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Monday Morning Motivators – June 26, 2006
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Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image.”
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: Behavioral Metrics – Linda Fayerweather
2. Steps for Ensuring Success on the Internet – Rebecca Booth
3. Get Nominated for Recognition and Awards – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
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1. Lean Metrics: Behavioral Metrics
============================================================
You know when you have walked into a company that understands the importance of training employees because as a customer you will feel heard, helped and valued even if you purchase nothing. Behavioral Metrics are measurements that help companies monitor the actions and attitudes of employees. Effective ways to measure the attitudes of those working for and with you may be project feedbacks, meeting evaluations, employee appraisals and peer evaluations. When you do these evaluations or feedbacks, the categories you will monitor are:
1. Commitment – adherence to policies, level of participation, and efforts to provide training.
2. Communication – surveys of employees and customers; error elimination caused by ineffective communications; and recognition of outstanding communication of employees.
3. Cooperation – shared financial risks and regards; effective problem resolving and reporting efforts, formal recognition of cooperation.
Your business’s long-term success is possible only when employees’ behavior is aligned and everyone works for the benefit of the company as a whole. Even if you are a micro business without employees, your attitude will shine through in the tone and tenor of your communications and your commitment to customer satisfaction.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
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2. Steps for Ensuring Success on the Internet
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Internet marketing is a terrific way to even the playing field with some of your larger rivals. Plus it’s a dynamite way to keep your business open 24/7. When putting together your next website, make sure you:
• Give something of value away for free – a sample of your product or a collection of tips – anything that is of value to prospective clients.
• Capture data/email information. A simple data capture form is the perfect lead in to your giveaway section. It allows you to track who’s interested in your products/services. Best advice: capture snail mail information as well as email. Many people will automatically “junk” incoming ezines/email marketing. So stay in touch with your most promising prospects via postcard mailings.
• Market to a specific niche.
• Update your site on a regular basis. Keep those freebies coming!
• Make sure you give clients who are signing up for something a way to “opt out” of your mailings.
• Be wary of banner ads – statistics show that only 1% of all banner ads get opened!
• Market your website as much as you market your business.
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
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3. Get Nominated for Recognition and Awards
===========================================================
Business professional and community members often are recognized for outstanding service to their profession or community. If you've donated time or materials to a worthy cause, you or your sources may nominate you for service awards. You increase your visibility both by serving and by receiving the award in a public expression of thanks. Your sources can pass the word of your recognition by word of mouth or in writing. They can even create an award, such as Vendor of the Month, to honor your achievement.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
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4. To Do This Week
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Send a few thank you notes to your vendors.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Lean Metrics: Financial Metrics
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Monday Morning Motivators – June 19, 2006
============================================================
Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"We would worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do." -- Ethel Barrett
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: Financial Metrics – Linda Fayerweather
2. 6 Steps to Developing a Marketing Strategy – Rebecca Booth
3. Ask Others to Endorse Your Products and Services – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: Financial Metrics
============================================================
When you want to improve your business's financial performance, there are three things you can do:
1. Lower total costs;
2. Increase revenue; or
3. Both 1 & 2
When a company can become a lower-cost producer without sacrificing quality and service, it can strengthen its market position. Understanding cash flow, direct and indirect costs, and operational costs are ways to analyze if you are lowering costs. To track your growth of market share you will want to track sales, gross margins and return on assets as a start. Getting the entire company involved will help make results possible. Sometimes when employees understand why the business tracks financial information, they will be more likely to help control costs.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
============================================================
2. 6 Steps to Developing a Marketing Strategy
============================================================
Is your intuition guiding your marketing strategy? Well it’s time to stop! Your intuition isn’t the best way to make marketing decisions for your company. Use the following 6-step plan to help you define business goals and develop activities to help you achieve them.
Step 1: What’s your company’s Unique Selling Proposition? (USP)
Step 2: Who’s your target market?
Step 3: What are your company’s strengths/weaknesses?
What are your competitor’s strengths/weaknesses?
Step 4: What motivates your clients to buy? (What are their wants, needs,
wishes and desires?)
Step 5: Based on the information above, how are you going to position your
products/services?
Step 6: How are you going to market your products/services (Be specific. Are you
going to use internet marketing, direct mail, newspaper advertising?)
The past is a great place to start when you are defining what marketing methods you’ll use. Look at your past clients and figure out how they heard about you. You’ll want to reinvest in that newspaper ad or in that networking group that you’re in that the lead came from.
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
===========================================================
3. Ask Others to Endorse Your Products and Services
===========================================================
By telling others what they've gained from using your products or services or by endorsing you in presentations or informal conversations, your network resources can encourage others to use your products or services. If they sing your praises on audio or videotape, all the better!
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
============================================================
4. To Do This Week
============================================================
Have a backup plan for your email service.
Monday Morning Motivators – June 19, 2006
============================================================
Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"We would worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do." -- Ethel Barrett
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: Financial Metrics – Linda Fayerweather
2. 6 Steps to Developing a Marketing Strategy – Rebecca Booth
3. Ask Others to Endorse Your Products and Services – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: Financial Metrics
============================================================
When you want to improve your business's financial performance, there are three things you can do:
1. Lower total costs;
2. Increase revenue; or
3. Both 1 & 2
When a company can become a lower-cost producer without sacrificing quality and service, it can strengthen its market position. Understanding cash flow, direct and indirect costs, and operational costs are ways to analyze if you are lowering costs. To track your growth of market share you will want to track sales, gross margins and return on assets as a start. Getting the entire company involved will help make results possible. Sometimes when employees understand why the business tracks financial information, they will be more likely to help control costs.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
============================================================
2. 6 Steps to Developing a Marketing Strategy
============================================================
Is your intuition guiding your marketing strategy? Well it’s time to stop! Your intuition isn’t the best way to make marketing decisions for your company. Use the following 6-step plan to help you define business goals and develop activities to help you achieve them.
Step 1: What’s your company’s Unique Selling Proposition? (USP)
Step 2: Who’s your target market?
Step 3: What are your company’s strengths/weaknesses?
What are your competitor’s strengths/weaknesses?
Step 4: What motivates your clients to buy? (What are their wants, needs,
wishes and desires?)
Step 5: Based on the information above, how are you going to position your
products/services?
Step 6: How are you going to market your products/services (Be specific. Are you
going to use internet marketing, direct mail, newspaper advertising?)
The past is a great place to start when you are defining what marketing methods you’ll use. Look at your past clients and figure out how they heard about you. You’ll want to reinvest in that newspaper ad or in that networking group that you’re in that the lead came from.
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
===========================================================
3. Ask Others to Endorse Your Products and Services
===========================================================
By telling others what they've gained from using your products or services or by endorsing you in presentations or informal conversations, your network resources can encourage others to use your products or services. If they sing your praises on audio or videotape, all the better!
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
============================================================
4. To Do This Week
============================================================
Have a backup plan for your email service.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Lean Metrics: What are They?
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – June 12, 2006
============================================================
Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change.”
--Peter F. Drucker
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: What are They and What Do They Do? – Linda Fayerweather
