Marketing and Your ISO System.

Here are the top ten ways to add value using your ISO system and certificate in the marketing and sales of your business:

1. The ISO Certificate.
Have sales staff carry it, have it displayed in reception, put it on your web site. Understand how powerful the ISO certificate is. It is stating that the company has been independently audited by a third party and found to be working to good practice, to have quality checks and controls in place. In short to be a professionally operation. That is a very strong marketing message, because potential customer don’t take you at your word, because they know it in your interest to say you are the best at what you do. Your sales staff have to understand the power of the certificate to be able to use it to its best effect.

2. The Operational Procedures.
The fact is that how you do business, says more about your operation than your sales and marketing brochure and website. A customer is always observing, and asking the question, where does this operation fit in the market place? Can I trust this company? Is this Company about to let me down? Am I buying champagne or lambrine? They know that overtime your true colours will show through. Having strong operational controls in place will ensure that those customers that cost so much time and money to get will keep coming back.

3. Customer Feedback or Testimonials.
If facts are not a big part of your marketing material you are missing out. You are required to get feedback from customers by clause 8.2.1 of the 9001 quality standard. Why stop at feedback. Why not get yourself testimonials, that can also be used in sales and marketing. An example of a testimonial “I am happy to recommend Company A, their staff were very helpful and the new refrigeration system they installed saved us over £3,017 in the first six months.” Other factual information can be collected for both your ISO and your sales team. For example the percentage of satisfied customers, who visited your shop in the last three months. Who could argue with the statement, “97% of our customers expressed satisfaction in the service provided in the last three months.”

4. Environmental Performance in Marketing.
I collect promotional material and packaging which have an environmental messages printed on them. They appear regularly on labels, and containers, in adverts. ISO 14001 creates opportunities for marketing more than any other ISO standard. There is something very sweet for customers in finding out that your company uses timber only from sustainably managed forests, or the company has installed solar panels and cut carbon emission by thirty tonnes. Or sponsored the creation of a wildlife area at the local school or park. The underlying message although you’re a business is that, it is not all about the money. You are also human and are willing to give something extra back. By putting green messages in your marketing you are also adding to a conversation that is going on in your customers head, that of concern about environmental impact. But you are being positive and doing something practical about environmental issues. So give space on packaging or literature about environmental improvements made by the business.

5. The ISO Logo.
Placing the ISO logos on web sites and letter heading is common. There are still Company’s that miss out on not putting the logo on the side of vehicles, at construction sites, at reception. Take a second look at your business has the ISO logo been placed at reception, or on all marketing material?

6. Customer communications.
7.2.3 States that the organisation shall determine and implement effective arrangements for communicating with customers in relation to product information, enquires and contracts. The clause is really talking about marketing and sales. Effective arrangements for communication. In twenty years of working with ISO systems, I have not seen any ISO operating procedure being written or audited for sales and marketing. The assumption is that if you are in business the sales and marketing is working, so there is no need to interfere. However, sales and marketing are very important. There must be good practice. Having that good practice written down and followed, could that help your business? Out of interest the other area not mentioned in the ISO quality standard is the financial department.

7. Reassure with your quality controls.
Reassure your customer with the number of checks that are carried out. 7.1 c) states the required verification, validation, monitoring, measurement, inspection and test activities specific to the product and the criteria for product acceptance. This list is for everyone, if you have an ISO 9001 you should be ticking the requirements off before delivering the product or service. If you are involved in design and development the list of requirements is longer and more thoughtful…check out 7.3 of your copy of the ISO 9001 standard. What I am saying is that this is also a great opportunity to show your customer the checks that are completed. Such information can be communicated via the written quotation or proposal or in the text that accompanies design and development draws. It sends a clear message to your customer that you are professional and you are checking and looking after their interests.

8. Enter Environmental or Business Competitions.
By entering a business competition you are getting valuable publicity for your business. There are a number of environmental or business competitions and awards run annually. Here are two examples.

Enter Local Business Competitions. Chamber of Commerce, Awards.

Enter Regional Competitions. Eg Sustainable Ireland Awards.

9. Monitoring and Measuring: Marketing. (the link: the ISO requires monitoring and measuring, link this to marketing activity. Measuring marketing activity will improve performance.)

Here is an extract from the book No BS Direct Marketing, by Dan Kennedy on the topic of measuring marketing activity:

“Rule 4. There will be Tracking and Measurement. You need real, hard facts and data to make good, intelligent marketing decisions. Making such decisions based on what you or your employees think is happening, feel, guess, have a sense of, etc. is stupid. And you don’t want to be stupid, do you?

