Archive for the ‘Good Marketing’ Category

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Posted by Dennis on May 14th, 2013 | Permalink

Uber Innovation

May 14th, 2013

Uber Car Service is a gift from heaven to all of humankind, especially (but not limited to) all of humankind who travel for work. Uber has become a regular part of my work experience, and my life is better for it.

Uber is an excellent example of how a simple innovation can change an experience for the better, and change an industry forever, in this case the taxi cab business.

What is a taxi/car service? Answer – They are a convenient way for a client (passenger) to get from place to place easily, without the need (necessarily) to own a vehicle. You can wave one down, or call to book a pre-arranged ride.

Uber is a free App that I downloaded to my iPhone which allows me to request a car (taxi, town car, SUV) to my location and get picked up and dropped off without any of the usual hassle of a typical taxi or car service experience.

Some background – when you register with Uber you give them a credit card number, mobile # and a photo. As all smart phones have cameras and access to the internet doing all of this was EASY.

A quick play by play of my first Uber experience: I am walking through the lobby of my hotel heading for the coffee service before a ride to the airport and a long flight home. I hit the Uber button and utilizing the built in GPS in my phone; Uber shows me exactly where I am and asks me if I want to get picked up at my current location, somewhere else, and when. So all of the usual logistics are eliminated – specific location, intersection, building etc. that is normally involved plus all the time it takes to get those details clear.

I click yes ‘here’, and yes ‘now’ and then the map updates to show me where all the Uber drivers are, represented by small black car icons all over the screen scattered across downtown San Francisco. Literally within seconds I am notified that one of the drivers has accepted the request and I am told his name, and exactly when he will arrive (3 minutes 22 seconds). This is EASY.

One time in New York city I walked out of my hotel to meet my driver, I found a crush of cars and people and I wondered how I would find him. Just then I hear “Mr. Moseley-Williams” and I turned to see a stranger holding up his cell phone. When the driver arrived he looked my profile up to see my picture so he could identify me. That was EASY. I literally laughed, the problem was solved before I had considered it.

Finally, when the ride is complete all the payment happens automatically – the driver literally says “Take care Dennis” and I get out. When I signed up I gave them all my payment information so the receipt, including gratuity etc. is sent via text message to my phone, which is convenient for expense tracking. THAT COULD NOT BE EASIER. Ask anyone who travels for work, taking your wallet out, handing over the credit card, waiting, signing, folding, storing, replacing it all a hassle.

Everything Uber does is focused at making things EASIER and therefore better.

They don’t try to be anything they are not, but they have mastered what they are. Bravo.

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Posted in Blog, Good Marketing, Personal Stories, Services & Solutions |

Posted by Tom on May 9th, 2013 | Permalink

Managing Expectations

May 9th, 2013

Managing expectations is a critical part to a successful long-term client relationship. To a large extent managing expectations comes down to ensuring the client is satisfied that they received what they ‘paid’ for. Organizations/ businesses/firms that are very good at communication expectations are typically well respected by their customers/client. They have become masters at getting aligned with their clients/customers before any agreements were signed or money changed hands.

Give it some thought. Where can you tighten up your agreement on expectations

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Posted in Blog, Business Management, Client Service, Good Marketing, Services & Solutions |

Posted by Dennis on April 9th, 2013 | Permalink

There Are No New Truths

April 9th, 2013

I worked with a guy named Terry for a few years and once I heard him say to a potential client on the phone “I don’t know what to tell you, there are no new truths to good business. What worked fifty years ago will work today, we just use different tools.” When I worked there, and since I went out on my own I have continually met people who are convinced that it must be much harder to be successful then what I tell them. They insist on it. There must be something they are missing, something new and yet undiscovered.

Terry was right. I heard him say that at least 10 years ago or more and I hear myself saying it pretty regularly. “There are no new truths to running a good business …” Don’t worry about what is new, worry instead about what works.

Innovation doesn’t mean constantly changing, it means constantly improving. A computer driven client relationship manager is an innovation in client relationship management, but managing clients or a brand isn’t new its old. Calculators were new, math was very old. Writing was new, grunting old.

Who decided that we needed to put dry ice in food? Why is there such a thing as molecular-gastronomy? Who decided this was a necessary and good idea? This is new but … is it better than cooking? When you are thinking about achieving your business goals, or advancing your career let me offer you three really old chestnuts of advice. If you want, you can imagine that Wilford Brimley is saying this to you.

Do what you say you are going to do. Do what you said you would do on time or earlier. Always say please and thank you. Not exactly new, but you will find it’s what very old and very successful businesses and other creators have been doing for years now.

