Business Record - Iowa Biz

So, who is ready to step up to the next level?

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Growing a business quickly requires that you can bring new employees into your business and bring them up to speed in their tasks. Too often, bringing a new person on requires one of your best employees to take precious time to train the new person. The same can be said about developing new processes which you want everyone to start using. Whether these are processes used in serving the customer or managing information, everyone involved needs to know how to do these new procedures correctly.

I have had great success managing this problem through my employees. Many of my employees would ask for opportunities to learn new things on the job or just work on something different. My solution was to have the employees write written instructions on how do do certain procedures. I fell into this by accident one evening late when I was trying to create a document for my employees.  It finally dawned on me that many of the employees knew the details much better than I did.  I can be a bit slow at times! Perhaps this sounds simplistic, but think about it.

• If the procedure is new, the person who developed it is probably best suited to write down how to perform the procedure.
• Writing the process down moves company knowledge onto paper and out of a single person's mind - great insurance should that person leave. This is also a great way to deal with new locations or virtual employees.
• Asking the employees to write out processes engages them in the entry point of management and challenges them to try new things. This is a quick way to find out who is ready for the next level.
• Asking the rest of the employees to improve the instructions over time is a great crowd-sourcing approach to improving the process over time.

Finally, asking the employees to develop, write and improve the processes your company uses, engages the employees in the business and enables you to grow faster.

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com

You get what you measure for

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I was taught that saying many years ago.  You get what you measure for.  If you measure only for profit, you may have fewer but profitable sales.  If you measure for sales volume, you may not get the profit you want. If you measure everything, you will run out of time!

Choosing what you measure is critical to long term success.  Just as critical is to make sure you re-evaluate those measurement targets to make sure you are measuring what is relevant at that time.

In a startup business, number of users / customers and cash flow break even are two critical measurements.  In a more mature company you probably want to measure profitability and return on invested capital. Deciding what to measure when is the key.

• Measure those things that sustain you.  Revenue, gross margin, profit.
• Measure those people who sustain you.  Customer renewals and satisfaction.
• Measure those who enable you. Vendor or partner satisfaction, employee productivity.
• Measure those things that create growth in your business, new customers, new product success. 

You need to find a balance of enough relelvant measurements without overloading. You also need to spread out the job of measuring to everyone on your team.  The act of measuring the business will hopefully more fully engage team members in what is important. 

- Mike Colwell

What your business culture says about your business

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Ok, restaurants again.  As you can tell, I eat out - alot. 

I was at the local Applebees in Ankeny the other evening.  It is a favorite place of mine.  The food is good but not the reason I go there.  I go there because of the staff.  The staff they have stays long term because of the culture.  The general manager is one of the hardest working people in the place.  He never stops moving.  He is the first to wipe down a table or sweep up the floor.  He treats his employees as equals.

I see a similar attitude in the staff of HyVee.  I recently was checked out by a manager at my local HyVee because her staff were already helping others.  She opened a lane and checked me out. I did not have to ask or encourage her.  You could tell that it is just the way they do business.

The actions of you and your staff are what we customers use in understanding your culture.  If you own a restaurant where the tables are filthy and the manager is leaning against the bar talking to the hostess, I know your culture.

I personally do not like spending a lot of time talking to my teams about culture.  I believe you simply model the behavior you expect of everyone else.  Those who can emulate your model are the ones you keep and reward. Those who do not need to leave.

Make sure you are modeling the culture you expect from your employees at all times.  It is the strongest form of communications you possess. 

- Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com

 

New owners are at a disadvantage...don't make it worse

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It is truly a disadvantage to be a new business owner. To start with, you are an unknown to most potential customers.  You probably do not have a long list of referral accounts or a line of customers out your door. So how do you make up for this disadvantage?

There is one thing you can do that will make up for most of the "new business owner" challenges.  Professionalism.  It is a big word both in number of letters and in fulfilling the attribute.  Professionalism is not accomplished through a single action or method.  It is a constant state of being.  Here are a few examples.  See if you can spot the professional.

You make an appointment over the phone with an auto repair facility.  At the end of the call, the person on the other end says:
    a) G'bye
    b) See you then
    c) Repeats back to you the time, date and expected work to be accomplished.

You walk into a retail store. The clerk is at the back of the store is talking to another person. The clerk:
    a) Keeps talking to the other person
    b) Makes eye contact but does not engage you
    c) Greets you and tells you s/he will be right with you

You are working with a consultant. You ask for a proposal for the cost of doing some work you have been discussing. The consultant respond with:
    a) A verbal cost
    b) An email with a "Thank you for the opportunity" and a price
    c) A written proposal including all terms, conditions, scope, price, payment terms etc. 

Being professional will set you apart from the crowd.  If you have employees, make sure they understand the same concept and are professional at all times. 

- Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com

The staircase approach to building a business

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Stand at the base of a set of stairs, 10 to 15 steps will do.  Now get ready and leap to the top!  That is what many entrepreneurs attempt to do when starting a business. Unfortunately most do not have the strength or skill to make it on the first leap. 

It is easy to convince yourself that you must have everything done the day you begin. Take the marketing for a new business.  While you may want to have all of your marketing in place before you begin, many of your best marketing ideas will come from the first few customers you serve.  Start with a simple approach of what you offer to the market.  Stick with the problem you solve and the value you provide.

That can be your first step. 

As you gain a couple clients, ask for a testimonial to use in future marketing, perhaps on your website or on your ads.  That is good second step. As you move forward, ask your clients what made them choose you.  Revise your ads and promotional copy to bring in some of the new things your customers told you as an additional step. Next, start to look for other businesses that are complimentary to your business and ask them to work with you in marketing each others businesses through referrals or working together.  Another step. 

Moving step-by-step through your marketing or any other area of your business will allow you to use your your funds more efficiently and stay focused.  It will also keep you from falling down from trying to leap to the top step.

- Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com

Don't act on your assumptions

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It had to be right, right?

When we purchased our house in 2006, it was brand new. We had flown in from Seattle in April and bought the house from the builder then flew back to Seattle to finish the school year. When we arrived on the 5th of July the temperature was over 90 degrees. Our realtor had called me earlier in the day to tell me she had turned on the air conditioning so the house would be cool when we arrive.  It was a nice touch. 

