Tim Smith on

Hawks, Seagulls, and MiceParadigms for Systematically Growing

Revenue in Business Markets

Tim Smith, PhD

Adjunct Professor of Marketing, DePaul University

Chief Editor, The Wiglaf Journal

Author, Hawks, Seagulls, & Mice

Click the Speaker to start the 6 minute Voice Guided Tour

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Problems Observedin Business Markets

• The approach I used in may last assignment isn’t working. Why? How should I choose my approach?

• How do it get my Sales and Marketing Team to work together?

• We are already growing volumes, where else can we gain organic growth?

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Approach to Solution for Business Markets

• Lets look specifically at business markets.

• Lets look at the strategies that evidence demonstrates repeatability.

• Lets acknowledge that a one-size-fits-all mentality ends up fitting no one. So lets discuss the decision criteria.

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Market Strategy must match Customer Behavior

A small business customer buying office supplies

does not have the same challenges, questions, and processes, as that used by

an electric utility buying power generator turbines.

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Hawks, Seagulls, and Mice

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Hawks

• Few Transactions per Year

• Relatively High Dollar value per Transaction

• Like Harris Hawks, sales and marketing efforts must flush out the few valuable opportunities, then swoop in and capture those customers.

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Seagulls

• Many Transactions per Year

• Relatively Low Dollar value per Transaction

• Like a flock of seagulls, sales and marketing efforts must inspect multiple opportunities simultaneously, capturing small portions of value from multiple sources.

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Mouse

• Relatively Low Transaction Volumes

• Relatively Low Transaction Values

• Like a mouse scurrying about in search of food and revisiting known cheese, the business must seed a large number of opportunities and harvest revenue from strong customer relationships.

© 2006 Wiglaf LLC

Hawks, Seagulls, and Mice