While attending a reception at a big conference last nite, the person I was chatting with at one of the “bars” asked for a glass of wine. The bartender had just finished one bottle and needed to open another.

We stood there in amazement and watched as she took a waiter’s corkscrew – like the one pictured here – and proceeded to twist the metal all the way into the cork, and then try, with sheer muscle to pull the cork out (almost an impossible task for anyone but the strongest or those willing to get wine all over themselves). She had no idea how to use the corkscrew correctly in leveraging the end on the bottle to pull the cork out, so my friend came to her rescue and show her. (If you don’t know, you can learn here)

So what does this have to with marketing? In a way, everything. Lets start with the obvious – are your people trained correctly to work with your customers? Do they know how to use the tools that make serving your customers easier, more effective or simply excellent? (she clearly missed the lesson on opening a bottle)

The less obvious lesson here is leverage. What is your force multiplier for your marketing? How do you get your word out through your alliances and partners? What are you doing to delight your customers so that they talk about you. Where are you spending time in creating content and making sure it has permanence for long term (long tail) search value. Who in your company is your evangelist or evangelists and what tools have you given them to keep getting the word out for you. Why are you doing anything in marketing that is not repeatable and leverage-able because all the cost and time is invested in the first time you do anything.

So, unless you don’t have to do marketing, because demand for your products and services is unlimited, take a step back and look at your leverage points. Where can your partners, your alliances, your customers and you employees help you further develop your business – new customers, current customers and service excellence. And think about the corkscrew and leverage – as I see it, you have 3 choices when it comes to opening that bottle or in your marketing:

1. Use brute strength to force the issue (and exhaust yourself and make a mess)
2. Use the tool correctly and make your life easier
3. By a bottle with a screw-cap and take the simple way out (and with marketing, that means getting some help from a professional)

This post was kicked off by a discussion I had regarding the direct response article on Seth Godin’s Blog.

It’s true that more and more marketing dollars are being held accountable, for good reason.  Simply “getting your name out there” has generally stopped working, unless you have millions of dollars to throw at the problem.

“What can be measured gets done” is true.  It’s also true that if it’s not measureable, it is much harder to make ‘better’.   Insomuch as marketing is both art and science, Seth is complaining (and I agree) that the art is quickly leaving in favor of rapidly split-tested data that is scientifically rigorous.

This creates, as I see it, the following implications:

1)   Measurement can be done by teasing out external factors to see how well a given branding style campaign has done.   But it is not easy, or as accurate so it often falls to ‘doesn’t get done’.

2)   There is still great art inside of marketing- insomuch as the traditional functions of Public Relations, Journalism and marketing are quickly merging to become a hybrid profession of the future (present?).  This new profession has much art to it, and can be minimally influenced by raw statistical data.

I’ve yet to see a specific college marketing program churning out 22 year olds who are good journalistic researchers and interviewers, who know basic video production and HTML skills, and have a baseline knowledge of business and psychology.

3)   I suspect that broadcast media specifically do NOT want their effectiveness measured for many of their advertisers. My estimate for when I do see TV commercials (and not fast forward through them) is no more than 20% are effective at generating a specific memorable message, to a specific audience that knows what to do next if they want to consider seriously buying a new Hyundai, Chimney/fireplace, Verizon Android thing, or prescription drug that will revolutionize your life if you are willing to deal with ‘minor’ side effects that take 45 seconds to explain.  I don’t actually mind commercials personally- but I can’t recall the last time the person I was watching TV with paid the slightest attention to the commercials.  Usually these are fast forwarded over.

4)   I’m not a huge believer in advertising.  BUT- As prices continue to drop, we will see more of a comeback.  As advertisers are forced to keep up with the new psychology of marketing, they will develop better, more interesting, meaningful and ‘artful’ commercials.  Commercials as entertainment have tremendous value.  There will always be ad supported media, as there will always be someone willing to pay some price to be affiliated with somebody else’s brand, or to speak directly to somebody else’s customers.  When I was growing up, there was the constant conversation in the background that my favorite childhood TV shows- Transformers and GI-Joe were really half-hour long commercials for the toys.  Soap Operas got their name because their primary sponsors originally were soap companies.  We will, I believe, continue to see a merging of the offline and online.

We want the entertainment.  Cheap.  For that, we are generally willing to pay dearly in wasted time.

The formula for a good advertisement is still there.  I suspect we will be seeing more minute to 2 minute commercials, which are better for quality storytelling, as evidenced by the allegedly sold out 2012 Big Football Game (no, they haven’t been sold out at anything approaching full price since at least 2006, likely earlier).  The rumor on why that is, is that 2012 many advertisers bought 1 to 2 minute spots.

In order to tell meaningful stories.

That we might care about.

