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Reflections on business development: “Force yourself into more different circles. History tells that the Roman statesman, Cicero, was born into severe poverty and actually had little chance for power unless he managed to make a place for himself among the aristocrats who controlled the city. He succeeded brilliantly, by identifying, always bringing value and drove himself to mingle everywhere, got to know everyone and built by hand such a vast network of solid connections and personal contacts that he earned power.”  

Harsh-Reality now: Improving things/making something better is a vital source of value creation. And the list goes on and reinforces that a multiplier of value lies in its uniqueness. Solve a problem or improve something in a uniquely superior manner increases the value substantially.

No client today wants to see art work they want to see ROI. Everyone these days is a social media expert. Bah Humbug. All I want to see – All investors, prospects, clients, employees want to see – All clients want to see = ROI, Metrics and Analytics. That’s it. Everything else is the cherry on top. So next time you consider the pretty website you want to build and how amazing you are at sending tweets, remember to start with exactly how much money all that fun activity is going to make. Or SHIFT!
Good Nurturing.
Jim

           “The quality of my life lies in the quality of my communications with myself and others,

                   I further believe that the quality of my communications lies in the quality and
                                    quantity of questions that I ask myself and others” Anthony Robbins

One of the few marketing gurus I follow closely is Rich Schefren.   rich@strategicprofits.com
His recent post on the power of questions prompted me to try one of my own with you. Caution prevailed and suggested I send the post as Rich originally posted it and see what the statistics tell me.
Q? Does this prompt you to begin asking a few more and better questions?

Do you give Good Nurturing?
Jim

Here is Rich/s posting:

Ask yourself…….?

Can you write a valuable blog post made up entirely of questions?

I think I can, but will you give me your opinion by commenting below once you finish reading it?

Should we begin? I’m ready, are you?

How’s your business going? Is it doing as well as you used to dream it would? Do you think you could improve it right now?

If you were forced to, what could you do right now that would move your business in the right direction? Are you willing to commit to doing it today? If you are willing, will you write it down right now, so you don’t forget?

Do you procrastinate? Why do you think you do it? Do you really enjoy the activities you do instead? If you had to choose, would you say it’s a fear of failure, or a fear of success? Could it just be a bad habit?

If procrastination was just a bad habit, would you be willing to create a new habit of being action oriented instead? If so, can you commit to doing that one thing that’ll improve your business (the one I asked you to write down) as soon as you finished commenting on this blog post?

Do you think this is an interesting experiment so far? Are you getting value out of it? Should I assume if you’re still reading you are? Should I continue?

Have you ever stopped and thought about how much you already know? Can you imagine how different your life might be if you applied everything you already know? Could blog posts like these that just ask questions (instead of telling you more to know) help you use more of what you already know? If so, do you think you might see more blog posts that are made up of just questions like this one?

Do you think if you share really good content with your prospects they would immediately buy more from you? What if they already had enough? Don’t we all have enough already?

Well, if good content isn’t enough to get people to buy, what does get people to buy? Don’t you think people buy to solve a problem or problems? So, what if your content helped your prospects understand their problems better and showed them how your product or service solved it? Do you see how much more effective this sort of content would be?

Are you crystal clear on precisely what problems your product or service solves? While I’m sure you know a lot about what you sell, how much do you know about the problem it solves?

Do you know more about the problems your prospects experience than they do? Don’t you think you should?  Because if you did, couldn’t you write great content that helped your prospect better understand their problem?  And wouldn’t they trust and like you better because you knew their problem so well?

Then when you told them about what you offered and why it was the best way to solve their problem, don’t you think a lot more of them would buy it? Are you now going to learn more about your prospects problems?

Would you like to know how I learn more about my prospects’ problems? Do you want me to tell you in my next blog post? If so, will you tell me that in the comments below? If not, would you tell me what you do want me to write about in the comments below?

So, what do you think? Would you believe me if I told you this was one of the easiest blog posts I’ve ever written? Does that matter to you anyway?

Should I write some more posts like this?  Would you be willing to read them if I did?

If you had to guess, do you think more people will like this or hate this? Won’t you know after you read the comments below?

