Comment une stratégie toute simple peut propulser votre entreprise au sommet de son secteur d\’affaire.

 

An ambitious young entrepreneur and leader passionate about everything related to the business world, Jean-Philippe Maltais is the founder and CEO of Cervad . He tells us how a simple customer development campaign can propel a company to the top of its business sector.

 Jean-Philippe Maltais, What excites you about marketing?

JP : I’m going to tell you about one of my first winning campaigns. At the end of my studies in administration in 2006, I was responsible for business development for an ecological materials company. We were restructuring. The future seemed quite bleak to us. We meet a marketing consultant who offered us solutions to get us out of there. We spent a few weeks thinking, discussing, to redo the \’\’branding\’\’ or if you prefer, the brand image of the company. All directors present on the committee were able to express themselves freely on the company’s positioning in the market.The aim of the exercise was to identify divergent points of view, but above all to highlight common ambitions to draw a realistic portrait of the company in relation to its history, its victories, its defeats, the past and future challenges. That’s how it is, it was in a real business context that I realized the importance of marketing in the development and survival of a company. After that, I would say that I totally fell into it.

Do you have concrete examples of development strategies that have had a positive impact on a company’s sales?

JP : Well yes definitely. Let’s take the case of the company I took as an example earlier. We realized that the growth of the company was slowed by our differences. Everyone had a different vision of what the company was and should be. Finally, we answered questions about strategic orientations. It had an instant effect on our morality. We realized that we had to give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions. As with any destination, you have to know where you are starting from to choose the best path. And this is where a precise plan makes all the difference. That year, at the home show, our sales increased slightly.The simple fact of sharing a common vision and well-defined directions gave us confidence in ourselves. And confidence inspires confidence.

I understand the importance of trust, but that’s not what’s going to make the phone ring.

JP : You’re right. But this is the first step towards development. You will understand. After agreeing on a common vision, on our strengths and once our customer development problem was clearly identified, the president of the company and I racked our brains. We took the risk of investing. I started testing a host of classified ads in LESPAC.com and in local newspapers. Like many businesses, we couldn’t afford an ad on TV or a banner on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Instead, we took the time to define what set us apart, our expertise. I had the idea of setting up training in ecological construction. Everyone liked it. It changed everything.We were among the first to make such an offer. This was our area of expertise, our passion, the primary motivation of the company’s founders. We started filling rooms with people who had green home projects. We ended up inviting speakers and renowned specialists. People told us about their project, they showed us their house plan. Construction contractors started asking us for quotes. We didn’t make money directly from our training, but our sales of materials exploded. We tripled our division’s profits in a few months. While all our competitors were ruining themselves by praising the merits and technical characteristics of their products, we responded to the real problems of our customers.By associating our name with a movement and getting involved in an emerging network,

 

Isn’t investing large sums in marketing a bit risky in the current economic context?

JP : It remains a question of profitability. Marketing must be seen as a virtual product. We cannot sell this product directly. We will offer it or give it away. We will use it to redirect attention towards a real service offer or a physical product. This is exactly what we did at the time with training on ecological materials. We invested. We were patient. We aimed for profitability through a customer acquisition process. This is one example among many others. When we find a channel, a method that works, we push it to its full potential. Obviously this requires a defined and realistic budget. We invest to do research and development and initial testing.Then we continue with additional amounts to discover other channels and test other approaches. I repeat, to stay competitive, you must always stay moving.

In your opinion, in relation to marketing, what is the most common mistake made by SMEs?

JP : Lack of testing. We’re looking for a great idea. This is the philosophy of several specialized boxes. I believe that the riskiest strategy is to stick to an idea and just spread it. Believing that the important thing is its distribution and not its content. You have to test, analyze, test and optimize… That’s why I love digital media. You can do a lot of tests there and discover the best combinations of slogans, messages, supports, etc. The costs are reasonable and the results are almost instantaneous. Then, after analyzing the results, we can mass broadcast the best combinations in the best channels, on the best networks. I am categorical on this: we must test.We must treat marketing as a laboratory and challenge the best ideas against each other in reality. Marketing is a process, not an epiphany. To develop a winning idea, you must develop several and compare them to highlight their strengths and weaknesses. The scientific method applies to marketing. In my opinion, experimentation is the best working approach. The results obtained help to change the idea that many people have about marketing. We then move from a discipline that we believe to be very theoretical to something extremely concrete. The scientific method applies to marketing. In my opinion, experimentation is the best working approach.The results obtained help to change the idea that many people have about marketing. We then move from a discipline that we believe to be very theoretical to something extremely concrete. The scientific method applies to marketing. In my opinion, experimentation is the best working approach. The results obtained help to change the idea that many people have about marketing. We then move from a discipline that we believe to be very theoretical to something extremely concrete.

Finally, if you had one piece of advice to give to the SME, what would it be?

JP : Stay moving. At Cervad, we are in the process of launching a performance growth program for SMEs. I invite motivated entrepreneurs to contact me. To talk about our business. To see where your growth levers are and if we can activate them together. Local, national or international, whatever your market and your field of activity, I want to know your story, your challenges and your ambitions. Together, let’s take the lead.

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