The single most important thing you can do to grow your business.

First let me say that I’ve been guilty of what I’m about to share with you. In the past, as the founder and owner of a successful marketing firm in Milwaukee, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about what my customers want and how they buy. My biggest mistake was thinking that my company could do no wrong when it came to servicing clients. I thought we were the best and I knew my clients knew it. The sky was the limit and my ego was pushing this limit to the max.

The irony is that my team regularly developed and executed customer surveys for our clients but we never did one for ourselves. After a particularly perplexing client phone call, I called my friend, Bill Lowell from Business Development Directives and asked him to perform executive interviews with a random sample of my clients. Something wasn’t right and I realized I was too close to the problem to put my finger on it.

Bill performed interviews with thirty past and present clients. While we scored very high in overall satisfaction, around 98%, our survey went beyond satisfaction metrics and focused on where we could improve; attitudes about pricing, buying criteria and more. After all, even a satisfied customer will still buy from someone else if the circumstances are right. We learned that many of our clients also bought from our competitors – including some we had never heard of before! I learned that clients wanted to see more of me – and less of a certain staff member who was described by more than one client as "obnoxious". The biggest thing we discovered is that many of our clients thought our pricing was too low!

Since then, I’ve come to personally understand the importance of working with customers to refine, improve and focus marketing and sales efforts. I’ve developed a process that moves beyond mere "customer satisfaction" and provides answers to the questions that keep you up at night.

You might be wondering why I brought in Bill to do my survey when we were in the business of doing this type of work. The reason is simple. This is one of the few tasks companies should never attempt to do themselves. Of course I encourage you to have regular dialogs with your customers to gain insight and create strong personal bonds. However, customers are reluctant to tell you about issues that they think may insult you or hurt your feelings – the very issues that are hurting your business! By performing anonymous interviews with an objective, third party, customers are more willing to be completely candid.

Not just a conversation – an Executive Interview
Furthermore, a casual conversation is much different from the executive interviews performed during the research process. This process produces very specific data used to spot trends. Each question must be carefully developed and delivered in exactly the same way to ensure that respondents are not "led" by the researcher to a biased answer. The survey is done in a tightly controlled manner and is designed to answer specific questions.

Generally the surveys I implement are designed to uncover the criteria and process used to select one company over another. Is reputation more important than price? Is location important? Is industry specialization the key factor? Once this criteria is identified and ranked, we’ll ask how we compare to competitors based on this criteria. Using a combination of structured and open ended questions, (remember, this is a conversation, not an interrogation), we get down to what is really important to your customers; how you can do better, what they really think of your business, how they make buying decisions, other needs they may have, who your competitors really are, and much more. Each survey is tailored to what you need to know to sell more, increase profit and close more deals.

The million dollar question
It’s difficult to predict the outcome of these surveys. Typically, we find out that our clients’ perceptions and assumptions are about 90 percent accurate. They know their business and generally make good decisions. What makes the biggest impact is the 10 percent they are getting wrong and the customers are more than happy to set us straight. For one client, we learned that a majority of their customers felt that a certain employee’s involvement was critical to continue doing business with my client. In other words, if this employee left, the customers would leave with him. Another client discovered that a customer was buying from a competitor simply because they didn’t know my client provided this type of product. This resulted in an additional $2.5 million dollars in revenue – simply because we asked the question!

Customer surveys should be a regular part of your operations. Done properly, they can have immense impact on the success of your business. There are no shortcuts here. The good news is that your customers are chomping at the proverbial bit to tell you what’s on their minds. All you have to do is ask.

The single most important thing you can do to grow your business.

First let me say that I’ve been guilty of what I’m about to share with you. In the past, as the founder and owner of a successful marketing firm in Milwaukee, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about what my customers want and how they buy. My biggest mistake was thinking that my company could do no wrong when it came to servicing clients. I thought we were the best and I knew my clients knew it. The sky was the limit and my ego was pushing this limit to the max.

The irony is that my team regularly developed and executed customer surveys for our clients but we never did one for ourselves. After a particularly perplexing client phone call, I called my friend, Bill Lowell from Business Development Directives and asked him to perform executive interviews with a random sample of my clients. Something wasn’t right and I realized I was too close to the problem to put my finger on it.