Entering the house late that day, it was very warm inside.  I am fairly handy around the house so I did the usual, check the breaker, fan and thermostat. No luck. On the furnace was the sticker from the company that did the installation.  I gave them a call. This was during the building boom that led up to the crash of 2008 and HVAC contractors were working some unbelievable hours. I ended up talking to one of the general managers as everyone else was in the field. I explained the problem. He asked the usual questions, did I check the filter, the breaker etc. I could tell he was assuming that everything was fine and I was the problem. After all, it was a brand new house and they had installed the system. It had to be right, right?

I was finally able to convince him that he needed to send someone out. Since everyone was working hard, he came personally. When he arrived it was in the early evening and he looked like he had been having a bad day.  I could tell he was not happy about coming out to, he was sure, show me something simple. I walked with him as we first checked the thermostat, the furnace in the basement and finally the condenser outside.

He took one look at the condenser and said something to the effect that this was the problem as the fan was not blowing.  Closer inspection showed that the entire wiring harness had never been installed that connected the condenser to the electrical supply.  This is analogous to the car that won't start which turns out to have had no gasoline! 

Well, he was pretty embarrassed.  We both knew immediately that whoever had installed the system had never checked to make sure it worked.  To his credit, he corrected the problem that evening.

While it was not right to begin with as he had assumed, he made it right.  To this day I do business with this company.  They listened to me when they "knew" I was wrong.  They did not act on their assumptions. 

- Mike Colwell

"Let's deal with it later..." No, let's not

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A guy comes up with a business idea. It is a pretty good idea.  He starts working on it.  The idea takes hold. Others start encouraging him. Customers begin to say a tentative "yes" to his offer. The guy gets a friend to help him out. The guy tells the friend he cannot pay him but can share some equity and that they should discuss the amount and terms. The friend says no, don't worry about it.  Let's deal with it later.

Later happens. The discussion takes place. The friend is insulted by the percentage offer of equity.  The friend bails on the business idea. They are no longer friends.

The difference of opinion on equity percentages was probably a factor of 10. As sad a situation as this is, it is not as bad as many I see. Partners must discuss these types of arrangements up front.

Waiting until after the fact is terribly dangerous. Not only are feelings hurt, there are potential legal ownership issues to deal with. To top it all off, if the two parties cannot come to a break-up agreement, it becomes a "he said" vs. "he said" issue and resolution becomes extremely difficult.

Do not leave partnership or ownership issues for later. If someone is going to be in business with you, make sure they know going in what they are signing up for.

- Mike Colwell

What failure can teach you

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At the Technology Association of Iowa's Pitch and Grow 5 gathering last week, I participated in a panel discussion on failure.  Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that failure is part of being an entrepreneur and part of finding success.  My fellow panelists included Christian Renaud of StartupCityDSM, Daniel Shipton of BitMethod, John Jackovin and Brian Thompson of Equity Dynamics.

Here is what I took away from the session:

• Failure is a teacher if we recognize it as such.  Choose what you are going to do with what you learn from your failure(s).  That much is your choice.
• It is challenging to recognize failure before it is terminal.  Make sure you have advisers that you are listening to and who are giving you honest feedback.
• Failure can be tactical or strategic.  We fail every day. 
• Many first time entrepreneurs will not recognize the failure before it is critical.  It is only through failing hard (like a face plant in skiing) do we tend to learn to see a failure coming and have an opportunity to correct or preempt.
• You may not be able to avert the failure but you can potentially soften the landing.

For those starting a business you need to plan on failing.  Do everything you can to make sure the failure is not terminal.  For those helping others in business, give honest, direct feedback. 

- Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com

Is your idea marketable?

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Here is a hard truth for most first time entrepreneurs.  There are a lot of great ideas out there and many of them  are not original.  A great idea is a beginning to the entrepreneurial road, but it is not even a full first step.  The first full step is determining if your great idea is marketable. 

So what does it mean to be marketable? Here are a few starting points.  Keep in mind this is by no means a complete list.  Bookshelves have been filled with volumes on what it means to be marketable!

1. Can I reach my potential market at a cost I can afford?
2. Am I solving a problem my customers believe they have?
3. Can I deliver my product at a cost that leaves room to make money?
4. Who are my competitors and how do I compare?  Keep in mind there are always competitors including those favorites of mine, excel spreadsheets and apathy. 
5. Will customers pay for what I have to sell.

Inc Magazine had a great post titled "How to Assess the Market Potential of Your Idea"  It is worth the read. They listed five ideas on how to asses the market potential:

1. Ask the right questions
2. Google it
3. Collect Feedback
4. Sell something, anything
5. Just Do It

I have to say you must be careful with the "Just Do It" idea.  I think that is great when your investment in "Just Do It" is something you can afford to loose.  Those who blindly launch into the market are often the first to fail.  On the other hand, Sell something, anything is great advice.  The vast majority of entrepreneurs are not good sales people yet they will spend their days selling their products and their ideas.  Selling is the education most entrepreneurs need. 

What would you add to these lists?

- Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org
www.startupmodels.com

Make the customer's life easier - Tell them the price!

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Price gets in the way of doing business. For those who have sold for a living, you could probably each write a book about getting around the price issue. Yet for most businesses this is a self-inflicted wound.

Today, the worst example of this is booking an airline trip. Try it. Try to get a complete final price for a trip. Unless you know exactly how many bags and their individual weight, it is impossible to get the final price.

In the on-line world, a recent change by on-line retailers is to provide free shipping as a standard offering. This is happening based on evidence that purchase rates increase for items with free shipping.  Evidence also exists that these customers tend to comparison shop less where free shipping is offered. I believe this is simply a case of making it easy for the customer to buy. 

One key market that is just beginning to change pricing practices is the services area.  A good example of this change is in the practice of law.  Most people know that lawyers typically charge by the hour.  Many of us start off our discussion with a lawyer trying to figure out what the work we need done will cost us.  This is especially true if the client-lawyer relationship is new.

Recently, several firms in town have started providing some services at a fixed price.  In the area I work, mentoring start-up companies, this is a real change for the good.  When your cash balance is precious and there is little or no revenue coming in, it is hard to engage in an open-ended-fee relationship.  A good example of this change is Start-up Launchpad by Davis Brown Law.  For a set fee, the client receives a set of services that are typically needed by a new start-up company.  Even better, potential clients can sign up for access to the site for free and access valuable information without cost.

