Selling out on your customers. Delivering sub par service.
It’s easy to take a shortcut, cut corners to get the short term win…. But it’s not attractive…
Not attractive to your current; prospective or past customers.
You can may win them back. But at what cost?
I daresay it’s less than the windfall from your original shortcut…
Between working on your business versus working in your business.
It’s the same with your career, idea or goal. There are always elements of getting the job done versus the oversight view figuring out new ways of doing things.
Now this is the delicate balance between the two, how much do you do of each? Some people resign to do all the doing and others to do all the thinking… either or isn’t that hard (nor inferior). Whatever keeps you happy.
But for those that need to do both (case in point small business owner) how do you strike the balance? I haven’t found a solid rule but my personal guideline (as it is for all goals) is today better than yesterday? Am I little bit closer to my goal? Each day I want to inch closer.
For all those small changes really add up.
At the least I need to do a little bit each and every day working on my business versus in it. Some days I hit the sweet spot others I miss it. As long as it is a bit better and I am increasing momentum I’m happy.
To be honest even that’s not easy to get that little bit each and every day what I can share is that over time it gets easier. Hang in there, focus on the vision, keep chipping away at it.
Easy all you have to do is pop over to Amazon and add to the discussion on The Best Ideas are Free, I will randomly pick a winner Wednesday week (the 23rd). Will ship you a signed copy of the book anywhere in the world. Can post as many time as you want to increase chances.
For the new readers (and old) just wanted to remind you what else you can get from me:
You can read the blog each and everyday for free (it is my absolute pleasure to do so). (remember to check the archives in the bottom left menu, there are now over 300 posts!)
You can also check out some manifestos that I have put together in the past for free as well.
Heck you can even read my first book online for free.
Check out all of the above, the marketing manifesto is a must read and of course the book draws everything together.
However what I do charge for is my physical book, if you like the rest, check it out. I don’t need to sell you on the benefits of reading a book but the key thing is it makes it real – once you hold it in your hand the ideas take a different shape.
Thanks to Brett Roberts (Chief Technology Office, Microsoft NZ) for reminding me of this video, give it a watch it is 20 minutes long but well worth it.
Update: Video broke the blog so view it here on TED.com.
I just want to clarify (since I share ideas each and every day) an idea alone isn’t a business.
A business is a collection of ideas, executed in a fashion that generates profit.
An amazing idea helps a business spread, it forms the messages, builds the word of mouth but it is the collection of ideas and systems executed that make the business. In essence an amazing idea provides a wave for the business to ride but that wave is short lived unless you have something behind it…
You need to take your amazing idea and mix it up with some others (usually standardised ideas) to turn it into a business. Then you have something of amazing value.
You can virtually test anything and everything online… there is amazing amounts of tools available to measure different things.
Measure traffic? Use Google Analytics (#1 if you don’t have basic traffic measurement installed please bang head against wall – it should be an assumption.)
Want to do Brand Monitoring? Check out Techrigy (Google Alerts on steroids)
Usability and heat maps? Use CrazyEgg (it beats Google Analytics Heatmaps hands down.
Measure E-Commerce? Set up Google Analytics Goals (and figure out where your business comes from).
Measure blog subscribers? Use Feedburner.
Find out more about your audience demographics? Use Quantcast & Crowdscience.
Want to find out which design / slogan/ offer creates the most business? Use A/B testing with Google Website Optimiser.
Use these to test your assumptions, tweak and improve again. The web is a huge incubator for evolution or products to happen, so get evolving.
If you have any others feel free to share below in the comments…
A while back as a Monday Ideas Post I shared my idea for a quick feedback form, you can view the original post here and the republished post on the NZHerald (where it was hugely controversial).
As a quick summary I suggested that stores add a device to collect quick feedback on your experience. You could even integrate into the eftpos machine to hasten the process.
I was delighted to be greeted by this in a duty free store whilst away on holiday.
