Mike Michalowicz's Blog, page 80

Customers Buy The Experience, Not The Product

I don’t care if your business makes a product or delivers a service, at the end of the day, people buy experiences.

That soap your company makes, may be delivering the experience of cleanliness.  Your competitor’s soap, assuming it is marketed differently, may sell the experience of wakefulness.  Another may sell the experience of confidence.

The car detailing service, isn’t selling a detailed car, they are giving people the experience of pride of ownership.  That drug company isn’t selling a pill, they are selling the experience of relief.

No longer try to sell your thing.  Instead, sell the experience. It is what people are buying after all.

 

 

 

How To Bounce Your Business Back From A PR Disaster (Tiger Woods Style)

Who will ever forget the Thanksgiving of 2009? We awoke on Friday morning from our turkey induced slumber to find out that Tiger Woods’ wife beat him up overnight. Tiger laid on the ground with facial lacerations. His Cadillac was crashed into a tree. He was taken to the hospital in “serious condition” and then released later that day.

His serious condition got worse, but not in a medical way. That day the Tiger brand and his golden golf play started a downward spiral that would last for years. Elin (his former wife) had caught Tiger in an affair (not sure if “an” is appropriate, considering there were lots of affairs), and let him know personally and publicly that she wasn’t happy.

The “Tiger Woods brand,” once that of the clean, humble, in-control, honorable, ultimate competitor wasn’t just tarnished. Sponsors could see the road going by through the rusted out floorboards of what was once a vehicle to the stars. So like Elin sponsors pulled the plug on Tiger’s world. Accenture was the first to pull its endorsement, and then Gillette pulled out. So did countless others.

Tiger’s dominant presence on the golf circuit declined. The only part of Tiger’s world that was on the rise was his increasingly erratic golf play. He had a very public, elongated fight with his coach, his caddy, and his ex-wife. And with each front page story about his affairs, his break up, and his sponsor losses, it looked more and more like the Tiger brand was done enough to stick a fork in and serve as has-been hash. Or was it?

Three plus years later, Woods is back in a big way and tearing up the pro circuit again. He was just recently declared the number one golfer in the world, again. And, with girlfriend and professional Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn on his arm, he is half of the number one hottest celebrity athlete relationship going.

Just like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt formed the powerful marketing Mecca of Brangelina. Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods are forming the Liger brand. It’s only fitting that a sponsor who sells the passing of time, Rolex, has just signed Tiger Woods up as a spokesperson for their brand.

How can a guy who fell so far, so fast come back from the ashes to dominate golf again? Call it the Phoenix effect—the utterly defeated rising from the ashes of total failure. Tiger’s continuing rise from the ashes uses the same approach any brand or business does, with specific actions steps, relentless persistence, and a few strokes of luck. Here is what Tiger is doing to phoenix his brand. Follow these steps and you can rise too:

1. Public Acknowledgement— To deny is human, to confess divine. It took Tiger a few months after the Thanksgiving incident, but he finally went public with his admission of guilt. When your business makes a major mistake you need to fess up. And better yet, fess up fast.

2. Dump The Old Ways— Tiger dumped coaches, caddies and even his swing. If you need to recover your business or brand, it is often easier to “start from scratch.” The only outstanding question is if Tiger has dumped his old “dating method.” Lindsey Vonn is the first indicator that he has. With your business, when things are bad, clean house and start anew. A fresh starting point is much easier to manage than a mix of your bad past and your new future.

3. Rebuild— Tiger started working with a new coach and mastered a new swing. By dumping his old ways, he was able to find a new and better method. Supposedly he has done the same in his personal life, by dumping his “loose” ways and picking an amazing, steady, no-nonsense girlfriend. You too, need to find new vendors, new employees, and/or new ways to build a strong foundation.

4. Pick One Thing— Tiger knew that if he was to lead again he needed to pick one area to dramatically improve his game. He focused on putting. His putting improved so much that he could make up for his random lackluster shots on the fairway. Sure enough, as his short game improved he started to quickly climb up the ranks again. When repairing your business from disaster, don’t try to master everything at once again. It’s too much to handle. Master one thing. And make the one thing be your most significant competitive advantage.

5. Team Up With A Super Star— On the branding side Tiger’s new relationship with Lindsey Vonn couldn’t be more perfect. Recovering bad boy goes steady with superstar good girl? Sweet. The Lindsey fan base became automatic Tiger fans, and existing Tiger fans admire his choice in Lindsey. Nothing can repair your bad brand reputation faster than linking up with an established, trusted brand. If an established brand trusts you, consumers reason, they can trust you. As you recover seek an ally with a strong brand that you can link with.

