Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace

Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace (IPB) is the systematic and continuous analysis of the adversary, terrain, and conditions in the assigned or potential battlespace. It is an analytic framework for organizing information to help provide timely, accurate, and relevant intelligence to the military decisionmaking process (MDMP). Right - now substitute marketing for military, and we are talking business rather than army or special forces.

I was thinking about the importance of market intelligence today while I was speaking to one of my prospects. They are a small, well organised, family run accounting practice, that presents a bigger image to the world at large. Their main partner was explaining to me how he looks for new business, using lists of new starter companies in his area, and how he put together his main marketing letter that he sends to those new prospects. These are his target market, but he has a reputation for being choosy about the clients he takes on. What he told me reminded me how important it is for any organisation to get the marketing basics right, but how often we fall in to the trap of drawing on all of our years of experience, and then not bothering to test it with the target audience. He'd written and refined his introductory letter several times, but before he sent it out he decided to review it with two of his existing clients. Both of them said the same thing - that it was pretty good, explained what the practice does, but that it would be destined for the bin in both cases!

He asked them to refine it for him - probably 80% of the text of the letter remained, and the changes were subtle, but very important. The letter offers a free initial meeting, but majors on the message that you should not put off getting professional advice until a later stage of your business (as new start ups so often do). The letter doesn't cover much detail on what the practice does - they're accountants after all, everybody knows what an accountant does! The letter explains that they are a small business too, so they understand the issues the client is facing at first hand. It points out that the partner is a member of the Institute of Business Advisors (more than just an accountant). It explains that they have a fixed fee structure, so the client will always know where they stand on the bill, and that advice and support on the phone is always free. It explains that they understand how busy the client must be so they can meet in the evening or the weekend, and at the client's home if they wish - that endeavours to get away from the waiting room syndrome where a visit to the accountant begins to feel like a visit to the dentist! These are all good ways that this practice differentiates themselves from the herd, and it works, because the prospective clients often refer back to the letter several times in the early conversations.

As in any campaign, military or marketing - it's about good intelligence and executing the basics!

Update: The family practice in question is Holden Associates, and Jason Holden was explaining his story.

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