I recently had the opportunity to listen to Malcom Gladwell describe how spaghetti sauce changed the concept of marketing, consumer tastes and product offerings through a great new site, Ted.com.   His discussion on consumer choices raised an interesting dilemma - how do you maintain profitability if you constantly expand options for your customer offerings. Certainly larger companies can do this, but what can you do as a small to mid-sized business?

Flanking pricing is one strategy that can help.  Develop varying options (service, delivery, maintenance, accessories, etc) for your offerings.   Set your richest feature offering with the highest (premium) price and your bare bones offering at the lowest (value or budget) price.  Your target pricing/offering (features and options your customers most want) is priced between these.  This is effectively flanking your pricing and creating value for your offerings and can increase the price your market will pay for your offerings.  If you find you are getting more sales at the higher end or the lower end, adjust your pricing accordingly until the majority of your sales fall into the range you desire.

Our company recently hosted a Business Owner Summit entitled "Your Company's Future:  Transition, Exit & Succession Planning."  In attendance were more than 30 CEOs, Presidents and Business Owners.  Speakers led sessions on determining your future, developing your key executives, evaluating and grooming successors (planning yourself out of your job), business valuation techniques, and the legal, tax, financial and emotional impacts to consider when structuring handing over the reins.  Although the attendees were at many different places in their business lifecycle, it quickly became apparent that the questions our panel of experts were asking were critical for every owner at any stage of their business.  Listed below are the top questions Brad Kaplan, Partner at Schwartz, Simon, Edelstein, Celso & Zitomer and Larry Leaf and Peter Engel, Partners at Leaf, Saltzman, Manganelli, Pfeil & Tendler  walked attendees through.  They find all business owners must answer these questions to build the very best succession and exit plan strategy.  See how many you can answer.

1. Will my kids want to run the business and, do they have what it takes?
2. Can my employees or partners step up if I'm no longer here?  (And, can I trust them)?
3. Who else may want to buy my business?  Competitors?  Suppliers?  Customers?  Investors?
4. How do I retain and reward employees?  When do I give them an ownership interest?  And, what are the pros & cons?
5. What is my company worth?  How much do I need to retire?  Do I need my salary and business cash flow?
6. When do I want to exit my business?  And, what is my exit horizon?
7. Can my successors afford to buy my business?
8. Will my employees buy into my exit strategy?
9. How do I market trade secrets and private information and still keep them safe?
10. What advisors shall form my succession planning team?  And, who are the key players?

How did you fare?  Have any others we can add to our list?  If you do, please post them here - we love feedback!

I am a liberal (or progressive as we like to be called).  I admit it.  I believe that the pursuit of happiness is founded in equality and in providing certain foundational services.  For our nation to thrive, we must be the example to other countries by taking care of our selves, our resources, and our children.  And I believe social, domestic and international policies can be tremendously successful enablers in the process.

So, it came as a surprise to me, at my son's conservation camp closing ceremony yesterday, that the keynote speaker would so eloquently weave conservatism with conservation,global warming, the environment and social agenda.  John is former President of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and current Board Member of the Conservation Non-Profit, and was a successful business owner who I had met years ago.  One who I respected, one who I thought I knew a bit about, but soon learned I knew very little about. 

I walked up to him after the event and reintroduced myself.  He's a frequent reader of our Tips from the Top newsletter, so while my face wasn't recognized, my name was.  And there, in the middle of a sweltering camp rec hall I learned about his passion.  Helping everyone, young and old, learn about the environment.  Learn about natural resources, learn about taking care of our limited supply.  For campers, learn as future leaders their responsibilities as stewards of this planet.  And making this affordable for all - in fact, many of the teenagers who attended camp, did so on full scholarships.

John grew up on a family farm in the 30's.  Back then it was farming first, then play or jobs or other activities.  And it shaped him.  As a farmer and a hunter, he learned how important it was to work with limited resources and to think long term about the consequences and ensure sustainable practices.  That very lesson is the basis for his thinking as a business owner today:  always consider how to make the best use of your company, your time, employees and investments and ensure that those practices are sustainable.