So think about the average start-up business person facing the long list of tasks to start a business.  Getting all of the legal work done is only one item on that long list.  Which do you think the entrepreneur will choose, the hourly rate with the unknown total cost, or the flat fee bundle of services?  The customer choice just became so much easier.

By providing a clear price for a product or service, you are taking away a roadblock to business.  Look at your business and find new ways to make the buying decision easier for your customer.  They will thank you. 

- Mike Colwell

www.bizci.org

1% of 4% of 7 Billion - Who's in your market?

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Big markets attract a lot of attention. After all, with that many potential customers you can see a path to huge revenues. The challenge is getting heard by that big market.  On the flip side, a small market does not have a huge number of customers so the revenue potential is not as large. However, it is much easier to make sure that small market knows about you and your product. 

Here in Iowa we are 1% of 4% of 7 billion people.  While 3 million people in Iowa sounds like a big number, it is an incredibly small number compared to the earth's population.  You have a choice when you start marketing your product or service. You can cast your marketing net wide and try to let as many people know as possible, or you can target your marketing on a small segment. Which is right? 

It depends. 

If you need to scale large just to break even, you must cast a wide net and gain as many customers as you can, as quickly as you can. That means you will be spending a very large amount of money on marketing and sales. You likely will spend far more on marketing and sales than you do on your product.

If you have a product or service that gets you to profitability quickly, you have the option of starting with a small marketing budget pointed at a very defined, narrow grouping of potential customers.  As you gain customers you can incrementally increase the size of the market to which you communicate. 

Either way, you need to know who's in your market and make sure you have the funds needed to reach them. 

- Mike Colwell

www.bizci.org

The first ten customers

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It is inevitable that a new client will present his or her marketing plan, stating the market size and the percentage of the market they are going to gain.  The math may be good but the business plan is not.  Whether starting a new business or launching a new product in an existing business, know your first ten customers.  They are the key to your success:

1. Identifying your first ten customers will help sharpen your focus on who your target market really is.
2. Talking to your first ten customers before they buy will give you valuable feedback on your product or service offering.
3. Landing the first ten customers will help you refine your pitch and value proposition.
4. Delivering the product or service to the first ten customers will help you refine and prove your processes for executing you business plan and point out the weaknesses you must correct to grow.
5. Following up with the first ten customers after the sale will provide additional insight on how to improve your offering.
6. If you do the above well, the first ten customers will tell others about their experience.  In turn your customer base will grow along with your business.

Do not launch your business or your new product until you can identify the first ten customers by name. You may not land all ten but you will learn a great deal about your business plan. 

Mike Colwell

www.bizci.org

 

What Would You Tell Your Best Friend?

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From time to time, many of my clients come to me with a difficult decision they need to make.  They have thought through all sides of the decision and are struggling with what to do.

They ask my advice.

• Do I shut down my start-up and disappoint my employees and customers?  I don't think I can make it.
• Do I let my co-founder know she or he needs to leave? That the company has out grown them and they are limiting the company? She or he is part of what got us here.
• Do I fire the motivated salesperson who is not performing? Everyone likes them.
• Do I tell the customer no? We can't meet his needs, but I desperately need the revenue.

Recognize any of these? Here is a good test. If your best friend came to you with the problem you are facing, what would you recommend? Would you take your own advice and:

• Shut down your start-up and disappoint your customers and friends?
• Tell my co-founder it is time they leave?
• Fire the salesperson?
• Tell the customer no and fine another?

Well, would you? Or do you continue to hide from the issue and pretend you can't make the call. You own the business. You have to make the call. 

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org

Too much on your plate?

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We all have a lot on our plates these days.  Everyone I talk to responds "Busy!" to the question, "How are you?" It is a good sign that people are busy. The economy is improving.  Business is picking up for almost everyone I know.  So what do you do when you are too busy? Start by looking in the mirror. 

I am willing to bet that many of the things on your list of to-dos are there because of you. There are two general causes. The first is not taking the next step. One of the most popular books on self organization is "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. In his book, he discusses at length the idea of identifying and doing the next step. Get out your list. Focus on the items you seem to be struggling with. Identify the next step for each of these items and get on them!

Secondly, and probably the most problematic, is indecision. A while back, Mark Suster wrote a great post titled "Avoid Decision by Indecision." It is a very accurate view of indecision as it relates to start-up companies and those who finance them. From one-person companies to major corporations, the challenge of indecision is immense.  You must identify the items on which you are procrastinating. I can guess the categories these items will fit into: employees, spending a lot of money, bad news and upset customers. These items are the cause of your full plate. 

Each time you take something off the plate, one of these issues returns to your plate to fill the space. If you have a problem employee, deal with them. You know in your heart the issue will not go away on its own. Deliver bad news immediately. If you wait, others will spend too much time wondering why you withheld the news in the first place and not focus on going after the problem. Upset customers are a today problem. There is no tomorrow with an upset customer, unless you want them out there telling everyone else how bad you are. 

Finally, if you are working on a spending money decision, try this process: Decide the time horizon for this decision. Does it need to be made this month, this quarter, when? Gather all the facts you have. List out the (reasonable) facts you do not have and when you will have them.

When is the key. Many times we put off large money decisions because we are waiting to know more. If the data is coming soon, great. If you have no idea when the facts will be available, you're just delaying. You have to take on the decision with the facts you have.  Do not fall into the trap of waiting for facts that are not going to arrive!

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org

Bumper tag and business: how to not get customers

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I was getting on the interstate the other day.  The intersection I was at had a dual left turn lane and a two-lane on-ramp. I am in the left lane with some cars behind me. Suddenly, a very large four wheel drive truck (when did Ford start making the F13500?) pulls up in the right lane. The truck is about 8 feet off the ground so all I can see is the sign on the door.  "X----------X Home Remodeling" the sign says and below that is a tagline about care and trust.  

So the light turns green and I begin to turn left.  The large four wheel drive truck accelerates and starts to turn as well. The next thing I know, he has "merged" into the left lane, cutting me off and making me hit the brakes hard. The car behind me barely got stopped before hitting me.  Needless to say I was not thinking kind thoughts about the driver of the truck. 

So let me ask you, do you think I will be calling "X-----------X Home Remodeling" any time soon? Do you think I am buying his tag line about care and trust?  

We hear people talking about being careful about what you say on Facebook and Twitter.  When you are in business, you need to be careful about all impressions you leave - your own front yard appearance, your personal hygiene, your appropriateness of dress and how you drive.