There is still one final hurdle that Tiger must overcome, and it is the recent confusion over his new Nike ad. The one that says “Winning takes care of everything.” The truth is, it doesn’t. Time is always required to heal the wounds. In recovering your business, take the action steps listed above, but understand that you must be patient. People don’t forget so easily.

How to Keep Your Employees Happy (When More Money Isn’t An Option)

In case you’ve been living under a rock — in Antarctica — the economy is still sputtering back to health. The “new” economy is uncomfortable (still) to everyone, including your employees. You may be too busy trying to keep them on the payroll to notice that your staff is a little on edge. (Hint: If your marketing guy shows up to work wearing nothing but bicycle shorts and a pink wig, it’s a sure sign that your crew is in need of a few office perks like, yesterday.)

I’m going to go out on a limb and assuming you don’t have tons of cash to help ease the pain. Cash is good, but it’s the little things that make all the difference. Here is a list of small things you can do to make a big impact on the well-being of your team:

1. Thanks

A sincere “thank you” can go a long way to improve employee morale. In these tough economic times, everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated. Take time out to personally thank your colleagues for a job well done, a great idea, or a nice save. Blanket statements of thanks are disingenuous, but specific expressions of gratitude always feel good.

2. Food & Drink

Stock up on drinks and (healthy) snacks at your local discount store. It may seem too expensive, especially when you’re cutting corners left and right, but this line item is a keeper. A full and happy stomach will prevent distractions and random trips to the corner store. And yes, they will take a few drinks for the trip home, but that’s a good thing.

3. Volunteer Time

Offer your colleagues one day off (with pay) every quarter to volunteer at a local charity with fellow staffers. Service projects are a great bonding experience. Helping an organization gets the mind off work for a day—and gives people perspective so their own problems seem more manageable. They will come back to your office the next day with renewed enthusiasm, and that too is a good thing. A very good thing.

4. Flexible Scheduling

Offer employees the option of setting their own schedules to suit what works best for them. With freedom to work when they are most productive you may actually reap benefits beyond improved morale. If you need your colleagues to work specific hours, try flex scheduling one or two days a week.

5. Exercise Program

Exercise is a proven mood booster and stress reducer, so get your team moving. Start a walking program, allowing your staff to take an extra half-hour break each day to walk together. Or, if walking isn’t their thing, put up a basketball hoop in the parking lot so they can go blow off some steam.

Even if your staff isn’t about to go postal, implementing one, or all of these suggestions will keep your hard working colleagues happy—and hard working.

Episode 44: Communication and Credibility with Scott Spiro and Tony Lillios

Also Available On

 

Show Summary

Scott Spiro and Tony Lillios join us for Episode 44 of the Profit First Podcast. Scott sheds some light on how he found his niche and the importance of credibility. Tony shares his success story with Speck products and how his company skyrocketed to profitability.

 

Our Guests

Scott Spiro 

Scott Spiro is founder and President of Computer Solutions Group, Inc (CSG), and author of the book “Hassle Free Computer Support”. In 2013, CSG was named one of the top 100 I.T. firms in the nation by trade site MSPmentor.com.  CSG offers its clients both an outsourced Chief Technology Officer and an entire I.T. department for a fraction of the price of hiring these resources in-house.

In addition to solving the typical I.T. challenges most businesses face, Scott has focused his own efforts in helping his clients and their families battle Cybercrime, Cyberbullying, and other harmful technologies. A member of the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force, Scott is dedicated to protecting both businesses and consumers from the potential dangers of being “connected” 24/7 to their computers. Additionally, with two small children of his own and some recent health issues, Scott began development of new program designed to help business owners better manage their technology and lifestyle. This sometimes means turning it all off in order to focus on not just their businesses, but also their health and loved ones.

A graduate of UCLA, Scott had originally planned to go into the Entertainment field. However, a knack for technology and an interest in entrepreneurship led him along a different path. Scott has been featured by the N.Y. Times, and was nominated by the Century City Chamber of Commerce for their Men of Achievement award. Scott enjoys participation in the LA5 Rotary Club, EO, and any activities that involve spending time with his family and friends.

Tony Lillios

Tony Lillios is a serial entrepreneur and most notably a co-founder of Speck Products, the protective case maker for mobile products, which was acquired by Samsonite in 2014.  His companies have been on the Inc 500 list several times and ranked as high as #41.  He is passionate about early stage companies and leading them to a profitable and sustainable growth path.  He enjoys working in a variety of industries and is currently actively involved in a publishing, a MI (music instrument), and a social networking business.  He looks to work with companies targeting to disrupt their industry with a solid leadership team.

