Category: Blog

If you’re a business owner working alone or if you have a small team you may feel you don’t have time for systems and processes or that they just aren’t necessary. If that’s the case then you may losing money. In this post, I’ll explain how to implement a system to ensure that you have transparency across the business, that you’re spending your money wisely and thus have successful and profitable marketing from which to start your business growth.

Where does your business come from?

You may think you know where your business comes from, but how often do you complete an analysis of your marketing, if at all? In my role as a business consultant I discovered a client of mine was spending thousands of pounds on Yellow Pages advertising. When I asked whether this was a successful marketing tool, the business owner didn’t know because he wasn’t monitoring the amount of business that it was generating.

Record the source of your sales!

I showed my client a simple way to record the source of his business and after 3 months we were able to see that none of it had come from Yellow Pages!

So, it’s clear why it’s so important to monitor where your customers come from. Implement a system to keep a track of the source of your new business for you and your staff to follow. Remember to record each enquiry as well as each sale, so you can determine your most successful marketing activity.

Profitable marketing

Very quickly, you’ll have some meaningful insight into the profitability of your marketing and this will give you the ability to spend your money wisely. Perhaps stopping some activity altogether and reallocating the cash to something that is really working. Imagine the results…

Understanding the outcome of your expenditure is just one of the reasons why systems and processes are so important. My next post will explain how they are also important in your efficiency and customer service delivery.

If you need any help implementing these tips, then book a free business review.

Are you about to become an employer? Perhaps you already have a team but you are struggling to delegate tasks to them or maybe you do delegate with disastrous results! If you are in any of these situations then implementing processes within your business can give you the consistency you need for great customer service delivery. Without them, your customers may not know what to expect when they buy from you.

In practice

Let’s take McDonalds as an example of this in practice. Being a huge franchise organisation with stores being independently owned, McDonalds pride themselves on their consistency in delivering products and customer service the world over. A Big Mac in London looks and tastes the same as a Big Mac in Moscow or New York! You know exactly what you are going to get.

Systems and processes are the key to delivering its customers food that looks and tastes the same. Everything has a process, from cooking times, ingredient amounts, right down to the way the store is cleaned.

McDonalds attracts young staff with a high turnover; many are students who are simply there to earn some extra money but that probably don’t see a long-term career with the company. Having such detailed procedures leaves nothing to chance and ensures the consistency required.

Training

Of course in your business your processes may not need to be so intricate, but having the right ones in place will ensure that no matter how skilled your workforce is, you can be confident they can get the job done. Written processes or checklists for specific tasks can give you the basis of staff training.

Repetition equals reputation

With established processes and checklists in place you’ll be able train staff effectively and as the old saying goes, from your repetition comes your reputation. With procedures in place your customer service delivery should be the same each time, building trust and reliability in your business and from there, business growth.

You may be the closest person to your own business, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the best person to decide your USP.

I wish I could say I’m the best person, but that’s not true either!

If you want to know what will sell your product or service the best… simply ask your customers why they bought from you. You never know, the answer might surprise you! But it could also give you the edge in marketing to others.

Think about it, if ten people bought from you for a specific reason, chances are, others will too.

Do your research

If you conduct customer satisfaction surveys when you complete a job, add in the question, “Why did you choose us as your supplier?”  Allow them the opportunity to elaborate. Ask them how many suppliers they considered, what was the deciding factor, what would they tell others about your service? All of this will give you invaluable information that you can translate into an effective marketing message.

You will usually find a common theme emerging, but it’s not always what you would expect.

In my own business, I thought my USP as a business coach would be the affordability and achievability of my service to small businesses – my primary target market. Customer surveys, however, revealed it was the fact that I offer guaranteed results that appealed to them most.  Every single one of my satisfaction surveys was returned with reports of increased profits and growth which allowed me to claim the following: “We are so confident that this programme will help your small business, that we guarantee your profits will increase by at least three times its cost over the next three years.”