As we were saying our goodbyes, John turned to me and said "You know, we have to take our country back."  My first instinct was to cringe. I'd heard those words before.  From people who want to throw out our legally elected leaders, from those couch racism in taxation/big government terms, and from politicians looking to play on people's fears.  But as John continued, I heard another word.  I heard responsibility.  We have to take responsibility for our country back; this cannot be abdicated.  We have to fully engage.  We have to fully participate.  And we have to hold ourselves fully accountable, not others. 

"Taking our country back" for John isn't  about a political party.  It's smart common sense.  For our environment, for our society and for our economy.

At the end of conversation, I hugged John with hopes that it wouldn't be another 5 years before I saw him next.   And thank yous.  For helping to grow the Conservation Camp into a transformative experience for youth.  For the inspirational words he shared with the campers as keynote speaker.  And for opening my ears up a bit.  So the next time I hear something, I'll remove my filters and truly listen to what the others are saying, and just as exemplified through The Alternative Board at every meeting - remind me that everyone you meet in life can teach you. 

Much has been written on how to motivate employees (and whether it is even possible).  And yet, the highest performing employees are those who are internally driven.  Great leaders know this.  They focus employees’ individual passions into a collective effort through communicating and supporting a clearly articulated vision.  And that vision invariably supports a shared value system.   

This is no great epiphany.  Consider the following:  given the same financial resources, the same products to sell and the same customer base, if you have one set of employees who are passionate about what they are selling and another that aren’t – who do you think will have better results over time?

Easy enough concepts to understand, but as is often the case – the devil is in the details of turning a concept into reality.    Great leaders inspire their teams into creating great companies by determining what it is that drives the company and why.  Some ideas to start you in the process:

• Determine what it is that you and your employees are passionate about.  What do you and they love about what you’re doing?   Not sure?  Ask.  Great leaders listen more than they speak.  And if you aren’t sure where to start, consider a third party to assist you in the process.
• Observe.  Actions speak volumes.  Is it really problem solving that Sharon from Customer Service loves, or is it making a customer’s day a little brighter?
• Distill what you find into a company culture statement and incorporate it into your Company Vision Statement. 
• Communicate, communicate, communicate.  Share the culture statement, where  the company is going, how the company is doing and what the company needs to get there.
• Embrace experience diversity and skills, but remember to focus your hiring and employee development efforts on supporting the Culture and Vision. 
• Take time to nurture the Culture or like any living thing it will wilt.
• Make sure your employees have the tools, training, time and authority they need to turn the Vision into reality. 

As in any relationship, passion ebbs and flows.  As a business owner, it manifests itself as owner burnout (a topic we’ve talked about on this blog in the past).  For employees it can translate into poor performance, quality and service issues, and a lack of innovation, among other things.  Keeping the passion going for everyone, through nurturing and maintaining your culture, will keep it fresh and alive.  And that’s good business. 

You've heard the rumblings. Things are picking up. The economy is starting to gain momentum. But how can you be sure and what steps should business owners be taking now to ensure they are operating at full speed when the opportunities arise?

The truth is there is no way to be 100% sure. But most business owners haven't entered into business as a way to make a sure paycheck. The balance is to take smart risks, keep an ear to the ground and make sure that the rumbling you hear is the economy coming back and not your competitors about to roar past you because of missed opportunities.  Even in a slow economy, if you're not moving forward, you're
falling behind. So continue taking steps toward continually  improving what you do. Your company will be better for it and so
will you!

What are you doing to keep it going during this economic climate?  Share your thoughts on what's working and what's not.  We love feedback!