Who you are is judged by others based on your actions and appearances. Especially when you name is on a sign on your truck!

Mike Colwell

www.bizci.org

Hiring about to get hard again

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For many, the economy has started to turn around. Sales are growing and businesses are starting to hire again. What many may not have considered is how difficult it will be to hire the people you need now and in the future. While there are many people looking for a job today, that is changing.

• The demographic change, the aging workforce, is going to reduce the number of available employees.
• Our world is becoming much more diverse. Is your employment base?
• Many people are looking for much more than just a paycheck. What are you offering to entice the people you need?
• Can you leverage the talents of those with a disability? They can be great employees.

Here are some questions you should be considering in starting or growing your business:

1. Are you sure you can hire the talent you need at the time you need them?  
2. Are you open to building a diverse workforce? 
3. Are you building a culture that others want to be part of?
4. How will you recognize great work when you see it?

Finding and keeping great talent has always been hard and is going to get harder. Make sure your plans include the time and cost of finding the right people. Also, make sure that you cast your net wide to include those you might not have considered in the past. There is a big, diverse world out there, both in customers and in employees. 

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org

Is your problem everyone else's problem? Prove It!

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No, I am not talking about personal problems here.

Many businesses started with someone who solved a problem that they personally experienced.  It is a recommended way to explore being an entrepreneur.  Solve a problem.

Here is the hard part.  Do others have the problem and will they pay you to solve it?  Can you prove it?

It is really hard to do.  Three buddies in a bar (after two drinks) telling you it is the greatest thing since sliced bread is not proof.  Having someone ask you your price and giving you the money is proof.

Large companies spend a lot of money on market studies and test marketing to see if people will buy the proposed product.  This is how they get their proof.  Even then, sometimes things don't work out.  Most small businesses do not have the knowledge or cash to test market their offering. 

If you wonder why so many tech companies start up these days it has a lot to do with the question of proof.  Many times, the product can be built and delivered for the same cost of testing the market.  And in the end the product is available for the next buying customer.  That is still not all the proof you need.

The final bit of proof required is can you reach the potential buyers.  Not only do you need to prove people will buy but:

• you must prove you can reach them
• and get them to listen to you
• without spending more than you will make on your product each time you sell it
• in a way you can repeat over and over
• and deliver on what you promise

Can you do it?  Prove it!

The Lazy Chef Salad - So Who Gets To Be Lazy?

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There are two restaurants in Ankeny - where I live - that I like to go to. As part of trying to live a more healthfully, I tend to eat a lot of salads.  In one restaurant, the salad is served with all of the various ingredients finely chopped.  I can put on my dressing and start to eat.  In other words, I get to be lazy.  I do not have to work too hard for my dinner. 

At the other restaurant, the chef is lazy and I have to work for my dinner. The same basic ingredients are in both salads. The different is that at the second restaurant the ingredients consist of large wedges of tomatoes, huge rings of green pepper, large circles of onion and very large pieces of lettuce. You get the picture. 

So who gets to be lazy, the chef or me? Since I am paying for each of the salads, I assume that I would get to be the lazy one.

In your business, you do many things to keep the amount of time spent to a minimum. This is completely understandable with the financial pressure all businesses are under. Make sure that your time efficiency efforts are not viewed by your customers as laziness on your part. Customers want to be served. Be aware of being perceived as the lazy chef. All else equal, I am going to the restaurant where I can be lazy. Let the chef do the work!

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org

Best book of 2010 - Business Model Generation

A client showed me a book called Business Model Generation.  It is fantastic.  I have rarely found a book so useful to an entrepreneur.  It is a perfect resource for determining your business model.  For those who do not understand what a business model is, it is an even better resource! 

The book is organized into six sections.  The first lays out the elements of a business model and a visual representation (the Canvas) of the model  Each element is clearly explained.  The second section of the book puts many companies you know business model in the context of the canvas.  This is a great way to internalize how the canvas works. The third section deals with designing business models.  If you are in a small group trying to get your start-up model refined, this is a great resource in itself.  The fourth section is on strategy and the last two sections deal with Process and Outlook. 

I am going to make this required reading for my clients going forward.  It is on my shortest of short lists for best books for a start-up. 

If you haven't figured it out by now, I think you need to buy and read this book!

There is a 72 page preview available here.  Take a look.

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org

 

The Cash Forward Business Model

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In the economic downturn, many businesses suffered or even failed as their receivables remained unpaid. For many, the receivables issues had often been viewed as just a part of doing business or an industry standard. Going forward, many businesses are looking seriously at how to build business models where the cash comes up front. For some businesses, this is easier than others.

As you are growing your business, consider changing your product or service offer to drive cash forward in your sales process. Look carefully at how you can leverage your customers' cash through discounts or other incentives. Consider focusing your marketing on segments, where long-pay terms are not common. 

In the early days of Dell, what separated the computer company from the others was its custom-product model through the Web. By allowing the customer to choose options from a menu, Dell enabled charging the customer credit card before building the computer. By not going through traditional retail channels, they avoided the need to build large inventories of product with their own funds. 

Even in retail this strategy can work. Instead of stocking three popular colors of a product, offer to order any color the customer wants. Ask the customer to pay in advance as the product is custom to the customer desire.  

Many times your cash management is a function of your sales offer and process along with you market selection. Make sure these are done to your advantage. 

Mike Colwell
www.bizci.org

When Things Go Really Wrong

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No matter how hard you try, things can go wrong.  Many of the businesses I work with provide software as a service on the Web.  Think Google Mail.  When it works, great.  When it doesn't, hang on! 

Recently, a friend had such a problem.  Their system went down.  People who depended on them could not use the service.  It was pretty bad.  Worse yet, the outage was caused by internal actions.  In other words, the outage was unintentionally self inflicted. 

In a recent post, Jason Fried of 37Signals wrote a piece called "How to Turn Disaster into Gold".  In it he told about a situation where one of their key products went down.  What they did about it is the cool part.  They took full responsibility for the issue, communicated regularly and in due time got things back up and running.  What they did not do was go into hiding, blame someone else or just stop communicating. 

These days you just can't lie to people.  If something is wrong, admit it, take responsibility for it and then make it right. Most of your customers will understand, even if they are irritated.

My friends were able to get their system back up and running.  They posted regularly to their blog and let people know what was going on.  They said what they did know and what they did not know. 

