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Pain Points

Part 1 of 2

Megan told me about MYOB’s quarterly Business Monitor.

I’d not heard of it, but when she mentioned ‘pain points’ I wanted in.

Below is the latest ‘league table’ of 16 top business hurts.

1165 SMEs have ranked them from AAARGHHH!!! to meh…

I’ve added my thoughts on 2009-10. I hope you will too.

 

1.    Marketing to get new customers or new business

I gained one new client from Twitter, one from blogging and one from targeted emails.

Not too bad, given the GFC. Yet I should’ve focussed on my existing clients.

 

2.    Getting funding or finance to grow the business

My bank unilaterally added redraw to my home loan. When my revenue dipped, these funds were handy.

But this is a slippery slope. I’ve since reverted to my draconian repayment plan.

 

3.    Getting affordable & reliable business advice

With my trusty business coach plus all the kind, clever cats I met via Twitter and blogging, I had all the help I needed.

See Stephen’s post for the perfect example.

 

4.    Managing the cash flow of the business

I’ve always found this murderous. I should keep a separate account for my tax obligations, but I don’t. Rather, every client payment feels like it’s ALL mine.

My unpredictable workload and some clients’ rubbery approach to terms exacerbated this problem.

Nor did it help that I had to spend $4K to keep one of my doggies alive!

 

5.    Finding the best suppliers at the right price

I’m blessed here. My bookkeeper, IT guy, accountant and coffee grinder are all top notch and reasonably priced.

Less impressive are my ISP, car washer and toner supplier.

Silly me.

 

6.    Paying tax due on BAS

Hideous, due to Point 4.

A constant stress I could fix if I would just grow up!

 

7.    Attracting new & skillful (sic) staff

Not a problem in 2009, given the lower workload.

In fact, I was approached by two talented writers who found me online.

Now that work’s picking up, I may call one.

 

8.    Paying PAYG tax

Barring bookkeeping errors, careful year-round management by my accountant usually gets me a small tax refund.

As I’ve lost faith in superannuation, however, my reduced contributions will increase my taxable income.

 

OK: we’re eight pain points down.

We’ll cover the lower eight in Part 2.

How about you?

Did you have pain, gain or both?

I’d love to know.

In fact, I’m on …

tenterhooks.

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love My IT Support

Introducing Stephen Hamilton! Many of you may know Stephen from his myriad enlightened comments on SBO over the past 12 months or so. Today we welcome his maiden guest post on a topic that many of us find pretty darn annoying…getting decent IT help.

I’ve worked in IT for most of my working life. Please don’t hold that against me.

Like you, I’ve witnessed first hand the puzzling, pathetic, or just plain paltry levels of service many regular folk seem to receive at the hands of many in my industry.

You know what I’m talking about: you ask a simple question and you receive an astonishingly complicated answer in a language best described as ‘geek-speak’.

Or despite promises and guarantees that have lead you to reasonably expect a specific result from a product or service, you’re provided with something that apparently does nothing, except force you to interact with antagonistic persons euphemistically called customer service representatives.

It’s enough to drive you insane! Well maybe not quite, but sadly it’s often enough to make many people adopt a ‘near-enough-is-good-enough’ attitude. It seems that putting up with the pain of imperfect service is less than the pain of trying to rectify the problem.

Allow me to make three points:

1. It doesn’t have to be this way (Yes, there are many individuals and companies who give fantastic customer service)
2. Putting up with poor service only benefits those giving poor service
3. It doesn’t have to be a hair-pulling experience to switch to a better service

Maybe the top two statements are obvious.  The third statement is a little trickier. It’s the prospect of change, and the perceived friction that accompanies it, that often stops people from taking positive steps to improve the situation.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Want proof?

Look no further than the recent experience of SBO’s very own Paul Hassing. Paul was having some problems with his ISP. They weren’t one-off issues; Paul had recurring problems that were never resolved to his satisfaction. Sound familiar?

Paul broached the issue with his readership. He received lots of sympathy, but more importantly he was assured by many of his readers that this was a torture he didn’t have to endure. There were alternatives. Paul rightly tried to rectify the situation with his incumbent ISP, but sadly these efforts came to naught.