2. Reasons Why People Buy – Rebecca Booth
3. Ask Someone to Attend with You – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: What are They?
============================================================
Metrics? Isn’t that the measuring system the United States still doesn’t use? Yes, metrics is the most common system of measurement but in quality businesses, it is a standard measure to evaluate business performance. Useful metrics will be ones that assess your ability to meet your customers’ needs AND the business’s objectives. Metrics fall into three categories:
· Financial (i.e. cash flow, sales, gross margins, return on assets)
· Behavioral (i.e. employee commitment, communication & cooperation)
· Core-process (i.e. product launches & failures, order fulfillment lead time)
Properly designed lean metrics will enable you to consider the important people factors necessary for your organizations success. Over the next few weeks we will explore each of these. As you are thinking about metrics this week – don’t start measuring everything – start by asking your customers a few follow-up questions, you may uncover some of the things that need to be measured.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
www.changinglanes.biz
============================================================
2. Reasons Why People Buy
============================================================
Need some help tweaking your advertising copy? The best way to tweak is to place yourself into your customer’s shoes and answer “what’s in this for me?”. Master Guerilla Guru, Jay Conrad Levinson (author of the infamous Guerilla Marketing/Guerilla Advertising books) lists 50 different reasons why people buy on his website. Here’s a sampling of 10 of his gems:
• To become more efficient
• To escape of avoid pain
• To protect their possessions
• To feel opulent
• To avoid criticism
• To possess things of beauty
• To express love
• To access opportunities
• To satisfy an impulse
• To save Money
To read the entire list, visit Levinson’s website: Why People Buy
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
===========================================================
3. Ask Someone to Attend with You
===========================================================
Workshops and seminars are opportunities to increase your skills, knowledge, visibility, and contacts. Ask a prospect or vendor to attend an educational program with you. This gives you an opportunity to spend time with them in a non-traditional venue plus an chance for follow-up about the program subject matter.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
============================================================
4. To Do This Week
============================================================
Thank your employees for something they do better than anyone else.
Monday Morning Motivators – June 12, 2006
============================================================
Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change.”
--Peter F. Drucker
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: What are They and What Do They Do? – Linda Fayerweather
2. Reasons Why People Buy – Rebecca Booth
3. Ask Someone to Attend with You – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Lean Metrics: What are They?
============================================================
Metrics? Isn’t that the measuring system the United States still doesn’t use? Yes, metrics is the most common system of measurement but in quality businesses, it is a standard measure to evaluate business performance. Useful metrics will be ones that assess your ability to meet your customers’ needs AND the business’s objectives. Metrics fall into three categories:
· Financial (i.e. cash flow, sales, gross margins, return on assets)
· Behavioral (i.e. employee commitment, communication & cooperation)
· Core-process (i.e. product launches & failures, order fulfillment lead time)
Properly designed lean metrics will enable you to consider the important people factors necessary for your organizations success. Over the next few weeks we will explore each of these. As you are thinking about metrics this week – don’t start measuring everything – start by asking your customers a few follow-up questions, you may uncover some of the things that need to be measured.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
www.changinglanes.biz
============================================================
2. Reasons Why People Buy
============================================================
Need some help tweaking your advertising copy? The best way to tweak is to place yourself into your customer’s shoes and answer “what’s in this for me?”. Master Guerilla Guru, Jay Conrad Levinson (author of the infamous Guerilla Marketing/Guerilla Advertising books) lists 50 different reasons why people buy on his website. Here’s a sampling of 10 of his gems:
• To become more efficient
• To escape of avoid pain
• To protect their possessions
• To feel opulent
• To avoid criticism
• To possess things of beauty
• To express love
• To access opportunities
• To satisfy an impulse
• To save Money
To read the entire list, visit Levinson’s website: Why People Buy
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
===========================================================
3. Ask Someone to Attend with You
===========================================================
Workshops and seminars are opportunities to increase your skills, knowledge, visibility, and contacts. Ask a prospect or vendor to attend an educational program with you. This gives you an opportunity to spend time with them in a non-traditional venue plus an chance for follow-up about the program subject matter.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
============================================================
4. To Do This Week
============================================================
Thank your employees for something they do better than anyone else.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Lean: Customers - Through their Eyes
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – June 5, 2006
============================================================
Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“Sam Walton's values are: treat the customer right, take care of your people, be honest in your dealings, pass savings along to the customer, keep things simple, think small, control costs and continuously improve operations.”