Here is the key - now their customers know what kind of company they are.  They learned by watching how the company handled a hard problem.  Everyone is pretty great when things are fine.  When things get difficult is when you learn who people really are. 

- Mike Colwell

The Cost of a Difficult Customer

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There are many costs to difficult customers. First, the direct cost. A difficult customer will cost more than the average customer. They will demand extra work or services, take more time from you or your staff. They are more likely to return items and or dispute charges.

But what about the indirect costs and the lost opportunity costs? Difficult customers sap energy from you and your company. They can disturb other customers and reflect poorly on your brand. 

There is no way to eliminate difficult customers completely. You can, however, control their effect. Here are a few things to consider

1. Deal with them quickly and directly. Do not avoid the issue or put off the conversation.
2. State clearly what you would like of them.  Try to convert them to a customer worth keeping. 
3. Make the conversation private. Either invite them into an office or offer to meet with them in private at a later time.
4. Identify and fire repeat difficult customers. If they keep coming back for more but remain difficult, determine the real cost of the customer and terminate the relationship if it costs more than it is worth to you and your business. Remember to put a value on the indirect costs and lost opportunity.

Difficult customers are just not worth the effort. One more point to consider: You can refer always them to your competition.

- Mike Colwell

The Midwest Maybe

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Maybe.

It is worse than no or yes. It is often said out of kindness, but has the opposite effect in many cases. An East Coast investor relayed the term "The Midwest Maybe" to a close friend of mine. When I heard it, I burst out laughing. Then I stopped and realized how sad it really is. We in the midwest are known for being friendly and kind. When asked to buy from a new vendor or to invest in a business or venture, we often reply with a "maybe". What we are not doing in many cases is telling the truth.  

For the new start-up company, a "maybe" can be fatal. The start-up hears "maybe" and thinks maybe yes. They work hard to follow up and try to win the business. Only later do they find out that the "maybe" was really a "no" hiding in kindness. For the start-up, the "maybe" became a time and resource waste.  

For the company looking to raise money, a "maybe" is seen as interest and perhaps validation. "I have three investors interested!" the entrepreneur claims. Perhaps. Or perhaps what he has are three acquaintances that will not give him the honest "no".

If you hear a "maybe" in business, you need to learn more. Ask what it will take to move the maybe to yes.

If you are the one delivering a "maybe", make sure you mean "maybe yes". If you mean "maybe no", just say no. You will do far less damage and free up the time of the other person to pursue another yes.

- Mike Colwell

Everybody sells, but some do better

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Starting a business requires two skills above all else. Selling and marketing. I am often asks what separates an entrepreneur from an inventor. Selling and marketing. 

Christian Renaud said something the other day that I thought was right on target:

"Marketing is getting the date. Selling is convincing the date to keep going out." 

Let's start with selling. When I was growing up as the youngest of three boys, I spent a lot of time trying to convince my mother that I was ready. Ready to ride my bike downtown, ready to stay up later, ready to buy my own clothes. Little did I realize what great training that was in learning to sell. It is interesting that selling is the only high-paying career track for which you cannot get a degree from a university. 

If you are going to start a business you are going to do a lot of selling. If you feel selling is a weakness or it scares you, you have a decision to make. You either need to learn to sell well or forget going into business. Can you hire sales people? Maybe. But unless you have a lot of money and a lot of time you will probably not succeed. The best sales people do not want to work for someone who does not know how selling works.

Before you can sell a customer a product or an investor a plan, you have to find them and convince them to let you try. That is marketing. Here is the key for someone starting a business. Who are your first 100 customers? List them by name. You can't? Okay. Write a one-page description of the perfect customer. Tell me about their needs, wants, lifestyle, et cetera. Can't? Fail.  

You cannot market to the world. It just does not work. You must market to a very identifiable group of people. That group should share more similarities than differences.  Being able to identify a specific group that you offer your product or service to is key to marketing efficiently.The second key to efficient marketing is to measure everything. The first consideration of any marketing effort is how well can you measure the outcome. If you cannot measure the outcome of a marketing campaign or event, you should not do it.

As you contemplate starting a business or you are looking at how to grow your business make sure you can successfully sell better than your competition. Make sure your marketing is aimed directly at your perfect customer and measure each marketing campaign's effectiveness.

- Mike Colwell

Starting a business: Rethink everything

Cover of Rework

I want to recommend a book to you. As a person who has been in business for 30 years - most of those in the high tech space - it is a book that truly spoke to me. It also speaks to me from a personal level as the author is as much concerned with enjoying his life as succeeding in business. It seems it is possible to do both. 

The book is "Rework" by Jason Fried.  If you are not familiar with Jason, he is a founder of a very successful web based company called 37signals.  In a nutshell, Jason counters almost every traditional piece of business advice I can think of. Here are a few I found compelling:

1. Say No by default - "If I'd listen to customers, I'd have given them a faster horse." - Henry Ford.  Think about Apple Inc. and their products of late.  Not customer driven but certainly customer accepted.
2. Let your customers outgrow you. This one will challenge many of you but here is something to think about. There is an endless supply of those who need something small, simple and basic. The number that need large, complex and custom is much smaller. 
3. Don't write it down. As a product person at heart, I really like this one. This is in reference to what customers want. If you can't remember the idea, it probably was not that good.
4. Marketing is not a department. Amen. In the words of Phillip Knight, founder of Nike, "Marketing is a verb, not a noun."
5. Drug dealers get it right - Jason writes that drug dealers know their product is so good, if they give you a little bit for free, you will be back for more, with money.  Make your product so good, so addictive, that they will want more.

These are just a sample of the nuggets to be found in "Rework." If you have time to read one book in the next month, make sure this is it. 

- Mike Colwell

Are you planning to fail?

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I cannot begin to count the number of books and article written on planning and organization.  Which leads to a question: Why are people still writing these articles and books? The answer: Because so many people are terrible at planning and organizing.

Why?

One simple answer is that people like to keep their options open. They will go into the week with meetings set and lunches planned but they do not want to commit time that is open on their calendar to specific tasks. Even when on closer examination those tasks are far more important than the meeting or lunch.

The answer is pretty simple. People do not take time to plan. We are in such a hurry every day, along with an ever increasing number of distractions to interupt us. 

Here is a simple set of tools you can put in place now to improve your effectiveness. Do these things and you will become more effective. 