He decided to take the plunge and switch ISPs. But to whom would he turn? Again, the ‘collective wisdom’ of the community came to his rescue. Many made good suggestions, and in particular Sonia Cuff and I recommended Internode.

Paul checked out the quality of this advice by once again turning to the collective wisdom of another community, one that has a specific interest in ISPs, Whirlpool.net. He was very impressed by the Customer Appreciation Thread for Internode.

Thus, Paul was able to confidently make a decision to move to an ISP that offered better service.

What does this mean for you?

Let’s consider the takeaways from Paul’s experience:

1. First, Paul needed to make up his mind that change was needed, and was going to happen
2. Paul canvassed his community and network for advice. Twitter is becoming, in my opinion, increasingly useful for this. Even if you don’t have a blog with lots of readers, or a Twitter account, you can still do the same. Pick up the phone and ask you friends, colleagues and even IT people who give you a different product or service for their opinion
3. Paul checked the quality of these referrals with others that had direct experience with the recommended service, or could give expert, impartial advice
4. He acted on the info he received, thus reducing the pain he felt trying to get customer service

You can do the same. And this doesn’t just stand for finding a better ISP. Not happy with your computer network maintenance? Sub standard results from your line-of-business software? Lousy helpdesk? All of these issues can be fixed – you’ll feel less pain, and more often than not you’ll save time and money in the long run.

So whaddayagunnadoabowtit?

Stephen Hamilton

Out of the Box

You just never know what pearls of wisdom Joanna will pop up with next. Welcome back for 2010, Joanna!

I recently came across a Harvard blog post by Mark Johnson on reinventing your business model.

A confession: I’m not the full bottle on business models, and have used only rudimentary or ad hoc versions in the past.

But as soon as I read this post, I saw that here was a model I could implement – and so that’s what I am doing right now.

It works like this. First up 3 questions:

1. Why would someone want to buy something from you?
2. How will you make money selling it?
3. What, exactly, are the important things you need to do to pull off the plan?

The answers go into 4 boxes (question 3 is answered in two parts):

  

Box 1:Your customer value proposition – what is it that you offer that meets a customer’s needs in a way that is different and/or better than the competition?

Box 2: How many can you sell at X price minus Y costs? Johnson has a more complex version of this question, that goes like this (I am quoting here):

• Revenue model – simply, quantity times price
• Cost structure – not only direct costs and indirect costs, but also overhead, which too many companies think of as immutable
• Margin model – though technically part of the cost structure, I break it out separately because all too often companies mistake their margins for their entire profit formula and have tremendous difficulty understanding how a lower – margin opportunities could ever be profitable
• Resource velocity – often overlooked as a profit generator, this measures how many widgets a company can invent, design, produce, warehouse, ship, service, sell, and pay for throughout the value chain for a given amount of investment, for a given amount of time. In some sense, it’s a measure of not how much money flows through your company but how quickly it flows through it.

Box 3: What resources are required to deliver your offering?

Box 4: What processes are required to deliver your offering?

 

I think this looks like a good model for those of us who tend to avoid models. What do you think?

 

Joanna Maxwell, Owner, WorkInColour

Breadstuck

 

Bread: plain, simple, honest … daily – yes?

No.

I’ve had a bewildering range of bread ‘experiences’.

I suspect they hold lessons on dining, business and life. Yet I can’t find a unifying theory.

If table my data, will you help me use my loaf?

 

The Stick

Some venues emphasise ‘stick’ over ‘bread’. Pale wands that laugh at butter and look like they’re from 1970. Bitten, they explode into a silica that absorbs moisture and glues teeth.

 

The Shard

This seed-studded sliver has an elastic centre that hints at dough. The impression shatters as the crust cuts in.

The Shard often comes with a saucer of olive oil that appears to have escaped from a truck gearbox. A request for butter triggers disbelief, derision and deteriorating service.

 

The Slice

A cornerstone of Australian pub culture, The Slice is white, single and preconceived.

Common to every meal, it mirrors its environment: brown for gravy, crimson for beetroot, yellow for cheese sauce.

Requests for seconds (or olive oil) are met with stares, swears or beatings according to age and gender.

 

The Solo

Native to wedding receptions, this pleasant item (pictured above) is strictly rationed to guest numbers. This is odd, given its low cost and the margins needed to cover skewed main orders.

