New ways to engage the entrepreneur

Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) is a leading venture capital organization backed with the deep network and resources of the broader Bain Capital organization. The BCV team has been looking at new ways to engage the entrepreneur and deliver valuable content as well as facilitate the conversations they wanted to have between the Bain Capital Ventures Principals and Directors and the entrepreneurs seeking accelerated growth.

BCV felt that the existing web presence did not fully speak to the target audience of entrepreneurs and hey wanted to build a different solution – connected, but distinct from the core Bain Capital website experiences. BCV formed the Bain Capital Ventures Innovation Center as an organizing framework for a series of programs targeted at effectively engaging the entrepreneur audience. At the center of the BCVIC is a new website experience with more dynamic content. The BCVIC website helps bring the message to the market, as well as provide a series of valuable resources to engage entrepreneurs.

Revenue Architects formed a team of experts to deliver a compelling experience within a tight fixed budget:

• Select a technology foundation (Drupal) for long term flexibility and managability
• Design a modern web experience with dynamic content, social media integration and interactive elements
• Deploy the content and page design into the Drupal platform
• Organize a hosting strategy and approach
• Deliver structured support services for on-going enhancements blending on-shore and off-shore teams

The site was launched in July 2010 and is receiving highly positive feedback and PR impact for Bain Capital Ventures.

Defining the Revenue Engine Blueprint

IdeaLaunch is a leading Content Marketing Agency and both a client and a business partner – we will engage IdeaLaunch at our clients when they need expansive content marketing programs to drive SEO. 

IdeaLaunch is in a unique position to accelerate their leadership in the fast growth market for content marketing. They needed to review their integrated revenue engine end-to-end.

• Go to market model: How well are we articulating our value? How effective is our process? Do we know our target market? Do we have a segment strategy? What is our go-to-market structure? Is there an appropriate channel model?
• Lead-to-close process: What is our process? Are metrics aligned with process? How does marketing lead to sales? What mix is best? How effective are we in the selling and marketing disciplines?  
• Client service: Are we retaining and growing our base of clients? Are clients long term or transactional? How well are we delivering? Are we getting referrals internally and externally?
• Metrics and Incentives:  Are our teams sufficiently motivated to sell? What is the dashboard that will help us track our goal metrics?

Revenue Architects build a new Revenue Architecture that described the critical stages in the marketing-to-sales process and the metrics that drive the business. We also helped refine the key messages and differentiation approach and built a segment-based sales approach.

Integrated Marketing Campaigns

Continental Resources (ConRes) is a leading value-added reseller with a long history for client service. In order to continue to accelerate their marketing and sales programs, ConRes tapped Revenue Architects to build a series of integrated marketing program.  On one of the product areas, ConRes was in its early stages of marketing and sales maturity. The sales and marketing teams were not equipped with the selling assets and tools they needed to deliver the value proposition into the marketplace. In other campaign areas, ConRes had a long and established capability in place, but recognized the value of building on their existing platform to enhance market positioning.

To address these opportunities, we architected an integrated strategy. Looking at the Revenue Architecture, we quickly identified the key opportunities and priorities across the lead-to-close process. We placed emphasis at the “belly of the sale” to enable the core nurture and selling process and also outlined strategies to expand brand awareness in the target market.

What were the elements of an integrated campaign?

To put together a powerful and differentiated program, we architected a series of integrated programs with core content and process to drive the selling engine:

• Digital videos to tell the ConRes story and solution value
• Building Solution Briefs that reflect ConRes unique value in the market
• Structuring emails that can be used day-to-day by sales and in campaigns by marketing
• Coordinating the inbound lead capture, profiling and model with Eloqua configuration and website experience
• Coordinating sales and marketing with a connected campaign program

In the spring of 2010, we are fully engaged on building these strategic marketing assets in tight collaboration with the client team. By engaging members of the Revenue Architects network of independent professionals, we can bring in top talent while delivering core value for ConRes. Our account management team maintains the strategic framework driven by a revenue architecture that connects marketing and sales. Our program management processes provide the consistent delivery and program management services that track and maintain quality.

Please contact us at:  contact@revenuearchitects.com

Speaking with NAPFA at the Bentley University Campus

John Stone and Kristen Luke (via Skype from San Diego!) spent the morning with a group of financial advisors as part of their monthly program.