1. Take one hour each week to plan. Shut off your phone(s), PDA, iPad, computer, pager and every other beeping, blinking device you have. 
2. Plan your week. Start with what must get done. List the items you have to do.
3. Put a star next to each item that generates income in your business.   
4. Put a number next to each item on the list (do not use the same number twice).
5. Put time on your schedule to complete these tasks. If it is going to take many hours, block multiple time slots over the week.
6. Next week at the same time, review your progress and go to step 1.

Is it really that simple, yes. You can do this with a pad of paper, stickey notes, index cards or the most sophisticated planning software you can find. The key is to make time for the tasks in priority order and then start doing.

NO excuses, NO exceptions.

What makes an entrepreneur successful?

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It was wonderful to see the recent press on Ben Milne and Dwolla.  It is hard to raise one million dollars. It is harder to raise one million dollars from conservative Midwestern investors. It is harder yet to accomplish this if you are under 30 years of age. 

Too many people think that being an entrepreneur is all about a great idea and a great pitch. Don't get me wrong, those are important things but they are only a beginning.  They do not insure success. I know many entrepreneurs who have become successful, and they share some common traits:

• They work hard. These entrepreneurs don't measure hours, they measure accomplishments and failures. 
• They keep their word. When starting out, all an entrepreneur has is his/her word and the impression she/he leaves. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is often a test of that person's word.   
• They accept feedback. One friend I know who is an older entrepreneur often says "The more I learn, the less I know."  There are always more things to learn. There are always smarter people. 
• They are not money motivated. For the successful entrepreneurs I know, money is a measure, not the end goal. These entrepreneurs are truly trying to change something, to solve a problem. 
• They accept and manage risk. These people who start companies do not put personal needs first. They understand the risk they are taking and work to minimize that risk.
  
• They accept that failure is possible, and then work to make sure failure does not happen.

Ben Milne started with a truly great idea. What allowed him to raise the funds and what will enable him to succeed has much more to do with his embodiment of these traits.   

- Mike Colwell

Are You Making it Hard to do Business?

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Which sounds better to you - $49.95 per month or $.05 per minute? Four-hundred and fifty dollars per month or $45 per hour? My answer: It depends. Will I use 10 hours per month or not? Will I use more minutes than $49.95 worth? 

When you are selling a customer your product or service, do you want them to listen to you explain features and benefits, or do you want them doing the math in their head?  Pricing by the unit may be the only way you think you can go, but understand what you are doing. The minute you price in a way the client has to do the math, you lose the focus on the product or service. You are trying to tell the customer how this product will help, and the customer is dividing your minute usage by 20 to figure out what this is going to cost.

Recently, I wrote a post about law firms making things easier on entrepreneurs. Instead of $200+ per hour, you get a LLC for $650. The key is to make it easy to buy and allow the customer to focus on the value you deliver, not the price you charge. Who knows, maybe you can charge a larger fixed price than the average bill you send for a variable priced plan. It sure will be easier to do the billing!

Is your pricing model benefiting you or your customer? Are you leaving money in the table?

- Mike Colwell

The truly epic fails

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Most partnerships in business fail. Sometimes they fail amicably, sometimes explosively! The question is why, and what can you do about it.

Failure: The partners have never worked together before. 

Do: If you are going to work 10 to 14 hours a day, six days a week or more, with the same person, you need to find out if you are work compatible. Try working together full time for a week before committing to the partnership.

Failure: Two partners with the same background = no value add to the partnership.

Do: Decide in advance who is best at doing what. If you are both super salespeople, you will have problems with delivery. If you both rock at delivering the product, you may not have the sales needed to deliver on. Make sure your partner is strong where you are weak.  Seriously consider each taking the strength-finders test to see where your strengths lie.

Failure:  "I trust my partner unless I disagree with her."

Do: Partnership trust is true only when you trust your partner to act on your behalf even when you disagree. Very few can get to this level of trust. Remember that your partner needs to trust you as well. How much do you really trust this person?

Failure: The unplanned divorce.

Do: Complete a business prenuptual (buy sell agreement). Look at it this way, if you cannot agree at the front end how to part company, you will never agree when things are rough.  Agree on the valuation formula for the company before there are large revenues.

Failure: My partner was my friend. 

Do: Make sure that your partner is there for the right reasons. Just because they are your friend, does not mean they will make a good partner. Further, you probably have an overly positive view of your friend to start. Any disappointments are bound to cause issues.

Make sure you go into your partnership knowing the strengths and values of your partner.  Make sure you have spent significant time together before starting the partnership.  Complete a buy sell agreement before you start. Finally, divide the duties and trust your partner to hold up their end. 

Civility in Business - Don't narrow your market

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Barry Griswell recently wrote a great editorial for the Business Record on civility.  I completely agree that we need a return to civility in our society.  We also need businesses that are successful.  So what is the connection?  Respect for all views. 

Recently, I was seated at a bar with my wife at a local restaurant waiting for dinner.  There were well over 100 people in the room and it was fairly loud.  One voice started to rise above the rest of the din.  It was the bartender being very vocal in his (negative) opinion of the President of the United States.  Many people in the bar began to notice and some started to shake their heads in disgust.  Looking back, I think the disgust was more with the situation, not the opinion. The people in the bar that Friday night were not looking for a heated debate on politics.  I think most were looking to unwind and have dinner with family or friends. 

It is sad to say but business owners need  to coach their employees to be respectful of all opinions in dealing with the public.  No longer can we assume that employees already know not to discuss contentious issues with clients or other employees. Allowing your establishment to become known as having a very narrow point of view in any one direction is narrowing your market.  If you are okay with narrowing your market, you need to be comfortable with the side effect of narrowing your revenue.

A similar issue has become very noticeable in sports.  Venue owners and promoters are having to deal with difficult fans who are too vocal or worse yet violent.  We recently stopped buying season tickets to a local sporting series due to the language from the fans in the stands.  Personally, I felt like I was being carpet bombed by profanity.  My 11 year old son asked why the particular person was allowed to speak like that.  By allowing this type of behavior, a business endeavor communicates that it is acceptable.  Once that happens, customers decide if they are comfortable in the environment.  Again, this narrows the market and narrows the revenue. 

You decide what message your business sends.  You are responsible for your business brand and environment.  Make sure it is civil. 

Mike Colwell

www.bizci.org

Make the Call. After All, You Made the Commitment.