Tracking means accurately collecting all the information you need to determine what advertising is working and what isn’t, which offer is pulling and which isn’t, what marketing has traction and what doesn’t. Tracking leads to knowing what your return on investment is for each pound spent.

Employees can often be an obstacle to accurate tracking….

From now on, ye shall spend no pound without tracking the ROI.”

10. The two missing manuals in the ISO system. Marketing and Finance.
I have completed work for franchise companies putting in place the procedures and manuals. There are three manuals they ask for Marketing, Operations and Finance. Getting customers, getting the work completed and making sure you get paid, which I think you would agree is the core of any business. A marketing manual is a good idea for just about any business. Sample of topics from the franchise company Marketing Manual:

Management of Data Bases: Prospects and Customers

Advertising Nationally and Locally.

Signage at company

Sample sequence of Sales Letters.

Communications with customers, staff answering the phone, taking sales orders etc.

Feel free to leave a comment.
Warm Regards George

In Quality Management product non conformances are straightforward and are often recorded.

Getting your staff to pick up on and record service non conformances is difficult.

Failing to meet customer expectations is a service non conformance.

Listed below are the most common Customer Expectations…(found across a wide section of service businesses and sectors) …that when not met, are a non conformance. Would your staff record them as a non conformance?

Top Ten Customer Expectations That Your Customer will be looking for.

1. Friendly, polite interactions with an understanding that the client’s time is valuable.
2. Work hours convenient to the customer.
3. Timely delivery, interactions and repairs to prevent delays which affect the customer’s schedule.
4. Competent staff that don’t make errors, omissions or just plain poor assumptions.
5. No Rework, resubmission, repeating, or repairs.
6. No Unauthorized changes to projects, schedules, plans, prices, specifications, materials, etc.
7. Knowledge of the market, what the market wants.
8. Follow through on the service promised. 
9. Compliance with established policies, procedures, specifications or Quality Assurance Plans.

10. No hidden costs, cost overruns (which result from all other failures), or cut surprises.

Qualtiy Management is all about meeting Customer Expectations, check out our information on 9001 quality, on the quality page of this web site.   George.

I was asked last week can an ISO 9001 quality systems really save you money?  There’s a lot of information on the benefits and how much companies have saved.  But let’s make this more human, let’s break this down to an individual working in a company. About how YOU get projects completed.

It’s a great feeling when you complete a project.

For me, there’s nothing like the feeling I get after a productive day as I close the door to the office with that warm feeling that tasks have been completed. I feel in control, satisfied, and I imagine what the results will be when a customer gets their new ISO manuals or what the response will be to a batch of sales letters.

I’m sure you know exactly what I’m saying. I’m sure you’ve experienced those days when you are in control and in the flow and projects get finished with regular monotony.

But it’s not always like this is it?

You know the feeling; you get an idea for a project and get all excited about it and you jump in and get started but before long your energy wanes.  Before you know it it’s been days even weeks and the project has not been completed.

For many, this becomes a habit.

They become very good at getting ideas but terrible at finishing the job.

The good news, if this is you and you are aware of the problem, you’ve got it half way beat. That’s because awareness of the problem is the first step. The second step is actually doing something about it to fix the situation.

And that’s what this Blog is all about… I’m giving you 7 ways to help you finish what you start.

#1 Get clear on your personality type: Some folks are good at getting ideas and some folks are good at getting the job done. For most of us, we’re a combination of the two. So it’s important you establish which camp you belong to. For me, I’m good at getting the big idea… and… I’m also good at seeing all the little details of a project that are important to get the job done. However, the best place for me is getting the idea and then delegating the parts I don’t wanna do. I stick with my core skills and delegate the rest.

#2 Pick the right project to begin with: This flows on from the point above. It’s important you do work that interests you… that you do work that you are good at and work that inspires you. Delegate and or outsource the rest.

#3 Quick start/ Build momentum: Get busy. It’s important you get busy, mapping out your idea and taking action. Momentum builds energy; and energy is what you need to finish any project.

#4 Avoid distractions: Get real clear on what you are doing and forget what everyone else is doing. Unplug. Don’t talk about your ideas just do them.

#5 Focus/full attention: Give your project your full attention in the time allotted. Sure you’ve got other things on that need your attention; but when you assign a time slot for your project forget about the other things that need doing and focus solely on the project at hand.

