Example of KBA Corporate ID work

Keith Bates, mentor, marcom troubleshooter.
A resource that can be tailored to fit the needs of...

CEOs...
Keith Bates is not a management consultant. Nor does he aspire to be one. His forte is “ideas” to accelerate the business development of technology companies. And he has the credentials to do this having founded five corporations over the past 20 years as a direct result of his entrepreneurial leanings. Included is KBA, his high tech ad agency, a high tech PR firm, a software company in the Ag market, a consumer publication with worldwide distribution, and a travel directory for the seven countries making up southern Africa.

His mentoring has been primarily focused on software/services startups and small to medium sized companies. He has written innumerable business plans with particular focus on the Executive Summary and can help with the communications issues required for taking your business strategy to market. He is familiar with both Geoffrey Moore’s Chasm Strategy and the Technology Adoption Life Cycle.

Marketing Execs...
To quote my friend Mark Cavender of the Chasm Institute, “Marketing is often the last to get the credit for success and the first to get the blame for failure.” Marketing begins with an assessment of the business plan, then to marketing, sales, and communications. Employing the Marcom Engine process Bates can help with the situation analysis, development (redevelopment) of strategy, build a creative repository, design and produce the marcom arsenal, plan the deployment and execute, assist with tracking, analysis, and ROI measurement.

Sales Execs...
The power struggle between sales and marketing is legendary. As both a sales exec and a marketing exec for over 25 years Bates has managed this problem for not only his own companies but for many clients as well. Last summer Bates’ good friend Don Schultz, professor of integrated marketing at Northwestern University, commented at a BMA luncheon on the topic of sales vs. marketing that marketers are being challenged to overcome their lack or credibility with the sales force. The effects of true collaboration do wonderful things for your bottom line. Bates can act as facilitator, arbitrator or both as he has lived on both sides of the fence. The concept of CMM (Customer Message Management) is rapidly taking hold and already is available as formal training.

Venture Capitalists...
A problem commonly encountered by angels and VCs is a lack of access to the sales and marketing experience required to perform true due diligence -- which is well beyond the review of business plans. Throwing money at poorly marketed products has never worked. And never will! What’s the explanation behind this sad state of affairs? VCs are often forced to perform inadequate due diligence because of investor fixation on ROI. Failure to give credence to the importance of the marketing skills results in trouble down the road. Growth capital should be reserved for those companies that exhibit a potential for growth. And that means going beyond the business plan, the market analysis, and the growth projections. It means getting deep inside sales and marketing and the people who are going to make it happen. Keith Bates can perform marketing due diligence for startup and mezzanine situations.