Care enough about to remember.

Care enough about to act on.

That doesn’t come without art, and doesn’t come with simply splashing a logo on the screen for a mechanically recorded, but mentally ignored ‘repetition’.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been writing about planning your strategy for developing your business.  First we looked at current customers, second was customer service and third was sales and the last entry was marketing.  In our final installment, we’d like to encourage you to install a continuous learning plan.

Business development, customers service communication channels, marketing tools and sales tools have gotten much more technical in the last 7 or 8 years.

What is the plan for you and your staff to continue to learn? Things like Google Analytics, social media (which is great for listening to the marketplace) Pay-per-click marketing, managing a CRM system for sales and marketing and customer service.

And while this is more about developing your business foundation, than business development, it is equally as important. So 3 specific questions for you to build into a continuous learning plan…

• What 3 new marketing technologies or techniques will you learn this year?
• How will you apply technology to servicing your customers better?
• How will you help your clients learn about technology that will help you and they work better together?

You don’t have to learn everything (and frankly, you can’t), but learn enough to figure out which 3 things will have the most impact on your business, and focus there.

Series Conclusion

The list of things to do and learn and ask that we have put forward through these 5 posts is overwhelming. We know it is, and to succeed today you have to be smarter, faster and more differentiated then the big box stores and all the other commodity vendors.

If your clients aren’t happy, another alternative is a few clicks of a search engine away. And if your prospects don’t believe you are different, or that you can’t deliver to their expectations, they’ll vote with their wallet somewhere else.

So plan for your success, and if you can’t do it all, or need help with the questions to ask and how to make sense of the answers, give us a call.

Through this series we have been talking about planning out your strategy for developing your business.  First we looked at current customers, second was customer service and third was sales.  Now we look at marketing.

Being marketing consultants and coaches, we would argue that everything you business does is marketing, but not everyone sees it that way. So for the sake of simplicity with this blog series, we’ll say that marketing is about your message, your brand (image, marks, web presence including social media), your new lead generation tactics and the process you employ to nurture leads through the buying process until your sales team takes over holding their hands.

So, here are the questions we’ll put out for you to think through.

First, how are you going to better target and recruit your ideal customer from your pool of prospective ones? Can you write a description of your perfect customer? What they are like; what their hopes and dreams are; how your product or service helps them realize that?

Sit down and write an autobiography of your ideal customer – one that will help everyone know who you want to talk to and why they will care what you say.

Then, consider how are you going to differentiate yourself from your competition – for once and for good. If you aren’t different, you are competing on price. Go back to why. (google “Simon Sinek and TED” if you need help with what we mean by why.

Why did you start your business? Or if you didn’t start it, what do you want every customer to say about your company in terms of the value you deliver?

Now, how are you going to make sure you are creating visible, tangible, processes, systems and proof that you do deliver.

How are you measuring quality, because not all leads are equal? What tactics are you using and which work best? Is it time to try to some new tactics (or retry old ones with a new twist)

What are you doing to build your email list (with permission of course)? How many names do you want to add this year –write the number in blood – and what will you do to get them? Then, once you get them, how are you managing the process of staying in contact (see the CRM comment under sales)?

What are the goals for your website? Why do you even have one in the first place? Make sure you have that clearly defined, and that the content and flow match your goals.

Finally, a key part of marketing is taking in feedback from the marketplace to learn. So how are you listening to your marketplace? Do you have a way set up to hear the conversation that goes on in social media?

Of course, if you’d like some help with these questions, you can engage with us to help. We offer a free 45 minute marketing and brand audit – just sign up for it right from the website (it’s the big silver button on the right)

This is part 3 in our planning installment. In the first entry, we discussed your current customers and setting goals to increase both revenue and referrals. The second installment looked at customer service. Now, we turn to sales.

Profitable business growth for most companies comes down to business development. And business development for many companies is synonymous with sales. The question for this entry is what should you be considering to make your sales team and process more effective.

Lets start by thinking about your sales team. We all know that most sales people are coin-operated, so are you re-thinking your sales compensation plans? Do your sales people do what you want them to do? Do they close the type of business that is profitable in the long term for your business or are they just taking orders? If sales aren’t doing what you want them to do, look at how you pay them. Reward the activity and the level you expect.

Then consider your sales process? Is it written down and does everyone follow it? Consistency matters and great salespeople and outstanding sales teams follow a process that builds trust – trust from management in the team.  And process builds trust from prospects by showing that you know what you are doing and have done this before. If the process isn’t documented, starting the year off by documenting what everyone should be doing is a great beginning.

How about your offering levels? Do you have a way for prospects to “try” your service or product out? Do you have a starter offer to sell or an easy way to switch someone from a competitor? What can you do to lower the barrier to entry for a new customer to work with you? Innovating in this area early in the year can have a big impact as 2012 unfolds.

