Do you foresee changes in the way that businesses will be utilizing business information in 2009, given the state of the global economy?
Everyone is suffering in this economy, of course, but there are pockets and sectors that are still prospering. Being able to target those effectively is important. For sales executives this could mean deploying account managers to address these opportunities; for marketing executives this may require specialized list development and advertising efforts. Because of these challenging market conditions one could argue that now, more than ever, having the best – the most accurate and complete -business information is critical to success.

As you travel and speak with customers globally, how do you see organizations using business information to uncover those pockets of market opportunity?
They’re sizing and comparing market places and sub-sectors, exploring dynamics and looking to replicate successes. Businesses are using business information tools in order to understand how to repeat market success, while reducing risk. By analyzing market dynamics, assessing viability and preparing an entry strategy – with the right information – their chances of success are markedly improved.

What other strategies do you see being embraced?
Businesses are also seeking to leverage existing customer relationships in new markets. By using family tree information and by drilling down across a given organization there are often opportunities to gain wallet share within current accounts. Customers also see that global markets are not equally affected; there are still opportunities in some markets. It’s important to use a resource that is broad enough to support the global market, and is deep enough to provide information on specific market segments. Using resources that provide extensive news and analysis, can help companies stay on top of the trends in those particular markets – resulting in a significant competitive advantage.

Do you think that it is the larger organizations that may already have a global footprint that are moving more aggressively to internationalize their business – or do you see many smaller, domestic organizations looking to the global marketplace for growth?
Some of those already in global marketplaces are definitely “doubling down” to be more aggressive in pursuing global business. Indeed, we have done this ourselves, adding significant expansion in global business information content to meet the needs of these organizations. In terms of domestic businesses, I’m not sure if they are looking globally; in many cases I think that they may be “hunkering down” and tightening the corporate belt, instead. This is a bit contrarian, in a way; you might expect that with some global markets still growing – even while many US markets are flat or shrinking in some sectors – that businesses would look abroad to identify strategic opportunities.

Are there areas where you aren’t seeing the recession affecting businesses to the same degree?
The recession feels to me like a deeply structural phenomenon; it doesn’t seem to me that the services industry is suffering that much by comparison with some types of manufacturing, for instance.

Professional services: such as law and consulting firms, seem to be doing fine. In general most of the advisory firms seem to be doing well on the back of serving customers’ global needs. Some firms in the IT sector are also doing well.

Given this discussion, where are you investing?
First, we continue to expand the breadth, depth and quality of our business information; for example, on the European front we are adding a wealth of information on German, Italian and Spanish firms and those markets.

Second, we are expanding our professional services offerings. By facilitating flexible delivery of critical business information, often through integration with the customer’s existing infrastructure—a sales portal or CRM system, for example—we help firms to realize maximum value from all available business information.

In the UK we launched a credit analyzer product that allows for creation of a custom credit score. The professional services team uses financial data to create a customized financial score based on the condition of the target organization. Because the Professional Services team can customize the report to a particular model, or a particular approach, it helps the customer understand credit worthiness in a way that is relevant to their business.

The Market Analyzer is a popular application for those seeking the truth about where the best revenue and profit opportunities are in their markets. It’s very useful in helping businesses segment their marketing–understanding where they are currently, or can be, most successful.

According to The Irish Times (28 January 2009):

ICC said net worth was an important indication of the value of a company as it is composed primarily of all the money that has been invested in the business since its inception as well as retained earnings for the duration of its operation.

‘Negative net worth is important as it can be used to determine the creditworthiness of companies because it gives a snapshot of a company’s investment history,’ said ICC Information head of business and development Michael Gannon.

‘As we enter more challenging times it is important to understand exactly who you should be extending credit to and therefore decreasing your probability of incurring bad debt.

‘Despite this, it is necessary for companies to differentiate between having a negative net worth and the ability to meet obligations as they fall.’

