was John Gagalaridi (winningest collegiate football coach of all-time: 432 victories. I played for his 200th…). Over his first 57 years of coaching (yes, he is still coaching), when he was asked about his winning magic, he simply answered: “We are just ordinary people, doing ordinary things, extraordinarily well.” This discipline is the key ingredient needed to make any system truly successful.

I had the opportunity to work with John Willemsen during a time of tremendous growth, success, and fun at Battery Patrol. It happened because of the vision and discipline of a good coach who knew the value of doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Recently, I have found that many companies that have a far less complex sales structure (only 100s of customers, and less than a handful of products) do not embrace the value or vision for a true CRM system, or the discipline needed to use it properly. They may be 95% of the way there, but the last 5% is perhaps the most needed and the toughest to implement…and 95% is just not good enough.

I just finished a book by Timothy Johnson, Race Through the Forest: A Project Management Fable. It is a quick, enjoyable read on project management, and I highly recommend it. “Project Management” is just like “Customer Management:” without knowing their individual system, you will never get past 95% complete…and 95% is just not good enough in today’s competitive world. You can check out Timothy’s book at www.customer-ease.com or contact me, and I will try not to lose your name on a Post-It.

Next month: A Laffer Curve for your Customers.

Jim Goodman is the president of Customer Ease, a marketing consulting and research
company in Des Moines. Jim founded the CEO Center (Creative Entrepreneur Organization) for assisting in the growth of Iowa businesses. Jim is also an adjunct professor for Drake University teaching Entrepreneurship and Marketing Research.

To reach Jim: jimg@customer-ease.com or 515-471-1301.