Happy Holidays!
This year has been a little crazy and something for the history books. So, I hope you can forget about the craziness and drama for a few days and enjoy the holidays as best you can.
Do you want your customers just to be satisfied or die-hard loyal customers?
Watch the video to hear Nicole talk about customer satisfaction vs customer loyalty. What do you want for your business?
A satisfied customer will try your competitors and forget your name, while loyal customers will stick with you through thick and thin. Loyal customers won’t leave you when your competitors have a cheaper product or a fancier version, and they won’t go if you have a kink in the system. Loyal customers will give you the benefit of the doubt.
Loyal customers will be your biggest supporter.
What do you need to do to make sure you have loyal customers? How do you need to change your organization to ensure you have loyal customers.
If you would like to AMP up your established B2B company’s growth, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. Transforming the customer experience is one of the many things Glover Strategic Marketing can help you achieve. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
Have Your Product Sales Hit a Wall?
What do you do when you have a good product that has sold relatively well but seems to have hit a wall in sales?
- Look at what other industries or customer segments might benefit from your product.
- Uncover what value your product will bring to this new customer segment. Approach the customer segment with the question, “Why should they care?”
- Your marketing message needs to be updated to be more aligned with their wants and needs for this customer segment.
If you would like to AMP up your established B2B company’s growth, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. I can help you speak with clients and develop a plan around what they say. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
Marketing as an Investment vs an Expense
Learn what Nicole Glover from Glover Strategic Marking has to say about perceiving marking as an investment versus as an expense. If you see marketing as an expense, you are doing it wrong.
- Marketing shows your customers what to think about your company.
- Marketing helps you reach more clients, get more leads, and smooths the path to closing.
- Marketing helps you align your tactics with your goals to help you achieve them.
Marketing fuels your pipeline, gives your sales team the content they should be sharing with your customers, and shows your customers what to think about your company. If you need more leads or aren’t meeting your sales goals, it is time for a new strategy.
If you would like to AMP up your established B2B company’s growth, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. I can help you speak with clients and develop a plan around what they say. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
What to do when a segment of your business is struggling?
It can be hard to admit that your business isn’t doing the best; but, that is precisely when you should acknowledge that something is wrong.
You need to dive into what is going on and why the business endeavors aren’t working. If you have clients that are leaving you or if you can’t conquer a market as you want, it is time to go to the source. The best source of data on why your business is struggling is your client.
Yes. Your client is your best resource for data.
You, or high-level executives in your company, will need to take the time for a serious conversation, one-on-one or in a group of your clients, to ask for feedback and insight. From personal experience, I know this can be a bloody, emotionally draining conversation, but so worth it. When you have made mistakes or failed your client, don’t be afraid to eat crow. Tell the client you want to improve and that you are ready to listen and improve; then let your clients do all of the talking.
Your team will gain priceless insight into what your company should be doing to earn their business. You also have the opportunity to prove to your clients that you will do what they need you to do.
Action is required. The conversations can be difficult to swallow, but now you have the gift of insight. However, this wisdom will do no good if you don’t act upon it. As soon as you see trends in what the clients are saying, or discover your previously unknown shortcomings, massive action is required to make the necessary changes. Doing so will prove to your clients that you are serious about their suggestions.
I have seen the most disgruntled clients become the most avid supporters of a company. Once a client knows you have listened to them and you are doing all you can to deliver on their needs, you may win a client for life.
Reach out to the clients in your business segments that are struggling, but also reach out to clients in other segments of your business. Speak with new clients, your largest clients, clients that should be bigger, etc., for the best insight into your business’s health.
If you are really serious about improving your business and getting massive results, massive action and an effective plan are necessary. If you would like to AMP up your established B2B company’s growth, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation. I can help you speak with clients and develop a plan around what they say. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
Oreo: A branding Success Story
Even the world’s most popular cookie, the Oreo, required a rebranding to transform from the failing knock off it was to the wildly successful brand it is today. Milk’s favorite cookie didn’t start as the successful cookie we know and love.
Business Insider recently released an article on the history of the Oreo. In the article, it is revealed that two brothers, Jacob and Joseph Loose, split from each other, building two competing companies, and developed nearly identical cookies. Jacob created the Hydrox, shortly after, Joseph, with Nabisco, released an almost identical cookie called the Oreo.