 

Show Quotes 

It’s important for any business to have a good team around you and people that you trust. They are the one’s who will give you the harsh reality when needed.

Start focusing on where you can cut costs. Pay off your credit cards, and start focusing on how you can bring in new business.

Focus on what comes naturally and what you’re good at. For Scott, that means going out into the community and networking.

Get involved with direct marketing, go into media (news channels, radio shows, etc) to build credibility. Credibility is everything.

Potential clients want to know: what’s your pricing? What’s your value proposition? What are you promising to do for them? Do you have the testimonials to back it all up from existing clients? They want to know that you know what you’re doing.

Growing a business quickly does not = profitability.

You have to check your ego at the door. When you need someone for a specific task, take the time to find the right fit (it may not be you!)

 

Oh… let’s not forget this little gem of Tony

Have a question you’d like us to answer on the air? Email Kristina or Mike!

Kristina@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Mike@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Show Links

Scott Spiro

Website: http://www.csgsupport.net/

Personal Webiste: http://scottspiro.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottspiro

Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottspiro

Tony Lillios

http://www.speckproducts.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lillios

 

Corporate Partners

Nextiva – VOIP phone providers for small businesses.

Fundera – Single source online funding for entrepreneurs. Also offers an adviser program for CPAs, bookkeepers and business coaches.

TSheets – The #1 customer rated time tracking solution!

Lessons from 8 of the Greatest Marketers of All Time

The greatest marketers of all time bring us different lessons, approaches and philosophies but they all achieve the same results — conversions and loyalty. Create your own marketing with one, or a combination of the most famous marketing techniques of all time:

Walt Disney: (Have the people making it, use it) To create a truly remarkable Disney World that could literally market itself, Walt had both corporate and park employees ride the rides before they opened to the public. In 1967 one employee rode The Pirates of The Caribbean, and told Walt that something just wasn’t right. Walt had him ride the ride again and again and again until he could pinpoint the problem. The employee, who was from the south, pointed out that nights on a bayou were usually filled with fireflies. Walt added simulated fireflies to the attraction days before it opened. The ride continues to be one of the most popular rides in the park to this day.

Mary Kay Ash: (Multi-level Marketing) Mary Kay Ash quit her job as a sales person in Dallas when the man she trained was promoted above her for twice the pay. She became a pioneer of multi-level marketing so that women could have just as much success as men. Her marketing innovations included — giving expensive gifts (remember the pink Cadillacs?), offering incentives for recruiting others, and an emphasis on direct sales through friends and family.

Steve Jobs: (Design matters) While Steve Jobs may not have been the first to merge design and technology, he brought it to levels of success never seen before. Customers don’t just want their technology to function. They want it to be cool too. Steve jobs taught us while design isn’t everything, it’s still pretty darn important.

Tim Ferriss: (The huge promise) Modern marketing genius Tim Ferriss has taught us that we love to consume huge, unrealistic promises, even when we know they’re insanely unrealistic. Admit it. The big promise of having anything in 4 hours is darn appealing. Join the “new rich” by only working 4 hours a week. Have the perfect body in 4 hours. Anything is yours in 4 hours. We know that’s impossible, yet we keep eating it up. We’re still working 60 hours a week, but we’re getting twice as much work done thanks to Tim. Tim taught us that you can promise the stars and still hit the moon.

David Ogilvy: (Never stop testing) Ogilvy is considered “The Father of Advertising.” A hotel with a $500 budget to pack the house on its grand opening was his first challenge. Ogilvy pulled it off with a direct postcard campaign and fell in love with the process. He was the master of the “split test” where two versions of an ad were published at the same time, but “keyed” with a unique way for consumers to respond so the winning ad could be identified. Then the winning ad would be rolled out nationally. One of his most famous quotes: “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”

Michael Phelps: (Be the best at one thing) Michael Phelps a marketer? Maybe not in the classic sense, but he has taught us if we’re the worlds best at one thing the world will open its doors to you. His incredible swimming skills made him the most medaled Olympian of all time as well as one of the richest. Phelps has spoken to a US President, gotten sponsors from Rosetta Stone to Subway to Visa, and received over $100M in endorsements in 2012 alone. Lesson: Don’t try to be good at everything, commit to being the world’s best at one thing.

Conrad Gessner: (Word of mouth matters) Gessner was the “inventor” of word-of-mouth marketing. Well you don’t really invent word of mouth, but you can manipulate it, and that is exactly what Gessner did. By creating an easy to repeat poem about tulips, he was able to familiarize Europeans with a flower they had not heard of before. In the mid 1600’s his poem had help spawn “Tulipmania” where people were paying up to $1M (in today’s standards) for a single tulip bulb.