We discussed the landscape of new marketing including the key elements and concepts that drive the adoption on digital marketing strategies. We also took a tour of the "tools of the trade" and discussed ways that advisors are using social media today. Finally we discussed the call to action - how to get started with social media and new marketing.  Our new program: Digital Marketing for Financial Advisors is launching this Spring and offers advisors an opportunity for hands on workshops to build their web presence - social media, content development and website strategy.

Speaker at Schwab Impact 2009 Program

John Stone was engaged to speak at the Schwab Impact 2009 Conference in San Diego in September, 2009. The topic was Exploring the Social Networking and Media Landscape, and the audience was largely Registered Investment Advisors. The slides are published on Slideshare.

 Feedback was excellent, below are some of the responses and the overall ratings.

49 evaluations that were completed:

 The Ratings

Delivering insights for social media listening

This leading mutual fund company offers investors a range of equity, fixed-income, multi-asset, and absolute return portfolios allowing investors to pursue a range of financial goals. To better understand the investor and the influencers among the Investment Advisor community, the firm needed to implement a program to listen actively across the social media sphere. Revenue Architects provided insights and selection criteria that helped the firm implement the right strategy for social media listening.

Helping The Hubbell Group Deliver PR Digitally

Public Relations as a business is undergoing a major transition. With the advent of new media and blending roles of marketing and public relations, PR firms need to become far more savvy with digital media, social media engagement, search visibility and influencer networks. The Hubbell Group is a leading agency working with some of the leading brands, including top brands in the Investment Management and Health sector. To enhance its value delivery, The Hubbell Group is partnering with Revenue Architects to enage clients with innovative digital and creative content strategies as well as social media understanding to accelerate the velocity and impact of its media outreach with key clients.

This client is a leading global asset management firm in Boston. As part of its goal to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its distribution strategy, they are deploying new digital marketing and segmentation.  Today, the firm pursues its target markets with a “one size fits all” approach. John is leading a team to work with the firm to design a segmentation strategy and apply new technology models for content and relationship marketing that will improve the efficiency of marketing, sales and communications, and improve performance. The firm is deploying a nurture program that balances human and digital relationships and applies permission marketing with web content, webinars, content syndication, lead management and CRM.

We are also working with the firm to define a data management solution. Currently the company uses a range of critical product, fund and performance information to support key business operational functions as well as financial advisors, affiliates, and other business partners. Product groups perform extensive data manipulation using  a wide range of core systems to align performance and fund information and re-purpose core data into useful reports and outputs. Implications include:

• No common or agreed language /ontology that defines data consistently across groups or processes
• Current process is highly inefficient and lacks self-service access to valuable information
• Current processes are not scalable – further economies would be minimal even with additional staff resources
• Proliferation of varied data sources and data manipulations introduce unacceptable operational risk

Revenue Architects is outlining a unified data management strategy to deliver significant operational benefits and facilitate business expansion.

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium sought to extend the life of the event from a one-day program to a 365-day online and face to face experience. With CrossTech /NML, we are developing a Digital Syndication Campaign – including Email and E-newsletters to push content & marketing messages to core audience; a Two Part Webinar Learning Series; a Social Network Development Program – providing for an online CIO Symposium community; an Online Meeting & Appointment Module; and an On-site Appointment & Meeting program at the annual face to face program.

John is working with PA Consulting to help drive the innovation team for the design and launch of compelling new retail banking products and services. John’s team is working closely with the client innovation team to define and manage the business and technology program needed to successfully pilot and launch a series of innovative banking products.

Over the past decade, the awareness of the impact of global warming and the need for energy independence has dramatically increased, both at the level of governments as well as the level of the individual. The challenges that lie ahead are now duly recognized, and serious measures and actions are appearing on the horizon.  It is widely expected, that the global renewable energy sector will show some of the highest sustained growth rates over the next decade. The positive impact that an investment of resources into this sector will have on future economic, geopolitical, and environmental stability is the primary motivating force behind the Algarve Energy Park project.

The Algarve Energy Park will feature different functional areas and typologies.  The Renewable Energy theme will underline each component of the park. Renewable technology R&D facilities will span across an area of 33ha. Scope:

• Solar development & production
• Incubators
• Health Sciences
• Intellectual Property Advisory
• Nanotechnology