You’ll now see “guaranteed to increase your profits” prominently highlighted in all my marketing. Just take a look at the home page of my website.

Analyse all emerging themes

Through your research, you may find more than one theme emerging. If this is the case, think about why different customers might like different things about your product or service. How are the customers different? Does one thing stand out to a particular age group? Are certain customers buying a particular product or service because they have a specific need in their industry sector? All of this information will help you fine tune your marketing messages to a variety of potential customers.

It’s important to note, however, that this needs to be an ongoing process. You might find themes change over time, so it’s worth making sure your USP is still in-line with customer comments.

USE your USP!

Once you know and understand your USP – use it! Make it your billboard ad, your website banner, your email footer.

Everywhere customers might find information about you, keep your USP prominent and visible.

I even suggest to clients to include their USP in their answer-phone message. Listen to mine – you’ll see what I mean (01384 355 444).

Use your research

The findings of your research can be a useful selling tool in more ways, too.  Use the statistics to your advantage.  Do you remember this tagline? ‘Nine out of ten mums use Daz because it gets your clothes whiter than white’.  Or, what about, ‘Nine out of ten cats prefer Whiskers’? Although I’m not quite sure how that customer survey must have gone…

If you uncover some impressive findings, share them.

The key point is, let your customers be your guide. They really are better placed than you to pinpoint your USP.

Every business claims to have one, but how many ‘Unique Selling Points’ are actually that… unique?

It’s always one of the first questions I ask when working with a business – tell me what your unique selling point is.  Most of them give me very valid selling points, but often – nothing that makes them unique.

A window cleaner who says, ‘We clean the sills and corners too’; a builder who claims, ‘We leave the site as tidy as we found it’; a cleaning company who states, ‘We have trustworthy employees’ – all of these are great, but aren’t they what customers would expect from anyone in your industry?

Your USP has to be what makes you different. Why do people buy from you? What makes them choose YOU above your competitors? 

You may offer a unique product or service – fantastic! Finding your uniqueness is easy.  This always begs the question for me, however – why is no-one else doing it? Is there really a demand for your service? But, I guess that’s a whole other blog post about market research.

You may be able to claim you are the best at something – great! Just make sure you can qualify this statement and prove how or why you are the best.

The best way to find your USP is to look at your business from a customer’s perspective. What will resonate with them?

If you conducted market research before starting your business, take a look back at your findings with your USP in mind. Did a theme emerge about what is most important to people? Is it customer service, price or something else? Can you hook your USP on this?

It’s also good to remember that USPs aren’t always set in stone. You may want to use a different USP for the same product or service when marketing to a particular geographic area, for example, within a particular setting or to a specific demographic group.

The way you sell cleaning services to the domestic market, for example, will differ to how you sell to commercial customers.

Of course, there is an easy way to determine your USP… My next blog post will reveal all!

Have you ever thought of using your potential customers’ pain to your advantage? By this, I don’t mean you should torture your leads into submission! Rather, if you focus on their pain – and tell them how you can take it away – you will suddenly become their best friend.

Think about the last time you had toothache. It’s a killer isn’t it? You can’t concentrate on anything but the throbbing pain and you’d give anything to be free of it. You book in to the dentist, they sort it out and they’re your hero.

Now consider how this applies to your marketing message.

When booking your dentist appointment, were you particularly bothered about finding out how long they’d been a dentist, or what university they went to? Or did you just want to know they could take your pain away?

Your biggest selling point will always be how you can solve a problem, improve a situation, make someone’s life easier – or in other words, remove a pain.

DON’T make this your ending strapline. Why would you want to bury your problem-solving prowess in a load of facts about you that, whilst they might add to your credibility and be really important to share, will not make people pick up the phone and ask for your help?

Look again at the information you give out to potential customers. Look at the introductory paragraph of your website’s home page, or your brochure. Now look at it through a potential customer’s eyes. What does your first line focus on? Are you telling them you’ve been in business for 20 years? That you’re the number one in your field?  Or are you telling them what you can do for them – save them time or stress, or help make them more profitable?