Waiters may pretend to revisit the kitchen, but the answer’s always no.

Only via a generous partner or a no-show guest (within arm’s reach) can you win a dual. Then you must fight for another swipe at the communal butter dish.

 

The Multi

Favoured by family bistros, this dramatic variation of The Solo is ‘multi’ in every way.

Grain and wholemeal triple choice. A big basket lets you plunder with impunity. Cascades of butter patties complete the cornucopia.

Rare venues take The Multi even further, baking their bread, whipping their butter and presenting armloads of both at the slightest provocation.

This is the ultimate bread experience.

 

The Twist

This cruel subterfuge usually reveals once you’ve ordered. On asking for bread, you’re offered a dripping garlic roll, a trio of dips with pita or a home-baked Turkish loaf (with olive oil).

Stiff prices apply. No reductions or variations are permitted. Any request for dish components triggers ejection.

 

Trends

1. The more a meal costs, the less bread you get.
2. The more ‘modern’ a venue, the greater the olive oil risk.

 

Questions

1. Why is it so hard to get a satisfying amount of bread and butter when dining out?
2. Do venues ration bread to make diners spend more?
3. Do other sectors use similar practices?
4. What is this olive oil crap?

I now totally get why the loaves and fishes was a big deal.

I knead your help with the rest!

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

Cold Hard Fax

 

Dirty Fax

My print/scan/copy/fax unit has been insulting me.

First it said my black toner was ‘old’ (after all I did for it).

Now it says my yellow printhead ‘isn’t there’ (though it is).

What it really means is the printhead needs replacing (thank you Sonia).

Like the magenta one last year.

Are black and cyan next?

Seems I need a new unit.

This could cost $1000.

Do I need a fax?

 

Quick Fax

In 2009, I sent no faxes.

I received three, two of which were spam.

The other was a receipt, which now comes by email.

My fax line costs $3/month.

Can I ignore the fax?

 

Fax Checking

A fax number used to be the sign of a professional business.

These days, some people don’t even have land lines.

Will it hurt my brand if I stick it to the fax?

 

Fax Me

Do you still send and receive faxes?

If so, why aren’t they emails?

If not, did you save money buying a faxless combo unit?

If so, what did you buy, what did you save and how’s it going?

I gotta get my fax straight.

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

Blog Me, Amadeus!

 

 

Content Beats SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) can improve your website traffic.

But each time Google changes its ‘secret recipe’ (algorithms), you may lose benefits.

Content which solves customer problems is emerging as a cheaper, more reliable alternative to SEO. And the best way to create such content is blogging.

 

Free Blogging Resource

I’ve spent years getting a grip on blogging.

By writing a blog to help you write a blog to help your clients, I believe we’ll all live long and prosper.

Below is a sample post from my new blog: Practical Social Media Tips.

See what you reckon.

 

Your Emails are Blog Posts

Many of my clients understand that they need to blog. Yet they’re thwarted by two mind blocks:

1. What will I write about?
2. How will I find the time?

What they don’t realise is that their blog posts may already be written – in their emails!

Let’s say you make uber-hi-tech vacuum cleaners.

One day, a frantic customer asks how to extract a hamster from the hypohepozappofilter without damaging either.

As a caring, conscientious manufacturer, you (or your tech person) take the time to write and send clear instructions to resolve this problem.

Six months later, you’re about to clean out your email Sent Folder.

DON’T TOUCH THAT FILE!

Your hamster extraction email needs only a brief ‘top and tail’ edit to become a blog post.

And while this problem may not be common, anyone who does suffer it in future will be mighty grateful the answer is already online.

They can search your blog and fix their issue, without the hassle and embarrassment of contacting you.

And you don’t have to waste time considering the situation and writing the solution all over again.

If you don’t keep an email Sent Folder, start today.

If you do, cast your eye over it.

I’ll bet London to a brick you and your staff have written heaps of content that’s begging to be posted on your blog.

I’m not fond of the word ‘leverage’.

But when it means wringing the last atom of utility from a piece of work you’ve already done by reusing it in elegant new ways, I’m a fan!

 

I’m sorry if you’ve already seen this post.

If not, what did you think? Could this sort of thing help you get with the social media program?

Times are changing. Fast.

To keep in step with clients, you need to know the score.