Do you back your people, your process, your service, all up with a system that people use? Relationships are more important than ever – having a relationship management system helps the sales team stay consistent and helps management if a sales person leaves.

Finally, are you always looking for answers and information that helps your sales efforts? Do you ask customers why won (hint, its not just because of good sales people)? Or do you survey why do you lost (here, it may be bad sales people)? If you don’t know, set yourself a goal this upcoming year to find out. And are your sales people using social media – like LinkedIn – to never make a cold call again? If not, what is the plan to help them get there?

Sales is a critical element of the marketing process.  It makes the connection from 1-to-many to 1-to-1 and from potential to revenue. Make the time to plan for better execution next year.

Our next installment will be on marketing.

Since the last post was about customer service, let me relate a story from today that illustrates the advantage that smaller or local companies have over the big chains.  It being Christmas season and all, there are lots of customers service examples, good and bad to share, but today you get to read about my experience with 1-800 Mattress. (and it wasn’t a good one, but there are good lessons here)

We needed a new twin set for one of our bedrooms because we have guests coming for the holidays. So I went to 1800Mattress.com to see what they had available. I’ve ordered from them in the past and the delivery was pretty quick, so I thought I would start there.

I found a twin with a low-profile box-spring – what I was looking for – for under $200. The site said it was in stock in my area.  So I ordered it. I wasn’t presented with a delivery date option – only that someone would call me back immediately to schedule it. This didn’t worry me much as other furniture vendors do the same thing in this area.

Well, after an hour came and went with no call, I called them. The first call, I went through their phone tree to get to delivery, only to be told that delivery customer service is only open Monday to Friday, 9-5. Okay, so then I try web chat. A guy named Ed starts chatting with me and when I tell him why I am chatting, he promptly disconnects with me.  So I call the 800 number again and this time get to order confirmation.  They then have to transfer me to the web order desk, where the nice young woman on the phone tells me that they are out of stock of the item I ordered (that was in-stock according to the website) and the soonest they can deliver is the 26th (doesn’t work for me), so I tell her to cancel the order. She asks me to hold while she sees if there is a substitute they can offer.

After about 4 or 5 minutes she comes back with a substitute that is $50 more (Sarcasm warning – I was shocked that they were trying to upsell me at this point). I tell them no thanks, please refund my card, which she says will happen in 3 days or so.

So to summarize the story so far:

1. Website says item is in stock when ordered
2. They promise a quick call to schedule delivery, which never happens
3. It takes 2 calls and a disconnected web chat to find out the item isn’t in stock after all
4. They try to sell me something more expensive in its place

So how do you think I am feeling about 1800Mattress at this point?

Then I went to the website for Jordan’s Furniture. A six location local chain (that is now owned by Berkshire Hathaway, but still managed by the original team).  I find a mattress on their website. It’s a bit more expensive, but after buying a lot from Jordan’s over the years, I know they’ll have it in stock if they say they do.  I place the order – no credit card needed – and they call me back in about 15 minutes to complete the order. They confirm a delivery date that is what I want, and then give me the total order. When I comment on the amount of the delivery charge, they suggest that I could pick it up at the store near me and save that money – which I agree to. They take the credit card and in less than 5 minutes I have a receipt back by email. Now why didn’t I just do that in the first place.

Good question. Answer is that Jordan’s advertises their sleep center (I’ll write another post on that another day – it is amazing) as well as a lot of different furniture, so I didn’t think of them first for a simple twin mattress for a guest room. Price + Availability was my main concern and I figured the availability would be the same but 800 mattress would have the lower price. Yes, it was lower, but no availability kind of negates that.

Lesson for local retailers:

1)    If you are promoting your breadth of offering, you may lose out on a single specialty purchase to a specialty web retailer if:

a.    You don’t continue to emphasize your difference even on a quick and simple purchase

b.    You neglect to mention your local pick up option versus having to deal with shipping from a national web merchant

2)    Service does make a difference. Jordan’s called me back quickly, offered me options and were extremely pleasant to work with.

In the end, 800Mattress ticked me off through the bait and switch approach – I probably won’t ever call again. Jordan’s service was so good that I was also ticked off – at myself for not calling them first. Which way do you want to tick off your customers?

This is part 2 in our planning installment. In the first entry, we discussed your current customers and setting goals to increase both revenue and referrals.

Growth; at least profitable growth, all comes down to business development. The question for this entry is why and how to improve your customers service. What are the goals you might want to consider?

Of course, the fact that we are marketers means that you are going to get a marketing spin on how to use customer service to better develop and grow your business.

So for your customer service team and approach, consider the following:

How is your service differentiating you?