I recently had an opportunity to experience an industry-who-shall-not-be-named’s version of “Customer Care.”   Followed thereafter by another industry’s version of “Customer Care.”   Both companies incidentally have been in the news recently.  Before anyone starts thinking this is a statement on health care reform or the airline industry, it is not.  This discussion is about how the drive for efficiency and streamlining can sabotage any company, big or small – regardless of industry.  For discussion purposes, allow me to share some background.

My experience began simply enough – my physician and insurance company had decided to part ways, and I received a letter informing me of their impending divorce and instructions on how to successfully and smoothly transition (hah!  I should have known something was up).  No less than 8 phone calls later spanning 12 hours (during which I established a friendly first-name basis with supervisors who quickly learned of my ability to speak fluently in truckdriver-ese), my issue remains unresolved.  Every step of the way I’ve had to explain the history over again, refer to past recorded conversations, re-submit paperwork, and experienced far too many transfers to other departments that “take care of that and can help” (the important point here being by "help" they were referring to helping increase my aforementioned foreign language skills).  Each time I have reminded the call centers that I had gotten 3 letters (from them!) which both supported and contradicted previous conversations and letters, and had to clarify that I was not in fact a crazy person, while assuring the call center representative “YES I AM SURE I live in New Jersey and NO I do not see my doctor in Massachusetts.”  Even my specialist and primary care physicians’ offices joined in the discussion.  Having more experience than me as a newbie in this healthcare-company-who-shall-not-be-named version of appeals process, both offices gave me sage advice (“Good luck.”)

Why do I bring this up?  Because I am passionate about customer service.  And there are so many opportunities to enhance customer experiences while improving your bottom line.  Customer Care (Call Center) models were developed years ago to take components of customer service and make them repeatable and scalable, while delivering consistent levels of service, which could then be improved upon.  Had I been working with a Customer Care model that had a solid Customer Relationship Management system that all employees had access to and were well trained in, as well as standardized processes for delivering customer service, the experience would have been quite different.  Call Centers [that are] implemented well, and their approach to segmenting components of customer service can provide tremendous benefit to the company and the customer.  The challenge becomes when companies look only at the short term returns and ignore the care and feeding of their Customer Care Operations which in turn can enhance and improve the longer term customer relationship (and corresponding loyalty, referrals and cross and up sell opportunities). 

How are you improving your company’s customer experience?  Have you experienced great customer service recently?  Let us know your thoughts!

Marketing, in its simplest definition, is communication.  Historically this communication has been one way - initiated by a company toward prospects and customers, and often purposely one-sided (the difference between talking at someone versus talking to them).  Social media has the power to take your company to the next level by conversing with your audience.  Just as the telephone made conversations two way (versus sending a letter and waiting for a reply back while circumstances around may have changed), Social Media allows you to bridge this communication time-distance gap.  Every business can take advantage of some aspects of Social Media, the trick is determining what’s right for your business.  Consider the following for your company:

• Expand your marketing department – 2 of the top 5 Superbowl 2010 ads were created by customers as part of a contest Doritos ran.
• Allow prospects to interact with you and your customers outside of your “office hours” – Make your blog a place where not only do you share information, but you get feedback from your market. 
• Use discussion boards and the concept of community to engage your audiences.  Don’t brag, don’t do commercials - sharing relevant information of interest is the way to gain friends and fans.
• Track what’s being said in your industry, about you, your markets and competitors.  Use Google Alerts and Twitter Alerts.
• Maintain and track your reputation.  Remember the old adage, “For every bad experience you hear about, there are 10 more that you don’t (hear about)?”  Consider that in today’s world that means anyone can create a Twitter account, blog, or Facebook account and share a bad experience they’ve had with you.  Knowing what that experience was and addressing it before it goes viral will keep your reputation stellar.

Have additional tips to share on how you’re using Web 2.0 and Social Media?  Please share below, and if you’re a business owner who would like to join us for one of our upcoming “Social Media Matters – Setting Your Strategy” sessions, please visit our registration site. You'll hear great tips from the CEO of iMarketing, Keith Kochberg while brainstorming with Peer Business Owners on how to address marketing challenges & opportunities today.

