Digg it UP - Business

What Does Customer-Centric Really Mean For Your Business?
The key to meeting and exceeding the needs of your customers & clients is realising that each one is on their own journey with your business. From the moment a person becomes aware of your business and becomes a prospect to the time they finish doing business with you - this is their journey. Some people call it a customer lifecycle - the key stages each of your prospects & customers go through.This applies whether you sell a product or a service. Creating a customer-centric business is about ensuring that at each stage of the customer lifecycle, the interaction your customer has with you is of benefit to them but also totally & completely fulfils their needs. Each person goes through the following stages in their journey:Awareness & Consideration > Select & Buy > Initial Experience > Use, & Learn > Support > Repurchase & RecommendSo, let's look at each stage more closely:Stage 1: Awareness & Consideratio

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

“Do you offer a guarantee?”
”Are you sure your competitors aren't saying and delivering the same thing?”
“Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

“No we don't guarantee it, how could we?”
“We don't have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”
“Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn't have one USP let alone 73

The 'USP' he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn't remember them!

He hadn't even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he'd seen it all before - this usually limit

What Every Carpet Cleaner Needs to Know About Soil
In order to understand how to clean carpet, we need to know what soil is and the problems it presents. Soil in carpet is any substance that is foreign to the carpet's construction. Soil includes substances such as dirt, sand, food, oil, hair, dust, and anything else that finds its way onto carpet. Carpet not only traps soils that fall onto it, but it also acts as a filter for the environment. Dust, dander, soot, gases and odors are all trapped in carpet.Most soil found in carpet is sand and dirt tracked in by foot traffic. This type of soil is abrasive to the carpet and is what causes the carpet to wear. The gritty matter actually cuts and scratches the fibers of the carpet, resulting in a dull, worn appearance. The rest of the soil found in the carpet is usually grease and oils. This type of soil is acidic, which is why most carpet cleaning chemicals are alkaline cleaners. Alkaline cleaners neutralize the acids in order to remove th

The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is based on the assumption that if you can't be better than the competition then being different will usually suffice.

It is true that most businesses scrape by in the midst of mediocrity. The bosses of these firms see an industry or profession that looks lucrative and join the ranks in a 'me too, I'd like some of that action', kind of way. If there's enough of a market for what they do then they'll pick up the odd client and eke out an existence without having to think or work very hard on their brand.

Most of these companies make up the headlines of casualties when the market they're in gets tough and only the outstanding or well-positioned firms stay safe.

So, the USP, in principle, enables the enlightened business owner to rise above the ranks and be noticed. This is usually achieved by:

High Value Promises

Guarantees

Under Promising and Over Delivering

Finding an under-serviced niche in your market

I applaud and support this way of thinking and believe that high value promises, guarantees and aiming to delight clients are all important. I actually believe that these things should be the baseline for any business.

So the notion of a USP is fantastic. There's just one tiny flaw...

Finding your USP can be like the quest for the proverbial Holy Grail. You could end up spending inordinate amounts of money on research, product/service development and branding without ever really attaining a true USP. The quest to find 'unique' when 'relevant', 'outstanding' and 'decisive' are just as good can be frustrating and wasteful.

I've seen people stumble upon some really great propositions for their brand that would have worked like a dream, but then dismiss them because they're not “unique” enough.

Some of the problems with USPs:

Nearly every idea you come up with will have already been done, so struggling to find unique will be frustrating and wasteful

You'll spend lots of time trying to invent something truly unique and if you do ever find it you'll never really know if it's unique anyway

If you are unique then as soon as you start telling people the reasons why, somebody else will copy it and, alas, it is no longer unique.

Most people realise the above as soon as they start looking and instead of doing the hard work they'll just slap a USP label on something that is 'me too' or mediocre.

USPs feed money hungry textbook marketers with research, positioning and creative brainstorming projects. Then once somebody copies you it's back to the drawing board and they can get paid all over again.

I want you to get the notion of 'unique' out of your head by replacing it with 'decisive'. We'll look at how to achieve this shortly but first, I'd just like to tell you about a guy who came on one of my first Lean Marketing(tm) Master Classes...

Mister 73 USPs: A Warning

This guy's firm provided training and coaching in performance improvement and change management. He had an MBA and reportedly knew lots about marketing.

Just to set the scene...

Throughout the first half of the day he'd managed to disagree with and antagonise everyone in the room, including his own business partner.

He was quick to disagree and slow to explain his reasons why. We'd just started work on the “So What?” exercise when he said,

“I know what you're doing. You're trying to help us find our USP. Don't bother, I've already got 73 of 'em.”

I was surprised and impressed but not convinced, “73 USPs? Are you sure? Tell me about them.”

Silence. The rest of the group were now all looking at him. He looked back with a look of concentration as he struggled to remember just one. He finally came back with, “Quality!”