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

Qui Ckon CEO Ver.

 

Sorry about that title; only had time for a ‘quick once over’.

All the letters are there: the caps and spacing didn’t confuse, did they?

As a copywriter, I sometimes get quick once over requests. I wonder if you do too.

The request has three variations:

 

1. Just give it 15 minutes.

Some clients assess my work by what I keep, not discard.

Thus, if I spend an hour rendering two pages of crud into one perfect paragraph, they see 50 words and think Bargain!

If I were a surgeon, they’d say:

Look at that jar: it’s tiny! Why bill me for operating on my whole body when you only took out that little, bitty gallstone?!

 

2.  Just focus on the howlers.

An intelligent client may spend weeks crafting a pitch for a huge piece of business. She’s happy with her content and only wants me to flag the one or two bad errors I might find.

Though I invariably find dozens of small to medium errors that I know will undermine her pitch, brand (and even viability) she isn’t interested. She knows her writing is good. She gave it to me at the eleventh hour, as an afterthought.

If I were a crèche, she’d say:

We’re entering Emily in a national baby contest in four hours. I’m going home to change. Just keep her alive until I return. Only call if she goes blue or black; don’t worry about the peanut thing. I know my daughter.

 

3.  There’s only two hours in the budget.

I perfect communications via multiple processes. Spelling, punctuation, tone, cadence, readability and jargon are just the tip.

Numbers, fact accuracy, logical flow, legal compliance, audience suitability and consistency with branding and prior communications form the next level. Then there’s the optional humour, irony, academic and cultural references etc.

This deep thinking takes time.

So, if I get two hours to optimise 6000 not-very-good words, I must cut corners. Yet like a Rubik’s cube, my corners intertwine. Lose one, no cube.

If I were a builder, they’d say:

We need a safe, certified, 25-square home for $50K. Don’t forget the plumbing, wiring, plaster, painting, insulation, termite proofing and hurricane roofing. We’re in Darwin.

Time is money: I need it and I know clients aren’t made of it. I promise perfect communications: too-small budgets make this impossible. Yet I genuinely like my clients and want them to prosper.

I can’t let flawed work leave my desk. So I do three or four hours for the price of two. Just like the faeries.

How about you? Do you mow three hectares for the price of two? Install five workstations for the cost of three? Teach eight people for the fee of five?

If so, what’s your motivation?

1. Pride.
2. Love.
3. Money.
4. Other (please state _________ ).
5. All of the above.

Idlo VETOK Now!

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

Ten Tee Tips

 

When I cashed in my super and went feral, the first thing I did was create T-shirts.

Their design, production and sale yielded many lessons whose pain far exceeded their value.

I reproduce them here, in case you or a loved one are mad enough to contemplate a similar path.

 

1.  Nobody cares if it’s local.

I spent weeks trying to source Australian-made blank garments. Even locally woven fabric would have satisfied my patriotic urge. But suppliers and vendors alike assured me that:

• The Australian textile industry was cactus.
• You couldn’t get a local product for love or money.
• Customers didn’t give a damn.

 

2.  Nobody cares if it’s original.

Even at peak capacity, with economies of scale fully leveraged, it took me at least 40 minutes to draw and colour each T-shirt.

No shop was willing to pay a price that reflected my labour. Indeed, no shop even twigged that my brilliant ‘1 of 1’ signature motif meant my designs were hand inked.

Compare that scenario to the 210 designs I’ve since created electronically.

 

3.  Nobody cares if it’s organic.

This was certainly the case in my day (15 years ago). I’m impressed to see that REMO, buoyed by his 45,000 enlightened custOMERs, has recently put his money where his mouth is.

Will people put their money where he is and support the necessarily higher prices of organic? I sincerely hope so.

 

4.  Consignment sucks.

Consignment means no care and no responsibility on the part of the shop.

From ice-cream-wielding kids to carefully-packed goods that never reach their destination, this method sounds great but isn’t.

And if your products do turn up and survive long enough to sell, the vendor keeps 40-60% of the take. Or, if you’re really unlucky, 100%.

 

5.  Women prefer fitted garments.

My small-sized ladies range was a complete failure as the garments were deemed unfashionably baggy. I, of course, had done no market research.