Bill performed interviews with thirty past and present clients. While we scored very high in overall satisfaction, around 98%, our survey went beyond satisfaction metrics and focused on where we could improve; attitudes about pricing, buying criteria and more. After all, even a satisfied customer will still buy from someone else if the circumstances are right. We learned that many of our clients also bought from our competitors – including some we had never heard of before! I learned that clients wanted to see more of me – and less of a certain staff member who was described by more than one client as "obnoxious". The biggest thing we discovered is that many of our clients thought our pricing was too low!

Since then, I’ve come to personally understand the importance of working with customers to refine, improve and focus marketing and sales efforts. I’ve developed a process that moves beyond mere "customer satisfaction" and provides answers to the questions that keep you up at night.

You might be wondering why I brought in Bill to do my survey when we were in the business of doing this type of work. The reason is simple. This is one of the few tasks companies should never attempt to do themselves. Of course I encourage you to have regular dialogs with your customers to gain insight and create strong personal bonds. However, customers are reluctant to tell you about issues that they think may insult you or hurt your feelings – the very issues that are hurting your business! By performing anonymous interviews with an objective, third party, customers are more willing to be completely candid.

Not just a conversation – an Executive Interview
Furthermore, a casual conversation is much different from the executive interviews performed during the research process. This process produces very specific data used to spot trends. Each question must be carefully developed and delivered in exactly the same way to ensure that respondents are not "led" by the researcher to a biased answer. The survey is done in a tightly controlled manner and is designed to answer specific questions.

Generally the surveys I implement are designed to uncover the criteria and process used to select one company over another. Is reputation more important than price? Is location important? Is industry specialization the key factor? Once this criteria is identified and ranked, we’ll ask how we compare to competitors based on this criteria. Using a combination of structured and open ended questions, (remember, this is a conversation, not an interrogation), we get down to what is really important to your customers; how you can do better, what they really think of your business, how they make buying decisions, other needs they may have, who your competitors really are, and much more. Each survey is tailored to what you need to know to sell more, increase profit and close more deals.

The million dollar question
It’s difficult to predict the outcome of these surveys. Typically, we find out that our clients’ perceptions and assumptions are about 90 percent accurate. They know their business and generally make good decisions. What makes the biggest impact is the 10 percent they are getting wrong and the customers are more than happy to set us straight. For one client, we learned that a majority of their customers felt that a certain employee’s involvement was critical to continue doing business with my client. In other words, if this employee left, the customers would leave with him. Another client discovered that a customer was buying from a competitor simply because they didn’t know my client provided this type of product. This resulted in an additional $2.5 million dollars in revenue – simply because we asked the question!

Customer surveys should be a regular part of your operations. Done properly, they can have immense impact on the success of your business. There are no shortcuts here. The good news is that your customers are chomping at the proverbial bit to tell you what’s on their minds. All you have to do is ask.

The Cold, Hard Truth About Viral Marketing

Every month I get an inquiry from a potential client who is interested in doing "something viral". If that term isn’t familiar, allow me to explain. According to Wikipedia.com, The term "viral marketing" was coined by a Harvard Business School professor, Jeffrey F. Rayport, in a December 1996 article for Fast Company magazine. It refers to marketing techniques that self replicate – similar to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word of mouth or by Internet but the bottom line is that people pass along the message voluntarily in great numbers.

These potential clients understand that a successful viral campaign would provide enormous visibility for virtually zero cost. Hence the attraction to the idea. Unfortunately, launching a successful viral campaign is not so simple. How do I know?

In the last four weeks, I’ve had a pet project go truly viral. My son’s video show "Enzoology" (his name is Enzo) started as a short video about the Praying Mantis. We put the show on YouTube to share with some family and friends and what happened next was completely a surprise. Within hours, I had 15 emails asking about an Enzoology web site. I quickly responded by building www.enzoology.com and began to monitor traffic. Within four days, my seven year old son’s web site had two thousand hits and continues to attract about two thousand visitors each week. We knew something big was going on when a family recognized Enzo at Sea World.

My theory of why this all is happening so quickly is that the video has something people like – perhaps it’s the cute kid scientist angle, perhaps because of the purity of the content, maybe because Enzo is really good in front of the camera. I don’t know – it was a total accident.

Why 99.999 percent of viral attempts fail

1. It is impossible to predict what will go viral.
Most viral campaigns aren’t really campaigns at all. They are simply a funny and/or obnoxious video or other content that people discover, enjoy and tell their friends. Most were not created with the intention of "going viral". There were made just for fun and had some value to someone. Just because it’s funny to you doesn’t mean anyone else will agree.