Unless you are truly selling a commodity and price is all that matters, your service is part of your differentiation. But, and this is a big but, the quality of your service doesn’t matter to someone who is NOT your customer because they haven’t experienced it yet.

Your service reputation may matter, and if you have a good reputation, then you want to back it up with information about how it became good, and how it stays good. If your reputation for service is on the average or poor side, you are going to want to show a prospective customer what has changed and how that impact them.

So take time to consider and document what your processes are.  Then put those processes into a format that you can share with your prospects in a meaningful way. That way they know you are committed to keeping your service consistent and great.

And then, focus on what you are going to do this year to make that process run smoother, faster, better. What can you do to innovate your service in a way that will matter to your customers, be visible to your prospects and blow your competition away?

Finally, who in your company is going to be accountable for this and how are you going to measure their success and compensate them for their effort?

Big questions. But the answers matter – now and into the future.
Look for our next installment on sales – coming up shortly.

11 months gone. 1/2 month left – but only about 10 real working days – and the distractions bring that down to about 5. So… What are you doing now that will make next year different than this year?

It all comes down to business development. How are you going to better develop your business next year? Marketing? Sales? Customer service? Current customer sales?

Now is the time to set your goals. Over our next few posts we’ll be touching on the key areas to be thinking about in planning your business development for next year. Ideas for current customers, your customers service, sales, marketing and on-going learning.

First: Current Customers:

Current customers, for a lot of businesses, represent a substantial part of their revenue each year. But just as common, these businesses can’t really predict which customers, exactly, that revenue is going to come from.

Now is the time to sit down and take a look at your customer list. Not just a glance at it, but a real, long, hard look. Here are some key areas you should be taking to time to understand, in detail:

You can probably figure out, or know, the percent of your current customers that buy from you again. Now can you figure out which specific ones come back again and again, and as important, WHY they do?

What we are trying to get to is how do you help those continue-to-return customers become evangelists for your business so that they help you grow? What tools can you create that will help them refer you to new clients on a regular basis?

Then, look at those one-time purchasers. How do you get more of them to become repeat purchasers? What’s the number or percent you want to get to? And what will be your plan to execute?

Then, you have probably heard the term net-promoter.  So, what is your true net-promoter score from your clients? (those that are really likely to recommend you)

What can you do to increase the likelihood of getting referrals and increasing your score? We’ll hit on that in our next post on customer service.

And of course, if you need help with planning for the new year, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and chat about how we can help you grow your business in 2012.

In addition to all the normal things that my human side is thankful for today… my family, friends, great employees and associates, I wanted add a bit.

Today, as a small business owner, I am thankful for…

The military foresight to create DARPA, which created the foundation of what is the internet. I could not make my living or grow my company without it. So thanks to all that have contributed to its growth and the stability we take for granted.

Those at Rand Corporation, and their military sponsors, that created the computer as we essentially know it today.

Those at IBM that decided that they were a hardware company, and that they should license the software to run the first PC, as opposed to own and control it. Their “unintended” open sourcing process created the personal computer revolution that now allows me to have more computing power in my house than the space shuttle had on board.

The late Steve Jobs, and those who were patient enough to follow him to a new way of thinking about the computer, the phone, the user, music and creativity. I could not do what I do without the power of my computing devices.

Ralph Roberts, who founded Comcast.  Yes, they are a big conglomerate with all sorts of customer service issues, but they also deliver a very affordable, very stable and very fast pipe to my home and office that lets me access the aforementioned internet.  Their foresight to build this pipe and continued investment in it, lets me do my work.

Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little, the two guys who conceived and coded what would become WordPress.  This little platform has allowed us and our clients to create websites that do what they want them to do, that they can control, at a fraction of what it cost to build and maintain a website just 7 years ago.

The genius of Dan Bricklin and co-author Bob Frankston,– the guys that conceived VisiCalc – the first spreadsheet program for the PC that really allowed us to see numbers in a new light.  Without it, Excel would not be what it is.

Hubert Lipinski – the guy that create cc:Mail.  The first email program I ever used on a PC, and one that opened my eyes to the power of electronic communications and how you could work from virtually anywhere.

All the other multitudes of innovations and technologies that cause what my friend Ed Kless calls 21^st Century Problems.  Whether it is the airplane and supporting infrastructure that allows me to cross the continent in 5 hours (and be able to complain about delays and bad food); the cell phone providers that all get a bad rap but have created a magic grid that let us talk to almost anyone, almost anywhere at anytime; and even the legions of innovators that let us eat fresh blueberries in February.

As Arthur C Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”  Everything mentioned above, would be magic to those that lived a century ago.  Most of all, I am thankful that we live in a time of magic. Have a happy Thanksgiving.