If your market’s perception of what you sell–your service or product–is no different from others in your trading area, you sell a commodity. And if that’s the perception, (so pervasive that even you accept it) you’re in a dangerous trap because the only way you can compete is on price. And that’s a recipe for dis...
I run a management consulting business specializing in a very small discrete industry segment. We have had extremely good results through me personally visiting the CEOs or other senior executives. However, although I believe it is important for me to meet with these prospective clients early in the sales cycle, i...
[Paul Wenke has been an EMyth Client since October 2005, and graduated from the Coaching Program in December 2006.]
It started because my 16-year-old son had outgrown the length of his twin bed. He needed a longer, larger mattress and box spring set. We thought we needed a full mattress, but we did our research and discovered that while a full mattress is wider than a twin, it’s not longer. A queen on the other hand is wider an...
We need to begin with an important distinction: Advertising—what EMyth refers to as "Lead Generation"—is the "magnet" you use to attract the customers you want to your business. Marketing is the process you use to determine who and where those people are, what they buy from you, why they buy from you, and how they...
You're a small business owner and, like most of your fellow entrepreneurs, you’re feeling squeezed from every side. The cost of doing business, being in business and getting more business just seems to be going up.
"The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer."
It is a well known truism that the best customer is a happy customer. It follows that the best leads are referrals from happy customers. Referral leads are almost always the best prospects because a recommendation from one customer to another provides credibility, a positive impression and reduces doubt in the pro...
Without customers, a business does not exist.
I'm a recent subscriber to Netflix-that wildly successful nationwide, online DVD-by-mail rental service. This amazingly simple business model has already captured my attention-and my credit card. I've been happily receiving and returning postage-free movies from them for the last two months.
You may have heard the saying that a customer who buys a drill from you isn't actually buying a drill, they're buying a hole. They don't need a drill, they need what a drill provides, which, of course, is a hole. This is equally true for your business regardless of what you believe you are selling. And when it com...
The art of marketing is the never-ending challenge to answer this question: What emotional needs do my customers have that my business could fulfill? To help you find the answer, we suggest that you start by collecting information on your customers through a variety of techniques, including conducting customer sur...
Business has changed. Excellent customer service is no longer enough on its own to separate you from your competition. Whether you want to grow or just maintain your business, start with the assumption that all your competitors are already providing the same high-level of service as you are (in addition to offeri...
The importance of understanding gratification mode and purchase preference
Creating a positive customer experience involves more than just delivering your product and service "on time, exactly as promised." At every point of contact with your customers — at every "touch point" — your business must be engineered to create positive associations and expectations of gratification. Indeed, th...
Your best customers are those who love doing business with you, and can't say enough good things about you. EMyth defines these customers as your "advocates." Looking at your overall sales strategy, are you remembering to leverage these precious resources? If not, why?