Successful Startup 101 Magazine - Women's Issue 2014

by Tabitha Naylor

  Do you agree?

  About the Author

  Margie Clayman is the Director of Marketing, B2B Services at Clayman and Associates, a full service marketing firm headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. You can follow the agency at www.facebook.com/claymanandassociates

  In addition to blogging for her agency, Margie Blogs for Razoo Giving and Vocus.

  It’s Time to Focus on Retaining Customers

  By Monique de Maio of On Demand CMO

  Traditional marketing is all about building awareness for products and brands. In traditional marketing, the emphasis is on getting new customers and very little attention is paid to retaining existing customers. According to best-selling author and marketer, Stan Phelps, traditional marketing is dead. Instead, it’s time to focus on retaining customers.

  The data backs Phelps’ claim up: according Gartner research, decreasing customer churn by just 5% can increase profits by 25%-125%. The reason is that it is expensive to get new customers—it’s much easier and more sustainable to keep your current customer and sell them more products.

  Phelps discussed how to do this at the last meeting of the NJ Chapter of MENG (Marketing Executives Networking Group). It all boils down to doing that little extra for your customers—like what one Panera store did this summer when it went out of its way to make a bowl of clam chowder for a young man to take to his grandmother in the hospital. The story wound up on Facebook and it has almost a million likes now!

  Panera got great exposure and lots of good will from its simple act of kindness. Going the extra mile for your customers sounds like common sense, but it is far from common practice.

  Panera is obviously B2C, but their model has applications for B2B as well. For example, when you send shipments out, pack the boxes in the same order that the manifest is written. Also, take good care of your channel distributors and they will pass the love on to their customers—a.k.a. your end users!

  Here are some things Phelps suggests to give customers that little extra:

  Follow up with your customers. This is a really easy way to get started. Call your customers up after they buy from you and ask them if they are happy with the product/service and see if there are any issues you can clear up for them.

  Write thank you letters to your customers (hand write them for extreme bonus points!). Writing thank you letter is becoming a lost art today—which makes them very powerful tools when used. Want to retain customers? Thank them for doing business with you!

  Handle mistakes well. It is inevitable that you will make a mistake at some point. How you handle that mistake is very important though: don’t just make it right for the customer, go above and beyond. If you do above and beyond to rectify a wrong, you can actually form a stronger bond with the customer than if you had never made the mistake.

  What might this look like in action? Well, for home health service provider Nurse Next Door that means they hand deliver fresh baked apple pies to customers when something goes wrong. Nurse Next Door spends about $1,500 a year eating humble pie (literally!), but they estimate that they save about $100,000 in business from going elsewhere. That’s some pretty good ROI!

  Value add. Is there a small extra you can add to your service or product for your customers? For example, when SafeliteAutoGlass replaces windshields in cars, they also clean the customers’ cars for them. See, it takes time for the windshield glue to dry, so rather than just sit around and do nothing while the glue dries, Safelite technicians put away their tools and take out vacuums and clean the car. Safelite has time since it has to wait for the glue to dry and the put it to use.

  Waiting… In business, waiting is often as inevitable as it is annoying. But, it doesn’t have to be annoying. If you can provide some extra service or product while your customers are waiting, then they will be very happy. For example, burger chain Five Guys has boxes and boxes of free (and delicious!) peanuts for customers to nosh on while they wait for their burgers.

  Make a good first impression. If you’ve been around long enough, chances are you have heard the cheesy pick up line, “do you believe in love at first sight—or should I walk by again?” That may or not work in romance, but it certainly does not work in business. Customers form lasting impressions right away, which is why it is so important to make a good first impression.

  If you have ever stayed at a DoubleTree Hotel, you have enjoyed a delicious first impression: starting in the early 1980s, DoubleTree began a tradition of serving warm chocolate chip cookies to customers when the check-in. At the time, it was common for hotels to give cookies to VIPs, but DoubleTree said “all our customers are VIPs,” and today, they have sold 250 million of these cookies. These cookies are quite popular –a fact noted by the New York Times and by the 4.2 million hits a Google search for “DoubleTree cookie” brings up.

  Take care of your customers and look for ways to give them just a little extra. You might be surprised at how well your customers respond!

  Monique’s Note: For more great tips on customer care, read here

  *** This article originally appeared on OnDemandCMO.com

  9 Ways Not to Ruin Your LinkedIn Reputation

  By Victoria Ipri

  You already know LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform. But did you know that, for startups, LinkedIn can be a treasure trove of affluent, engaged, connected buyers? Yet, not if you ignore the rules of “netiquette”. And there are plenty.

  Let’s look at 9 ways to avoid ruining your startup’s reputation on LinkedIn:

  1. LinkedIn’s User Agreement contains, among other rules, a list of Dos and Don’ts by which every member must abide. The link to the User Agreement is found at the bottom of nearly all LinkedIn pages. Read it, follow it, and avoid major faux pas that can lead to account suspension.