It’s all great information, but you should prioritise your main sales message.  If a customer can’t see immediately what’s in it for them to employ your services, you’ve already lost them.

Tell customers straight away how you can take their pain away and marketing suddenly becomes less painful!

Once you’ve got your marketing message right, the rest should fall into place.

Follow my six steps to marketing success here.

There’s also more in-depth guidance on refining your marketing in my book, Getting Down to Business.

Modern marketing can really feel like a battle – you’re fighting to win the attention of potential customers, often against multiple enemies, or competitors.  So, you need to think like an army commander!

There are key elements to preparing for any battle, and each can be linked to the marketing process.

Know your enemy – do your market research

An army commander will gather intelligence on the enemy, through covert operations and observation of the enemy’s movements. He will try and ascertain the size of the threat, know their troupe numbers and fire-power, and understand their strategy. He will measure and evaluate – and consider how his own forces match up. This is exactly what you need to do with your market research. Make a few calls to competitors to see how they respond to an enquiry – see if they will send you a brochure, read their website, follow their social media channels, stalk them! Then, compare your marketing to theirs – are you on an equal footing? Is there anything they do better than you that you might need to improve on before going head-to-head? The more information you have about what you’re up against, the greater your chance of success.

Get your strategy in place

Once the intelligence is gathered, a commander will then plan his strategy according to the findings. This isn’t about replicating the enemy’s activity, but thinking of an appropriate response. How best can you use your own arsenal? You want to play to your strengths and take advantage of the enemy’s weaknesses. Where are you going to invest greater resources? A planned attack will always beat the scattergun approach, so make sure you plan how, where and when you will deploy your troops.

An army commander will strategically place his infantry and tanks; he’ll decide on the best time to send in the bombers; he’ll consider whether ships with rocket launchers are required.  In marketing, your infantry might be your website, seo and blogs, your tanks – your social media channels, your bombers are your email or postal campaigns etc.

In the same way that an army commander won’t rely solely on his infantry – you can’t rely solely on your website to bring you custom. It’s about using all the weapons at your disposal in a strategic way.

Prepare your arsenal – branding / marketing materials

Once the strategy is in place, you need to make sure you have enough fire-power and ammunition. In marketing, this means refining your branding and marketing message, and preparing all the materials you need to deliver your message effectively. Your marketing materials and content are your bombs and bullets – and your underlying strategy should ensure they hit their target.

Are you using the latest weaponry? In the same way that the army are constantly upgrading their kit and use the latest technology to their advantage – you need to stay abreast of the latest marketing trends.

Defend your territory – reactive marketing

A certain amount of battle strategy will be reactive – responding to enemy activity. If you know troops are being deployed to a particular area, you send your own troops to defend the territory. So, with marketing, if you know your competitors are prolific on Twitter, or have a particularly effective radio or TV ad campaign – you might want to work it into your strategy to ensure you have an equal presence.

Stay one step ahead – proactive marketing

To win a battle, however, you need to try and stay one step ahead. Think about what the enemy isn’t doing – are they missing a trick? Sometimes, you need to think outside the box. Doing something different could be the key to success, catching your enemy off-guard and gaining you new ground.

Evaluate and amend – measure and adjust your marketing

A good commander knows that any battle strategy has to be flexible. If something’s not working, you don’t keep throwing resources at it relentlessly! Instead, you learn from mistakes and adapt your strategy as you go along. Marketing is no different. If you’ve spent thousands on radio advertising but received no leads from it, you either need to change the advert, or re-allocate those funds to an alternative activity.

Employ advisors

Remember, you don’t need to do this alone! An army commander will employ specialist advisors and use the expertise of the team around him. In the same way, you can employ the help of marketing consultants or business advisors to guide and inform you.

You can find more marketing advice in Doug’s book, Getting Down to Business, available at just £9.37 from Amazon. Click here to buy.

It may sound a strange question! If they’re a customer already using your services, of course they know what you do – right?