Although I felt uncomfortable for the man with 73 USPs, I believed it was important to uncover what he really understood; for his benefit and the benefit of the rest of the group. I didn't want everyone believing that having so many USPs was a good idea. So I continued my line of questioning,

“How does quality set you apart as unique?”

Again, a long pause and then,

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

“Do you offer a guarantee?”
”Are you sure your competitors aren't saying and delivering the same thing?”
“Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

“No we don't guarantee it, how could we?”
“We don't have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”
“Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn't have one USP let alone 73

The 'USP' he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn't remember them!

He hadn't even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he'd seen it all before - this usually limits

Create Copy that Conquers
The human brain is an amazing instrument. It is great at filtering out what it perceives as irrelevant. This is why a person who lives near a railway isn’t aware of the passing train. It is also why people don’t take notice of most of the advertisements they encounter.You need to design your ads to get noticed. You want them to be read. To do this you want the consumer to perceive the ad as relevant to them. You can achieve this by using the copywriting principle referred to as AIDA - Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.Whether you are writing an advertisement for a brochure, your local newspaper, a direct mail flyer or even your website, the method is the same. Although it can be a challenge, it is important to follow the AIDA principle even for a miniscule ad, such as Google Adwords. You may not be able to list much information in a small ad but you still need to get the reader’s attention, whet their appetite and direct

ieve that high value promises, guarantees and aiming to delight clients are all important. I actually believe that these things should be the baseline for any business.

So the notion of a USP is fantastic. There's just one tiny flaw...

I've seen people stumble upon some really great propositions for their brand that would have worked like a dream, but then dismiss them because they're not “unique” enough.

Some of the problems with USPs:

Nearly every idea you come up with will have already been done, so struggling to find unique will be frustrating and wasteful

You'll spend lots of time trying to invent something truly unique and if you do ever find it you'll never really know if it's unique anyway

If you are unique then as soon as you start telling people the reasons why, somebody else will copy it and, alas, it is no longer unique.

Most people realise the above as soon as they start looking and instead of doing the hard work they'll just slap a USP label on something that is 'me too' or mediocre.

Mister 73 USPs: A Warning

This guy's firm provided training and coaching in performance improvement and change management. He had an MBA and reportedly knew lots about marketing.

Just to set the scene...

Throughout the first half of the day he'd managed to disagree with and antagonise everyone in the room, including his own business partner.

He was quick to disagree and slow to explain his reasons why. We'd just started work on the “So What?” exercise when he said,

“I know what you're doing. You're trying to help us find our USP. Don't bother, I've already got 73 of 'em.”

I was surprised and impressed but not convinced, “73 USPs? Are you sure? Tell me about them.”

Silence. The rest of the group were now all looking at him. He looked back with a look of concentration as he struggled to remember just one. He finally came back with, “Quality!”

“How does quality set you apart as unique?”

Again, a long pause and then,

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

“Do you offer a guarantee?”
”Are you sure your competitors aren't saying and delivering the same thing?”
“Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

“No we don't guarantee it, how could we?”
“We don't have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”
“Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn't have one USP let alone 73

The 'USP' he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn't remember them!

He hadn't even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he'd seen it all before - this usually limit

The Art of Building a Successful Team
In order for your career to grow, you must demonstrate effective leadership skills. Organizations are finally beginning to realize that soft skills are just as important as technical skills and therefore, are placing more emphasis on developing and rewarding effective leaders. One important skill for leaders to master is the ability to recruit high-potential talent into the organization.The responsibility of recruiting these candidates doesn’t fall solely on the shoulders of your recruiter. There are many ways that you can enhance their efforts to attract the most sought after candidates. Recruiting shouldn’t be reactive – performed only when you have an opening on your team. It should be an ongoing activity so that your pipeline of candidates is full and you can start interviewing shortly after a need has been established. Follow these tips to make the most of your efforts:1. Look to your existing employees for a promot

ally know if it's unique anyway

If you are unique then as soon as you start telling people the reasons why, somebody else will copy it and, alas, it is no longer unique.

Most people realise the above as soon as they start looking and instead of doing the hard work they'll just slap a USP label on something that is 'me too' or mediocre.

Mister 73 USPs: A Warning

This guy's firm provided training and coaching in performance improvement and change management. He had an MBA and reportedly knew lots about marketing.

Just to set the scene...

Throughout the first half of the day he'd managed to disagree with and antagonise everyone in the room, including his own business partner.

He was quick to disagree and slow to explain his reasons why. We'd just started work on the “So What?” exercise when he said,

“I know what you're doing. You're trying to help us find our USP. Don't bother, I've already got 73 of 'em.”

I was surprised and impressed but not convinced, “73 USPs? Are you sure? Tell me about them.”

Silence. The rest of the group were now all looking at him. He looked back with a look of concentration as he struggled to remember just one. He finally came back with, “Quality!”

“How does quality set you apart as unique?”