Seth Godin: (Be remarkable) Seth taught us that people are attracted to the remarkable. In order to appeal to the market you’ve got to stand out to the market. You do that by being the best, being different, being unique, being cutting edge, being retro, being anything that’s not what the crowd is — in other words, being the purple cow in field of black and white Jersey cattle. It’s not just enough to get someone’s attention. You can run naked down Main Street to get attention. Seth is about being remarkable enough to get and keep people’s attention.

How To Turn An Argument Into A Productive Discussion

If you think about how many hours you spend with colleagues per week, it is easy to see why you may sometimes find yourself smack dab in the middle of an argument. As much as we would like to think arguments can just simply be avoided, the truth is that at times, we just need to, well, have it out. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a right and wrong way to go about having that argument because there is!

Effective Arguing

If you look it up in the dictionary, the term “argue” means such things as to give reason to something, give evidence of, and to consider the pros and cons. It also means to try to prove or persuade. Unlike popular opinion, it doesn’t mean to banter insults back and forth until someone finally yells uncle! There is a right way to have an argument with a colleague, and it is one that will have you both come out better from it!

Here is how you can have a productive argument with a colleague and have you both come out ahead:

1. First, always go into the argument with the idea that something positive is going to result. Because, after all, if nothing positive is going to result, then what is the point in having the argument at all?

2. Next, you both need to know what you are really arguing about. You have probably done it yourself. People often argue about something that isn’t really the issue they are mad about. Sometimes they harbor other resentments or feelings and snowball it all together. You have to know what the real argument is about to really be able to solve any problems. To do this, you can write the issue down or verbally say what the actual argument is about. Avoid dragging anything up that is not about the here and now. Forget what they did before and stick to the present.

3. Make sure that you both get a chance to speak about what you think the problem is. The argument cannot be one sided if it is to be effective. Have each person take a turn sharing their position. And when you do so, use “I” statements, rather than “you” ones, which only puts people on defense. Also, avoid interrupting when the other person has the floor, as it will only create anger.

4. Be prepared to offer a solution to the problem. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to get into an argument about something if you have no suggestions for improving the situation or cannot provide a suggested solution.

5. Determine a compromise that you can both live with. That way there is not one person “winning” the argument, but both of you will walk away feeling better for having said your piece and for compromising.

6. Move past the argument. If you hold a grudge, you will just further damage the relationship. People argue, but once it is over, just focus on moving on.

One Sided and Beyond

As much as you work to master these steps in being able to have an effective argument, you may find that the other person doesn’t want to play by these rules. There is not much you can do about that, unfortunately. But you should still try to follow them yourself because you will know you have done the right thing, and you may find that you help to diffuse the situation by being more diplomatic about it all.

Keep the old American proverb in mind, that says “The more arguments you win, the less friends you will have.” It’s not about winning the argument; it’s really about having an effective outcome and having both people walk away feeling like the situation or relationship is better as a result.

Build The Sidewalks After The Paths Are Discovered

This is a picture (thanks to Google Maps) of the Virginia Tech drillfield, the center of campus. All the students living in dorms cross the drillfield every day to get to classes on the other side.  The grey lines you see, crossing the drillfield are the sidewalks. The tan ones are paths made by students.

It is interesting what you learn after the fact.  The students (consumers) will blaze the paths that are most convenient for them. Yet the school had already invested in the sidewalks, and for years have let students walk the (sometimes muddy) paths.  Neither the school (who spent money on sidewalks that are not fully utilized) nor students (who walk muddy or dusty paths) are happy.

Your customers are likely experiencing the same. Just because you built a process, does not mean it is the right process. Watch the “path” your customers are walking first. Then pave it for them

The Teacher Is The Best Student

It is one of my favorite personal ah-ha moments:

My friend, JB Blanchard, and I were hastily walking to a speaking event I had on a college campus. We were running a little bit late, so we took some shortcuts through buildings.

As we passed a classroom, he muttered “There’s the best student.” I didn’t notice what he said.  My mind was rehearsing the speech I was about to deliver.

Aw we walked by the next room, he said the same thing while pointing, “Over there. There’s the best student.” I looked at him curiously, but didn’t say a thing.

He peered in as we walked by yet another packed room and said it yet again “Yep!  Over in the corner. There’s the best student.”

A little bit flustered, I stopped and looked at JB.