“The Oreo was priced cheaper and came off as a generic cookie, and the Hydrox remained the favorite. Nabisco essentially produced the Oreo at a loss.” Read the article here.
Hydrox dominated the market for many years. So what happened to catapult Oreo into the level of cookie stardom it enjoys today?
As luck would have it, in the 1950s, cleaning products hit the market en mass. As you can imagine, Hydrox sounded like a chemical cleaner, which provided Oreo the opportunity to make their move. Nabisco doubled down on their marketing and made two critical branding decisions:
First, the Oreo relaunched at a higher price point, removing the stigma of “generic” cookie and positioning it as the “premium” cookie.
Second, Nabisco licensed the Oreo for other products, such as Cookies & Cream ice cream.
The story of Oreo and Hydrox is an excellent story on many levels, but it also provides a few great lessons for business leaders.
For the underdogs in any industry, be ready to overtake your competitors when you find any opportunity.
Industry leaders need to remember that your competitors will look for any opportunity to dethrone your company and take your customer base. Don’t become complacent. Hydrox could have renamed their company, when it was becoming apparent their name was not as appealing anymore. However, they didn’t and Oreo was able to seize the opportunity.
Every company should be aware of consumer opinions. The name Hydrox became less appealing as it sounded like a cleaning product. Pay attention to how consumer opinions change because, in today’s world, they can change much quicker than they did 70 years ago.
How are you tracking consumer opinion in your industry?
Do you need help evaluating the consumer opinion in your industry, while finding opportunities to get ahead and stay ahead of your competitors? If you would like to AMP up the growth of your established B2B company, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation to determine how I can help you. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
Why Your Team’s Individual Goals Matter
Motivation is a huge element of success. Knowing and planning what you want to achieve in your business and personal life, will determine how successful you can be. Ensuring that your team’s personal and professional goals are aligned with yours, will enable you to achieve your goals quickly and better than expected.
When I speak with a leadership team that is fired up and excited about what reaching their goals will mean for the business and them personally, they are likely to reach and exceed their goals.
Doing the hard work to grow your company or division becomes easier when you and your team know what is waiting for them when it is achieved. When all of the team’s goals align for the same purpose, both professionally and personally, magic will happen. Shared motivation and momentum will make reaching targets easy.
However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking money is the end goal. More money is always great, but it is essential to know what that money will do for the team. Will the new paycheck make a difference in your team’s life? Will they have the opportunity to spend more time with their family, will they have the chance to travel more, or will they finally pay off a debt? Where is their motivation?
Take the time to learn about your team’s motivation and help them find a way to achieve their goals, because they will determine if you will reach yours.
The difference in knowing what your team wants to achieve individually, will be the difference in trying to excite your team with YOUR goal vs. their goals. Imagine instead telling Bob that he can finally go on the trip to Greece that he has talked about for three years, Jordan can put a down payment on a house since he is expecting a baby, and Mira can get the promotion that she has been working for since last May.
When reaching your goals is essential, take the time to understand and speak to everyone’s motivation. When everyone’s goals are aligned, your team’s motivation will be fueled from the depths of their soul. The motivation to reach individual goals will fuel your success. Take the time to learn about your team’s motivation and help them find a way to achieve their goals, because they will determine if you will reach yours.
As someone that helps companies achieve their growth goals, I work very hard to discover individual goals. If you would like to AMP up the growth of your established B2B company, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation to determine how I can help you. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
Are You Jeopardizing the Enjoyment of the Purchase?
People want to feel good about the purchases they make. Do your best to ensure you have provided the experience that your client desires, without making them second-guess the process, product, or service.
However, I regularly see companies and sales-people do something that transforms a satisfied customer into one that questions the experience.
In an article by Seth Godin, he discusses KIMO, or “Knowing I Missed Out.” In the article, Seth discusses joining a subscription olive oil delivery. The included newsletter mentioned that they split the shipment due to demand. Subscribers received a description of both olive oils. As in human nature, he liked the description of the olive oil that he didn’t receive, better than the one that arrived. The company could have sent just the corresponding description, and Seth and the other customers would have been blissfully pleased with their purchase. Check out the full article here.
