The Wealthy Business - by EnergizeGrowth

Don't Occupy Seattle! Harvest More Value from Your Customer Base

Nancy Porte of Vovici (now a Verint company) recently read my book, and asked me to spend time discussing some highlights. In this Listening Post interview, you will learn:

• Why it's important to balance online and offline customer feedback approaches
• The one factor most companies ignore when profiling their ideal customer
• How to gather valuable, live customer feedback

New Report on 2011 B2B Growth - Available until Sept. 29

Welcome to Fall in D.C...

I have lots of news to report. We just officially relocated to this area. We sold our Sunriver dream home, and said goodbye to our dear friends. Opportunity -- as well as shorter winters -- called us to the East Coast.

During the transition from Oregon to Virginia, we had to consolidate, pack, ship, and purge. It felt cumbersome at times--but in the end, we streamlined our home base and gave away the detritus that had lost their meaning and value.

You're Invited August 31: B2B Expert Panel with EMC, DemandBase

There comes a time when you have to stop blaming business slowdown on a tough economy and break free from feeling marginalized and commoditized.

I have found B2B companies who are thriving and innovating at a record pace. This session will bring their fresh ideas to you.

Join me on August 31 for this complimentary live panel discussion from the comfort of your office from 11-11:45 am PT/2-2:45 pm ET. FOCUS Expert Network will be hosting:

"Customer Centric Marketing Strategies to Escape the Commodity Trap"

 Click here to register and learn more. Don't worry--if you miss the event, you will receive the replay at no charge.

As a member of our community, I'm counting on you to send me your questions for our esteemed panelists:

Jim Bampos, VP of Customer Quality at EMC Corporation

and

Chris Golec, CEO of DemandBase

Register now. See you on the call!

copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.

Business After bin Laden

Ask any decorated leader — military or business — what keeps them focused and energized. They will echo what retired U.S. General Joseph Hoar shared with me a decade ago: a daily commitment to quietly reflect and re-evaluate our course. As world citizens discuss and debate the proper way to respond to the successful capture and killing of Osama bin Laden, we face the same opportunity.

Free strategic marketing e-courses – Offer expires May 10

Many B2B small business owners read my book and wonder “how will I ever implement these marketing strategies in my own business? This seems like a lot of work.”

And without a roadmap and a guide, they are right.

That is why I put together a complimentary set of e-courses to help you simplify the process.

We break down the marketing and business planning process into weekly lessons that anyone can complete. Sometimes they will take as little as 20 minutes.

How to Turbo-Charge Your Growth Plan in One Hour or Less

In my previous post, I shared the most common obstacles to implementing your business development and growth plans.  Now that you have identified these saboteurs, and you have chosen to rally your most trusted advisors to keep you on track, how will you use their time wisely?

The EnergizeGrowth® Plan Review Process will help.  I have led over 100 plan reviews in the past decade using this approach.  Benefits far outweigh the time and effort you will invest. For example, teams have discovered vulnerabilities in their plans that they otherwise would have entirely missed. Within just a short time, the process gives you a holistic view of the company's growth potential from the perspective of customers, adversaries, and senior management.

View and download the EnergizeGrowth® Plan Review Process by clicking here.

Business growth reviews take discipline--and they can also be highly rewarding.  This process removes some of the fear and mystery.  Let me know how yours progresses and post your comments here.

[Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net]

[This post originally appeared in FastCompany.]

Copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.

Nine Common Obstacles that Derail Growth

As you approach the end of the first quarter of 2011, your growth plan and marketing activities are well underway.  How will you keep them fresh and relevant?

Launching and implementing your growth plan entails risks.  Plans often expose underlying conflicts within the organization. It may disrupt the status quo, the ways decisions are made, and strain the most established relationships among key players. How can you prevent current operating norms and B.S. (Belief Systems) from dictating, derailing, or delaying your growth plan?

The first step is to understand the main causes of plan derailment. Here are the most 9 common ones that I have observed over the past two decades:

1. Lack of communication -- The plan doesn't get communicated to employees or allies who keep on working in the dark.
2. Mired in the day-to-day -- Managers consumed by daily operating problems lose sight of long-term goals. Today’s technical outage, employee resignation, or client emergency will happen. The question is: how well are you structured to delegate some of these emergencies to others who can handle them?
3. Out of the ordinary -- The plan is treated as something separate and removed from the management process.
4. People perceive vision, mission and value statements as fluff. How did that limiting belief become part of your company culture?
5. The plan is reviewed too infrequently to stay relevant. If you are relying on one annual retreat to review your plan, you might as well not have one. It has already become obsolete.
6. Conducting business as usual after a live planning meeting. How often have you seen teams leave a planning session and quietly comment about “getting back to normal again?”
7. Failing to make the tough choices. A solid, well thought out plan will reveal deficiencies in your team, your marketing plan, your funding, or your capacity. Are you ready to fill those gaps and relieve people who are a poor fit in the new organization? Or, do you tend to hope they will leave on their own accord? Will you need to meet with your banker and request a higher line of credit?  These are challenges you must confront, not ignore.
8. Lacking a scoreboard: Are you measuring what's easy, or what is important?
9. Neglecting to benchmark your company against the competition. Remember that your biggest competitors may include Inertia, Inc. and Not Invented Here.

You can overcome these common planning mishaps.

For best results, regularly share the strategic plan with other stakeholders like investors, customers, alliance partners, etc. An "open book" approach will likely generate more helpful ideas and suggestions about the future of your business.In our next post, I will show you a process to guide the reviews and turbo-charge your teams.

[Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net]

[This post originally appeared in FastCompany.]

Copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.

The Secret Life of Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) – Part 3

Our last two posts, The Secret Life of Customer Advisory Boards, Part 1 and The Secret Life of Customer Advisory Boards, Part 2, showcased the definition and design of customer advisory boards. Let’s say you succeeded in these first two steps in your CAB strategy: Design and Recruitment. How can you keep the CAB vibrant for years to come?

The Secret Life of Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) – Part 2

Our previous post outlined the essential definition and purpose of a customer advisory board (CAB). If you are embarking on this effort, be prepared for the potential to generate breakthroughs you never imagined.

During my interviews with advisory board experts and over two dozen B2B firms, I discovered nine strategies for designing an effective CAB. Many of them shared some impressive ROI from their program. These strategies will give you a foundation for success and will minimize time-wasting planning activities.

The Secret Life of Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) – Part 1

If you were the VP of Marketing of an Atlanta-based technology firm three years ago, chances are you were not having fun.

Jill, the VP, was working diligently in her office one day when the CEO walked in to pay a visit. The CEO, Don, proudly announced that he was ready to fund a customer advisory board (CAB). The company just recently received a hefty VC financial boost, and the CAB would help them grow faster.

Or so he hoped.

Don hand-picked the members he wanted to invite--over 30 individuals--and Jill had no say in the group nominees. Over a two year period, the CAB experienced sixty % turnover. Group members were tired being used primarily as a test bed for new innovations. The CAB disbanded with little fanfare.

When I recently interviewed more than 30 B2B companies with CAB experiences, similar debacles were reported more often than you would think.