Before you go, can you do two small favors for me?

1.  Would you tell me what you think (below)?

2.  Can you tweet this, tell others, and ask them what they think to?

Should I say thank you in advance?

This Is Not a Recession

·       What happens if we think of our current economic crisis as a recession. Instead of, thinking of it as a recalibration.

o   Everything is different now.

·       If you think of it as a recession, you may be tempted to "hunker down" and wait for the economy to cycle back.
If you think of it as a recalibration, you will be motivated to focus on what you have to do differently,
since everything is different now.

·       The way your business generates results is different, now.

o   Your customers think differently, now.

o   Your customers care about different things, now.

o   Your customers act differently, now.

o   Your customers may actually be different people, now.

·       Customers aren't disposable anymore; now, more than ever, we have to create and nurture sustainable relationships.

·       Everything is different now.

·       I'm posting this on Feb 2, 2010. One thing I am convinced of is that the world I am working in today is different from any world I have ever done business in. The world has been reset. We can no longer look at the "LY" column on reports to use last year as a benchmark for what will happen this year.

Good Nurturing

Jim

The president of Harley Davidson actually once said that “true customer loyalty was proven when one tattooed the HD logo on one’s head.”

CRM magazine says the loyalty / defection switch is on high alert.

Companies that get it right in economic earthquakes create their own upturn. [See October 2009’s The Tipping Point.] They identify the business opportunities that exist, based on an understanding of what their customers want now. They also stay abreast of evolving customer attitudes—an effort that requires a continuous process. One snapshot of that process, as it began to evolve in 2009, can be seen in the results of an Accenture survey of 5,600 customers across 14 countries. 

Nearly half (48 percent) of customers began to look for better deals or to better understand their purchase options, and they indicated that they felt more empowered to act on what they learned and to change their spending patterns and sources. 

The trend toward switching seems likely to continue. Globally, the percentage of respondents who reported they were thinking about switching providers in the next six to 12 months was consistent with past switching behavior. Additionally, 31 percent said they may buy fewer products or services from their providers and 13 percent said they may exit a category altogether. 

What’s contributing to this lack of allegiance? The survey suggests customers have become highly price-sensitive, and that price and value are likely to dictate their behavior. Customers are placing a premium on “getting value for their money,” and many don’t believe they are.

So how can companies differentiate themselves to attract the business of today’s customers? By being-there, earning customers’ trust while serving up quality products and service options, offering convenience, always delivering reliable, responsive customer service and proactively nurturing and helping customers succeed. 

Moreover, companies determine their destiny in their response to today’s economic challenges. Those that panic and batten down the hatches in preparation for the worst are likely to experience just that. Those that take thoughtful steps to understand what their customers want and make adjustments to capitalize on the bright spots are more likely to excel. More important, making selective and intelligent investments during the downturn can improve any company’s position, regardless of what lies ahead.  

In 2009 nearly half (48 percent) of customers began to look for better deals or to better understand their purchase options, and they indicated that they felt more empowered to act on what they learned and to change their spending patterns. 

Additionally, the survey found only limited customer loyalty. Two out of five surveyed said they were very satisfied with their providers, but only about one in four said they felt very loyal, despite the strong satisfaction responses. In other words, while satisfaction is important, it’s not necessarily an indicator of loyalty. 

People were very willing to explore provider alternatives, and the inconvenience associated with changing providers dissuaded only one in four consumers.

In fact, nearly 70 percent of consumers said they had already changed their mix of providers, either switching entirely or shifting some business to new providers, in at least one industry category in the previous six to 12 months.

Shifts like these demand immediate attention to the actual steps you are taking to make indelible relationships across all constituencies.

That’s my take, what’s yours?

Good Nurturing

Jim

"Know your customer" isn't just industry jargon. 2010 is the year to get up close and personal with your clients.

The work you do when you spread the word or run an ad or invent a strategy is likely aimed at one of these four groups.

• Strangers are customers to be, but not yet
• Critics are those that would speak ill of you, or need to be converted
• Friends are those that might have given permission, or even buy now and then
• Fans are members of your tribe, supporters and insiders

You already know the truth: can't please all these groups at once.