  2. When creating your profile, always use your real name and other accurate personal information. It is a violation to create a personal account using an image of a logo or any object other than your own headshot. The more professional, the better, especially for the individual tapped as the voice of your company. Save the branded images and logos for your Company page.

  3. LinkedIn operates in 3 connection tiers – 1st, 2nd and 3rd connection labels signify at which level you are connected to others. The biggest freedoms of communication are allotted to 1st level connections. If you also pay for a Premium subscription, you’ll find yourself at the top of the food chain in terms of member privileges.

  While you want to grow your network to access new opportunities, simply inviting random people to connect with you is a reputation-ruiner. LinkedIn imposes rules governing how and why you may connect with another member, using the “people you know” rule. Inviting total strangers to connect could lead to those members clicking the “I Don’t Know” (IDK) button. Get 5 of these in response to your invite and your account will be temporarily suspended. (Do it often, and the suspension could become permanent.) Instead, connect slowly but surely with people you really know or do business with, or people you’ve at least met professionally. Think quality, not quantity.

  4. Authentic communication is key to protecting your startup’s reputation. Avoid LinkedIn’s standardized messaging: “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” or its creepier cousin, “Because you are a person I trust, I’d like to add you to my LinkedIn network.” To avoid sending these pat phrases, don’t click on any big blue Connect button with “+” sign. Simply go straight to the profile of the person with whom you want to network. Then click on the Connect button you’ll find there, and you’ll have the opportunity to delete the standard phrase and write a personalized note, ensuring a warmer start to your relationships. Yes, it takes a few more seconds, but it’s a well-rewarded investment of your time.

  5. As your 1st level connections grow, you’ll want to drill down into your 2nd connections (your 1st connections’ first-level connections) to find valuable people who can open doors for your startup. Using the same rules of net
iquette to avoid harming your reputation:

  * Visit the profile of a 1st connection you consider valuable to your startup. Click on the person’s blue Connections number (most often, 500+)

  * Click on the magnifying glass visible in the top right search bar

  * Enter the job title or skill you’d like to search – for example, “Marketing Director”

  * Click “Advanced” in the top left of the box.

  Now, it’s a simple matter of using the filters on the left side of your page to further explore a specific location or industry. Make a list of the individuals you’d like to connect with or even meet in person. (This list cannot be exported.) Finally, ask your 1st connection to make an introduction (via LinkedIn’s Introduction tool, via email, or in person) to get things started.

  6. Export your complete list of connections regularly. Imagine you can’t log in to LinkedIn, for whatever reason. How will you reach all of the people with whom you’ve so carefully cultivated relationships? This could be a real reputation buster. So export those connections, and do it often if you’re in high growth mode:

  * Hover over the Connections tab in the main navigation

  * Click on Keep in Touch

  * Click on the gear icon at the top right

  * Click on Export Connections, also top right

  * The system downloads your connections’ profile data to a handy Excel spreadsheet

  7. Never, and I repeat never, agree to ‘sync’ your email. LinkedIn’s current procedure is to send a connection request on your behalf to every single email address stored. Remember a year ago when you bought those shoes online, and sent the company a question about returns? Remember that work dispute with that jerk at your last job? Yeah, him too. Your email server probably stored the email addresses, and those people will receive a “connect with me” request from your LinkedIn account. Even worse, each email address receives two followup requests. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against LinkedIn to attempt to change this procedure but, until such time as it is resolved, just say “no” to syncing.

  8. Once you’ve grown a strong network of 1st connections – 500 is the milestone, but 150 is effective – consider establishing a Company page for greater credibility. As mentioned earlier, this is your ‘branded’ page where your logos, banner images, and company-related content is posted and shared. While you can personally post to the Home page (similar to Facebook’s wall) from your profile, the Company page allows for perks like growing followers separate from your personal network, and Sponsored Updates – a type of highly targeted paid advertising that appears like an innocent feed post, but works great to improve reputation across very specific audiences, and can be tracked and measured for deeper ROI analysis.

  9. Don’t post junk. Seems obvious, right? But time and again, companies with high impatience and low content post without a purpose, ruining their reputations early on as industry thought leaders. This is a particularly important point for startups, who must craft excellent 1st impressions. Consistently posted, audience-relevant content is key. As a startup, you must determine where in the decision making process you hope to engage your customers, and decide the type of content needed to influence all-important early buyers. It’s a strategy of its own that requires planning.

  2013’s most attractive startups using LinkedIn included companies you’ve probably heard of: DropBox, Cloudera, GoPro and Pinterest, to name a few. LinkedIn data-insight specialist James Raybould makes a habit of analyzing how LinkedIn tech sector members engage with early-stage companies. Essentially, by analyzing ad clicks and other engagement metrics, Raybould assesses a crowd-sourced reputation score for each startup, and his “best picks” go on to do very well.