Wrong! They may know what you do for them – but do they know you also do this, and this and this?

We should never assume that a client understands the entirety of our business. For example, they may have come to you to develop their website – but do they know you also write blog posts, create email marketing campaigns, manage social media accounts and do graphic design for brochures?

As we’re talking about the importance of client retention, it is definitely worthwhile considering how you are communicating your full range of services to existing customers. They may have employed you to undertake a short term project, but there may be a way of retaining them as an ongoing client with another of your services.

Again, it comes down to communication. You shouldn’t have to do the big, hard sell on existing clients – hopefully you’ll have won them over with the fabulous work you’ve already done. There will be a trust there, which makes it much easier to sell without selling. Try dropping into conversation that you’ve done X for another client that seems to be working really well for them. Ask them, ‘did you know we do that?’ It really is that simple!

Here are some other ways of getting the word out to existing clients about additional services:

Case studies and testimonials

Do you have any case studies or client testimonials on your website? If not, get some on there, pronto! Nothing speaks louder than showing off some top work you’ve done for a client and hearing how pleased they are with the results. Why not get a client on camera? Short video testimonials can be really powerful.

Spread the good news!

How are you spreading the word about the amazing projects you’ve completed, or the fantastic feedback you’re getting from clients? Don’t just let case studies and client testimonials sit static on your website. Share them! Facebook, Twitter and Linked In are great for getting word out, as are blogs and email newsletters.

Leaflets

Don’t rely purely on online – a well designed leaflet with your list of services can be just as effective. A cleaning company I worked with handed out leaflets to all of their commercial clients, telling them they also did window cleaning and removal of environmental waste.  Straight away they secured new business from existing clients, who hadn’t realised before that they offered these services!

It’s good to talk!

Make sure you have it on every meeting agenda to discuss how else you could help an existing client. Face-to-face meetings give you the perfect opportunity to talk about what else you do that might be of interest.

Now go forth and multiply your business the easy way. Just tell your existing clients what you do!

Doug’s step-by-step guidebook to growing your business is available NOW to buy from Amazon.

For straight-talking advice specific to your business, book a FREE business review with Doug today!

There are many reasons we end up saying farewell to clients, some are completely beyond our control, others not so much. But have you ever considered the true value of that loss? It’s far more than the fee they were paying you!

Client retention, in my opinion, is something that should be managed and monitored as closely as the cash flow in your business – however, it very rarely is.

Losing clients for legitimate reasons is one thing, but often I find businesses are far too flippant about letting customers go. “Oh, they were only paying £100 per month,” “We’ve finished their job,” etcetera, etcetera.

If I ever hear this from a coaching client – I give them a little exercise to do. Don’t consider the income you’ve lost, consider the costs to you of replacing that business.

How much does it cost you to bring in a new client?
Think about what you spend on marketing and advertising; the time and money spent on networking; how many hours do you spend sitting in sales meetings and drawing up proposals and quotes? Try adding it up – I’m sure you’ll be surprised!

For argument’s sake, let’s say each new client costs you £1,000 in time and money before they sign on the dotted line. Would you rather keep earning £100 per month guaranteed income, or spend £1,000 just to stand still?

Client retention makes sense from an economic point of view – so it’s really important to keep track of how many clients you’re keeping and losing as well as monitoring the new business you’re winning. To successfully grow a business – yes, you need new customers, but you want to build your client list, not replenish it!

If you’re losing clients on a regular basis, it really is worth the time and effort considering what you can do to keep them. Here are a few of my suggestions:

1 – Get feedback

Do you know the real reason they’ve left?  It’s always worth a frank conversation asking for honest feedback of your service, and an explanation of why they’re leaving. You may just pick up some pointers that can prevent you losing another client. After all, how can you hope to improve if you don’t know where you’re going wrong? I like to ask, too, if there’s anything we could have done differently to make them stay.

