I haven't read an E-Myth series book since 2004, but thought it was time to re-read the classic small business book. Owning Etap Communications and a start-up (PlanMyTournament.com) means I'm constantly running in different directions. This book outlines processes and steps to take in order to create quality processes that are repeatable by writing things down in a step-by-step list.
Creating a process for everything helps when I take vacation or am sick. It's time to really expand on the number of processes we have in place so as we market Etap Communications and bring in new business, we have an established program to easily integrate new staff members.
Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited goes through the story of Sarah, a pie shop owner. Even though he describes the process and business principles through a B2C format - you can easily see a connection for B2B. This is a great read, and re-read, and a Top 10 business book for business owners in my opinion.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
What Will Our Marketing Teams Look Like in the Future?
Hardly anyone knew in 2003 that social media would be a main channel in our marketing mix today. How do you go about predicting the future of marketing then? By realizing that adaptability and flexibility are keys to staying on top of marketing.
With an internal marketing team, you'll work together with other departments to collaborate on ideas about how to reach your target consumer. It won't be limited by just members of the marketing team or by a marketing team title. By ignoring traditional boundaries, you'll be able to receive feedback from people who deal with different aspects of the business and varied interactions with customers. Keeping the group open and accepting all ideas (no matter how silly) can really help bring forth a solid marketing idea. Hey, you don't know if 20 years down the road everyone will be receiving their information on Google Glass or if we'll regress to beepers as our preferred communication method.
As far as learning that information, we'll keep doing the same thing we've been doing. Understanding our demographics and psychographics; listening to our customers and watching their behaviors; and making our products and services better and more valuable for our customers.
With an internal marketing team, you'll work together with other departments to collaborate on ideas about how to reach your target consumer. It won't be limited by just members of the marketing team or by a marketing team title. By ignoring traditional boundaries, you'll be able to receive feedback from people who deal with different aspects of the business and varied interactions with customers. Keeping the group open and accepting all ideas (no matter how silly) can really help bring forth a solid marketing idea. Hey, you don't know if 20 years down the road everyone will be receiving their information on Google Glass or if we'll regress to beepers as our preferred communication method.As far as learning that information, we'll keep doing the same thing we've been doing. Understanding our demographics and psychographics; listening to our customers and watching their behaviors; and making our products and services better and more valuable for our customers.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Make a List to Accomplish More
I'm one of those Type A people. I like making lists and checking them off. Even if there's something I accomplished and realized I left off the list, I will add it to the list just so I can check it off. I'm not sure if I feel so accomplished at the end of the day because I actually completed things or because I have a list that reflects something more tangible. Here are some ways I use lists to help me accomplish more things each day:
No matter what type of list you create, physically writing things down will help increase your chances of actually getting it complete. Don't forget to keep the list handy and accessible as well. If you don't have the list available, you likely won't know what you're working to achieve.
You can also read the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. He points out ways to actually get things done by incorporating efficiencies into each day.
- Create a running list in a notebook - this will help with the "feeling" of accomplishing more when you can see all of the things you've actually done
- Create a day-by-day to do list - segmenting the items that are top priority each day can help ensure you get more important tasks completed
- Create an hour-by-hour to do list - this is the most effective type of list for me because I can segment out how I'm going to accomplish the things I want to each day
No matter what type of list you create, physically writing things down will help increase your chances of actually getting it complete. Don't forget to keep the list handy and accessible as well. If you don't have the list available, you likely won't know what you're working to achieve.
You can also read the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. He points out ways to actually get things done by incorporating efficiencies into each day.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Book Review: Ten Steps Ahead
I'm always looking for new business books when I'm at the local used bookstore. I had struck out recently by reading a book from the early 2000's that was already out-of-date so I was glad to see Ten Steps Ahead (2011) in the clearance area. Erik Calonius presents some different attributes on business visionaries of both past and present.
He does a great job of incorporating already widely-known principles, such as emotional intelligence and visualization. The most interesting part for me was the part on luck. I consider myself very lucky in my personal and professional lives, but it's not what I would typically think of as pure luck. Pure luck doesn't really exist (the planets can never really align). It's not only hard work that goes into luck, as Calonius describes, but a positive attitude and calculated intuition.
In addition to the luck section, I also really enjoyed his personal interview anecdotes that brought a closeness to these past and present visionaries. Great, quick read.
He does a great job of incorporating already widely-known principles, such as emotional intelligence and visualization. The most interesting part for me was the part on luck. I consider myself very lucky in my personal and professional lives, but it's not what I would typically think of as pure luck. Pure luck doesn't really exist (the planets can never really align). It's not only hard work that goes into luck, as Calonius describes, but a positive attitude and calculated intuition.
In addition to the luck section, I also really enjoyed his personal interview anecdotes that brought a closeness to these past and present visionaries. Great, quick read.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Book Review: Six Pixels of Separation
This book by Mitch Joel focuses on the power of blogging and podcasts. Even though the book was published five years ago, and there is some outdated references to social media, blogging is still relevant today. As with any online medium, content is still king.
