Article Contributed by Michele DeKinder-Smith
How will YOU respond when a customer threatens to leave?
Maybe it will be due to a gap in communication. Maybe it will happen due to increased pricing competition, a poor fit, a service problem, or a new product your competitor creates. Regardless of the cause, every entrepreneur faces the risk of losing customers at some point. But what we know from our research is that it’s very likely different types of women business owners will respond to this challenge in different ways. This article looks at how three of the types will respond to customer loss.
Jane Dough
As we’ve seen Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. She is comfortable and determined in buying and selling, which may be why she’s five times more likely than the average female business owner to hit the million dollar mark. Jane Dough is clear in her priorities and may be intentionally and actively growing an asset-based or legacy business. It is estimated that 18% of women fall in the category of Jane Dough.
Overall, Jane Dough has a fairly pragmatic, business-minded approach to everything that happens in her business, so when she encounter a problem with a customer loss, she most likely won’t get flustered or panicked. Instead, she may take the attitude, “It’s just a business decision on their part. Customers come and go based on what they need. We have to stay focused on growth and not let this get to us.” In some ways, this pragmatism is very good, because it keeps Jane Dough from becoming distracted by one-off events so she can continue moving toward her big goal – growing a thriving and profitable business.
However, Jane Dough should monitor (or have someone on her team monitor) her company’s on-going customer retention rate. Also, she should have someone take the time to conduct an exit interview, if her departing customer is willing. Why? Because Jane Dough often will delegate work to other people, she may not immediately be aware of a systemic problem in the business. Let’s say, for example, that she starts tracking customer retention and learns that roughly 15% of customers don’t return and half of those are because product delivery takes too long. Jane Dough could work with her team to find ways to address delivery challenges to improve the process and retain more customers. But she’ll only know what to focus company efforts on if she’s tracking the reasons customers leave and the magnitude or rate at which they are leaving.
One other word about Jane Dough – if it turns out that customer defections are happening as a result of something her company has fallen short on, she may be the type of leader to become angry with the person responsible for managing the function where the breakdown occurred. I have seen several Jane Doughs react with a rapid, “Fire them!” mentality, thinking that the problem is the person, not the system. Although there are cases where the problem IS the person, it is also true that systems can be at fault. Before taking extreme personnel action, Jane Dough should carefully dissect the system itself, along with other processes that feed the system, first. This is the better way to understand how and where breakdowns are occurring and prevent the problem from arising again if a new person is hired to do the job.
Accidental Jane
Accidental Jane is a successful, confident business owner who never actually set out to start a business. Instead, she may have decided to start a business due to frustration with her job or a layoff and decided to use her business and personal contacts to strike out on her own. Or, she may have started making something that served her own unmet needs and found other customers with the same need, giving birth to a business. Although Accidental Jane may sometimes struggle with prioritizing what she needs to do next in her business, she enjoys what she does and is making good money. About 18% of all women business owners fit the Accidental Jane profile.
Because Accidental Jane tends to have started a business based on her personal networks and through referrals, the loss of even a single client may be difficult for her. First, she may worry that she’s let someone down (either the client or the referrer) – and this may cause her to doubt herself or her abilities. Secondly, because Accidental Jane’s business is often dependent on deep relationships and word-of-mouth referrals, she may worry about the negative impact on the future of her business of losing a customer – because each customer may represent a significant chunk of her income.
Accidental Jane would do well to speak with this lost customer herself to understand their reason for departure. Because her relationships are often with personal contacts or strong referrals, she has a fair chance of reclaiming the customer with an open dialog. This may mean changing the way work gets done so that the customer’s needs are better met. But, following this discussion, Accidental Jane should process what she heard with her business mind, not her heart. Sometimes, customers are just a bad fit. Other times, she may make the decision that it’s not worth it to change her process to fit a particular clients’ needs. In the end, even a lost customer can turn into a potential referrer for Accidental Jane if these discussions are held in an open, honest manner where both sides walk away with renewed respect for each other, even if they have “agreed to disagree.”
Secondly, a lost customer should always serve to remind Accidental Jane to not put all her eggs in one basket but instead to keep her eye always scanning the horizon for potential new customers. Therefore, it may behoove her to develop specific marketing systems (such as email newsletters, systematized referral programs, affiliate networks, etc.) to help her continue building a steady list of prospective customers, even if she has no plan to work with them in the immediate future.