How neat! A quick screen to let me provide some simple feedback. From the state of the machine I could tell it was well used.
Airports are a double sided coin as customers are only likely to visit a few times, so it’s harder to collect feedback (but you have a location monopoly so average service can prevail).
Some readers mentioned they had seen some in the original post but just wanted to share…
#15 Follow up (and stay in your customers frame of reference)
Follow up! and follow up consistently. Remind your past clients what you offer, see if you can help them. One client of mine went through a court case so had no funds for several months. We cut the project back, I offered to help pro bono, if they kept writing blog posts I would keep putting them up, thus ensuring they maintained return on investment. You think that client is ever going to leave me?
#16 Think Long Term
Clients are for the long term. Do not rip them off, burn their business. Repeat clients pay more and earn you more due to efficiencies.
#17 Clients as your sales team
Clients are your best sales people, so look after them, obsess about their business, recommend their product to others.
Sure the sales pitch work – it converts – generates dollars. But do you show your human side?
You see having a real relationship with your customers means when things get tough they will hang in there (and vice versa). Having strong relations creates a real loyalty and following.
Think of all the hoo haa around Apples products every 18 months and yet their dedicated users hang in there, why? They have a strong relationship with the company. And who would want to leave that?
It’s easy for someone to say you should be doing blogging, or tweeting or vlogging…
You can’t.
You see you ought to zoom in on what you’re good at.
If you’re not good at writing – don’t write.
If you’re not good in front of the camera – don’t do it.
No time for tweeting – don’t do it.
There is ZERO value in using a tool if you don’t do it well. Let me repeat that – zero value. If you’re in the space you need to own it.
It’s the same old business principle, 80/20 analysis of what you’re good at, then push that button and keep pressing it. That’s the smartest form of leverage.
Isn’t exactly insightful (if that’s all you do).
It’s good – but people do get tired of it. Have you read mainstream media? People do like answers. People find reassurance in answers. People BUY answers.
But remember your answers get better with asking questions.
Catch 22 – but isn’t everything a paradox…
A gift to take home.
A token to show their friends.
A reminder of how much they enjoyed your product.
I enjoyed this wine on a recent flight, St Hallett – Poachers Blend. It was really good, so I read the label.
On the back you can see is a little tab that you can pull of the label. It has the name of the wine and more information on the back.
Very neat – now I know which wine to get! I didn’t check but they could take it one step further and on the back have a coupon (so only those that have taken it off find it) – 10% off if you buy in Duty Free once you jump off the plane. Just a thought but I think they are already doing enough.
So why not give your customers a gift?
First year of uni walking along (one way north in dunedin) with my high school friend Mathew.
A McDonalds type cup of coke landed near our feet, we heard beeping and look up to see two hooligans from school yelling abuse.
At that point in time I couldn’t understand how someone could be so angry at someone else (from whom I barely interacted). They’d displayed the same behaviour at school. I was never rude to them, or talked to them, in fact my first encounter was to verbal abuse.
You see what I grew to realise it was driven by fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of some kid not willing to compromise his integrity & give up like the others.
This and many other incidents drove me. When I was down, I realised that to give up was to let them win, let the fear win.
#11 Invoicing
Charge 50% up front and collect. Never ever do the invoice at the end of the month collect the 20th of the following month. Only for continual work but never start out this way.
Small businesses are using you as a free credit limit. Charge 50% up front, this filters clients immediately to those with cash and reminds them of your importance. It will also motive you to get the job done when you have that first 50% in the bank.
#12 Pay your suppliers
Pay all your suppliers asap, nevermind their terms, if you can pay them straight away do it. Why? Suddenly you become their most valuable client and thus get top priority. It is good karma too, they are more likely to recommend you to others, hey i work with this great dude Ben…fantastic to work with.
#13 Link services to bottom line
Only offer services that can build someone elses business, link your services to real returns, in the current times it is a no brainer to invest in services that will grow your business.