#6 Chunk it down: One big reason why folks don’t get their projects finished is they get overwhelmed with all the stuff that needs doing. By chunking down your project into bite-sized morsels, by creating a to-do list, you’ll instantly see the project is doable and you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

#7 Visualise the rewards for completion: Imagine you have finished the project and it’s a winner. How will you feel? How will you celebrate? For me, I’m a rewards kinda guy. Like when I finish a big copy project, I make sure I reward myself. Nothing too extravagant… maybe a night out with Ann, … and throughout the project I’ll visualise this reward, and really feel what it’s gonna be like. It keeps me fired up and gives me the energy to complete.

BONUS TIP Get clear on your why: Why is finishing this project important? What will it mean to get the job done right and on time? It’s very important you get real clear on why you are doing the project and what it will mean to you when you are finished.

Anyway, trust this helps in some small way.

Love to hear your comments.

Warm Regards,

George Macdonald

PS if you want to find out more about ISO systems, (and how human they can be) check out the rest of this web site.  We provide a free consultation for companies. Email if you think your company may be interested in and ISO management system.

PSS the orginal idea for this blog came from Pete Godfrey, as Know as the Wizard of Words.

KE ISO’s Referral Programme

Write down five companies you would like to refer, and post or fax the sheet to us. If it turns into work for us we send you £197 in the post, automatically.

1 _____________________________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________________________

5._____________________________________________________________________

Fax this page back to: 02871878911
Email to: info@keisoconsultancy.com
Or post to KE ISO Consultancy, 2 Foreglen Road, Killaloo, Claudy, BT47 3TP.

Our Referral Programme

Our referral programme is straightforward: if you know of a company that may be interested in an ISO 14001 (Environmental), 18001 (Safety) or 9001(Quality) Management System, give them our details. Or send us an email with their contact details so we can send them an introductory letter. If the job goes ahead we pay you £47 for a contract under £1,000 in value. For contracts over £1,000 we pay £197. We pay you four weeks after the work begins for the business. Guaranteed. George Macdonald, Proprietor.

KE ISO Consultancy Services:

 Creation and/or Maintenance: ISO 9001 Quality ISO 14001 Environmental OHSAS 18001 Safety
 Integrated System including two or all three of the above
 Training: Staff Awareness, Internal Auditor and Emergency Response.
 Fire Risk Assessment

Our Guarantees to you:
 The Straightforward Guarantee: We will make your ISO system user-friendly and effective.
 The 30 day Guarantee: We will install your ISO management system in 30 days.
 The Money Back Guarantee: If you are not happy, we will give you your money back.

email to info@keisoconsultancy.com

or post to 2 Foreglen Road, Killagloo, Claudy, BT47 3TP. Northern Ireland, UK.

Marketing – the 2nd Easiest Customer to Sell to.
Quick recap of the top three customers to sell to:
1st Current Customers (as long as you give them good value), once they become happy customers they are more likely to buy from you.
2nd People referred to you by current customers.
3rd Easiest to sell to are lost Customers ie customers who have purchased from you in the past but for whatever reason have decided not to continue doing business with you.
Let’s tackle the 2nd easiest customer to sell to ………….REFERRALS.
The goal is to get all of your current customers to refer people they know. This can include friends, co-workers and family members to you. In the business to business field referrals mean the associates and suppliers of customers being referred. Referrals are one of the fastest and easiest ways to increase your business.
Why are referrals so good:
1. Referred customers cost less to acquire. This is very important. Anything you can do to get your cost per new customer acquisition lowered, is great.
2. Referred customers are less price-sensitive. That’s because they trust the person who referred them and they rarely question price.
3. Referred customers are more likely to refer. That’s because someone else referred them and it is a demonstration that this is the way things are done.
4. Referred customers are less likely to complain and are easy to please. Even if something does go wrong, referred customers are more understanding.
It is no secret in selling that getting referrals is difficult. Here are some key ingredients to maximise success:
When is the right time to ask? The best time is when you have just shown that the product or service is good quality. So in a shop once goods are paid for, once the annual ISO assessment has just been passed or the house is complete and you are handing the keys to the customer.
Instill a “Referral Culture” in your business. Write down how the referral programme works. Increase awareness amongst staff.
Incorporate an incentive. At KE ISO our incentive is £197 for each referral that turns into work. Ness Landscaping gives customers an extra discount if they refer some of their neighbours. The referral is part of the sales process.