2 – Communication is key

Client relationships often fail due to lack of communication, so make sure you’re in regular contact with all your existing clients. Ask them while they are still with you – what can we do better? It could make all the difference!

3 – Address their niggles

It’s not always big things that can strain a client relationship, it’s the little niggles – if they get ignored. By keeping in regular contact, you can find out about any issues before they become major problems. The important thing is to sort them out promptly, and show you take customer service seriously!

4 – Deal with complaints

If it does get to the stage where you’re faced with a customer complaint, you need to take 3 steps:

• Fix the problem (as quickly, thoroughly and professionally as possible)
• Investigate why the problem occurred in the first place
• Put measures in place to prevent it happening again.

We’re only human and things do go wrong, but you will be remembered for how you put things right! And always keep the customer apprised with what you are doing to correct the issue.

In conclusion – ensure your customer service and communication is top-notch, and you’ll reap the rewards in client retention and customer loyalty. And to go the extra mile – think about offering a customer loyalty scheme to sweeten the deal for staying with you. Keep in mind the value to you – saving you heaps in winning new business!

It will probably come as no surprise to hear that the top New Year’s resolutions in the UK are about getting fitter in one way or another.

It might be to lose weight, give up smoking, eat healthier or go to the gym – and possibly all of the above! The reason? We all want to improve ourselves, and we know that our health and wellbeing is something that we can control to some degree.

Have you thought, however, that this could also be a great analogy for improving your business in the year ahead? After all, we never stop wanting to improve our business in some way – and it is completely under our control! So, I’ve put together my thoughts on how you can tone up your business in the year ahead.

Be specific – what does ‘fit’ look like to you?

People’s ideas of getting fit differ greatly. It depends on their current condition, what their priorities are and their ultimate goal. One may want to lose three stone, another may want to climb Everest.  In the same way, each business’s idea of ‘fit’ will vary. One manager may want to double their turnover, another may want to restructure to free up their time. The important thing is to have a vision of what fit looks like to you. Be specific. Picture it and write down exactly what you want to achieve. This is setting and defining your goal, covered in greater depth in my previous post here.

Share your goal

The brave amongst us will share what we want to do with those around us. They’ll tell their partner not to buy them that squidgy cream cake because they’re trying to lose weight, or will announce their intentions to the world on Facebook. This isn’t about showing off or making everything about you – it’s about asking for support to keep you on track. Sharing can give you the extra motivation you need to keep going when things get tough, because no-one wants to admit to others that they’ve failed. In business, think about sharing your vision with your team, so they can help push you towards your goal. Or, if you don’t have a team, share with another business owner you know well – or a coach.

Set targets

It can feel overwhelming thinking you’ve got three stone to lose – so you need to break your bigger goal down into smaller targets that sound much easier to achieve. Lose half a stone in the first three weeks, for example. In business – think about the smaller targets you can set yourself that are stepping-stones to your big goal. To increase turnover, how many more customers do you need? How many can you get in the first three months?

Plan, plan, plan!

You know what you want to achieve, and have set yourself targets to reach – now you need to write your action plan – and I mean write! Don’t just think about it and keep it all in your head, it’s too easy to forget important steps or ‘adjust’ the plan to suit you. Write down what you need to do to achieve your first target. To lose weight it might be go to the gym twice a week and plan your weekly meals. Business planning is no different. Look at your first target and schedule the actions you will take to achieve it. If you want to get three new customers in January, think about who you want to target and what marketing activity you will do to attract them.

Keep track of how you’re doing

It’s the dreaded scales moment! When you’re losing weight, you hate stepping on the scales in case the results are disappointing – and we have the same fears in business. But, if we don’t measure how we’re getting on, we can’t rejoice in the successes or take the necessary steps to improve. If you have reached your target – hurray!  You know your action plan worked and can keep doing the same. If you didn’t quite make it – don’t worry! Analyse where you went wrong and adjust your plan accordingly to do better next time.