  Will your startup be next?

  About the Author

  "LinkedIn™ consultant Victoria Ipri demystifies the platform for users across the U.S. and Canada. A sought-after speaker and author of the popular ebook LinkedIn for the Clueless, Victoria is also the Founder of The Ipri Institute and a respected LinkedIn instructor for both the Online Marketing Institute and the Association of Strategic Marketing. Victoria holds a degree in Advanced Internet Marketing from the University of San Francisco and resides in Philadelphia PA. Find out more at www.LearnLinkedInFast.com."

  Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business Model

  By Nichole Kelly

  Companies are starting to recognize that customer experience is an important element for having a differentiated brand. Social media has forced companies to take customer experience seriously as customers have taken to their social networks to tell their negative stories with passion and a virality that has been unmatched in other channels. However, the reality is that there is a lot of lip service about putting the customer at the center and making customer service improvements. At the end of the day, this transformation requires a change in culture, which leaves companies dealing with massive amounts of politics and inherent human capital challenges.

  This post was inspired by a truly incredible experience I recently had at Royal Taj, an amazing Indian restaurant in Columbia, Maryland. I went to Royal Taj the week they opened when there were few patrons and I’ve watched the restaurant grow over the last few years. I’ve been so impressed to watch it turn into a hot spot with lines out the door during peak restaurant times. My recent experience made me stop and question the differences between my experience there and my experiences at other restaurants, and honestly with other businesses. Here are the key ingredients I believe led to their success. Each of these ingredients are relevant to every business that wants to drive their companies’ success with a customer-centric approach.

  THEY PROVIDE AN EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCT

  The best customer experience won’t matter if the product isn’t good. Royal Taj, by far, has the best Indian food in the area. The best way to describe their food is that well…it’s perfect. The flavors are bold and you can get your food spicy or mild to ensure it meets your palettes desires. As a connoisseur of ethnic cuisine, one of the best tests is whether or not they can attract patrons from the culture. On numerous occasions, I’ve watched as their Indian patrons talk about how amazing and authentic their food is. I’ve watched as friends recommend Royal Taj to other friends telling them they have to go because it is the absolute best Indian food.

  The first step for companies to begin putting their customers at the center of their business model is to ensure their product is top notch. Your products need to speak for themselves and leave an impression that people want to share with friends.

  THEY KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS BY NAME

  Royal Raj is owned and managed by Bindha, Soni and Jasvinder Singh. Every time I’ve been to Royal Taj, I’m greeted by Bindha with a big hug welcoming us back. I’ve watched Bindha work the room and he has an innate ability to make every customer feel like they are the most important customer in the room. He asks questions about your family, who you are, what you do and then he remembers it the next time you come. As a person who is awful with names, I’m amazed that he can keep all the customer’s personal stories straight. Bindha goes above and beyond at every turn. When I was there last weekend, it was raining. I watched Bindha walking customers to their cars with an oversized umbrella to make sure they didn’t get wet. As I watched Bindha with his customers, it’s clear he truly cares about their experience and their lives. He makes you feel like you have a close friend at Royal Taj, so why would you choose anywhere else to enjoy an evening out? Frankly, you wouldn’t. You want to go back to say hello to Bindha.

  This can be a challenge for large companies with thousands or millions of customers, but it’s not impossible. It just requires really good record keeping inside the CRM. Every customer service or sales representative has the ability to take notes on more than just the issue the customer is trying to solve. They can take notes on the conversation and take the time to get to know more about the customer.

  This will require that your company doesn’t measure you
r front line employees on how quickly they can get a customer off the phone. Instead, we should be measuring how much intelligence they can gather about the customer in the short-time they have with them. True customer intelligence goes beyond their experience with your product experience. It should also include who they are buying the product for and what they can learn about their preferences and their lives in the process.

  The more we know about our customers, the better we can be at predicting their needs and building relationships. When at all possible, customers should be able to talk to the same person they have formed a relationship with for continuity in their experience. Customer service and sales representatives should have enough information to be able to ask, “How did (your child’s name) enjoy the (product) you purchased from us last time?”

  THEY SURPRISE AND DELIGHT

  Another thing I noticed about Bindha is that he always surprises and delights his customers. When he is about to leave a table he offers a free round of wine, a free dessert or something else he thinks you will enjoy. He knows I love Chateau St. Michelle’s Reisling and he makes sure we get a glass on him every time. He’s given us free dessert and free Naan. We never expect to get anything free and we are more than willing to pay for what we consume, but he always surprises us with something meaningful that we remember. This is one of the reasons you feel like Bindha is a friend who treats you like a special customer. When I started watching, I noticed that Bindha does this with every table; it’s a secret sauce he uses to make sure you remember your experience. And I think it’s brilliant!