“Giving those you serve the satisfaction of knowing that they made a great choice is a fine service to offer,” wrote Seth. Once the decision has been made, do not jeopardize their feelings by doing something that could make them regret what they purchased.
A few of the most common mistakes companies make that cause KIMO for the customer are:
- Apologize for something unnecessary and out-of-the-blue. Don’t get me wrong, if you messed up, sincerely apologize. However, don’t apologize for something the customer is unaware of and does not affect their perception of transactions. For example, when you are still within the expected delivery time, apologizing for taking too long to deliver because you are training someone new or don’t have your best person on it, is unnecessary. The customer will wonder if they received the best, or a subpar deliverable. What to do instead: Only apologize if you mess up.
- Provide a free gift for a review. The client will wonder if all of the reviews were fake and feel hoodwinked into buying a product that could be subpar. If you need repeat business, this is not a good model. What to do instead: Ask for a review and make it very easy to provide one.
- Unclear expectations lead to customers wondering if they will receive what they need, and if you will be able to deliver. A downward spiral will start where the customer is second-guessing every milestone and deliverable. What to do instead: Clearly state the process and what the customer will receive.
- Assuming the customer knows what they want without understanding their needs and only showing the option they request. The customer will soon find out that they did not receive what they needed, and the investment of time and money will result in a bitter customer. What to do instead: A few questions will uncover whether the customer would benefit from another product or service.
- Making the purchase a challenge for the client. Customers will move through the buying cycle differently. Requiring every customer to go through the same extensive process can be too much for a customer who is ready to buy now. If it is so difficult to purchase the product/service, how difficult will it be to own? What to do instead: Remove all the obstacles and processes from the buying cycle that don’t allow flexibility for the client to buy when they are ready.
Your customer doesn’t need a perfect experience to make their buying experience a good one. Eliminate the customer’s opportunity to wonder if they could have received a better deal, product/service, or experience.
If you do not see growth in your returning clients, KIMO could be a culprit. If you would like to AMP up the growth of your established B2B company, contact me today for a free one-hour consultation to determine how I can help you. There is no obligation and no pressure, just a frank discussion of your company’s needs and goals. Even if we don’t move forward, I will give you some solid ideas for growing your company.
We’ve always done it that way
Now is a great time to re-think what you have always done, and why. You may realize that your company is unique in many ways, and most of them are good. Now is a fantastic time to re-imagine how you do business, and it’s a great opportunity to develop more effective messaging.
While you are doing a deep dive on what your organization does and why, you can run all of your process, products, services, and marketing through a filter:
- First, ask: Why?
- E.g., Why do we have this process? Why do we have this as our message?
- Does this help our clients?
- Does this improve our bottom line?
- Does this make it easier for our employees to help our clients?
- Does this product/service still serve the client/market?
- Does the client/market have new needs?
- Is our information and messaging still relevant?
- And always follow up with: Can we do this better?
As things return to “normal,” it is beneficial to discover what no longer serves your purpose. Once the economy begins to open up, your business will be more successful if you have already evaluated your operations.
If you don’t have a strategy for the next few months or the year, Glover Strategic Marketing can help with a custom, tactical, client-facing operations and marketing plan. Ask for a complementary diagnostic call where we can have a more in-depth discussion about your initiatives, strengths, challenges, and strategies. We can discuss areas of improvement and opportunities for growth while laying the groundwork for a future successful partnership.
5 Phases: How To Thrive After The Covid-19 Shutdown
We know the shutdown will end, and the economy will pick back up again. What is your plan when that happens? Now is the time to be strategic so you can be in a position to thrive when the economy has restarted.
It is time to be proactive rather than reactive and work towards the future. I have outlined five phases to help you navigate the coming year so that you can own your market and thrive in 2020.
How are you going to transition from survival to thriving in the next 90 days? If you don’t have a strategy for the next few months or the year, Glover Strategic Marketing can help with a custom, tactical, client-facing operations and marketing plan. Ask for a complementary diagnostic call where we can have a more in-depth discussion about your initiatives, strengths, challenges, and strategies. We can discuss areas of improvement and opportunities for growth while laying the groundwork for a future partnership.