Growing a business is about customers telling others about you.  It is truly your choice what most of them will say.  Try these customer comments on for size:

• They promised to call me back and never did.
• They promised to be here between 1 and 3 p.m., but showed up during dinner.
• They took 30 minutes to bring the food and it was cold. I complained to the manager but I could tell she did not care.
• They can't find my order or remember my call.

Okay, not what you want to hear about your company. When you or an employee tells a customer just about anything, you are opening yourself up for comment. How you finish will drive the direction of most comments positive or negative. 

On the other hand, when a company does what they say they will do, especially in fixing and issue, the comments are quite different:

• Well, they had an issue but they took care of it. The manager even called me back to make sure everything was fine. 
• The loaner car they gave me was nicer than my car.
• They have the nicest staff.
• The repair person even fixed an issue I had with a product I did not buy from them. I will never go anywhere else.

Now I am sure none of you business owners have ever made a commitment to a customer that you did not follow through on. But but perhaps your employees aren't quite as efficient? Make up a bunch of paper pads with the form to the right and give each of your employees a notepad. When they make a future commitment, make it mandatory they write down the commitment and follow up. Keep all the slips. Call the customers later and recheck that they are happy. 

I recently asked the manager of my local grocery store about a product I could not find.  He committed to stock the product in the store. A month later the product was still not there. I approached him and asked about the product. He told me he forgot. He apologized.  I don't shop there any more.

Which way do you want it in your business? What do you do to make sure the customer is taken care of?

Does Your Brand Change Once the Customer Says Yes?

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The other day Drew McLellan sent out a newsletter about "Is Your Customer Experience On Purpose".  A recent purchase of mine got me thinking about this in context to the sale process.  I was buying a mattress for my bed at the local Slumberland Furniture Store.  My wife and I had picked out the mattress, bought the mattress cover and were ready to leave.  There was just the matter of paying for the mattress and arranging for delivery. 

The sales person let us know they could deliver the mattress on Monday.  That is when Slumberland's brand changed.  My wife mentioned that afternoon would be better for us.  That was the moment.  Right then.  When the sales person said something to the effect of "we are not allowed to make requests for delivery times".

Let's be honest.  How many of you have a day to just hang out and wait for the delivery person?  Especially when you PAID for the delivery.   We went home scratching our heads over this lack of customer service. 

Slumberland, in one moment went from "customer oriented, desiring to help find the best way to sleep" to dictatorial.  Even worse is the written information they included with our "receipt folder".  Stapled inside is a sheet of paper titled "Customer Expectations for Home Delivery".  Here are paragraphs two and three for your review.  When reading these, think about the brand experience:

Q: How is my two-hour time calculated?
A: The two-hour time frame is based up on our truck's route.  Your two-hour time frame will be assigned to you.  Slumberland will call you two days before the scheduled delivery date and give you a two hour time frame, (i.e. 1-3 pm).  This means the delivery could occur anytime during the scheduled two hours.

Q: If my two-hour time frame does not work for me, what other options do I have?
A: Once the truck is routed, we are unable to change time frames.  You have a few options: (1) Leave a key in a safe place for our delivery drivers.  (2) Is it possible to have a neighbor, apartment manager or family member help?  (3) Also, our delivery drivers can call you when they are on their way to give you time to meet them.  (4) If these options do not work, we can help you reschedule your deliver to the next available day.

I especially like (4) above.  In essence, if this delivery system will not work, we will put you through it one more time. 

Personally, I am guessing that Slumberland outsourced their delivery and then squeezed the margins on the delivery company.  The delivery company found the most efficient method of delivering furniture and implemented it.

No matter why this is the case, the entire customer experience that was positive is quickly forgotten. 

In your business, remember that the customer experience is an ongoing experience.  It does not end until the customer stops using your product or service.  Make sure that your customer experience is what you planned it to be through out the entire customer experience.

- Mike Colwell

Not Deciding is a Decision Made

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Sometimes it seems prudent to put off a decision, to sleep on it. Why? One of my mentors once asked me, "what will you know tomorrow that you don't know today"?  We often ask our employees to "execute crisply" or "make the call." Yet many owners will not take the same advice. There are several things wrong with this. 

• Not deciding on a key issue sends a clear message to your employees and business partners that indecision is OK. If you need more time, make sure you communicate the reason and most important, the date you will make the decision.
• Opportunities pass by. Your not deciding is most likely closing a window to an opportunity. Let's say your thinking of offering a person a job. The longer you wait the more likely you will lose the candidate and the more money you lose by not having the key resource.
• You're trying to satisfy everyone. The pending decision will disappoint a employee or partner. Keep in mind while not deciding, you are probably disappointing everyone involved. The longer you wait, the more that disappointment will build. Make the decision. Then communicate first to the person who will be disappointed. Make sure they understand why you chose the path you did. They may not be less disappointed but they most likely will respect you for telling them directly.
• With out intending to, you look like an amateur. If you are a new business person and are trying to build the respect of those around you, know what you are communicating. A decision not made can cast you as an amateur. That is a tough label to lose.

Mark Suster wrote about this issue a while back in his blog. In it he promotes the idea of "executing crisply" and lists several great examples. 

Here is your assignment: Take 20 minutes and write down every decision you have waiting for you. List how long you have been waiting and what data you are waiting for. Now be honest: When will you receive any more data? Finally, pick a date to make each decision and communicate the date to the people involved. 

Hold yourself accountable and execute crisply!

The Customer Environment: Gaining the repeat customer

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Growing a business is often accomplished through repeat customers.  It is terribly expensive to attract a new customer to your business.  Advertising works but the cost is high.  Coupons, rebates and free offers all cost money.  Once you have spent that money, what can you do to keep the customer coming back?  After all, once they start coming back, your cost to "acquire" more revenue from that customer is close to zero.

In retail, the environment is a multifaceted issue.  The obvious but often overlooked are cleanliness, temperature and lighting appropriate to the product.  If you want customers to keep coming back, make sure your business is always clean, well lit and comfortable.  Want a simple example? Go into the bathrooms of the following convenience stores: Kum & Go, Casey's, and QuikTrip.  If a clean bathroom matters to you, the result is obvious and the level of difference is amazing given they are in the same business. 

