Tag Archive for 'marketing strategies'

Blamestorming

I was watching golf over the weekend and a commercial came on for DirecTV, the series of ads that has the Board of Directors for the “Cable Company” sitting around a table trying to figure out why they are losing customers to DirecTV.  One board member suggests a “blamestorming” session, where he promptly “blames” their problems of one of his fellow board members.  Hilarious.

According to www.unwords.com, the definition of “blamestorming” is as follows:

(blām’stôr’mĭng)

1.      (n.) A method of collectively finding one to blame for a mistake no one is willing to confess to. Often occurs in the form of a meeting of colleagues at work, gathered to decide who is to blame for a screw up.

So, my question to the small business owners of the world today is, are you spending your strategic planning time “blamestorming” or are you actually brainstorming?  It is very easy to fall into the trap of excuses about the economy, your lack of sales, the consumer not spending, etc.  What is harder is to come up with out of the box ideas that can gain market share or retain your current customer base.  My challenge to you today is to come up with one idea that can either bring new clients to your door or add value to your current customer and then act on that idea, violently.  As General George Patton said, “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week”. 

Please leave me a comment letting me know what your idea is!

Published on Tuesday June 23, 2009 in Customer Retention, Direct Outreach, Keep-in-Touch and Why People Buy. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

How to Talk About What You Do — Live and in person!

Can you talk about what you do? (It’s not that hard!)
Do think the “Elevator Speech” is the answer?  (It isn’t!)
When asked what you do, do you answer with your professional category?  (Wrong!)
For my friends and readers who live in the Crystal Lake, Illinois area, I will be teaching a live workshop this Wednesday, June 10, 2009.  Here are the details:

What:  How to Talk About What You Do Without Sounding Bland, Boring, or Like Everyone Else!

When:  Wednesday, June 10, 2009 — 11:30 am to 1:00 pm

Where:  Home State Bank, Lower Level Community Room, 611 S Main St, Crystal Lake, IL

How much:  $10 for Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce members, $15 for non-members, lunch included

Click here to sign up!

I look forward to seeing you there!

Published on Sunday June 7, 2009 in BYS Sales Cycle, How to Talk About What You Do and Speaking & Demonstrating. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The Power of a Customer Advisory Board

I speak to many groups on Customer Retention Strategies and I am noticing that the concept of establishing a Customer Advisory Board for your business is consistently identified as the number one “takeaway” from the groups that I speak to.  In my presentations, I speak about “thinking outside the box”, as it relates to customer retention.  The number one “out of the box” strategy I recommend is establishing a Customer Advisory Board for your business.

 

First, for the sake of definition, what I am talking about here is getting together on a regular basis with a group of your best customers, soliciting their advice on how you could be serving them better.

 

Sounds simple, right?  Well it is.  Big companies have been doing it for years, so why not you?

 

What will this accomplish?  Several things, I expect, here are some possibilities:

 

-          You will continue to build on the trust relationship you have with those clients that participate.

-          You will get ideas on building your business that you had never dreamed about.

-          Your customers will be much more likely to become “raving fans” of your business, leading to more and better referrals.

-          You will have a chance to run new ideas (marketing, product, or service) past the participants and gain valuable insight on which ones might work best

-          You will have the ability to connect your customer with each other, thereby increasing your value to them (be strategic about the groups you get together!).

 

How will you execute?  Simple, send a formal invitation, followed with a phone call.  Tell your client that you appreciate your relationship with them and want to reward them for it.  Have your event at a local restaurant (a little more upscale is better), in a private room if possible, at a convenient time for them.

 

Write out your agenda in advance; start with the question, “Why do you like doing business with me/us?”

 

I challenge you to try this strategy and look forward to your comments and success stories!

Published on Sunday March 8, 2009 in Core Self-Promotion Strategies, Customer Retention, Keep-in-Touch, Networking and Referrals. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Are You Spending to “Get” or “Keep”?

For many small business owners, the economy is having an adverse affect on their revenue.  Many, faced with this new reality, are forced to reduce their marketing budgets, which brings me to today’s topic.  Are you cutting your spending on client acquisition or client retention?

Many will choose to spend less money working to maintain their existing client base, spending their entire budgets acquiring new clients.  I maintain that this is a slippery slope and very, very dangerous.  If you do not effort to keep your current client base engaged, pretty soon you may not have a client base at all.

Think about it this way, the cost of acquiring a new client is, depending on what or who you read, is somewhere between three to seven times that of maintaining a current client.  More importantly, spending to retain your current clients generally improves the profitablity of that client by 25% to 100%.  So why do so many business owners focus all their effort on acquring new customers?  I think it is because they think that is what everyone else is doing.  They see their so-called competitor’s ads in the newspaper or hear their voices on the radio, so they think they need to be in those spaces as well.

What I propose is that the small business owner focus on their current clients.  One strategy, and he most cost effective method, is to simply pick up the phone and call.  Just “check in” with the client.  Let them know that you were thinking of them and just dialed them up.  No pressure, nothing to sell, just reach out and touch someone.

Then, take it one step further.  After you hang up, follow up your conversation with a card.  It does not have to be long, just something like, “Hey, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.  I really appreciate your business!”  That’s all, or maybe you want to include a coupon or small discount for their next transaction with you.  I send my cards through a great, low cost, very personalized card sending system, SendOutCards, you can learn more about this system and send two free cards on me (!) at www.mykeepintouchstrategy.com.

So, in these trying economic times, think about starting to spend to “keep” your current clients, rather than spending to “get” new clients. 

Have a great day!

Published on Wednesday November 12, 2008 in Customer Retention, Keep-in-Touch and Send Out Cards. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

“Focus Fridays” teleseminars start Nov. 7!

Join me, Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Brent Burns, for my “Focus Fridays” tele-seminars every Friday at noon (CST), beginning Friday, November 7, 2008.

This interactive and “focused” discussion will center around the Book Yourself Solid system, specific sales or marketing strategies, or one-on-one interviews with thought leaders in this field. This is what I promise: You will walk away with a new focus and strategies that will positively affect your business!

Here are the call details:

Call time: 12:00 pm (Noon) CST, Every Friday beginning November 7, 2008

Dial-in number: 712.432.3900

Access Code: 6904581#

Bring your lunch and join me on the call!

Published on Wednesday October 29, 2008 in First Friday Focus. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .