Farpoint Marketing

Trevor Weeden describes Farpoint Marketing, his consultancy based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as being in the business of removing roadblocks standing in the way of companies driving for success.

Farpoint brings together teams of marketing, operations and technical experts to help businesses conceptualize, plan and bring new products and services to their markets.

“We try to help companies recognize their real goals – in work as well as life – then help remove any obstacles in the way of achieving their objectives,” Weeden says.

One of the keys to success, says Weeden, is to maintain a positive outlook “no matter what.” He says it is a truism it costs far less to retain clients than spend money competing for new business. The key to retaining clients is to deliver, or exceed, their expectations.
This is something he recommends in his company’s proprietary Customer Value Management (CVM) strategy, which is especially useful in the face of an economically challenging climate.

The CVM process starts with communicating with clients to set out what they expect from your business. The next step is to measure a company’s performance and its competitor’s performance, establishing an ongoing measurement of progress and results. Farpoint then integrates CVM with established Customer Relationship Management (CRM) approaches and other marketing disciplines to help companies achieve enhanced bottom line results from their products or services.

It’s clear that Weeden has been following his own advice. His company’s business opportunities have been growing and getting more diverse since its launch in 1998. One clear example is the work the company started doing in 2004 for Nova Scotia’s Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and clients from its Women in Business program.

The program helps to finance training costs for women business owners in the Atlantic Provinces who wish to undertake business management training in such areas as marketing, finance and accounting, and information management.
One such business owner is Helen Ormston, who owns Gentle Touch, a clinic specializing in laser skin treatments and hair removal. She notes that Trevor Weeden is an “incredible and valuable resource” for her business.

“In November, 2007, I had just expanded to a second location in Dartmouth and needed advice as to what services I should add to build the business,” Ormston says.

“Trevor helped me examine my business in a different way and take an objective look at where I was making money. Everything flowed from there.”

Today, Gentle Touch has expanded to offer a range of services including skin tightening, microdermabrasion (exfoliation) and treatment of skin conditions associated with aging, active lifestyles and sun damage. The clinics employ five full-time and three part- time specialists and have an annual revenue of approximately $500,000.

Kim George, who owns Limelight Communications Group Inc. based in Dartmouth, also met Weeden through the Women in Business program, shortly after she had started her own speaking business and entertainment bureau. George set out on her own business venture after working for 14 years as an agent for Halifax’s irrepressible Pete Luckett of Pete’s Frootique.

“Trevor was instrumental in carving our strategic marketing plan,” says George. “He developed a program that allowed us to anticipate events such as corporate general meetings, business workshops and seminars.”

“The result is that we can recommend everything from a high-profile keynote speaker to a witty master of ceremonies to an industry expert for a workshop session or a lively Maritime band to top off the evening.”

After six years in business, Limelight has more than 100 speakers on its books and has an annual revenue pushing $1 million.
“Relationships are the core of any business, and communications is the key to strong relationships,” says Weeden. “We communicate with customers, staff, suppliers and competitors. We achieve business success for our clients by removing roadblocks that bar that communication – in building relationships and creating a shared history of success.”

Weeden’s own personal history and relationships mirror this attitude.

Weeden’s family emigrated from England in 1967. His father, who was employed in the nuclear energy field, brought his family to Deep River, Ontario where they built their own home, with Trevor working as his father’s labourer. In 1973, Trevor graduated from Queen’s University in London, Ontario, with a BSc (Chemistry and Mathematics) and graduate courses in marketing, economics and management accounting.

After 18 years with Bell Canada in Ontario, and a two-year stint in Saudi Arabia, Weeden brought his family to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“We lived in Ottawa and had a cottage in Quebec, but we wanted a change,” Weeden says. “We all wanted to live by a lake, and it turns out that Nova Scotia has more than 1,000 lakes. Plus, it had excellent educational options for our daughter and son who were in high school. We bought a piece of land in Kingswood by a lake and built a house.

“Halifax is now our home. We love it here. The people are welcoming and friendly, and the vibrant entrepreneurial sector creates challenging and exciting business opportunities.”