But that is not enough.  One in six Americans suffer from tinnitus, a ringing in the ear.  I have personal experience as I suffer from this condition.  Loud sharp noises are very challenging to the point of debilitating.  Make sure the sound levels in your business are comfortable for your clientele.  For those in wheel chairs, it is not enough to just have a "accessible"  entrance.  How about a bathroom that is accessible? Or isles wide enough to navigate?  I am constantly amazed by retailers that stuff massive amounts of merchandise into the isles thereby blocking their customers from getting where they want to go.

How does the business owner come to understand and then deal with all of these issues?  Ask!  Ask your customers for feedback.  Ask what they think of the sound level, the lighting, the cleanliness?  Get a couple friends to give you critical feedback. Ask them to be truthful, not just nice.  Check up on your employees.  If you are often not present in your business, make sure someone you trust is checking up on your store.  I was in a bar / restaurant recently where the bartender was loudly proclaiming his theories on his perceived "failings" of the current administration. Several people became offended, got up and left.  It appeared the manager shared his views and did nothing about the issue.  I don't know about you but I was taught that politics was not a discussion topic with customers. 

You have a choice, you can spend time and money chasing new customers into your business or you can spend a portion of that money and time making sure you keep the customers you have.  Start asking!

Play To Your Strengths - Leverage the Brain Belt!

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I am a firm believer that everyone in business needs to go through the Strength Finder 2.0 process.  For those who are not familiar with this book and assessment, simply put it is a way of understanding your strengths and leveraging them.  Older persons who were in management in the 1980s will remember that the dogma of the time was to assess your strengths and weaknesses then improve on those areas where you were weak.  Looking back, I now see how foolish that really was.  First, if you are weak in an area, it may be for a real reason.  Second, if you are really good at something, shouldn't you focus on being at least great or even the best at that strength? 

When I work with clients, I recommend the Strength Finder 2.0 process as a starting point for building a management team.  Based on the results, and by using this process with potential hires, the client can proactively build a team of people with a diverse set of strengths that are complimentary.  Along the way, the client also learns about the interaction of people with different strengths and weaknesses and why certain conflicts come about.  It is a powerful way to play to your strengths. 

For those starting out in business, there is another way to leverage our strengths here in the Midwest.  An acquaintance of mine via the blog world, Sean Murphy and I were discussing boot strapping businesses the other day when he mention a concept called the Brain Belt.  The Brain Belt is a play on the description of our area, the grain belt.  Sean told me about Joel Kotkin and a post he wrote called "Little Start-up on the Prairie".  In this, Kotkin talks about the Brain Belt to describe the highly educated youth here in the more rural areas. The post is rather long but very interesting.   If you want to skip right to the Brain Belt discussion you can check it out on this blog called Bootstrappers Breakfast which Sean participates in. 

If you are starting a business or looking to grow a business, you need to leverage your strengths and the strengths of the resources around you.  We have an amazing number of very intelligent young people here in Des Moines and in Iowa. How can you craft your business model in a way that leverages the strengths of your environment? How can you take advantage of the Brain Belt and perhaps even make it a key strategic advantage?

Problems solved are referrals in the making

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One of the most frustrating situations for the business person is the problem customer. In many cases solving the problem will take far more resources than the profit will cover. Why bother? For the referral! 

Recently I had the misfortune to become a problem customer. I had purchased a lawn mower from a very reputable dealer in Greater Des Moines about two years ago. Last fall it developed a gas leak that left my garage smelling terrible. After a few failed attempts to locate the problem, I returned to the dealer. I explained all the things I had tried and parts I had replaced. Unfortunately my message was lost and the same things were done again. When I came to pick up the mower, it was still leaking. Over the next two weeks the store worked to fix my mower and finally succeeded. If I had to guess, they invested close to the original purchase price in fixing the mower. The entire bill to me was $0.

Buy sticking with me and fixing my mower, this store guaranteed they would keep my business long term. What they also did was pick up a very strong referral point. I have told the story to several friends and a few strangers. These referrals are all the stronger as they come with a story about how the business not only provided a great product, but solved an issue when it came up. For the person receiving the referral, there can be no stronger vote of confidence.  

Today most businesses recognize the value of a great referral. They are the strongest form of marketing I know of. What many may not think about is converting problem customers to the strongest of referrals, like Johnston Ace Hardware did with me.

 Mike @ the Biz

Who are you?

No, not “The Who” as in the recording artists, but who are you when it comes to your business? Take Willis Auto Campus and Karl Chevrolet here in Greater Des Moines.

Arguably, they are two of the largest and best auto dealers in the area; yet it is very unlikely that a customer of Willis will change to Karl for a like purchase (or vice versa). Remember I said “like purchase.”

The same client will buy a Chevrolet truck from Karl and a Lexus RX from Willis. So should Willis sell Chevy trucks or should Karl sell Lexus cars?  Not in the same business location with the same team. Why? Customers hate to be confused.

The process and motivation for a Chevy truck purchase are entirely different than that of a Lexus purchase. Sure, both dealers employ car sales specialists, mechanics, service advisors and the like. Sure, those from the industry can argue the processes and training are the same at the core.

The thing is the customer expects the experience to match the product. The very best sales specialist will tell you that their entire approach, demeanor, dress, pace, style and advice will be dramatically different in each dealership. The best owner-operator of a dealership will tell you the same when it comes to the look of the dealership: the experience upon entering the store, the way the service department greets the customer and just about every other detail involved in purchasing and maintaining a car or truck.

So is one wrong and one right? Not at all. Each is focused on who they areas well as what their customer expects, wants, desires and will react to in a positive way. What happens when the Chevy truck buyer goes into the Lexus store and is overwhelmed or priced out of the market? The smart dealer knows that was not its target customer.

Have lunch downtown Des Moines at Centro or South Union Bread Café. Both are open for lunch, both are owned by the same owner group. They probably share a few ingredients. Take five steps into either and you know what to expect. At Centro, you will dine. You will be served very well. You will choose from a wide variety of foods and you will probably be there for a while. South Union Bread, on the other hand, speaks “made to order’ quickly and correctly. Thirty minutes for lunch? Not a problem.

To start and grow a business that will last the test of time, stay focused on who your customer is and what the customer wants. Focus on a few niches and don’t try to serve all people from the same location or environment. Stay true to your customers’ needs over time. It costs a lot more to find a new customer than to take care of the regular, repeat customer. Do these things and your regular, repeat customer will recommend your business time and time again.

Mike @the Biz