customers, service, Strategy, USP
In Marketing, Money, Sales Activity, Strategy, Uncategorized on July 28, 2010 at 5:11 pm
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer”. —Peter Drucker
While this statement may be quite true at the most basic level, it also serves to underscore the reality that one of the ongoing purposes of a business should be to keep a customer. No business owner would argue this point, but creating and maintaining quality customer relationships is often one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses.
Please Come Back Again
One of the dangers that befall many businesses is the tendency to become accustomed to having customers, to slip into a default mode of expectations: that the customers are happy, that they’ll keep coming back, that they’ll tell others about you. The problem is that customers are people—and people thrive on relationships. And if we are not careful our customer relationships can become superficial and even counter-productive.
No one wants to feel that they are being taken for granted and customers are no different. Again, customers are people and people must be related to, not processed! Simply “going through the motions” for your customers with the mindless expectation that they will always be there is a sure path to customer attrition. And an increasing factor in customer fickleness is the sheer volume of choices that available in almost every industry and every product or service. In many ways the business owner is not simply working to gain a customer’s patronage, but is actually engaged in a contest to win the hearts of those individuals!
Surefire Ways to Drive Business Away
There are certain clichés in business that are dubious in their truth, such as “the customer is always right.” But one that is undoubtedly true is that it is cheaper to keep an old customer than to find a new one. With this in mind let’s look at some of the most detrimental errors small businesses make in this arena:
budget time, focus, planning, prioritize, time management
In Development, Strategy, Time on July 27, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Our Coach insisted that we read Chet Holmes’ bestseller, The Ultimate Sales Machine and we’re glad he did. Early in the book, Holmes outlines a time management program that not only do we have time for, but we are actually implementing in our business. The simple program has six steps:
- Touch it Once – If you take the time to look at an email, deal with it then, don’t waste your time by forcing yourself to re-read it later. If you spend 15 minutes a day revisiting, readdressing or rereading documents, you have wasted 97 hours per year.
- Make Lists – Keeping and maintaining lists enable you to stop being reactive and be proactive. List the top five things you need to do each day and get them done.
- Budget your Time – How long will each of the top five items take to accomplish. If one or more of the items on the list cannot be done in a day– determine how much time you will devote to the task that day.
- Plan the Day - Take your default calendar (general guide to the day) and be specific and plan the next day. Time must be specifically allotted to your top five items on your list using your budget.
- Prioritize – Look at your top five list and prioritize. When you plan your day, allocate the time to the most important items first. Don’t focus on “the low hanging fruit.” Get to the good stuff.
- Throw it Away – Studies show that 80% of all filed or stored information is never referred to again – get rid of it
The bottom line—focus on those things that are essential to your business and get them done. Time Management is a common problem faced by the owners of small and mid-sized business. At AdviCoach we are equipped to help you establish, implement and remain committed to a time management program that will enable you to achieve your income, lifestyle, wealth and equity goals.
Development, leadership, Strategy
In Development, Marketing, Strategy on July 26, 2010 at 10:29 am
Owning and operating a business isn’t something that one undertakes lightly. It requires a huge leap of faith. It’s both exciting to live your entrepreneurial dream, and at the same time scary because there’s no guarantee you’ll succeed.
As the leader of your business, you’re the one with the ultimate accountability for the business’ success. That is a heavy responsibility to bear.
Two Leadership Commitments You Can’t Ignore
When you get into business, you make two significant and serious leadership commitments:
- To yourself. You’ve given up the security of working for others (perhaps even a steady pay check) to follow your passion and vision. Stepping away from the familiar requires a great deal of courage, and you owe it to yourself to put your absolute best foot forward to achieve your vision. Nobody else will do it for you.
- To everyone else. You’ve made a commitment to all of the people who are impacted by your business: your family, your partners, your investors, your employees… Just to name a few. All of these people rely on your business to various degrees and all have a vested interest in your business succeeding.
For many of us, it’s easier to focus on the commitments we make to others than to those we make to ourselves. We can’t stress enough however, how important it is to honor the commitment you’ve made to yourself.
Leadership Takes Self-Knowledge
If you’re feeling as though you’ve lost touch with your own motivation and commitment; consider what James Kouzes and Barry Posner said in their book, The Leadership Challenge:
Leadership is an art, a performing art. And in the art of leadership, the artist’s instrument is the self. The mastery of the art of leadership comes with the mastery of the self. Ultimately, leadership development is a process of self-development. The quest for leadership is first an inner quest to discover who you are. Through self-development comes the confidence needed to lead. Self-confidence is really awareness of and faith in your own powers. These powers become clear and strong only as you work to identify and develop them.