 

6.   Lack of research kills.

My lack of research was highly consistent. When I did take orders for fitted ladies’ tees, I bought blanks with no concept that my ink pens would snag and ruin the stretchy fabric.

 

7.  People like colour choices.

My edgy, arty, black-and-white-with-spot-colour pallet appealed to only a small fraction of the market.

This demographic chiefly comprised students with no money, who dreamed of making T-shirts.

Stocking the range needed to satisfy all customer desires was a logistical factorial colour wheel mind melt.

 

8.  Never pitch at lunch time.

The worst time to lob into a shop with an arm full of T-shirts is midday. This is when they’re busy with – wait for it – lunch time shoppers.

You’ll get short shrift, if you’re lucky. And no second chance.

 

9.  Have capacity and range.

After a hot, exhausting day hitting gift shops in Sydney, I finally met a lady who expressed great interest in my designs.

It was only after half an hour of friendly chatting that she realised my ‘samples’ were actually my ‘range’.

Christmas was coming. She wanted many units of multiple styles. Delivered the following week. I confessed that I was completely unprepared for her level of commercial interest. She was not amused.

 

10.  Keep a second string.

The worst thing you can do is burn all your bridges and throw yourself on the mercy of fate.

Though exciting and noble, such dramatics leave you entirely reliant on the success of your ‘big idea’.

Unless you hit pay dirt fast, you’ll start worrying about money. That kills creativity, which fires another torpedo into your dream boat.

So, even if it’s flipping vegieburgers, keep one reliable income source until the world recognises and rewards your incredible talent.

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

Poll dancing – Part 3

One firm’s quest for client hearts & minds

Part 3 of 3 (Action)

Read Part 1 and Part 2 

Armed with a mother load of intelligence from my first client survey, I asked my trusty business coach, Winston Marsh    , what I should do with it.

Here’s what Winno said to me (in his uniquely forthright style):

 

Thank everyone for participating and give them a summary of the results.

All too rarely we ask people for their opinion. And then we don’t tell them what we find! They appreciate hearing back and often respond with even more valuable information.

And sometimes, just sometimes, they’ll add value … like some work.

 

Winno was dead right. Every respondent I got back to was grateful for the contact. Most did indeed give me more feedback. And two of them starting talking about new work projects!

 

Create something of value for yourself by creating something of value for them.

The survey comments tell me you haven’t been giving your clients reasons to use you. And they certainly haven’t been sitting around thinking, ‘Hmmm, how can I give Paul a job?’

You have to create something that’ll get them business, which will then mean work for you. You’ve gotta create a big fat WIIFM for them so that they say, ‘Hey, that’s a great idea! It’s worth investing in Paul to get a result for me.’ That’s leverage.

The question is, what can you do to help them and, in so doing, help yourself?

 

In response to this suggestion, I codified my new corporate blogging service into a two-page business case. I then emailed it to all my survey participants, other clients and prospects.

The response was staggering. Better than anything else I’ve ever tried. Thanks, ideas and leads came pouring in. I’m now preparing two blogging quotes, with many more nibbles on the line.

 

Stay in touch.

These people have been good enough to respond; they deserve a little extra thought and consideration from you.

If you stay in touch and ‘love them’, they’re gunna love you back – though you’re going to give without expecting return.

It’s the law of mutual reciprocity … do something for others and they’ll want to do something for you. And being in touch means you’re not outta sight, outta mind. When times do turn or a project comes up, you’re gunna be right at the forefront of their minds.

 

Wise words! Winno had been telling me for years that I needed to stay in touch with my clients. Yet as a reclusive writer, I thought I could get by with little or no contact.

I also thought that contacting my clients without an explicit, work-related reason was actually bothering them. How wrong I was!

After giving me his responses, Winston referred me to one of his articles: ‘Loving Your Clients’. I was going to provide a link to this article, but after my latest experience, I firmly believe it deserves a full reproduction here.

Think of it as your holiday reading. 

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire 

 

 

 

Winston Marsh’s Theory of ‘Loving Your Clients’.

Stay in touch with your database at least six times each year. Now, that is sometimes a little daunting for most people because thinking of six reasons to contact people over the year and, more importantly, creating the contact letters or e-mails is difficult for many of us.

After all, many of us do find writing those letters and e-mails a challenging task; we’d rather do other things.

So, my suggestion is quite simple. Take a day off every year, and with your PA or the rest of your team members, think about the contacts you’d like to have with your client base and then spend the day putting them together, stealing letters from places, writing others, thinking of great things you can do, and then you’ll have them as and when needed, because the number one problem in contacting your database is that you don’t have anything readily available to use.

It’s got to be created, and I know there are other things you’d rather do. So, having them pre-planned and pre-written will make it a breeze.

My suggestions are very simple. Let’s give you an idea of the sort of things I would have you use to stay in touch with your clients.

First of all, the Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary note. You know, it’s quite amazing, we’ve asked hundreds and hundreds of professionals if they send birthday or anniversary cards and guess what? Less than 6 in 100 do. Yeah, that’s right, 6 in a 100. Well, why not? Well, perhaps they think that everybody else does it so they’re not going to do it.

Be smart. Do what everybody else doesn’t do and remember those important days, birthdays and anniversaries. And that’s why your clients will be delighted to receive a note that says “I’d like to shout you dinner on your birthday”.

Remember, there’s a way you can get restaurants to give you free meals to gift to your clients. If you’d like further details, just let me know. Does it work? You betcha bippy. Gangbusters.

Next, you’ll want to wish them all the best in the festive and other seasons. “Have a Merry Christmas”, “Enjoy Easter”, “Have a great barbeque on Australia (or Waitangi) Day”.

You see, most of your clients celebrate these days and, obviously, you’d want them to enjoy the very best for them and their familles, so write and tell them that.  Maybe you can enclose a little gift, as well, not just a crummy calendar.

So, it’s a nice thought to write and say something like “Ho, ho, ho, it’s Christmas time again” or “What you up to Doc at Easter?” And remember, too, I’ve used Christian festivals as an example, and in our diverse society, you should take into account the special events in the lives of people with beliefs that are different to yours.

You sure as heck are going to get their attention when you remember these events, and you’ll be remembered positively. I love a note to clients that begins “What does this news mean?” From time to time, there’s going to be things in the media or mentions in Parliament about events or developments that may affect your products or services.

So, what you’ve got to do is anticipate that people, your clients, will be thinking about the implications of that news. So, wouldn’t it be great for them to receive a letter, or an e-mail, while the controversy is raging which says “You can sit back and relax because here’s what it means to you, and if there’s any other changes, I’ll be in touch”.

You’ll feel good knowing that your clients trust you to make sure that the real facts and implications are under control and that you’ve got a watching brief for them.

Another great contact is what I call the “just wanted to stay in touch”. You see, building a business relationship is like building a romantic relationship. You’ve got to stay in touch and tell them that you love them, just because you do.

That’s why it’s great to drop clients a line from time to time with no business motive in mind. Yes, that’s right, no business motive in mind other than to stay in touch. You might tell them about a great restaurant, a good book, a fabulous film or a terrific place, just as you would a friend. A letter that begins “I must tell you about this fantastic restaurant before I implode” will certainly be compulsive reading.

An invitation to a seminar or a workshop is a great, great contact. If you do want to build a meaningful relationship with your clients, you’ll want to invite them to a seminar or a workshop where you or an interesting speaker or two gives them the low-down on stuff they want to know.

And, of course, it doesn’t always have to be a workshop or a seminar, it could be an invitation to see a first release movie or a night at the local theatre company’s dramatic production.

Have your personal assistant organise the event, get the invitations out and make them compelling so that your clients will want to come. They’ll love you for it.

Another contact that works gangbusters is a postcard from overseas. Because you are good at what you do, you get to travel overseas, both on business and pleasure. And when you’re there, no doubt you’re going to see and hear things of interest to your clients, so why not send them a postcard?

You can pre-prepare it before you go actually, which says something like “I heard a couple of great ideas at this international conference” or “When I was in such and such, I saw this sensational way of doing this”.

Mail it to them with pretty stamps from the place you’re in and they’ll love you for it. Naturally, from time to time, you will need to write and tell them about a great new product, something that’s just come out that may be of advantage to them or their family.

Don’t just send them a boring, glossy brochure, make sure you accompany it with a letter that is down-to-earth, personal and highlights the benefits.