In the book, Mitch gave many anecdotes with the success of his blogs and podcasts. One success story in particular connected two people in a town in Australia as they were both connected to his podcast. Although I don't listen to podcasts, they are still going strong and are being consumed.
I prefer to go straight to YouTube and I think this year, many businesses are going to be integrating YouTube into their social media mix. YouTube videos are now easily accessible with your mobile phone as podcasts once were with your ipod.
As technology, social media and online conversations continues to evolve, videos, blogs and podcasts will be part of this evolution. No matter what though, content will continue to be king!
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Get Cash Back This Holiday Season
Now that you've come down off your turkey coma, it's the first day of December which means holiday gifts for your clients should be on your to-do list. As you're perusing the plethora of holiday catalogs that have made their way to your mailbox, make sure you're taking advantage of discounts.
- Ebates - no matter which store you're going to purchase from, sign up for a free profile on Ebates. Since this summer alone, I have already earned $90 cash back just from online purchases I've made. All you do is go to Ebates, search for the company you're going to make a purchase from and it will say how much cash back you can earn when you use their click-through links. You can even search for a product and Ebates can direct you to retailers that have partnered with Ebates.
- Retail Me Not - This website is a goldmine for coupon codes. Anytime I make a purchase online, I check here first to see if there are any discounts on the site I'm shopping. Why pay extra money when you don't have to pay extra money?
- Groupon Goods - You may be able to find the perfect gift for your client (or family member) on Groupon Goods. They are separated into categories and are even searchable based on your needs. Everything is discounted and even gift baskets are even sold on Groupon Goods.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
If I were to own _______, I would do this.
After having an experience or after discussing a business with friends and family, I often think about what I would do to make it a better business. Since I do this more frequently than I should admit, I thought it would be great content for this blog. You'll probably notice throughout this and future posts the theme of making the customer experience fantastic.
Today, I went to get my nails done - a basic manicure and pedicure at a place that only does nails. It was my first time using this nail salon, but it was in a newer upscale shopping area and their website looked very professional. I ended up in a chair where the massage function was broken. For me, that is the majority of the reason I get a pedicure, but they didn't offer to change me seats or reduce my price. There was also some communication issue with me and my nail technician (multiple times). I had some questions about the difference in the different types of pedicures and she didn't understand, which could have been a missed upsell opportunity.
As I was sitting there, my mind began to wander as to what I would do if I were to own a nail salon. Well here's what I would do:
1. Make the place warm and inviting (which this nail salon had).
2. Have one of the daily pre-open tasks to make sure all machines are functioning and all equipment is clean. (This nail salon had a technician with some down time using WD-40 on some freshly cleaned nail equipment right next to two customers. Sorry - I don't think something is clean after you spray WD-40 on it.)
3. Have all of my nail technicians speak and understand English very well. You don't have to be American, but if you can't communicate with customers properly, then the customer's experience is diminished.
4. Hire a receptionist so one of the nail technicians isn't taking calls while he's working on someone's manicure. That person could also offer guests beverages, help move people from station to station and take payment while the nail technician's are focused on their art.
I probably won't be going back to this salon, but most of these are easy things to implement and could have really improved my customer experience. As far as nail salons go, I was super impressed by their decor and selection of nail polish colors and types, but that can't overcompensate for language barriers and the cleaning practices of a business like this.
Today, I went to get my nails done - a basic manicure and pedicure at a place that only does nails. It was my first time using this nail salon, but it was in a newer upscale shopping area and their website looked very professional. I ended up in a chair where the massage function was broken. For me, that is the majority of the reason I get a pedicure, but they didn't offer to change me seats or reduce my price. There was also some communication issue with me and my nail technician (multiple times). I had some questions about the difference in the different types of pedicures and she didn't understand, which could have been a missed upsell opportunity.
As I was sitting there, my mind began to wander as to what I would do if I were to own a nail salon. Well here's what I would do:
1. Make the place warm and inviting (which this nail salon had).
2. Have one of the daily pre-open tasks to make sure all machines are functioning and all equipment is clean. (This nail salon had a technician with some down time using WD-40 on some freshly cleaned nail equipment right next to two customers. Sorry - I don't think something is clean after you spray WD-40 on it.)
3. Have all of my nail technicians speak and understand English very well. You don't have to be American, but if you can't communicate with customers properly, then the customer's experience is diminished.
4. Hire a receptionist so one of the nail technicians isn't taking calls while he's working on someone's manicure. That person could also offer guests beverages, help move people from station to station and take payment while the nail technician's are focused on their art.
I probably won't be going back to this salon, but most of these are easy things to implement and could have really improved my customer experience. As far as nail salons go, I was super impressed by their decor and selection of nail polish colors and types, but that can't overcompensate for language barriers and the cleaning practices of a business like this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)