Posted Tuesday, July 15, 2008 by
Damon Richards

I had a meeting this morning with Larry Welke. He's something of a legend among Indianapolis computer consulting and other technology people. Larry was selling computer hardware and software before most people knew what they were. In his latest endeavor, Larry is using
video to engage inner city youth. During the conversation, he mentioned the six audiences with which every organization must interact: prospects, customers, employees, shareholders, competitors, and suppliers. That made me think about the impact that our computer network consulting has on each of those audiences.
ProspectsOur business computer support makes it easier for our customers to collect and sort information about their prospects. This is accomplished thru a compendium of IT support services, including CRM and other databases, website, Internet searches, email, and broadcast email.
CustomersMany of the same tools used for prospects can be used for customers as well. Different information goes into these systems, and other tools like accounting software and specialized software for your primary product or service are used to interact with your customers.
EmployeesA lot of organizations forget about communicating with (marketing to) employees. These are the secret weapons for most organizations. Our Help computer Desk is the most obvious way in which we help with this audience.
ShareholdersIn most of our small business and not-for-profit customers, the shareholders are also connected to the organization as one of the other six audiences as well. There are times when their needs are different however. These often come when helping with budgeting for technology – the tug between must have and nice-to-have.
CompetitorsMost small businesses spend very little time worrying about what their competitors are doing. Because our Indianapolis computer consulting business is involved in many organizations, we're able to cross-pollinate our customers with ideas from related industries, as well as keep them informed of what their competitors who work with our other clients are doing.
SuppliersIn many instances, as a result of the outsourcing relationship, we become the direct contact for our customers' suppliers. We frequently deal with ISPs, telephone equipment and service providers, copier companies, construction companies, and the host of computer hardware and software vendors on behalf of our clients.
We work to make it easier for our client companies to deal with all six of their audiences. In some cases, we spend more time with some audiences than our clients' staff members. That's the relationship that makes Pertingo® work.