At the recent IT@Cork event on “Managing a Service Business for Growth” we heard from two successful Cork based IT@Cork member companies on how they built their businesses.
In a previous post I raised the question on whether service business revenue growth was directly related to employee numbers.
The two speakers at the event, Paul Hourican from PFH Computers and Pat Ryan from Abtran, clearly outlined service business revenue growth on a non-linear scale to employee numbers.
The two businesses have defined their services on the basis that they have:
defined offerings of what they do for their customers
defined processes in the delivery of these offerings
carefully researched and selected technologies to support the delivery of their services
test marketed on a small scale and then implement a full roll-out
clear pricing structures based on longer term contracts
understanding of what is commodity and what is premium
constant investment in R&D improving technologies and processes thus deskilling the service delivery where practical
clearly defined target Ideal Clients and market regions
understanding of which service offering is local, national and international
understanding their competitive positioning while avoiding price competitive strategies
As they are human, the two speakers outlined where they also learned valuable lessons in:
test marketing with non-clients, rather than being misled by low-hanging fruit
clear focus on business direction but being prepared to be opportunistic
understanding what is good and bad business on an on-going basis – a good head of finance helps
never be afraid of asking for a long-term commitment – each new client requires investment, give yourself space to deliver a valuable service and generate sufficient profit
the importance of good Marketing
Tom Raftery posted photos of the event Paul Hourican and Pat Ryan
Do check out the next IT@Cork event on “Business used of RSS”
The insights by both speakers provided lessons for all businesses even if you a custom development services businesses.
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