If you’re still looking for the perfect “growth hack” or trying to find that elusive growth hacking strategy that will propel your business into the stratosphere, I’d encourage you to think again. “Growth hacking” is talked about everywhere – especially if you’re a technology business. It’s seen as the holy grail, the secret to untold […]
Before trying to be different, be the same
There’s a lot written about the benefits of standing out, being different and somehow uniquely positioning your company in the market. And that’s great advice, but it should come with a caveat. It presupposes that you have the basics in place first. There’s little point in focussing on that magical thing that sets you apart […]
Customer Reward Programs – Examples & How To’s for SME’s
Customer Reward Programs are one of the most underrated tools in any marketer’s toolbox. Often businesses get so caught up in acquiring new customers, that we forget that it generally costs 5 – 25 times more to acquire a new customer, than it does to retain an existing customer. That’s an incredible number! Obviously customer […]
5 Last Minute Ideas for Customer Christmas Gifts
Have you been too busy to organize Christmas gifts for your customers? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one! This time of year seems to have a speed of it’s own and with extra social gatherings, increased demand in the lead-up to Christmas and your own personal gift-giving, customer gifts can easily be forgotten. Sometimes […]
Sample Case Study
Ok, so you know how valuable customer case studies are and you also know how to write a case study. But what does a sample case study look like? Here we have 5 different sample case studies for your inspiration! Each of these case study examples takes some simple feedback from customers and packages it […]
How to Write a Case Study
Wondering how to write a case study? If you run a business that aims to get results for someone, business case studies can be some of your most powerful marketing material. When done right, they’re an authentic, content-rich way of telling stories about your business. They’re not pushy – but they show exactly what kinds […]
How to Promote Your Business (without pissing off your friends)
Ok, so you’ve got a brand new business and you know it’s important to use your networks to get things off the ground. All the best business people say you’ve got to use your networks, right? Yes, but there’s an art to this! Do it wrong and you’ll find that you’ll end up annoying and alienating your […]
The Four Business Stories Your Business Needs
The other day I was busted. I’m still looking back on it now and shaking my head in shame. I was unprepared for a few simple questions about a new project I’m working on. In this case, the stakes weren’t particularly high, but I should have known better. It would have been a great opportunity to practise my […]
10 Ways to Decrease Customer Churn
There’s a reason customer satisfaction is high on the agenda for almost all successful companies… customer churn is very expensive. But even more than that, having customers that are not happy or leaving for some other reason is a very unsatisfying way to run a business. You can hardly feel like you’re making a positive impact […]
How to Create a Target Market Avatar (free Worksheet)
A section of your business plan should be to provide clarity on exactly who your target market is and what products/service and benefits you’re providing to them. But really understanding your intended customers using a target market avatar takes your understanding to another level. And one that you’ll wish you did earlier! Most businesses won’t do this but having a […]
Old School Marketing Ideas – 14 traditional marketing tools that can still work
There’s so many great online marketing tools out there – many of them clever and very effective when used correctly. But in my opinion these are over-represented in business media and many businesses are forgetting that there are plenty of off-line, traditional marketing tools that can be equally effective. The key is to choose the […]
Customer Referral Programs – Examples & How To’s for SME’s
Any idea what Uber, Paypal, Evernote, Dropbox, Amazon Prime and Airbnb all have in common? They’re all wildly successful AND they all used customer referral programs as a key part of their growth. Getting customers to refer their friends and family to you is probably the most powerful way to grow your business. Occassionally this […]
7 Steps to Collect Powerful Customer Testimonials
Most people will trust word-of-mouth recommendations above anything you might say about your own business. But, do you know what the next best thing is? Customer testimonials or customer reviews. We’ll talk about reviews another time but it’s easy to collect customer testimonials – and here we’ve got the exact steps on how to do […]
Build a Truly Remarkable Business
I was recently listening to one of my favourite podcasts – The Tim Ferris Show – and heard this episode with Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby. There are a lot of gems in it and I highly recommend you listen to the full podcast, but one part that struck me was a story Derek told about how he decided to inject some personality into his business.
Did he create a new brand, get new logos and graphics created, hire or retrain his team on a new company philosophy? No, initially he simply sat down and re-wrote the “order confirmation” email so that it was personal, full of flair, and really ‘spoke’ to his customers. It took all of about 20 minutes and made all the difference to how customers thought about the business. Here’s an extract from it;
Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.
A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.
Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.
We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon Voyage!” to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, June 6th.
I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year”. We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!
People LOVED this email – so much so that many of them shared it with friends and posted it on their websites.
Suddenly, his business became remarkable. He had given customers something to “Remark” about. Something specific to tell their friends about.
Social Proof – 9 Ways to LOOK popular so that you can BE popular
A crowd attracts a crowd – and just like most people will prefer the restaurant that is already busy than the empty restaurant, people are also more likely to choose your business if you can demonstrate that you’re popular. But it’s a chicken and egg thing, isn’t it? How do you look popular so that you […]