The Wealthy Business - by EnergizeGrowth

The #1 Risk Facing B2B Businesses

Here is a guest post from my colleague, Jon Picoult of Watermark consulting.

The biggest risk facing businesses today is also one of the most manageable.

That’s my conclusion after reading Lloyd’s of London’s newly released 2011 Risk Index report, which ranks the top concerns of companies around the world based on a survey of over 500 C-suite and Board level executives.

The Power of New

It's that time again. The pied pipers of business performance beckon us to create new goals, forge new alliances, attract new customers, and hire great people.Unfortunately, we carry too many of our old habits, routines, and tools into the new year. How can we ensure that our new ideas and plans are not tainted by the old ones?

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

Marketing and Planning Lessons from the Most Innovative Companies

Are you struggling with where you can create a first mover market advantage in 2012? Before you choose, consider reading Booz & Co.'s newest "Global Innovation 1000" report. It debunks the myth that there is a direct correlation between R&D spending and higher levels of innovation. These findings will help you determine where to invest your resources and grow.

Scrapping Billable Hours For A More Client-Friendly B2B Service

Don't walk into Clearspire's D.C. headquarters and expect to be impressed. Spartan furnishings and a simple glass sign adorn the waiting room. You may not believe you are in the right place--the offices lack the posh trappings of an emerging law practice competing against the top 200 firms.

Yet they represent the new face of the legal profession. And they are winning global Fortune 500 clients by focusing not on the quality of their office trappings, but on the way in which they deliver and manage client engagements. Other B2B companies would be wise to learn how Clearspire is changing the client rules of engagement in a traditionally secretive, high touch, low-tech field.

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.

Customer-Centric Strategies to Escape the Commodity Trap

One of my close friends provides image consulting and communications training to corporations and professionals in career transition. She regularly receives calls from low level corporate gatekeepers in Human Resources, Finance, Training, and other non-revenue producing areas. They ask for proposals for training programs, and never expect to get into any conversation about their business with my friends. All they want is that proposal to prove they did their due diligence.

These gatekeepers are doing what they do best: saving their company money and treating vendors like commodities.

If you are lucky or just a downright innovative genius, you will never fall into this commodity trap. If, however, you have been dragged into the land of commoditization, your job is to escape as quickly as you can. It is a dubious place to live with marginal value or spark.Things will not improve--unless you are willing to experiment with customer-centric ideas to uncover category-killing innovations. With some determination, planning, and a bit of luck, you may just position yourself to become the next Apple in your industry.

Let me illustrate why this is the ideal time to consider customer-centric marketing. Most of your competitors are still hoarding cash and focusing inward. Worse yet, they may be buying into the media naysayers, who are claiming that the U.S. is ostensibly in the midst of a "lost decade." (You can't make this stuff up--I heard it on the BBC this week. I guess the BBC reporter forgot that Facebook, Google, Apple, and Zappos are defining a new decade. But I digress).

I recently interviewed two executives who live and breathe customer centric marketing strategies: Chris Golec, CEO of DemandBase and Jim Bampos, VP of Customer Quality at EMC Corporation. This roundtable recording will provide details.

Here are our collective recommendations to help you engage your customers in your commodity "escape plan":

1. Accept the fact that sometimes, your products and services cannot escape the commodity trap. The only remaining area where you can outpace competition are your relationships with customers, vendors, your employees, and your community. Zappos, now an amazon subsidiary, does this very well.Their culture is obsessed with delivering fun, weird, memorable customer experiences. Golec reported that DemandBase's unique customer relationships and customer success program have enabled them to discover an unmet need, which resulted in a new product idea that now comprises nearly 90% of their total revenues.

2. Track how often you put your customer first while making strategic and marketing decisions. Customer-centric cultures share one thing in common: the entire company is oriented and incented around customer success, and a single customer metric shapes behavior.

3. Be mindful of end of quarter pressures to close business at any cost. They will undermine your customer-centric efforts and core competencies. Whether you are a startup or a publicly traded company, this can become a huge obstacle to long term success. Avoid succumbing to unique customization requests. Jim Bampos indicated that EMC mitigates this risk. "We take a holistic view of what is most important to the customer, then we tie it back to each business unit. The proof points are if the business units are using our customer metrics to drive business decisions." 

4.  While enrolling customers in key decisions, and gathering valuable feedback, monitor how your stakeholders going to take action on the data. Your customers want to know that their input is valued beyond the interview or advisory board discussion. EMC distributes mirror surveys to the entire organization to assess employee's perception of how well EMC is managing the customer experience.

5. Get creative on metrics. If you are truly committed to building a customer centric culture and marketing plan, look beyond customer renewal rates. Golec indicates that time to value is a priceless measure: "We track the time from when we close the sale how long it takes before they have a measurable benefit from our technology. The minute that happens, we improve our relationship with that account." Find a way to temper sales' innate desire to drive a bigger sale and boil the ocean.

6. Focus your customer centric efforts on ideal customers. Any program will fail if you administer programs across all customer segments and try to serve anyone with a pulse and a budget.

7. Let customers know you are building a customer-centric company. They may just have a new idea on how you can further strengthen the program. Don't keep it a secret!

8. Build social media incentive programs for your initiative. EMC is launching several new online forums where they will announce the agreed upon action steps generated from from their Voice of the Customer programs.

Gatekeepers play an important role in managing expenses. That doesn't mean you have to live in their world.These strategies will help you avoid getting ensnared in their commodity trap.

This post originally appeared on Fastcompany.com.

copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.

Why Customer Driven Cultures will Stall Your Growth

When your biggest customer calls with an emergency request, do you dial 911? Chances are you are setting off unintended fire alarms – and causing your profits to lose altitude.

I met Shane, a dubiously anointed “star salesperson,” on a client assignment in San Diego. He piloted the biggest customers. When I worked with the General Manager of this $40M software division—his boss—I noticed how Shane could turn the entire support and customer service organization into a tailspin with one email. I cringed when I witnessed how his knee-jerk

1 to 1 Feature Article: Attitude and the Customer Experience

I recently enjoyed meeting Ginger Conlon, Editor in Chief of 1 to 1 Media, a Peppers & Rogers company.
Ginger and her editorial crew span the globe to identify customer-centric planning and marketing trends.
She recently reviewed my book and asked me to comment on:

• The linkage between customer experience and your BS (belief systems)
• How values can guide positive customer experience efforts
• Tips for tracking the right key performance indicators
• Specific actions that today’s customer-focused companies should stop doing

Enjoy this article now:
http://www.1to1media.com/weblog/2011/08/attitude_and_the_customer_expe.html

copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.

EnergizeGrowth Goes Dutch: Podcast on Growing Mindshare and Market Share

I recently discovered a like-minded company from the Netherlands--Energize NL. Founder Klaas Weima recently interviewed me on key growth issues, including:

• The biggest obstacles to growth
• How leaders address a slowdown in growth
• What is BS, and how it impedes market growth 

This 22 minute discussion provides some Cliff Notes on my latest book.

Click here to download:
http://www.energize.nl/wat-we-delen/sparkcast/?sce=46

Click here to listen on iTunes:
http://tinyurl.com/6z64e6q

Copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.