Tenacity Jane
Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, but who tends to be struggling with cash flow concerns. As a result, she’s working long hours, and making less money than she’d prefer. Nevertheless, Tenacity Jane is bound and determined to make her business a success. At 31% of women in business, Tenacity Janes are the largest single Jane type.
Because Tenacity Jane already tends to be struggling with cash flow, the loss of a client may be a substantial source of stress to her. She may wind up feeling that she needs to work even harder to gain and keep her clients. She may find the experience discouraging and not be certain what to do about it.
As with Jane Dough and Accidental Jane, Tenacity Jane would do well to speak with the lost customer candidly about what went wrong. Rather than doing so in an effort to “rescue” the customer, however, she should interview with her ears listening for the truths she can learn about her business. She should look for the clues that may help her understand why her business is not currently delivering the income she desires. Are there competitive pricing issues? If so, Tenacity Jane needs to understand how her competitors are able to deliver at a lower cost. Are there product, service, quality or delivery problems? If so, Tenacity Jane should listen carefully for opportunities to make improvements within the business itself. Is there a breakdown in communication such that customers expect something different than what is actually delivered? If so, Tenacity Jane should revisit her marketing and communication materials to see if they need to be clarified. In short, a lost customer can be a wonderful learning opportunity that provides the exact information to help Tenacity Jane’s entire business improve.
Next week, we’ll continue this article by looking at how Go Jane Go and Merry Jane would handle this issue.
Interested in learning more about the five Jane types? Check out www.janeoutofthebox.com
About the Author
Michele DeKinder-Smith is the founder of Jane out of the Box, an online resource dedicated to the women entrepreneur community. Discover more incredibly useful information for running a small business by taking the FREE Jane Types Assessment at Jane out of the Box. Offering networking and marketing opportunities, key resources and mentorship from successful women in business, Jane Out of the Box is online at www.janeoutofthebox.com
Author: Pamela Swift
Categories
Too Shy For Social Media?
When you think about getting involved with social media, do you feel stressed out? Negative? Avoidant? Don’t worry, that’s normal.
It can be daunting to think about putting yourself “out there” in terms of engaging in social media. Aside from the real privacy and safety concerns about being so transparent online, it is also easy to see that, in some facets, social media is like a popularity contest- and one in which everyone knows where you’re ranking.
For many of us, it reminds us of high school- where we really wanted to be popular, cool, and hip- but just didn’t know how. And it’s not helped, at all, by the fact that some of our peers and colleagues feel so at ease swimming in the social media pool.
Underneath the shyness may be a feeling of discomfort- both of learning the new paradigm and then investing in it. We may use excuses of “social media is just a fad” or “serious businesses don’t use social media”, but, unfortunately, we’d be wrong on both counts.
Research suggests that the largest companies will be investing heavily in social media over the next few years. If you don’t dive in pretty soon, you might miss the party all together.
So what is a social media wallflower to do? Here are some tips to get started gently and easily with social media:
Determine how much you are comfortable sharing within the online space. Some people will be fine talking about their spouse, their work, and their pets- but not their children. Some people will feel more comfortable sharing about just their work and personal interests, sans family information or photos. There is not “right” or “wrong” way to participate, so you should always do what makes you the most comfortable. Realize, too, that certain social sites may require more “up to the minute” updates (think of Twitter, for example), which may not be quite your style. Create some guidelines for what you’d be comfortable sharing with complete strangers who may, eventually, become part of your professional network.
Focus first on a professional social network. One of the easiest, and most familiar, ways to step into social media is by using professional social networking sites, such as LinkedIn. This site allows you to contribute professional data, and to connect with others around your professional network. Given that this site is quite similar to creating an electronic resume or CV, even the shyest person should be able to complete the profile process quite successfully. There is more to using LinkedIn, of course, but getting your profile up is the first step.
Read the instructions. Be sure you understand what kind of data each site collects, and how it uses or shares your information. On some sites, data you provide will be automatically shared (public/viewable) with other users. So clarify how the site uses data and set your privacy settings appropriately.
Start small. Like any new skill you want to acquire, it is best to start small. Select one or two sites to start with, and gradually add on others as you move forward.
And who knows? One day you may find yourself participating, sharing, networking- and loving every minute of it.