Fortunately, European financial reporting requirements are stricter than the US.  Many countries have regional or national registrars where firms meeting minimum size requirements must annually file their financials, directorships, and shareholdings.  This transparency helps potential partners, clients, and vendors asses the creditworthiness of European firms.  In the case of ICC Information, they reviewed financials filed with the Irish Companies Registration Office (CRO).

European financial data is often available through national registrars, credit research companies, and business information services such as OneSource.

Irish Balance Sheet with Negative Net Worth

Indeed, according to a recent corporate travel spending survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), 33 percent of the 131 companies surveyed indicated they would be spending less on travel year over year.

But oftentimes there’s no substitute for meeting a prospect in person – especially if your competition is going to make the trip. Deals are made on relationships because customers want to work with vendors they know they will be able to trust, and familiarity through face-to-face meetings helps build that trust.

So while web meetings and video conferencing may play a role, they are not a substitute for meeting in person. Does that mean that organizations cannot save on sales travel? Well, they might still be able to save through smarter planning of sales trips.

A Better Approach

If you don’t want to risk deals by reducing face-to-face meetings, and you still need to save on travel budgets, your best option is to optimize trips to meet as many customers or prospects during a trip. Here are some steps to accomplish that:

1. Develop target lists by metro area using radius searches
2. Pick a travel window for each metro area and start planning early
3. Call prospects by geography and use your planned trip as a reason to meet

Of course, one of the challenges to this type of approach is that not all of the prospects you will be meeting are going to be ready to purchase something from you. After all, you’re arranging this trip based on your schedule, not their purchasing plans.

But there’s a way to address this issue.

1. Spend the weeks up to the trip using web conferences and phone meetings to build interest
2. Adjust meeting lengths to spend more time with the most interested prospects
3. Start planning for a future trip 3 months out for prospects early in the cycle

Using this approach, you can build a regular rhythm of trips to particular metro areas and really get the most out of each visit by planning ahead of time and meeting the greatest number of prospects. And because you’re building a regular schedule beyond just one trip, you can plan where each of your prospects is in the pipeline and what you need to do in the next meeting to move them forward.

And, an added benefit is that you can save on travel fares by booking ahead of time, since you will be planning these regular visits more in advance and on a more regular schedule.

Adjusting for Your Sales Cycle

In the example noted above, a 3 month return trip was used, but you may need to adjust this for your sales cycle. If you sales cycle is short, you may need to return more frequently. If you have a longer sales cycle, you may adjust it up slightly, but be careful not to push it too much on the other end. After about 3 months, prospects may start to forget about you. If you do a great job staying in touch with the prospect between trips, you can probably push it to 4 or 5 months, but getting beyond that can be tough.

Putting it into Practice

To get going on this type of approach, start by looking at your pipeline and see where you would potentially want to have some trips about a month out already. Also look at your territory and see where your prospects are concentrated.

If you work with an inside sales rep or a telemarketing rep who helps you set up your sales meetings, it’s critical to discuss this approach and build out a plan jointly with that person.

Some companies have gone so far as to evaluate and document their stakeholder analyses in a document called the “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) report.  These can be really valuable for Sales as well as Research Professionals.

Here’s a quick example snapshot from the GE CSR – the full report has much more detail on each of these areas and also dives into specific business initiatives where GE will be spending money to address corporate citizenship goals.

CSR analyses cover many topics including:

• Environmental impact (e.g. Pollution, Carbon Dioxide Emissions)
• Global Vendor Sourcing (e.g. Plant Safety, Wages, Child Labor)
• Social (e.g. Charitable Donations, Employee Community Involvement)
• Industry Specific Concerns (e.g. Tobacco Company Marketing, Mobile Phone radiation)

If a sales or business development rep can tie their product or service to one of these objectives, they have a strongly focused, company specific selling point (e.g. Your CEO set a 2012 goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20%, our logistics software helps…)  CSR goals can also be useful for business development directors, underwriters, lawyers, investment bankers, and consultants.

You can sometimes find a bit of this content in news releases or on corporate websites.  The glossy version of the annual report may have this information as well (you’re more likely to find it there than a 10-K annual filing).  One way to get comprehensive access to CSR information is through a business information service.