So There IS Profit in a Customer-Centered Business Model!

So There IS Profit in a Customer-Centered Business Model!

In a post a couple weeks ago titled "Done Is Better Than Perfect," I referenced a chart that included PERFECTION along the Y axis and EFFICIENCY along the X axis. At the halfway point between the two lies EXCELLENCE. The examples I cited were MicroSoft, who's known for shipping products without waiting to perfect them, and BP, who felled an entire segment of the ocean due to its bottom-line concern for cost-cutting efficiency.

Another place you often see larger companies trying to contain costs is on the telephone. Call center employees are monitored to ensure that their calls are quick, efficient, to the point. The result is that things get missed, customers often go away dissatisfied, and the bottom line is the bottom line.

The August 16 issue of Fortune magazine reports how one household name company is changing the face of call-center customer service:

[L]ast year when [American Express] gave its global customer service division a makeover, it decided to focus on making life better for its 26,000 call-center employees. The theory: Happier employees mean happier customers. "We've learned the impotance of the attitude of the employee," says Jim Bush, EVP of world service.

AmEx started by asking customer service employees what they wanted to see - and then delivered better pay, flexible schedules, and more career development. It also switched from a directive to keep calls short and transaction-oriented to engaging customers in longer conversations. Collectively, the moves have boosted service margins by 10 percent.

That's no small potatoes. And it's amazing how investing a little more time (and, subsequently, a little more money) on the front end is paying dividends on the bottom line.

Is there a place in your business where you are cutting corners that - if you examined it - might actually increase your revenues if you were to stop the penny-pinching and begin viewing the costs as an investment? From in-house Web design to printing to accounting, we all want to stretch our dollars as far as they'll take us. This is not to suggest blowing your budget or going on a wild spending spree. But I'm thinking your overall strategy might simply warrant another look.

This is Day 38 in the 60-Day Content Challenge. I've been posting every day since I accepted the challenge on July 21st. See you tomorrow for the next post! Laura
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Want to Charge More? Start Writing! Or e-mail your writing, marketing, or design questions to Laura.

70 Tips for Improving the Next Phase of Your Life and Your Business

70 Tips for Improving the Next Phase of Your Life and Your Business

As a certified retirement transition coach, Barbara Penn-Atkins helps people move into the next phase of their lives. She recently authored a book entitled, 70 is the New 40. In her book, she lists 70 tips for living their golden years joyously. The thing is, these tips are invaluable to all of us, regardless of our age or state in life.

Most of them are even applicable to creating a joyous, successful business. Here, with all due credit to her, are Barbara's 70 tips.