Dr. Rachna Jain is Chief Social Marketer at The Mindshare Corporation. Rachna works with speakers, consultants, authors, and small business owners to develop and execute effective social media marketing strategies. Her proprietary persuasive social media process (sm) focuses on building influence, credibility and visibility online. This translates into greater recognition, increased website traffic, faster lead generation, a shorter sales cycle, and more opportunity for her expert clientele. She blogs regularly at The Mindshare Blog
Article Contributed by Gary Jordan
Have you noticed how so much of the feedback we get about ourselves in life is negative?
Think back to school progress reports. Now, reflect on your job performance evaluations. How often did these assessments focus on what you were doing well, as opposed to where you needed to improve? If your experience is typical, feedback about your need for improvement far outweighed the feedback about what you did well.
This focus on deficits and where you fall short is almost a human obsession. Our attention is drawn to what we cannot do rather than what we can do; to what needs improvement rather than what can be celebrated.
Since it’s always possible to highlight something that isn’t there, the list of things to improve can be endless. But when you’re spending time working on your “weaknesses” you’re ignoring your strengths and talents and beating yourself up in the process. The result is physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion.
It’s time to work on changing your life by changing your perception and focus! Time to identify, claim and celebrate the natural gifts and talents you already have, instead of focusing on those you don’t. Finding a reason to give yourself a pat on the back can drastically impact your emotional well-being for the better. Trust me – it isn’t hard to do.
You have abilities for which you have innate potential – some of which you may already be aware, and some that are just waiting to be discovered and used.
These skills come easily to you because they reflect aspects of who you are, fundamentally. Sure, they may require development, but you’ll find that efforts spent on your talents are much more productive, meaningful and rewarding than struggling to improve a “weakness.” After all, teaching an eagle to fly is much easier than teaching it to swim.
Why not discover what skills you have that will help you get off the ground? Why not use the inherent gifts and abilities with which you were born? Why not live your talents? Think of the skills that others admire in you, and ones where you often receive complements. Then, look beyond that to areas that give you that nagging feeling, to gifts that are just begging to be utilized and enjoyed.
Getting started is easy. Take 10 minutes and make a list of activities (from any time in your life) that you wish you could do again or more often. Choose one activity from the list and make a plan to do it sometime in the next seven days. (If it’s something that requires extra preparation, do it within 30 days.)
After you have done it, reflect on the experience and ask yourself the following questions:
* What aspects of the activity were enjoyable?
* What talents or skills were engaged while doing the activity?
* How could you do more of this activity?
* What would you have to give up in order to spend more time on this activity?
These are important keys to living your talents and changing your outlook on life. When you choose to focus on and nurture your innate skills and abilities you begin to see yourself in a more positive light.
About the Author
With a PhD and MA in clinical psychology, Gary Jordan is a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. Gary is the visionary behind the Vega Role Facilities Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.VRFT.com
Article Contributed by Lynda-Ross Vega
Most of us have undeveloped talents that lie hidden inside us until they’re recognized and acted upon. Each of our talents is an opportunity waiting to happen.
Perhaps our natural talents and gifts weren’t recognized or appreciated when we were young. When that happens we tend to ignore or stifle them in order to avoid criticism, or we minimize ourselves by thinking, “Well, if I can do it, everyone else must be able to as well.”
The terrific insight about these internal opportunities is that, unlike their external counterparts, they can never be lost. But they can be missed unless you make the effort to discover them and then jump in and turn them into active talents.
Opportunities such as these are like muscles you have but never exercise. They function, often poorly and without great results at first. The good news is that like unused muscles, these opportunities can be consciously exercised and strengthened. The opportunity transforms into a talent!
Many people are surprised when they discover internal opportunities they never knew they had. Others admit sheepishly that they were aware of the skill, but didn’t think that it was anything “special.”
Overlooked opportunities can rob you of your full life’s potential and keep your natural talents from shining forth. If you want to do more of what you do best you must use all of your talents to their fullest.
Turning your opportunities into talents is an important step. Take action, do something, try something, get inspired!
Here’s one way to start: Brainstorm a list of at least 7-10 things you’ve always wanted to try. Some items on your list might be painting, playing the piano, learning a new language, whatever. Don’t censor yourself or worry about looking foolish. No one else has to see your list. From that list, choose one activity and pursue it in whatever way you can for the next 30 days. Do something you loved as a child. Try out a talent that you’ve always admired in others. Try something you imagine being terrible at. Do it even if it scares you.
