Saturday, April 4th, 2009
I've made a lot of mistakes in business over the years. Most were pretty minor... but several were... let's just say, significant learning experiences. One of the biggest was that as we grew... and we added staff... there was a period of time where I allowed certain details to get away. After all, I had people who could handle those things now... so I moved down the hall. Previously, I had my office right up front... in the mix.
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Tags: big picture, customers, details, employees, employees as marketers, growth, leader, mistakes, relationships, revenue growth, service businesses, small business, small business leadership, small business owner, staff, status, suppliers as marketers, team
Posted in leadership
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Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
In the spirit of
yesterday's article, I thought I would do a little unscientific test today. So I spoke with three random people (I said it was unscientific), and asked them to identify the attributes of an ideal client. Two listed some basic demographics like the annual revenue of the company, industry sector, number of employees, etc. The other…
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Tags: a gig is a gig, best customers, demographics, employees as marketers, ideal customers, objectives, referral business, referrals, relationships, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, success, team, transactions, wiifm
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Sunday, December 28th, 2008
As we're out and about, going from store to store... the same two-sentence conversations are happening everywhere. The question is familiar to all of us, "Can I help you?"... as is the response, "No thanks... I'm just browsing." I recently noticed that I seem to be giving that answer more and more these days, but alas... I must now admit that it is not really true. You see, it may be just me, but the fact is that if I am…
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Tags: best customers, big boxes, big business, competition, competitive advantage, competitors, customer engagement, customer experience, customer needs, customer service, customers, employees as marketers, ideal customers, just browsing, leadership, marketers, new media, online media, online research, online shopping, point of sale, razor-thin margins, relationships, research, revolving door, salespeople, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, training
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Saturday, December 27th, 2008
Seasons are important. Many small businesses do half their annual volume during 'their' season, whenever that is, and however long it lasts. If you are involved in retailing... web-based or traditional, the last six weeks may have been your season. If you are an accountant, your season begins next month. Tourism, sports, construction, and recreation all have seasons, as do all of the businesses that support them. Even churches…
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Tags: advertising, buzz, customer experience, customer needs, customers, customers as marketers, employees as marketers, excellence, followers, following, ideal customers, leaders, leadership, loyalty, preparation, relationships, seasons, small business, small business marketing, suppliers as marketers, thought leadership, vision, whole team marketing, word of mouth
Posted in marketing
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Monday, December 22nd, 2008
One of the most common frustrations I hear from small business owners is that their employees just don't treat the business with the same degree of care that the owners do. These concerns generally come from one of two areas... finance or marketing, and are often expressed by statements like: "I can't believe they did, or said, that... couldn't they see how that would affect the customer... isn't it obvious what the right course of action should…
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Tags: average, c-level employees, challenges, coaching, competition, competitors, differentiation, employees as marketers, frustration, green and gold, green bay packers, impact players, leader, marketing machine, pricing, relationships, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, superior is new average, whole team marketing
Posted in getting it right, leadership, marketing
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Saturday, December 20th, 2008
In
yesterday's post, we discussed the great ability that we have as small business owners and marketers to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. This is true for both product and service businesses. If we are involved in the manufacture or distribution of a physical product, then according to conventional wisdom, the product's quality…
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Tags: abc's, average, benefits, commitment, competition, competitive advantage, competitors, customer expectations, customer experience, customer needs, customer service, customers, differentiation, employees as assets, employees as marketers, excellence, hiring success, initiative, marketing machine, marketing professionals, marketing strategy, reputation, responsibility, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, staff, strategic planning, strategy, team, training, trust
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Friday, December 19th, 2008
Okay..., so how different is one drycleaner or laundromat from another? Or one mega-grocery chain store from its closest compeitor? What about one branch or another at the county library, or one discount retailer from the one across the street? The same can be said for many hotels, churches, accounting fims, banks, and... just about anyone else. In terms of product or service, there is often very little difference. In terms of experience, however, ...the sky's…
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Tags: authenticity, best customers, business model, competition, competitors, conversations, customer engagement, customer experience, customer needs, customer service, customers, customers as marketers, differentiation, employees as marketers, genuine, golden rule, ideal customers, improvements, losing customers, marketing strategy, mp3, new accounts, new business, problem solving, product functionality, profile, repeat business, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, team, word of mouth
Posted in marketing
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Friday, November 21st, 2008
"But Mom... everyone else gets to go! Bobby gets to go!!!"
"And if Bobby jumped in the lake... would you jump in too?"
my mother calmly asked.
I hated that question... but looking back, it was probably good advice. Just replace the "jumped in the lake" part with any number of activities that were sure to lead to trouble.
In fact, as I think about it today... Mom's old adage is probably good advice for marketers as well.
You…
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Tags: best customers, big boxes, bold moves, conventional wisdom, customer expectations, customer needs, customers, employees as marketers, game plan, industry standards, jump in the lake, leader, leadership lost, main street, marketers, marketing, marketing discipline, marketing errors, marketing plan, mom, small business, small business owner, wal-mart
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Monday, November 17th, 2008
So, how often would you advertise if it cost you next to nothing?
Or would you prefer PR releases for the same price? Okay, you got it... Imagine this...
The editors of the New York Times, the USA Today, and the WSJ just called and left messages... too bad you were out.
Time, Newsweek, and The Economist will be calling tomorrow, and CNN Money and Fox Business the day after that. They all have the same offer for you.
Unlimited face-time for you…
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Tags: advertising, auto-respond e-mail, big media, business owner, customer engagement, customers as marketers, emerging technologies, employees as marketers, foreign call center, interactive technologies, internet, internet marketing, online media, promotion, public relations, relationships, stories, suppliers as marketers
Posted in marketing
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