Another item in your staying in touch arsenal is the occasional review of where they’re at with your product or service. You’ll want to write to them and suggest that they pop in and see you or make an appointment with you, or you go and see them, to review where they’re at with your product or service to see if their circumstances or needs have changed.

It may not necessarily generate more business, but it’ll show them that you care.

And, naturally, from time to time you’ll want to send a referral seeking letter because you and I both know how important referrals are. You can ask them today and they know nobody, but sometime in the future, because life is a passing parade, there’s going to be somebody that they want to refer.

So, you need to write to them occasionally and say “It suddenly occurred to me that you might know somebody who …” or “How would you like a night at this plush hotel for you and your partner absolutely free?”

Stay in touch, too, by becoming a ferret for facts that will interest your clients. You see an article in a magazine or a newspaper or you hear something of interest, copy it or relate it in your letter and send it to them saying “I thought you may be interested in this”.

You know, when you think on behalf of your clients, you really are doing them a service because although you may have seen it in the newspaper or read it in a magazine or heard it on the news, they might have missed it. It just shows that you care.

And don’t forget, you’re going to send them your newsletter every so often or your e-zine on a regular basis. All part of being in touch.

And, finally, for those important clients, there’s one really great contact you have to have and that is the “How’s thing?” call. Yes, that’s right. Every day, pick up the phone and ring a client you don’t need to ring and simply say, “How’s things?” You’ll be amazed at how well that works in building the relationship.

But, of course, if you stay in touch with your database at least six times a year, you’ll build that relationship, and when you build relationships, you become a legend in other people’s minds.

Thank you very much, Winston; I couldn’t have said it better. What I can say, from experience, is that your theory works! Best regards, Paul.

Poll dancing – Part 2

One firm’s quest for client hearts & minds

 

Part 2 of 3 (Results)

Read Part 1

So there I was; proud owner of my first ever client survey results.

My deepest fears populated the response options; it was time to see if they were true.

 

Question 1 (Multiple Choice)

Scanning the chart below, I was instantly relieved at two findings:

• Only one client had a problem with my rate.
• Most clients were feeling the GFC pinch.

At first blush, this suggested I wasn’t directly responsible for my 20% fall in earnings.

However, as the primitive nature of my main question became evident in these sterile bars, I thanked my wife for suggesting a second, open-ended question.

This was where the real gold lay.  

 

Question 2 (Open Ended)

SurveyBob had a nifty function that let me download the data to a spreadsheet. My clients’ frank, open-ended responses mainlined me right into their brains.

I classified this generous feedback (modified where necessary to protect the innocent) into three categories:

 

A.  Reassurance

• Your work is great.
• You guys rock!
• Your approach is professional, comprehensive and timely.
• Our business comes in spikes. When we’re back, so are you.
• You’ll certainly hear from us when we have the need again.
• All our clients know who you are, by name.

 

B.  Home Truths / Suggestions

• You have not proposed a model of how you can add value to my business lately.
• A better understanding of who you are would allay concerns of the entity being dealt with.
• Do a special rate for Xmas!
• Try advertising in the technical writing space. People might look under those keywords for your service.
• Alert me to the services you offer, particularly when I am struggling with overload.
• A good idea to generate business for each other would be to introduce us to your client base.
• Please put me on your small business blog.
• You serve crap coffee at Empire House.

 

C.  Things beyond my control

• No new project on the horizon.
• We haven’t had any full-on copywriting jobs of late.
• We need to use internal staff copy writers first.
• Sorry, but our organisation doesn’t see the value of an external provider for such things.
• The potential client was an [EXPLETIVE DELETED].

 

Mistake!

I’d planned to make the survey attractive by revealing the results to all participants.

I didn’t think this would include their open-ended comments.

WRONG!

Two mortified clients reported this to me. Equally mortified, I killed the survey. My apologies were accepted, but the early halt probably cost me some late responses.

 

What to do?

Despite this glitch, I had an unprecedented mother lode of intelligence. Never in the history of Empire had so much been drawn from so many by so few!

I had to work out what to do with it all. But before I’d started, two clients signalled their intention to give me more work. Great news!

I’ve since had a good think, consulted my business coach, made some preliminary moves and laid plans.

Read all about these in our thrilling Part 3 conclusion!

 

Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire