Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Earlier today, I heard yet another radio commercial espousing a local company's unwavering commitment to providing 'value' for their customers. Of course, this carries as much weight as the myriad of advertisements touting such things as 'we believe in quality', 'great customer service', or 'fast delivery'. Worse, the spot threw a wide net... making the appeal that, "Whether you operate a home-based business, or a Fortune 500 company... you face…
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Tags: Add new tag, advertising, challenges, character, competition, culture, customer, customer service, delivery, differentiation, ideal customers, position, positioning, quality, radio advertising, service, small business, small business marketing, team, value, values
Posted in marketing
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Friday, January 30th, 2009
A few thousand years ago, a powerful and wealthy young man made the observation to the effect that... as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. He knew that to really succeed... we need competition. To create strong habits, and strive to become our best... we need to be challenged. To remain accountable, and focused on what's truly important... we need the company of others. And as leaders and small business owners, we need the advice…
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Tags: accountability, actions, advice, challenges, competition, effective, efficient, failing, failure, habits, important vs. urgent, iron sharpens iron, lead, leader, principles, small business, small business leadership, small business owner, success, team
Posted in leadership
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Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
There's an old saying that "it's lonely at the top". And yes, I have met some lonely leaders over the years... but it was of their own choosing. It's only lonely if you don't bring others along with you. You see, businesses that are run like dictatorships do tend to be lonely places. When the occasional impact player happens to arrive... full of life... full of energy... it's only a matter of time before the environment tramples their ideas... and dampens…
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Tags: accountability, customers, customers as marketers, devils advocate, dictatorships, energy, enthusiasm, ideas, impact players, leaders, lonely at the top, responsibility, risk - calculated, safe environment, small business, small business leadership, small fortune, status quo, strategic planning, strategy, suppliers as marketers, team, thinking new
Posted in leadership
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Awhile back, I spoke with a small business leader who was struggling. I asked him how many ideas he had coming in from the field... from his staff, as well as customers and suppliers. Customers and suppliers? Yup... customers and suppliers. I'm a believer in bringing in very targeted customers and suppliers, mixing them with carefully chosen staff, and creating an informal advisory board. I find them way more helpful than many other business organizations,…
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Tags: advisory board, challenges, culture, customers, customers as marketers, devils advocate, global warming - anti, growth, ideas, ideas bad-good-best, innovation, morale, new kid on block, respect, safe environment, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, staff, status quo, subzero, suppliers as marketers, team, time
Posted in leadership
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Monday, January 26th, 2009
"How's your safety record?" This could be a question you'd expect from a Worker's Compensation specialist... but it's not. It could be referring to the physical environment of your workplace... but alas... we're speaking of something else. The safety I am referring to today is in the emotional environment... the thought-environment, if you will... where ideas and innovation either thrive... or die. Winning companies know that in order…
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Tags: collaboration, creative thinking, culture, emotional environment, employees as assets, entrepreneurs, growth, ideas, innovation, judgement, risk - calculated, safety, small business, small business leadership, small business owner, staff, status quo, thought leadership, thought-environment, winning companies, you
Posted in leadership
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Competition that is right out front is pretty easy to identify. These are other service businesses that provide similar solutions to exactly the same challenges that we address with our clients. For better or worse, most businesses have developed tactics as part of their marketing plan to compete with them. Unfortunately, they often fail to redraw the lines...…
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Tags: action, best customers, challenges, commoditization, competition, competitive landscape, competitors, customer, customer needs, customers, de-motivation, doubt, fear, ideal customers, inaction, inefficiencies, issues, joy, low-barrier options, marketers, marketing plan, motivation, pricing, processes, profit, razor-thin margins, relationships, risk-reduced, ROI, scenarios, service businesses, services, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, solutions, staff, tactics, unbelief, uncovery
Posted in marketing
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Saturday, January 24th, 2009
If you manufacture computer screens... or coffee cups, step ladders... or any other product from feather dusters to construction equipment... it's pretty easy to figure out where your main competition is coming from. Service businesses, on the other hand, have additional challenges when it comes to marketing. We often find that we must compete with the very people that we want to have as customers... an unlikely occurrence in manufacturing or distribution…
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Tags: benefits, best customers, coaching, competition, competitors, customer, customer needs, delivering content, good enough, ideal customers, ideas, in-house, information, insights, marketers, marketing plan, monday morning, processes, relevance, risk-reduced, routines, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, solutions, status quo, value
Posted in marketing
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Friday, January 23rd, 2009
"So... who is our biggest competitor?" That was the question I asked my team twenty-something years ago. And the answers flowed freely... naming every other staffing company of merit within a two hour radius of our office. But were they really competing with us? Were we competing with them? My answer was no. In fact, as I mentioned
yesterday, we developed good working…
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Tags: category, challenges, change, coaching, competition, competitive landscape, competitors, confidence, hr, impact players, influence, interactions, laser focused, market sector, marketers, marketing plan, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, niche, objections, position, processes, proposals, razor-thin margins, relationships, routines, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, staffing, systems, talent, team, training, verticals
Posted in marketing
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Okay... as small business owners, leaders, and marketers, we all know that in order to soar we need to create a sound
marketing plan. So let's see... what did we learn in Marketing 101 again? Oh yeah, start with a Business Review... that should be simple enough... Uhh... hmmm... here it is... Business Review: Alright... Corporate philosophy and Business Objectives... no problem…
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Tags: advocates, behavior, best customers, business review, competition, competitive landscape, competitors, core competencies, customer, customers, distribution, economy, goals, leaders, lessons, market trends, marketers, marketing 101, marketing plan, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, micro-goals, objectives, philosophy, plans, pricing, product attributes, relationships, results, sales, sales process, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, strategic goals, swot analysis, talent
Posted in marketing
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
So... imagine meeting someone who has lived a 'charmed life'... a silver spoon planted squarely in their mouth. Never having worked their way up... never struggled to pay the bills... born into wealth... inherited everything. Raised with maids... cooks...and a nanny. Attended the most prestigious private schools. Spends the weekdays at the Country Club... weeknights at the theatre... weekends sailing. He's got the homes and the…
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Tags: action, adversity, business, challenges, charmed life, david and goliath, family, hero, heroes, hopes and dreams, influence, inspiration, inspired, jealousy, perseverance, stories, stress
Posted in getting it right
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