--Michael Bergdahl
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean: Customers – Through their Eyes – Linda Fayerweather
2. And the Survey Says. . .– Rebecca Booth
3. Have Others Make an Announcement – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Lean: Customers – Through their Eyes
============================================================
Getting your staff to focus on the customer takes persistence. Communicating and training employees to understand what the customer sees, feels and hears are key to identifying what the customer values most. When a customer goes into a store, the majority are on a mission. For example, the mom at the grocery store may be purchasing milk, cereal, toothpaste and “something for dinner”. What she will remember on her drive home will be:
--How long she waited in line,
--Attitude of the sales staff,
--Ease of getting what she needed. When management keeps talking about the customer experience, the employees will begin to think: “This must be important”.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
www.changinglanes.biz
============================================================
2. And the Survey Says. . .
============================================================
According to a recent USA Today poll, 89% of those surveyed hit snags with online transactions. The things that held them up:
• 40% received error messages
• 37% thought the site was difficult to navigate
• 31% were unable to complete a transaction due to an endless loop
• 31% had difficulty logging onto the website.
• 31% found the information on the site to be confusing or insufficient.
If you have a website, reserve a half an hour this week to look at it from the eyes of your consumer. If you spot a few problems fix them. Better yet, ask some of your customers to give you the lowdown on what they think is good/bad on your site before you do that overhaul. Reference last week’s Monday Morning Motivators for some tips on making your site stronger. (Or email me if you don’t have a copy. rbooth@marketingsolutioneers.com, be sure you place reference “Building a Better Website“ in your subject.)
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
===========================================================
3. Have Others Make an Announcement
===========================================================
When attending meetings or speaking to groups, your sources can increase your visibility by announcing an event you are involved in or a sale your business is conducting, or by setting up exhibits of your products or services at the event. Having others help you will bring you credibility and at the same time, allow your sources to get in front of prospects they may not have been able to before. If you are in attendance, they can also invite you to make an announcement yourself.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
============================================================
4. To Do This Week
============================================================
Mystery shop your own business.
Monday Morning Motivators – June 5, 2006
============================================================
Espresso business tips are designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java
gets you going. Subscribing and Unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“Sam Walton's values are: treat the customer right, take care of your people, be honest in your dealings, pass savings along to the customer, keep things simple, think small, control costs and continuously improve operations.”
--Michael Bergdahl
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Lean: Customers – Through their Eyes – Linda Fayerweather
2. And the Survey Says. . .– Rebecca Booth
3. Have Others Make an Announcement – John Meyer
4. To Do This Week
5. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Lean: Customers – Through their Eyes
============================================================
Getting your staff to focus on the customer takes persistence. Communicating and training employees to understand what the customer sees, feels and hears are key to identifying what the customer values most. When a customer goes into a store, the majority are on a mission. For example, the mom at the grocery store may be purchasing milk, cereal, toothpaste and “something for dinner”. What she will remember on her drive home will be:
--How long she waited in line,
--Attitude of the sales staff,
--Ease of getting what she needed. When management keeps talking about the customer experience, the employees will begin to think: “This must be important”.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Changing Lanes LLC
www.changinglanes.biz
============================================================
2. And the Survey Says. . .
============================================================
According to a recent USA Today poll, 89% of those surveyed hit snags with online transactions. The things that held them up:
• 40% received error messages
• 37% thought the site was difficult to navigate
• 31% were unable to complete a transaction due to an endless loop
• 31% had difficulty logging onto the website.
• 31% found the information on the site to be confusing or insufficient.
If you have a website, reserve a half an hour this week to look at it from the eyes of your consumer. If you spot a few problems fix them. Better yet, ask some of your customers to give you the lowdown on what they think is good/bad on your site before you do that overhaul. Reference last week’s Monday Morning Motivators for some tips on making your site stronger. (Or email me if you don’t have a copy. rbooth@marketingsolutioneers.com, be sure you place reference “Building a Better Website“ in your subject.)
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
www.marketingsolutioneers.com
===========================================================
3. Have Others Make an Announcement
===========================================================
When attending meetings or speaking to groups, your sources can increase your visibility by announcing an event you are involved in or a sale your business is conducting, or by setting up exhibits of your products or services at the event. Having others help you will bring you credibility and at the same time, allow your sources to get in front of prospects they may not have been able to before. If you are in attendance, they can also invite you to make an announcement yourself.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
http://www.bni-ohio.com
============================================================
4. To Do This Week
============================================================
Mystery shop your own business.
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