Greetings!
Welcome to our latest monthly newsletter for your reading enjoyment. "Success" in life can be defined in many ways - be it creating a profitable business that generates 90% of it's business through referrals, seamlessly transitioning your business to a family member or colleague, or effectively communicating your message to your prospects or clients in a powerful way. However you define it, being in service to others is an essential ingredient to success.
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Happy reading!
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Bill Spreitzer 919-388-3600
We welcome your comments and feedback on our newsletter and would love to hear from you on how we can be of service. |
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Customer Loyalty: A Portrait of Success |
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 (Note: Periodically we will be highlighting organizations that exemplify best practices in the areas of leadership, sales, customer loyalty, strategic planning and other related topics.)
So, what does it take to run a business for over 20 years that: has ~400 clients, has been in business and profitable since 1986, has never laid off any employees, generates 90% + of its clients from referrals, and ~ 50% of its employees (non-owners) have over 10 years of service each?
Well, Micromedic, an IT, web services company serving small-to-medium sized businesses, has a winning formula we can all learn from.
I recently sat down and spoke to Greg Stocking, a Partner and V.P. of Technology for Micromedic, about their key "ingredients" that have generated the level of customer loyalty that Micromedic enjoys, deserves and earns every day.
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We stick to our core service offering and only expand into areas that are a natural extension of our core and that add real value for our clients. We know what we are good at and strive for excellence every day.
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Each client engagement is a customized solution based on the client's ongoing needs and expected results. The secret is to keep listening to our clients to uncover changing and new needs.
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Treat each client fairly and with the same level of service responsiveness regardless of their size.
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Assign the "right" lead technician(s) to the "right" client. This lead tech(s) stays with the client throughout the engagement to ensure the success of the relationship. The client is provided with the technician's cell phone # for direct contact and immediate response. Back-up tech support is provided 365 days X 24 hours and includes some of the Partners.
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Hire the "right" people always! Everybody at Micromedic including the technicians are in sales and customer service. We hire professionals that are self-starters, self-motivated and managed and that have excellent interpersonal skills.
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Treat employees with respect, compensate them fairly and reward them based on individual and company performance. Loyal employees lead to loyal customers.
What is your organization's winning formula for customer loyalty??
By: Bill Spreitzer - Excellerate Solutions, Inc.
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Ensuring the Legacy of Your Business
Since starting Excellerate Solutions over three years ago, we frequently find ourselves working with small business owners, many of whom eventually face a common critical question: How do I successfully transition my business to the next generation or to new owners? In many cases the current owner wants to continue to play a role in the business after the transition which may generate a source of income for them depending on that role. Interestingly enough, this question entails answering many questions that are common with any business.
So, what are some of the questions to address when considering transitioning a business to the next generation or to a non-family prospective buyer where the current owner retains a role in the business? While every company has unique qualities and needs, there are some generic areas that should be explored.
Long term alignment: How well are the current owners and the next generation aligned on the core values and vision of the business? The core values are non-negotiable and transcend ownership changes. They define the way the people in the business behave, both internally and externally. The vision defines what success looks like well into the future and provides the foundation for day-to-day decision making. One client discovered that the next generation of owners envisioned growing the business so that they could profitably sell it off and do what they really wanted to do. This was quite a different vision than the owners had, which was to grow the business to stay in the family for successive generations and provide a source of income and part time employment throughout their later years.
Company structure: How will the company be structured in the future after the ownership transition takes place? What role will the current owner play? What will happen to facilitate the transition to the eventual structure so that the next generation owners obtain all of the experience necessary to be successful? A critical question to address here is if the new owners involve joint ownership, how will conflicts be resolved? Oftentimes, a board of advisors/directors consisting of the new and previous owners as well as other trusted advisors is created to help with any transition issues as well as conflict resolution.
Internal Operations: What are the strengths and limitations of the organization? What should be done to build on the strengths? What should be done to address the limitations? How does the business differentiate itself from the competition? Having a frank discussion and assessment of the current organization helps position the business to understand what needs to be done to ensure a successful transition to the new owners. Oftentimes, this analysis uncovers hidden strengths that exist with the current owner which need to be addressed once they change roles.
Market Opportunities: What market opportunities exist with the company now and in the future? How will new clients be acquired? How will the relationship with existing clients be nurtured? Many times, the current owner created the business and likely has been a significant player in developing and maintaining customer relationships. Specific plans may need to be implemented to continue to develop new clients and business with the next generation owners.
If you are a business owner, have you thought about issues involving ownership transition? Proper planning is essential to ensure the legacy of your business, which you have so carefully cultivated.
By: Dave Vogelpohl - Excellerate Solutions, Inc. |
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On Success
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Success is not just an achievement, it is a contribution."
By Matthew Kelley
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared with what lies within us."
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Getting Your Message Through to your Prospects and Clients |
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Are you feeling overwhelmed with the onslaught of information and messages vying for your attention? Do you ask questions like, how can my business message break through today's cluttered environment of converging technologies to stand out and be received? There are some important ideas that you need to consider when formulating and delivering your message.
Lois Kelly states in her book, "Beyond Buzz - The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing", we must shape our message to adhere to the elements which affect our learning. We as humans have four major areas which affect our learning:
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Relevancy
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Emotions
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Context
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Pattern Making
For someone to truly understand and accept your message, it must comply with all four areas.
1) Relevancy - identify and utilize a reason why the recipient will care about the message. By business owners treating their employees well during more difficult economic times, they are more likely to remain loyal and stay with the business when the economy returns to good times and other employment opportunities come knocking at their door.
2) Emotions - many times we are more influenced by the tone (emotion) of a message rather than its content. For instance, when asking for an appointment with a prospect, being direct and confident with your request and using an assumptive tone of voice vs. being indirect and using a quieter or "shy" tone of voice will most likely generate better results.
3) Context - the recipient needs some shared personal experience to assist them with interpreting the message. If the importance of teamwork is your message, have the recipient reflect on the results teamwork can create by asking him/her to vividly remember a time when a difficult assignment was completed on time and under budget by your team and the exhilaration all of you felt when celebrating your shared success.
4) Pattern Making - people like to search for and identify with patterns of information presented as it helps them to identify value and makes the message more important for them to remember. Think about the business owner who would like to get his sales force to increase the repeat business from current customers. By relating what initially caused customers to do business with them and the value they received, the sales people can more effectively tap the loyalty of current customers and generate additional business.
The next time you prepare a message make it more compelling to your audience by adhering to the four points for creating the right environment for learning. Then sit back and enjoy the results...
By Jerry Peppin - Resource Solutions of the Carolinas, an Alliance Partner of Excellerate Solutions |
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