Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
Okay, quick... what was the first thought that came into your mind when you read that title? A) Peace B) Joy C) Happiness D) Excitement What... you say? You don't like the choices? Well, then... how about an incredibly professional and friendly staff... or a relaxed, caring, customer-centric environment? How about a dental office that is so on-time at 2 o'clock in the afternoon that the patient (me) never felt the fabric of a chair in the waiting area.…
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Tags: best customers, competition, competitors, culture, customer experience, customer service, customers, customers as marketers, excellence, ideal customers, internet, leader, new media, professional development, referral business, referrals, relationships, service, service professionals, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, staff, team, whole team marketing
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
So, if the purpose of networking is to build a network, then what is the purpose of building a network? The majority of the time that I ask this question of small business owners and service professionals, I get the same answer... sales. While this should be an indirect outcome, I have a different answer. The purpose of building a network is to develop relationships... the best of which will ultimately make up your team. As a small…
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Tags: banker, character, credit, credit crunch, ideal customers, influence, market, networking, niche, potential, prime the pump, relationships, sales, service businesses, service professionals, small business, small business marketing, small business owner, solutions, team, team building
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Monday, February 16th, 2009
In my experience, the top three reasons small business owners cite in not wanting to attend networking events are: 1) They have other uses for their time, but feel an uncomfortable obligation to be there. 2) They believe there is an inadequate ROI associated with the event. 3) They often end up engaged in "selling" behavior with people who are not qualified buyers. In the last several articles, we spoke about the concerns associated with…
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Tags: advertising, benefits, best customers, elevator speech, ideal customers, influence, leader, listening, market, networking, rocket science, ROI, sales, small business, small business marketing, small business owner
Posted in leadership, marketing
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Sunday, February 15th, 2009
As I mentioned
yesterday, networking is one of your most powerful tools in creating influence for your business. I find, however, that most small business leaders that I speak with have never thought of it that way. Commonly, they tell me they have always thought of it in terms of lead generation... usually judging the success or failure on the basis of how much…
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Tags: best customers, ideal customers, influence, lead generation, market, networking, niche, opportune moment, profile, ROI, service businesses, small business, small business marketing, small business owner
Posted in marketing
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Saturday, February 7th, 2009
Okay... so if great relationships are the secret to a satisfying and meaningful life... and if successful long term relationships are fueled by common values... where do we begin? We begin... by taking inventory. A Values Inventory. And like any inventory, it is a list of what you possess at a moment in time... it's not a wish-list of things you'd like in the future. Our values are the true picture of who we are today... a snapshot of…
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Tags: actions, character, character traits, decision making, employees as assets, family, ideal customers, leadership traits, loyalty, marriage, master values list, perseverance, principles, priorities, purpose, relationships, reputation, team, teamwork, trust, values, values inventory
Posted in leadership
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Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Here are the first two sets of numbers I measure when evaluating the health of business relationships: 1) How much of the current year's business is
repeat business? 2) How much of the current year's business is
referral business? The reason is simple... both of these metrics are good…
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Tags: best customers, brand, clients, excellence, hiring success, ideal customers, impact, influence, metrics, mission, priorities, purpose, referral business, relationships, repeat business, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing, small business owner, values, values inventory
Posted in leadership, marketing
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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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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
I'm minding my own business, enjoying a coffee at a local
Barnes and Noble when two thirty-something business guys sit down right behind me. It's cramped, and short of cupping my hands over my ears and singing out loud, it would have been impossible not to hear their conversation from eighteen inches away. Inside of the seven or eight minutes I was there, they managed to slam every…
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Tags: admiration, best customers, conversations, customer engagement, customer service, excellence, ideal customers, interactions, lessons, processes, referral business, referrals, relationships, respect, small business, small business leadership, small business marketing
Posted in getting it right, leadership, marketing
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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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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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