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Posted in Blog, Experience Economy, Good Marketing, Motivation |

Posted by Dennis on April 8th, 2013 | Permalink

Think Big, Stay Small

April 8th, 2013

The Key To Winning When You Are A Small Business Is To Think Big

The other day I was meeting with a great big international corporation in San Francisco. They were all very nice people, and I enjoyed the meeting very much. What is very good and very much a sign of the times in the business world is that there was no question whatsoever that such a small company could deliver on what are rather large promises.

Smaller is Better

At long last, smaller is better than big. I feel this way about everything – leaner is better, less complicated is better, a few simple pleasures completely indulged is better than being able to do everything.

One panel cartoons are much funnier than strips. Then there are Sliders … Lets take one burger and make it three and guess what? I love them.  This thing from Apple carries a bazillion songs and clips on your jacket and comes in different colors (and its less than $50!) and it can be engraved.

Smaller venues are better than big venues for music. Smaller video stores are way better than Netflix or any other online option.  Small paper packages tied up with string … Hey wait a second, I was running off with the Von Trapps and you were going there with me!

Be Nimble. Be Quick.

Small business can provide a much more personal service, and a deeper more meaningful connection with their clients. Small business can pivot and adjust their offering to meet the needs on their clients much more quickly than big businesses.  Because of technology, small business can not only compete with big businesses, they can crush them while doing so.

For starters, small can make a lot of money out of a little bit of money from a handful of clients. Small businesses can farm out non-essential tasks and responsibilities to contractors and other small business owners, allowing small businesses to operate much more efficiently than larger organizations.

The success for the small business owner comes when they stop thinking like a small business. Small businesses can deliver on almost anything a big business can and from what I see every day, big business gets this.

Think Big. Stay Small.

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Posted in Blog, Business Management, Good Marketing, Motivation |

Posted by Dennis on March 22nd, 2013 | Permalink

Get Yer Freak On!

March 22nd, 2013

Too many people are getting pushed through. Too many more are doing the same old same old, accepting the status quo, and providing whatever they need to get by. Nobody is taking risks; nobody is saying it like it is, everyone is afraid of failing or offending.

Nobody is doing anything freaky out there.

Yet when someone does do something freaky, we hear about it. We hear about it because the world has never been as connected or available as it is today. For the first time in my life I am realizing that I wish I were … younger. Everything is just getting good! Everything is getting easier.

The truth is that it has never been easier to write a great song, record a video and post it online in the entire history of humanity. You don’t need a record company! You don’t need an agent! You don’t need anyone until you want to have them. All you need are people to click on, enjoy, and pass on your video. The record company will call you.

They will call.

Who will call? Whoever likes what you did, or do. Whoever notices is going to come, and they are going to tell everyone else they know who is interested in what it is they are interested in. Its not about trying to convince the masses to love you. It’s not about trying to convince the agent to love your album or your book or your script. It’s not about getting the guy who runs the pension plan to reconsider you as the person who oversees the administration and direction of it.

What it is about is you doing what you do as well as you possibly can. Think like an artist. Don’t ever finish the work; but accept that it must be shipped. I posted this blog in July of 2010 and I hop you read it, hopefully for the second time.

Stop writing songs for anyone who isn’t a fan. Stop writing books or blogs for anyone who doesn’t already read your books or blogs. Stop talking to people who don’t do business with you – Just keep talking to your CLAN. Keep singing to the fans, do an encore, take a break and sing again.

Being committed to your clients and your craft is about as freaky as it can get.

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Posted in Blog, Building a CLAN, Business Management, Experience Economy, Good Marketing, Motivation, Resistance |

Posted by Dennis on January 16th, 2013 | Permalink

Establishing Trust Is So Important

January 16th, 2013

Even when you are buying a tangible product that can be bought at multiple locations, studies show that we want to buy it from someone we trust. Someone we believe cares. There is something in the experience that we prefer, and when we trust we don’t question costs or fees. We find value in the relationship. We value trust.

Here is the trick if you are the person on the other side of the desk … the one looking to be trusted.

First you have to trust yourself to do the right thing. You have to trust the value of your work or your process or your insight. Most importantly you have to trust that others will see value in it.

Why?

Because you have to be able to walk away from a bad relationship even if you need the money. You will only do that if you know you can find another client who sees value in what you do and how you do it.

In order to gain the trust of others you have to care. You have to care about helping them, about learning about them, their goals successes and fears.

To get the sale, you will need to be trusted. If you motivation is to gain through trust you will fail. Whereas if your inspiration is to learn and help, you will succeed.

Very easy to say, very hard to do, but I do it every day and it keeps me sleeping at night.