1. Write a plan for your next stage of life - starting today.
2. Develop a vision for your life and create a vision board.
3. Develop a vision map, a step-by-step guide to implementing your vision.
4. Identify your ideas and perceptions about aging.
5. Define your perception of life satisfaction.
6. Cultivate and maintain a positive attitude.
7. Establish and maintain a vertical connection to your higher being.
8. Eliminate negative thoughts and distractions from your life.
9. Always do your best, look your best, and be your best.
10. Have a sense of humor - laughter is good for the soul.
11. Reassess and reorder priorities periodically.
12. Nurture healthy relationships and discontinue unhealthy ones.
13. Be active and involved in church, synagogue, religious, community service, or civic activities.
14. Establish trust and maintain your integrity.
15. Stay spiritually active - find perfect rhythm in life through daily meditation and prayer.
16. Stay physically active; exercise daily.
17. Maintain a healthy mind; practice healthy habits; continuously learn new things and expand your knowledge.
18. Create positive affirmations.
19. Eat a balanced diet, including whole foods - fruits, vegetables, and grains.
20. Know your values and personal belief system.
21. Stay socially active; stay connected to people you enjoy.
22. Leisure: play and have fun. Take mini-vacatins for relaxation.
23. Travel; explore new territories; change your scenery.
24. Experience different cultures and lifestyles; meet new people.
25. Get plenty of sleep; rest and restore for physical and mental strength.
26. Learn a new language, and study the customs and governments of other cultures.
27. Provide leadership and guidance to youth.
28. Share your knowledge, wisdom, and experience.
29. Mentor, coach, and tutor others.
30. Develop a financial vision; plan and map to achieve it.
31. Help others develop their own value and belief systems.
32. Sponsor and support youth organizations.
33. Chaperone students at school events.
34. Break through personal barriers.
35. Establish accountability systems; hold yourself and others to them.
36. Learn computer technology.
37. Use the Internet to connect with the world.
38. Develop global relationships.
39. Join social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
40. Organize and simplify your life; clear out the clutter.
41. Give heirlooms to family.
42. Give unused items to charity.
43. Repurpose your talents, skills, and experiences.
44. Re-career - start a new business.
45. Turn your hobby into an opportunity.
46. Become a consultant.
47. Journal; write your memoirs; share your story.
48. Improve your communication skills.
49. Plan your legacy. How do you want to be remembered?
50. Become a philanthropist.
51. Give unconditionally.
52. Cultivate a spirit of love for all you meet.
53. Contribute to make a difference.
54. Buy a life insurance policy and assign your favorite charity as a beneficiary.
55. Leace a legacy for the next generation - a foundation for others to build upon.
56. Seek happiness in the present.
57. Appreciate nature and the natural order of the universe.
58. Begin each day with gratitude and thanksgiving.
59. Advocate: use your voice to champion change in the political, social, and economic landscape of our country and the world.
60. Be diligent about implementing your plan.
61. Practice and improve self-discipline.
62. Set priorities and eliminate distractions.
63. Learn how to convert criticism into confidence.
64. Practice and improve time management.
65. Discover your passions and find time to engage them often.
66. Forgive, and develop compassion.
67. Focus.
68. Take action every day.
69. Discover your strengths and find partners who balance your weaknesses.
70. Always be ready for opportunity as life unfolds.

OK - it's a daunting list if you try to tackle all of them at once. But read through it again - and choose one or two items on which you can focus. Do so for a month or six weeks and see what happens. Then choose two more, and repeat the process. You are in full control of your life and your success. These 70 steps can help you get there more easily. Let me know how it goes!

This is Day 37 in the 60-Day Content Challenge. I've been posting every day since I accepted the challenge on July 21st. See you tomorrow for the next post! Laura
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Want to Charge More? Start Writing! Or e-mail your writing, marketing, or design questions to Laura.

AUTHORS: What's Your Marketing Strategy, Now That the Book Is Done?

AUTHORS: What's Your Marketing Strategy, Now That the Book Is Done?

I've been hearing a lot lately from authors, or about-to-be authors, who tell me they that it's the marketing that scares them.

I get that. You're a writer. You enjoy writing. You have an important message to share with your audience. You've put your heart, sweat, and soul into this book. You should be done. But today more than ever, just because your book is wondrefully written, perfectly proofread, beautifully laid out, and built with a creative cover that screams out this book's amazingness - nothing will happen to it unless people know about it.

That's why they ubiquitious "platform" is ever so important. Without a sizeable and significant platform, no traditional publisher will give you a second thought, regardless of the quality of your book. So what is a platform? It's your influence, your reach, your pre-existing audience, your exposure in the media. How many people already know about you, and how many are clamoring to get their hands on your book as soon as it rolls off the press?

Whenever possible, I encourag the authors with whom I work to beging thinking like marketers. The earlier this occurs, the better - even as early as the pre-writing stage.

Questions to Ask That Will Get You Started Thinking Like a Marketer

1. Who is your audience? What are their demographics (age, education, marital/parenting status)? What are their psychographics (personality traits, values, attitudes)?
2. What kinds of books, magazines, and Web sites do they already read?
3. Where, how, and with whom do they spend their time?
4. To which organizations and associations do they belong?
5. How can you best gain access to them, both virtually and in real life?
6. How big is your list? How can you begin/continue to grow it? With whom can you partner to help grow it?
7. Who do you know that will help you promote your book? Spend some time combing through your network to determine how best to leverage the contacts you already have.
8. What kind of pre-launch promotions will you do?
9. What do you have planned for the actual launch of the book? Date? Venue? Invitations? Food? Will you do a reading or just a signing?
10. Which venues OTHER THAN BOOKSTORES will you approach and suggest carry your book? What's it about? What are the obvious tie-ins? A novel about a quilting group is a natural fit for a quilting or fabric store. A book about releasing stress would likely work well in a spa or salon.

