I’m a small business consultant – what do I do? (Part 3)

As a small business consultant I adapt the tools and skills I have to many different industries and circumstances.

The third part to discovering what I do relates to a small local business that was looking for some direction to grow their client base plus what and how to communicate to new and current clients…..

Tina Bainbridge is the Director of Summit Finance, a successful personal mortgage & insurance business based within the Teesdale area.

Following some changes in personnel within the business, Tina was looking for support in ways to extend her offer to her current client base, reaching out to new clients and building growth to compound the success already seen.

When we first met, Tina & I focused on who her perfect client was, identifying what their qualities would be and how they would fit in to the different sectors of the business that Summit Finance offered; mortgages, family protection and business protection, plus a smaller specialist interest in supporting the military sector.

I also wanted to ensure we had a clear description of where these ideal clients would look for information and therefore how we could access them to ensure focused targeting for campaigns, bringing robust results.

We established what type of offers could attract referrals from current clients, what networking opportunities may work most effectively for Summit Finance in targeting their key audience and how much time Tina needed to spend on each activity given her days were already very busy with her specialist personal approach to each of her clients.

It was important for me to understand where Tina wanted to take Summit Finance so we devised some short & longer terms goals ensuring that these were in line with Tina’s vision as to where the business would be in 5 years time. Some of these short term goals were critical to Tina as they would improve her work/life balance. It was fabulous to be supporting Tina when this balance shift did actually happen and Tina has since been able to dedicate an additional day a week to spending time with her little boy.

Alongside the goal setting and target audience identification,

• a SWOT analysis was also completed to identify the unique selling points and brand values around Summit Finance as well as weaker areas for which action plans and timelines were devised for implementation. These values would then be translated in to flyers, newsletter and on to the website to keep continuity throughout.
• a social media plan was devised keeping time requirements to a minimum and taking account of the stringent guidelines in place given Tina had to adhere to the financial industry requirements. Consistency and information led posts were key.
• guidelines for introducing a small number of new daily ‘habits’ were put in place, which will in turn become ‘the norm’ after continuous implementation. It was crucial that there were only one or two elements introduced at this stage to avoid Tina becoming overwhelmed & not continuing with the tasks. Once these are absorbed in to the daily tasks another small number of value adding habits could be added in.
• an action plan to introduce the newest part of the Summit offering to a wider audience was created, tapping in to local events, networking opportunities and again identifying the perfect clients for this service.
• a newsletter would allow Tina to easily communicate with her current client database at certain times of the year with offers and holiday messages, as well as using it on a more personal basis to celebrate her clients’ completions and renewal information.
• during the SWOT analysis some new points of alignment were identified between potential target audiences and the services offered by Summit Finance. An action plan around tactical communication of the benefits of these services was developed to provide access to this new business opportunity.

Summit Finance provide a fantastic service to each and every one of their clients, finding solutions that best fit your personal requirements.

If you are local to the Teesdale area and are looking for mortgage advice or need any advice on family or business protection, please contact Tina via her website www.summit-finance.co.uk.