“Who are you pointing to?” I asked, continuing my questions unabated, “How do you know who the best student is? Is it the person taking the most notes? Is it the person sitting up front?”

“No.  It’s none of that, “ JB chuckled. “It’s the teacher. The best student is always the one who teaches.”

What are you trying to master? Teach it.

The Most Powerful Sales Technique That We Learn From Sunsets

“That’s the ugliest sunset I have ever seen!”

Now, that’s a line you don’t hear everyday! Yet there is no doubt that you have seen many sunsets in your lifetime. Sure, like most people, you have probably said, “That is the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen,” but you have most likely never said it was the “ugliest” one. You may even wonder why on earth anyone would ever find a sunset to be ugly in the first place! You simply can’t fathom the idea of an ugly sunset.

However, if you were a statistician or something similar, you may have uttered those words. Because in all reality, technically, one of the sunsets you have seen has to be the ugliest. So, the question becomes why you have never actually said it. Or, more importantly, why do your emotions always perceive it as being beautiful?

Limiting Access

What this all boils down to is an engrained behavior that we all have, referred to as exclusivity. For something to be exclusive, it needs to have limited access or be used on a limited basis. The more that something is perceived to be exclusive, giving us less access to it, we tend to appreciate it much more. We put more value on it and are less likely to ever find it undesirable, or to be the ugliest.

As we all know, the sun sets each day. And it is beautiful each time. But if you watched it set every day, your appreciation for it would probably wane. You would come to take it for granted, assuming that it would be there and be similar to the day before. No longer would you really hunger to see it and be grateful for it like you did when you only saw it occasionally, or on an exclusive basis.

Recreating Beauty in Your Business

Since you, like most people, probably only watch the sun set occasionally, and maybe even only on rare occasions, you tend to value it tremendously. You probably even feel it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. And perhaps you snap photos of it, lingering a little longer, trying to be in the moment and not let it pass.

In your business, you can also leverage this natural behavior of your clients, and help them to see your offerings as beautiful. The technique works in much the same way, by imposing exclusivity on certain products or services that you offer.

By making certain products or offerings exclusive, you will make them available only for special customers (perhaps the big spenders), or will only put them on display in a special section of your site for a certain time frame, or maybe only make them available for limited hours. Whatever you do, focus on making it limited, or requiring some serious effort to gain access.

Seeing the Value

When consumers know that something is a limited edition, or that there is limited access, they automatically place a higher value on it, no matter what that thing happens to be. When we have access to everything, at any time, we are essentially helping to devalue it to some extent.

While this works with sunsets, rainbows and shooting stars, it can work just as well in your business. It’s worked for everyone from Lamborghini to McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. And it can work for you, too! Even common things, such as sunsets, when displayed to users infrequently, automatically have more perceived value.

So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to determine what you can make exclusive or in a limited edition. Once you do that, and put it into action, you will see the value of that product or service soar, and as those sales take off, you can spend your time looking for the ugliest sunset you have ever seen!

Fractional Hiring

I wish I could stake claim to the phrase “fractional hiring,” but I can’t. It is something Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance, shared with me as we chatted on the phone recently. The concept is this: Highly skilled labor, who, in the past, was only available as a full time hire or in an extended consultative capacity, is now available for specific, short term tasks and at a moments notice.

Fractional hiring is the great human resources equalizer. It put us, the small business guys, on equal footing as them, the big business guys.

For example, if your small business computer network has a problem processing SQL queries (cough… an exact problem I had with a, cough-cough, not to be mentioned CRM system. cough.), you used to have your in-house IT guy fix it (think big salary) or have an outside consulting firm fix it (think recurring monthly fee or big hourly rate). With fractional hiring, those same, highly skilled technical folks are available on a per instance basis.

A quick query for “SQL technical support” on any of the fractional hiring sites (Elance being my personal defacto choice) immediately finds the right people who are already qualified by other people’s ratings, gives you their pricing, and allows them to remotely connect and get the work done right then and there. SQL problem fixed – fast, fully and cheaply.

This isn’t limited to computer geeks; Lawyers, accountants, CFOs, HR experts, programmers, writers, event coordinators, you name it. Almost any professional service can be rendered this way.

Entrepreneurs can no longer use the excuse of “lack of resources.” You can’t say that you can’t compete because the big guy has the better folks and more of them. Fractional hiring gives you (and me) access to a five star trademark attorney, with the same skill set to the in-house trademark attorneys at Google.

Yeah, sure, Google has more money. But now you have the same accessibility and can actually afford it. I am just hoping someone figures out how to do fractional hiring of a massage therapist. I would love to get a 5 minute neck massage right now.