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Posted in Blog, Client Service, Good Marketing |

Posted by Dennis on January 14th, 2013 | Permalink

It’s Not Hard Work That Will Save You

January 14th, 2013

Its clarity, process and measurement.

All the hard work in the world won’t pay off if you don’t know what you do, for whom, how you do it or if it’s working.

Working hard makes you feel better. Seeing progress and believing that things are moving forward will help you feel better for a while but it isn’t a guarantee. Working hard can work sometimes because you get lucky, you catch the right person at the right time with the right solution to a problem they are having but it may not work the next time.

Want the guarantee?

Know what you do, for whom, and why they like it.

Have a process you can actually point to. Meet every single week and measure your results.

Do that enough, it won’t even feel like working.

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Posted in Blog, Business Management, Good Marketing |

Posted by Dennis on January 10th, 2013 | Permalink

Everyone Else

January 10th, 2013

Focus on your own business and what you can control. Get a handle on what is in front of you; get focused on doing the right things, those that you do best, with 80% of your day.

Constantly work on improving and formalizing your process. Without a process you have nothing. Without a process there is no measurement.

When you start looking at what everyone else does you are in trouble. When you start listening to, or taking advice from others, unless they are the very best, unless you look up to them you are in trouble.

What you do, and how you do it, and why that is important to you is all that matters. Make improving the experience of your fans as pleasurable as possible.

You are better off with 10 people who are passionate about you then you are with 100 people who are not fully engaged.

Make those who love you love you more.

Everyone else can talk to everyone else.

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Posted in Blog, Building a CLAN, Business Management, Client Service, Good Marketing |

Posted by Dennis on December 19th, 2012 | Permalink

Establishing Trust by saying “No.”

December 19th, 2012

The fact is that if your goal is to be trusted by the people who support you, appreciate your work and look to you for assistance, you have to be trustworthy. The only way that this can actually happen is if you remain focused solely on the best interests of your clients.

This isn’t an act. This is a commitment. When you are trustworthy you are seen as reliable and honest and you become more successful.

Now here is the difficult part – you can’t set out to be successful by being trustworthy. You can’t put your interests ahead of your clients. “I will be trustworthy so that I can make more money.”  This simply will not work. You are thinking about you first – your inspiration to be trusted is actually motivation – you are asking “what is in it for me, what is my motive?” Your motive is to get paid. That’s not right. Your motive has to be to fulfill your obligation, your promise.

Success is a byproduct of your intention and commitment.

I was thinking of this when I was in Boston the other day. I have a new client, he is a fan, he knows about the work we are doing for some of his advisors and he wants to help us get more business. He realizes that what is good for us is also good for him. He has asked me on more than one occasion “How can I get your more involved?” It’s a very nice thing for someone to say, and it comes with a lot of responsibility.

The responsibility to preserve trust and protect my client is paramount. I think of nothing else.

The other week he invited my partner and I to New York and was generous with his time, he brought in his team and they shared their goals, hopes and frustrations with us for a few hours. He made it clear that the business was there, that he trusted us and if we could just come up with the right price, the right tailored program we were off to the races.

That night I flew to Minneapolis and I ran the numbers and scenarios around in my head. Then I knew I was in trouble.

Instead of asking “Is working with me in Joe’s best interest?” or “Are we the best option to help Joe achieve his goals?” I was instead trying to figure out how much money I could make if I could just figure out how to do it.

I was thinking about my needs, not his. That isn’t going to foster trust.

So while it may seem that I have lost the battle, I disagree. I am trying to win a war, and I am going to be around for a while, and I just established with Joe that not only do I bring results, I can also be trusted to do the right thing.

When you trust people, you ask them for help. They come to mind when you are in a jam and I know I’ll be hearing from Joe again.

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Posted in Blog, Building a CLAN, Client Service, Good Marketing |

Posted by Tom on August 24th, 2012 | Permalink

The Promise

August 24th, 2012

Promises are easily made but not always easily kept. Ask any parent!

The reality of running a business, be it large or small, is that you have a responsibility to keep your promises to clients/customers. How many times have you personally run across a business where you have said “it just isn’t the same anymore” or “what has changed, that is not what I remember it being”. Classic examples of a business owner who is looking to make more money by cutting costs or has innovated without paying attention to their end user. Worse yet it could also be the result of a business changing hands. The end result of course is lost business. When the promise of the Experience changes for the worse your customers/client will not come back and worse yet they probably will not tell you.

The only conclusion we can draw from all of this is that a brand is a promise kept. After all is the promise not why they decided to associate with you in the first place. If you cannot keep your implied promise (the core of how and what you deliver) to your customers/client then your brand will not be worth much.

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Posted in Blog, Business Management, Experience Economy, Good Marketing, Referrals |

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