Get a gym buddy or personal trainer

Do you have someone to hold you accountable for your results? Someone who will push you when you’re not feeling it – or help you work out a better way to reach your target? We talked about sharing your goal, which is all well and good, but you also need someone behind you to keep you on track – asking how you are doing and keeping you motivated. Consider joining with a group of like-minded business owners to share ideas and encourage each other. Or invest in a business coach. Even top athletes need help to improve. Business managers, no matter how experienced, can benefit from coaching too.

Reward your achievements

We’re often our own worst critics! We’re very quick to berate ourselves for failures – and often don’t congratulate ourselves when we succeed. But this is really important! Recognise your victories. Even if you haven’t quite made a target – you only lost two pounds instead of the three you wanted this week – you’ve still achieved! You are still two pounds lighter and that much closer to the big goal.  In business, every step forward should be celebrated. If you don’t praise yourself when you accomplish something, you can soon get jaded and feel deflated. Buoy yourself up with a little treat every now and again to acknowledge that you’re getting there! The dieter’s little chocolate indulgence! Perhaps finish early on a Friday and enjoy some family or hobby time – or just relax.

No matter what stage your business is at, why not think about how you can get it fitter for the New Year? Good Luck!

Why not book a FREE business review with Doug to kick-start your New Year goal-setting and planning? There is no obligation to take up Doug’s coaching, but you will glean some interesting insights that will help you take your business forward.

Has anyone you know ever stuck to a New Year’s resolution? I can guess the answer – it’s probably a resounding no!

Like New Year itself, resolutions are fleeting. They’re often made in haste and forgotten just as quickly, packed away with the festive finery never to be seen until the following New Year!

The idea behind them, however, is a great one. New year, new start. It is a perfect time to reflect on the year that’s passed and decide what you want to achieve in the year ahead. But, like many things in life, the label matters. It has become the norm that a New Year resolution doesn’t make it past January – so alter the label and you might have a chance of making it stick! Set a goal.

I’ve written at length on the importance of goal setting, it helps you move forward both in business and in your personal life, so I thought a bit of a flashback post might be just what’s needed here. This will help you find all the information you need to set goals – and go for them! Let’s call it my go-getters goal-setting guide.

1 – Know your goal.

You may think you have a goal in mind, but it might just be a target. Yes, there is a difference! The first step to achieving a goal is to fully understand what it is – then you can set the target you need to reach to achieve it.  These will help:

Do you know what your goal is?
Targets – v – Goals: Can you spot the difference?

2 – Set your personal and business goals.

The two may be intertwined, but it’s important that you set distinct personal and business goals.  Think about where you want to be personally and professionally this time next year – or in five years.  Here’s some advice on how to go about doing that:

Setting your goal – the know how
Business goals and personal goals

3 – Plan your attack!

Knowing your goal is all well and good – but how are you going to achieve it? You need a battle plan! Read my advice on effective planning to help you achieve your goals once they’re set:

Goals set – but how can I achieve them effectively?
Short term goals and long term goals

4 – Get help!

Running your own business can be a lonely experience. Even if you have a team of people around you, when you’re the driver and the decision maker – it can feel like you have no-one to turn to for advice and support. But this is vital to success! Not only does it help to have a sounding board, it’s great to have people around you keeping you on track – making you accountable for getting things done. There are two really effective ways of getting constructive help – join a masterminding group, or invest in a business coach. Here’s the lowdown on each:

Achieving your goals – the Mastermind effect
Is a business coach really for me?

5 – Remember why you set those goals.

My final tip would be – keep in mind why you set those goals. Everyone in business faces tough times, there will be challenges to overcome in reaching for your goals – so it’s important to remember a) what those goals are and b) why you set them for yourself.  Listen to my podcast about the importance of goal setting, and keep in mind the ‘why’.

Goal setting and how important it is (Podcast – £4.95)

Now it’s down to you! Good luck and go set ‘em!

Goal-setting (and achieving) is covered in detail in Doug’s book ‘Getting Down to Business’. Buy a copy direct for just £19.99 here.