Think Social Media is for other businesses?  Think again.  Facebook is now the most used application on the planet with Fan Pages growing rapidly as a way for companies to promote their businesses outside of their websites.  In one message posting Twitter can undo years of work a company has put into building its brand and loyalty (just ask Southwest Airlines how Kevin Smith's sharing of his treatment on a recent flight impacted their loyalty).  And get ready for the latest.  Chat Roulette.  A new website ChatRoulette.com allows you through a random process to connect to others around the world and have video chats with people you may never have had an opportunity to meet otherwise.  That's the fun news.  The not so fun news is that you may never have wanted to chat with some of these people to begin with.  But you can quickly move on to others and gain new experiences and insights through the process. 
Social media now allows us to create conversations in whole new ways with new people that we've never been able to before.  Which is the key point. Conversations.  It's not about one way or one to one discussions.  It's about two way conversations one to many and many to many.  So the next time someone says Social Media doesn't matter, post a twitter comment on that and see how many replies you get back joining into the conversation. 
Want to learn more about Social Media Matters?  Join us for one of two upcoming complimentary sessions taking place in Sussex New Jersey and Flanders New Jersey on Social Media Matters for Small Business and get a customized website effectiveness report for your company. Email us to learn more.

Great marketers know that how an offering is packaged, priced and presented will determine what a buyer will pay.  Put two identical offerings having different marketing messages side by side and you’ll get different results regarding how customers and prospects feel about what they are buying.  Pricing items higher or lower also impacts your customers’ and prospects’ value perception.  I recently learned of a social experiment funded by the Washington Post that reinforced this concept.   

In 2007 Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten enlisted renowned violinist Joshua Bell, winner of the Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding achievement in music to perform in a Washington DC metro station during rush hour.  The event was “an experiment in context, perception and priorities – as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste.”

Without publicity, treated to a free concert, played by an amazing artist dressed in street clothes, using a Stradivarius violin worth over $3.5 million dollars, over a thousand commuters passed by.  After 45 minutes of playing some of the most spellbinding music ever written, only 7 people stopped to listen, just one recognized the performer and Mr. Bell, who days earlier had played for audiences paying over $100 per ticket received $32.17 for his efforts.

For business – understand how your price, position & package your offering has tremendous impact on your ability to succeed.  But consider these questions as well:

• In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty & worth?
• Would we stop to appreciate it?
• Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? 
• How does this impact our definition of what is good? 

View a portion of Mr. Bell's performance here & don't forget to post your comments & thoughts below!

We’ve all seen it and/or experienced it. The business owner who’s hit a wall, and who, despite the passion and desire he/she felt when they started the company is facing “burnout.”  At a recent TABBoard meeting, we discussed the reasons this happens, how to avoid it and how to get out of the burnout slump.  One of our members had a great analogy.  Any passion you have, just as in a marriage needs to be nurtured and kept fresh.  Some of the group's top tips to keep it fresh:

• Boredom can quickly turn to burnout. Challenge yourself and your company on a regular basis.
• Make sure you are making (and taking) time for those things in life that you love – your family, spouse, significant others, friends, hobbies.
• Exercise your mind, body and soul.  Take a course, get to the gym.   Get going.
• Determine if there is something in your business that causing the burnout – are you doing things you shouldn’t be because your staff aren’t doing their jobs?  If that’s the case, stop the enabling behaviors.

Decide what you what to be doing in your business and then set a plan in motion to make sure, if you are not spending time doing it now, you are working toward it every day.  As you enter into 2010, what are you doing to keep your passions alive?  Please share your thoughts and, if you'd like to join us for a live(ly) discussion on on Charting Your Success in 2010, please register for an upcoming virtual or live seminar by clicking on an upcoming event on our home page.  Till then - wishing you passion in all you do!