The goal is to find something that will give you clues as to what it is that makes you happy. Discovering a hidden talent might be the catalyst that inspires a career change or presents a new business opportunity. Others say feeding a hidden talent gave them a boost in confidence to try something new, go after something they wanted or fulfill a life-long dream.
Finding our talents also helps us uncover those characteristics were we do not shine – those that make us unhappy and leave us feeling unfulfilled. The trouble is, when you waste your natural abilities you often feel stuck doing something you hate. It’s just as important to weed those skills out.
Discovering and nurturing a new talent is an opportunity to find what you need in order to be successful in life and enjoy life more fully. When we are doing what we love, we are often performing at our best. This leads to a kind of fulfillment that allows us to live life passionately and happily.
About the Author
A partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., Lynda-Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and coaches build dynamite teams and systems that WORK. She is co-author of Vega Role Facilities Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.VRFT.com
Even with the ongoing recession, building a business online remains a viable approach for any new start-up. Why? Well, while even online retailers are feeling the pinch of a tight economy, they are also expected to pick up market share at the expense of traditional retailers during this downturn. So, an online approach is both more sustainable during a slowdown and a way to get more out of the next economic recovery.
According to a recent study of 151 online retailers, most expect growth to slow over the next year, and most are seeing the recession impact their bottom lines. However, 80 percent of the survey respondents see online retailing as better equipped than traditional retailing for countering the effects of the recession. This is why online retailers should continue to take market share from more traditional competitors.
However, that does not mean that all online businesses will succeed. There are some fundamental steps that will help an online business get off the ground more smoothly.
1. Research Online Demand For Your Products and Services. Online Research should help you determine several quantitative facts about your potential market, including overall size, demographic makeup, growth rate, and income level. These facts can serve as an initial reality check on your business plan, as well as help you make initial projections about the scope of your business. Beyond the quantitative benefits though, some fundamental market research should help you form a mental picture of your typical customer. This mental picture can subsequently inform a variety of other business choices, from web site design and development elements, to where to promote your site, to what range of related products or services to offer.
2. Understand Who Is Your Competition. Your market may look attractive in isolation, but next you need to assess the competition. Who are the market leaders, and what are their strengths and vulnerabilities? Who are the new entrants into the market, and which ones are picking up market share? Knowing your competition will help you determine where you fit into the marketplace, and this in turn will influence your product, promotion, and pricing strategies.
3. Back-Office Infrastructure Payment Processing. For one thing, an online business relies on a technology infrastructure that is affordable and yet will stand up to spikes in volume due to seasonality or successful promotions. Then there are key details such as credit card processing -and a merchant account– things that make the buying process as seamless as possible. For most start-up businesses, basic infrastructure issues such as the technology platform and credit card processing are outside their primary areas of expertise, so outsourcing solutions should be considered. Always compare credit card processing prices and merchant account prices before you select the one that best fits your business needs.
4. Attractive Website Design to Increase Traffic and Conversions. Now you can think about setting up shop. That’s precisely how you want to think about web site design–it is your place of business. The look and navigation of that Web site help you project an image to your customers. Are you hip, or are you traditional? Are you complex, or easy to access? Different positioning calls for different images, but there are two universal rules to website design: don’t look amateurish, and don’t make it difficult for visitors to make a purchase. This is another area where outside, specialized help can make a big difference, as opposed to spending time on something beyond your reason for being in business.Compare Web Site Design Prices to select the one that best meets your needs.
5. Use Internet Marketing and SEO to Promote Products On Your Web Site. An online business should focus its promotional strategies on capturing an online audience. This means some non-traditional promotional strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing. SEO helps associate your product or service with Internet searches on related topics. Internet Marketing allows you to pay for Internet advertising according to the amount of activity it generates, and to monitor the results of that activity. Because the Internet is still a relatively new business medium, promotional techniques and consumer behaviors are changing rapidly. Fortunately, there are internet marketing specialists who can help you stay abreast of evolving strategies in Internet marketing. Use an online service to find and compare SEO prices and internet marketing price quotes.
Summary
Overall, there are two important principles to apply when starting an online business:
1. Your business plan should represent a combination of traditional business methods and techniques specific to the online medium
2. You should identify the tasks where your organization can add value, and outsource functions outside your primary expertise.
Applying these principles using the steps described above, should help you get your online business off to a successful start.