Thanks again to guru Seth Godin for this morning’s wake up call. In this daily blog posting he reminded me again of why I am writing this journal in the first place.

I am seeking the natural members of the nurturing style of relationships cultivation tribe. I am as much seeking your thoughts and insights on the nurture concept as I am in recording my own perspectives in this journey.

Good Nurturing

Jim

Industry Professionals Can't Get By on Blog Posts Alone

Published: Jan 28, 2009

Since it's the season of rethinking, I thought I’d drop a little knowledge on you. While you've been running yourself ragged going to conferences, socializing in social media and just trying to hang on, you may have missed these titles.

Good Nurturing

Jim

Thought for today from Steven Covey’s book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, “Sometimes be there with something in your hand rather than always just there with your hand out”

Wouldn’t it be great if your sales people (revenue producers) could just turn on their computer, make a few clicks, and create a personalized, client-focused, stay in touch campaign in minutes? And what if the computer automatically formatted the documents to comply with your corporate style guide whether postal or eMail?
Most sales people would love to have access to such a system. Well, your magic in a drip-irrigation hose is here.
Virtually all CRM solutions today, ranging from Avidian for Outlook ™ all the way to Microsoft Dynamics, have unique software solutions embedded as applications that accelerates the production and management of persuasive, personalized follow-up campaigns, intelligent inquiry responses, video and live presentations, case studies and related educational documents. A solid and sustainable fix for follow-up failure. As you might imagine, sales people and your bottom line loves it. For specific guidance contact me personally at jim@nurtureinstitute.com .

BTW: In the interest of absolute transparency, the Nurture Institute sells no CRM software. We help clients with their strategic, creative and implementation of unique go-to-market, totally custom, Nurture campaigns. Our technology group, headed by co-founder, Eric Rabinowitz, designs unique nurturing technology features such as www.emailassistant.com and Dimensional eMail™, that are easily integrated into virtually any system.

Selling and marketing pros have long known the power of repetition and now, at last, comes the technology to automate the process.

Good Nurturing in February

Jim

Thought for today from Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” “Sometimes be there with something in your hand rather than always just there with your hand out”

Making art

“My definition of art contains three elements:

1. Art is made by a human being.
2. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
3. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording... but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art.

By my definition, most art has nothing to do with oil paint or marble. Art is what we we're doing when we do our best work.”

Seth Godin Blog 1,25,2010

My hero, Dan Zadra, of Compendium, Inc., has tought more people about the nature of nurturing than anyone I know. He went beyond teaching the philosophy of putting your heart in to the business and sharing your passions, beliefs and commitments to the creation of actual tools to dimensionalize your communications.  Great enclosures for messages that matter and contacts that count. Check them out next time you are searching for just the right touch.  
Inspired Nurturing. Jim  

Work Inspired

Inspire Your Customers

We live and work in a competitive environment. Chances are, your competitors offer products or services that are similar to yours. All other things being equal, the one thing that will constantly distinguish you from your competitors is the quality of customer relationships. That’s where Compendium can really give you an edge.

Compendium products and ideas can help you attract, win, multiply, maintain and leverage your customer relationships and goodwill through:

• Innovative Relationship Marketing programs
• Inspiring customer gift and appreciation programs
• Proprietary promotions that cut through the clutter

We’ve proven that amazing things can happen when a company stops pressing for the order and starts nurturing the relationship. Be thoughtful, attentive and creative about the quality and frequency of your customer communications. 

Regularly send valuable information to your customers to help them prosper. 

Commemorate the anniversary of your first project together. 

Send inspiring gifts or greetings that remind them of your mutual commitment to quality, service, teamwork, integrity and loyalty.

Or simply say “thank you” in unexpected ways. 

Compendium leverages these “touch points” with your most important customers, prospects and partners, deepening your relationships through memorable media that creates unique, personal connection.

Whether drawing on any of our hundreds of existing products, or on our design, copywriting and sourcing expertise to develop your own unique promotional media, Compendium can be a one-of-a-kind solution to help you grow your relationships and grow your business. www.compendiuminc.com