3 things we have learned in 2016

And, more importantly, what we will be doing to improve in 2017!   

 

With 2016 almost at an end, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on what we have learned and how going into the new year we will improve. So without further ado here are our top three:

 

1. Listen to your customers

Since our humble beginnings two years ago we have been doing a lot of this! So what have we found out? In this last stage Flo our Client Account Manager went out and met with a lot of our lovely customers to find out how we can help them better. The general consensus is that there is still quite a lot to do to advertise the framework to its potential users outside Central Government. Recent G-Cloud sales figures show an increase in spending from Local Authorities, but the reality is that it is still far behind the Central Government spending and there is still quite a long way to go.

As one of our lovey customers said:

“I was once in a room with 50 Healthcare procurement people and not one of them knew how to use G-Cloud”

(Ouch that hurts!)

With this in mind we are planning to get more actively involved on raising awareness. Among other things this will involve our MD Chris attending more Public Sector Events, so that he can go and evangelise the crowds (he doesn’t know this yet though so shhh…). If you have an event you would like us to participate in give us a shout.

 

2. Celebrate your success and admit to your failures

Our G-Cloud winner wall has been growing and we are particularly proud of our latest G-Cloud 8 wins – £1.5M and £250K (you know who you are!). We are shouting about it and so should you! But this doesn’t mean you should forget the other side of the coin – being self-reflective and self-critical. We have also eaten some humble pie this year. Our #1 golden rule – “Never bid on something you didn’t know was coming”… also known as bidding blind – has been disproven by how successful DOS has been.

 

There is a lot to be done in the sector but at the same time there is responsibility to go around. What vendors need to understand (and admit in some cases) is that G-Cloud is in its essence a shop window. It is your responsibility to dress your mannequins so that you are found and noticed by passers-by (or give us a call and we can make sure your display is dressed to impress!). We have been thinking a lot about this at Advice Cloud. We even teamed up with UKCloud Sales to explore the issue. And, after a lot of musing, this January we will be publishing our think piece series that will hopefully help some of you identify why you might not be selling £100K+ through G-Cloud.

 

3. Be transparent

After two years of business and a lot of trial and error this last customer insight road trip was our final step to reviewing our products. We wanted to make sure our product is in line with our current customer needs but also that new clients knew the added value we provide. We plan on kicking off the new year with a brand-new product road map. This will of course be a live document and we will continue to be agile in developing our service – constant review is key to success! Watch this space.

 

We pride ourselves in the services we provide and it is important to us that our offering is clear and our customer know exactly what we do. Consultants often get a bad rep regarding this and we definitely do not want to be part of that group. It’s one thing not to mention pricing due to competition, and another thing to be shady about what added value your company provides.

 

A busy busy year ahead for us!