============================================================
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.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
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.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Lean - Listening to Customers
Monday Morning Motivators are espresso business tips designed to "caffeinate" your mind while your java gets you going. The archives are stored at: MondayMorningMotivators.blogspot.com
“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.”
-- James Wormack
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
Lean: Listening to Customers - Linda Fayerweather
Building a Better Website - Rebecca Booth
Distribute Your Information Through Various Resources - John Meyer
To Do This Week
Fine Print
============================================================
Lean: Listening to Customers
============================================================
Do your customers call you and say "When is your next workshop?"; "I'd like to buy a new car"; or "Can you give me advice on . . .?" These are all examples of customer value demand. We want this and when we hear it we should realize that our outreach and marketing is working.
When customers say "Your office said you would call back"; "The widget arrived and it was the wrong color and size"; or "No one has solved my problem". These are all examples of failure demand. Your customers are identifying your business's failures and helping you find solutions.
Listen to complaints - they can help you get lean because each failure represents waste in your business process and improvement will mean savings. Before you roll your eyes next time a customer complains, listen! Only 20% of unhappy customers ever complain. Fixing the problem means many more customers are going to join the value demand side of your business.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Business Coach
Changing Lanes LLC
============================================================
Building a Better Website
============================================================
The web has turned your 9-5 business into a 24/7 operation. But are you losing customers because the site is not user friendly? Here are some tips on how to build a better site.
• Don’t be all things to all people. Establish your niche and stick with it. The general rule of thumb is: 95% of your website should be used to serve your customers. If you need to have links to partners, investors and the media, reserve the footer area for these links.
• Use precise language. Don’t be vague. If people can’t figure out what you’re doing within a few seconds, they’re gone. Clearly state what you do and what promise you make to your customers.
• Keep it simple. Most people are irritated by Flash animations and other slow-to-load multimedia introductions to a site. Opt out of the glitz.
• Speak clearly and succinctly. Don’t use jargon, acronyms or overblown terminology on your site.
• Test your site before you upload it. Have your customers complete simple tasks on the site, like filling out a form or checking different pages and then get their feedback. You’ll probably get some great suggestions for improving your site’s performance.
Simplicity and easy navigation should be your priorities. If it’s too complicated, you miss an opportunity to talk to a customer – which can translate into a lost sale.
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Diva
Imagine That!
============================================================
Distribute Your Information Through Various Resources.
============================================================
Your networking sources can help you distribute your marketing information and materials. For example, they can include a flyer in their mailings or hand out flyers at meetings they attend. A dry cleaner attaches a coupon from the auto mechanic next door to each plastic bag he uses to cover his customers dry cleaning; a grocery store includes other businesses marketing literature in its grocery bags or on the back of the printed receipt.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
BNI Ohio
============================================================
To Do This Week
============================================================
Call 3 customers and ask them what they like about your business and what they don't like about your business.
“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.”
-- James Wormack
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
Lean: Listening to Customers - Linda Fayerweather
Building a Better Website - Rebecca Booth
Distribute Your Information Through Various Resources - John Meyer
To Do This Week
Fine Print
============================================================
Lean: Listening to Customers
============================================================
Do your customers call you and say "When is your next workshop?"; "I'd like to buy a new car"; or "Can you give me advice on . . .?" These are all examples of customer value demand. We want this and when we hear it we should realize that our outreach and marketing is working.
When customers say "Your office said you would call back"; "The widget arrived and it was the wrong color and size"; or "No one has solved my problem". These are all examples of failure demand. Your customers are identifying your business's failures and helping you find solutions.
Listen to complaints - they can help you get lean because each failure represents waste in your business process and improvement will mean savings. Before you roll your eyes next time a customer complains, listen! Only 20% of unhappy customers ever complain. Fixing the problem means many more customers are going to join the value demand side of your business.
Copyright 2006 Linda Fayerweather
Business Coach
Changing Lanes LLC
============================================================
Building a Better Website
============================================================
The web has turned your 9-5 business into a 24/7 operation. But are you losing customers because the site is not user friendly? Here are some tips on how to build a better site.
• Don’t be all things to all people. Establish your niche and stick with it. The general rule of thumb is: 95% of your website should be used to serve your customers. If you need to have links to partners, investors and the media, reserve the footer area for these links.
• Use precise language. Don’t be vague. If people can’t figure out what you’re doing within a few seconds, they’re gone. Clearly state what you do and what promise you make to your customers.
• Keep it simple. Most people are irritated by Flash animations and other slow-to-load multimedia introductions to a site. Opt out of the glitz.
• Speak clearly and succinctly. Don’t use jargon, acronyms or overblown terminology on your site.
• Test your site before you upload it. Have your customers complete simple tasks on the site, like filling out a form or checking different pages and then get their feedback. You’ll probably get some great suggestions for improving your site’s performance.
Simplicity and easy navigation should be your priorities. If it’s too complicated, you miss an opportunity to talk to a customer – which can translate into a lost sale.
Copyright 2006 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Diva
Imagine That!
============================================================
Distribute Your Information Through Various Resources.
============================================================
Your networking sources can help you distribute your marketing information and materials. For example, they can include a flyer in their mailings or hand out flyers at meetings they attend. A dry cleaner attaches a coupon from the auto mechanic next door to each plastic bag he uses to cover his customers dry cleaning; a grocery store includes other businesses marketing literature in its grocery bags or on the back of the printed receipt.
Copyright 2006 John R. Meyer
District Director, BNI Ohio
BNI Ohio
============================================================
To Do This Week
============================================================
Call 3 customers and ask them what they like about your business and what they don't like about your business.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)