Social media is huge right now, but it is not the end-all for marketing, and it certainly should not be your only method.

If you'd like some help, I'm offering a complimentary 20-minute strategy session to the first two authors who contact me via e-mail. Make sure to put "STRATEGY" in the subject line.

You've worked too hard to let this book just sit in boxes in your garage. Get your marketing thinking cap on, and be smart about it! You owe it to the world to share your great information.

This is Day 36 in the 60-Day Content Challenge. I've been posting every day since I accepted the challenge on July 21st. See you tomorrow for the next post! Laura
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Want to Charge More? Start Writing! Or e-mail your writing, marketing, or design questions to Laura.

Marketing Mishaps: Over-learning and Under-applying

Marketing Mishaps: Over-learning and Under-applying 

The best practitioners, in my opinion, are lifelong learners. They constantly add new tools to their toolbelts, so that they keep up with changes in technology, marketing strategy, and their clients' needs. There's an important distinction, however, between continuing ed that supports you in your business, industry, or work and serial education that keeps you from putting what you are learning into action.

Loral Langemeier put it best when she asked, "When will you ever use all those shelf-help books and programs you've bought?"

And these programs abound, do they not? Best e-mail marketing campaign strategies. Fool-proof list-building techniques. Best Facebook practices. Public speaking 101. Perhaps you've taken a class or purchased a product along these lines. Here's the question, though. How well are you implementing what you've learned? How many times have you reread your notes? How often have you listened to those CDs or MP3s? Where are these steps on your action plan?

Help - I'm overwhelmed. I have no idea where to begin!

First, slow down and take a deep breath! Then, take another deep breath. 

Next, take some time to do a needs assessment for your business. What kind of marketing are you using now? How is it working? Which parts are working? Where do you need to put more emphasis?

Now, evaluate your skills. How much do you know about the areas of marketing in your business that need some further emphasis? You've taken classes and bought programs - but how much do you really know? Can you fill the gaps through the materials at hand? Do you need to learn more or enlist help from a professional to create that blog, use e-mail effectively, or implement a social media program? And by learning more, I mean learn a specific technique, as opposed to taking in any further theory about why you should be using this method of marketing.

Next, you need to discern how you will know you've succeeded. This is a step many people skip - but it's crucial to the success of your campaign. First - how much is the campaign going to cost to implement, both in terms of dollars and that other very valuable currency: time? What kind of return on this investment do you need for it to pay for itself? This will be different for every business owner - but you must know the answer before proceeding. If you send 100 SendOut Cards, how many phone calls need to come in for the effort to be considered successful? How many clients must come on board out of those phone calls?

Once you've got down the method, the process, and the anticipated outcomes, all that's left is to implement. This, however, requires some strategy and planning. What are the steps involved in implementing? How long will each step take to complete? What's the timeline for completing the steps? Who will implement these steps - you, an assistant, a staff member, a friend, a hired professional? When is your launch date?

You've heard the axiom, "Knowledge is power." This is, if not a fallacy, at best an incomplete statement. More accurately, "Applied knowledge is power." What steps can you take today to begin applying all the knowledge you've been accruing?

If you'd like some help crafting a plan to implement your marketing strategy, I'm offering a complimentary 20-minute strategy session to the first two individuals who contact me via e-mail. Make sure to put "STRATEGY" in the subject line.


This is Day 35 in the 60-Day Content Challenge. I've been posting every day since I accepted the challenge on July 21st. See you tomorrow for the next post! Laura
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Want to Charge More? Start Writing! Or e-mail your writing, marketing, or design questions to Laura.