2. You don’t have the courage.
By their very nature, companies are not well suited to producing viral campaigns. To have a successful viral program, you need to be truly funny, outrageous, obnoxious, offensive or have some hard to define value that people really like and get jazzed up about. If your CEO is willing to drop his pants at a board meeting, get up on the table and dance like Michael Jackson to the horror of the other board members and you can get it on video, you may have a viral sensation. (See rule #1)

3. It can’t be contrived.
Viral success hinges on being authentic. It must be genuinely funny or pure in some way. People see right though lame attempts at promotion disguised as entertainment. Most companies can’t muster what it takes to be simple and pure. For example, I’ve seen a parody of the TV show "The Office" – it was very well done but it just wasn’t funny. The video spent too much time attempting to promote the company.

4. Before you go viral, go basic.
Most companies that are interested in viral marketing are simply trying to save a few bucks. Usually, upon asking a few questions, it becomes clear that they don’t even have the fundamental marketing and sales processes and plans in place. They are simply reaching for a magic bullet that costs nothing and will generate huge sales. Good luck with that.

I wish more companies could loosen up and have some fun – be outrageous and silly, pure and funny. Business is a serious endeavor but we should never forget that we are selling and marketing to people – not businesses. And people like crazy, funny stuff.

Chinks in your armor.

I hate buying stuff. It’s like I have to be some kind of Sherlock Holmes to select a vendor and not get burned. Sometimes it’s easy to eliminate the jokers – they show up unprepared, don’t listen, and generally talk their way out of a sale. Others are not so easy. They say the right things, offer up gleaming case studies, have good sales skills, polished shoes and generally seem like a good option. The trouble is that usually there are several companies who have very similar capabilities and good sales pitches. How do I make the right decision?

Most business buyers experience similar things when going through a selection process. Their process is typically not one of inclusion. Instead it is a process of elimination – evaluating tangible information and leveraging intuition to determine who makes the short list and who doesn’t.

You might think they are hanging on every word of your carefully crafted sales pitch but the fact is they are looking for what I call “chinks in the armor”. Those tell-tale gaps that send the message that you may not be as good as you say.

The most common mistakes that kill sales

1. Sales person appearance and demeanor.
This one might seem obvious but I’m surprised at how often this fundamental rule is ignored by sales people. From wrinkled clothing and scuffed shoes to unshaven faces and renegade nose hairs, your personal appearance tells a story – and not necessarily the story you want. My personal downfall is my tendency to let my hair get too long. Some people look good with long hair, I look homeless.

2. Lack of sales process
One thing I’ve learned is that customers want to know that I know what to do next during the sales process. The very fact that I have a defined process sets me apart from competing interests that simply go in and sell, sell, sell! My ability to avoid “selling” and simply let the customer buy sends a strong message that I’m organized, I know what I’m doing and my focus is on them.

3. Unprofessional marketing communications
I know many companies that have mastered the above issues. Then, they whip out a brochure or send the prospect to a web site that looks and reads like it was created by a sixth grader. Ouch. For most prospects, this communicates volumes about the seller. This major mistake implies that the seller is unsophisticated, low quality, doesn't care about its image or products, or worse. For most B-B sellers, the web site or a brochure doesn't do the selling. However, it can enhance or destroy your chances to outclass competitors depending on how it reads, looks and functions. Perhaps you could get away with a crappy web site back in 1996, but not anymore.

4. Unresponsive people
When someone calls your office do they get a crazy maze of automated options or do they talk to a real person? Either option can ruin your chance at a sale. For example, a well thought out automated phone system that allows callers to quickly reach the person they need is fine. However, if it is confusing, doesn't work right or worse yet, simply dumps callers into voicemail with no option to dial "0" for an operator, you are toast. Likewise, if your human receptionist speaks like he's just graduated from second grade, doesn't know your web address, can't articulate what the company does or sounds like a zombie, it sends a negative message.

5. Conflicting messaging
If you are trying to convince the world that you are "all that" but every time they hear or see something about your company it's a different message, your prospect's doubt will grow. It's understandable that sales and marketing messages can change over time, the key is to make sure that you update your information everywhere it appears. Not easy, but critical!

Sales is a game of gaining incremental edges over competition. The smallest things can defeat you if you aren't paying attention. We are all guilty of this at some point. It's a challenge for large and small companies alike. You'll never be perfect, but if you pay attention, you can be just that much better than your competitors - and that's all it takes to win.