Again, a long pause and then,

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

“Do you offer a guarantee?”
”Are you sure your competitors aren't saying and delivering the same thing?”
“Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

“No we don't guarantee it, how could we?”
“We don't have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”
“Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn't have one USP let alone 73

The 'USP' he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn't remember them!

He hadn't even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he'd seen it all before - this usually limit

Career Choices; Buying a Franchise, Starting a New Business or a Job in Corporate America
There is no doubt that life is full of choices and one of the toughest choices of all is deciding which career path to take. There are no guarantees and sometimes success in the workforce depends a lot upon luck and due diligence. Taking a job in corporate America makes a lot of sense because you get a regular paycheck and you know exactly how much it will be.Often you also find yourself with benefits such as health insurance for yourself and your family. Most corporate jobs also offer retirement benefits and a pension. Lately in corporate America we have seen these benefits cut and layoffs and so there is no guarantee on any of that either and yet most people seek stability in their career.Owning or starting a small business is not necessarily a stable and ever and the failure rate of small businesses is quite high. Then there is the franchise offering, which often looks enticing because you buy a business model already pre

the first half of the day he'd managed to disagree with and antagonise everyone in the room, including his own business partner.

He was quick to disagree and slow to explain his reasons why. We'd just started work on the “So What?” exercise when he said,

“I know what you're doing. You're trying to help us find our USP. Don't bother, I've already got 73 of 'em.”

I was surprised and impressed but not convinced, “73 USPs? Are you sure? Tell me about them.”

Silence. The rest of the group were now all looking at him. He looked back with a look of concentration as he struggled to remember just one. He finally came back with, “Quality!”

“How does quality set you apart as unique?”

Again, a long pause and then,

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

“Do you offer a guarantee?”
”Are you sure your competitors aren't saying and delivering the same thing?”
“Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

“No we don't guarantee it, how could we?”
“We don't have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”
“Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn't have one USP let alone 73

The 'USP' he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn't remember them!

He hadn't even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he'd seen it all before - this usually limit

Conflicts With Your Boss Are Inevitable, But Can Be Healthy
If you are a pro-active, get-things-done type, sooner or later you will come in conflict with your boss. The same sort of assertiveness and confidence that leads you to have a mind of your own has helped him to earn his position.Another reality is that if you do not have some periodic disagreements with your supervisors you are probably not being as assertive as you should be in moving your career ahead.These conflicts can prove to be hazardous to the health of your career if they are not handled with common sense, says Ramon Greenwood, senior career counselor, www.CommonSenseAtWork.com>No one enjoys conflict, especially with the boss. But when you have an honest difference of opinion, it is better to pay the price of discomfort and take the risk of some penalty than to bottle up the frustration and nagging conscience that results from not meeting what you see as your responsibilities.Knowi

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

“Do you offer a guarantee?”
”Are you sure your competitors aren't saying and delivering the same thing?”
“Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

“No we don't guarantee it, how could we?”
“We don't have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”
“Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn't have one USP let alone 73

The 'USP' he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn't remember them!

He hadn't even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he'd seen it all before - this usually limits a person's ability to learn anything new

Now, I'm known for my ability to step right beyond the BS and for my edgy and sometimes dangerous manner with textbook marketers, but he was a delegate, so I swiftly moved on so that he could save face. I then continued to try and help him personally during the rest of the workshop but he really wasn't willing to part with the belief that he had 73 USPs. Nor would he accept that selling to everyone meant that he wouldn't appeal strongly to anyone.

I don't pretend to be a life coach (I leave that to people who are good at it) and don't believe it's my job to change people's beliefs, so at the end of the class, unprompted, I gave him his course-fee back.

He wasn't going to use our information and ideas anyway.

So why am I telling you this sad story? Why, because most textbook marketers, in my experience, really don't understand USPs. It's just another buzzword they throw at you to sound clever and important but under the surface their USPs are usually little more than over-dressed features.

USPs are mythological artefacts that rarely exist today except in the imaginations of textbook marketers or the truly inspired.

DPPs - Decisive Power Points

Right, back to the programme... I'd like you to ignore 'unique' and replace it with 'decisive'.

Decisive is more effective than unique for a number of reasons:

Unique doesn't necessarily mean favourable - Decisive does!

If all else is equal your DPP will tip the scales in your favour - it will be the deciding factor

DPPs work from your client's viewpoint - they are triggers that help your client decide, not just things that you think are unique

Decisive is much easier to find and maintain than Unique

There's an example of our DPP chart (high and to the right is where you want your benefit to be) on our site at http://www.debbiejenkins.com/academy-pics/DAY17-dpp-example.gif

The Decisive Power Point chart and detailed instructions on how to use it is covered thoroughly in our ebook called Coaching Charisma - Using The Power of Your Brand to Magically Attract New Business. This 64 page book is a must read for any coach who is struggling to stand out in the crowd.

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