Age of the Customer | The Age of the Customer – by Jim Blasingame

Crowd funding is not new, but crowdfunding is

August 6, 2014 11:31 am , admin

Crowd funding is not new, but crowdfunding is. Completely intuitive, both terms mean funds conveyed by a crowd to a solicitor.

It’s largely due to those two words, innumerable and anonymous, that crowdfunding has caught on to the point where several online platforms now aggregate funds seekers with funding crowds. Now with crowdfunding, the Internet simultaneously facilitates and disrupts our experiences with what I call the Four Cs of Modern Society: Connect, Communicate, Communities and Commerce.

So far, crowdfunding fits primarily into two categories:

Contributions/Fundraising

This is where an emotional connection motivates members of a crowd to give to a cause, project, idea, ideal, etc. Besides the emotional motivation, merchandise like a T-shirt or first album, for example, are likely to be involved as a token of thanks. This crowdfunding form is nothing more than donations.

Business funding

This money goes to a commercial venture, often a startup, with the expectation of receiving a first-of-its-kind product or future discount. The crowd knows the funds partially pay for the merchandise and partly capitalize the venture to which this crowd also has an emotional connection. This is business funding in the form of a commercial transaction, not investment.

Recently, crowdfunding has nudged closer to debt and equity capitalization. Peer-to-peer lending is an emerging form of crowdfunding, while the investment model still has legal and practical hurdles.

It’s clear that the future of small business capitalization will look a lot different than it does today. But for most small businesses the jury is still out on how the crowdfunding options will be part of their capitalization future.

In my next column I’ll use a practical approach and some tough love to reveal the challenges facing both the debt and equity sides of crowdfunding. Ironically, those two advantages of crowdfunding mentioned earlier, innumerable and anonymous, will manifest as potential barriers as we discuss the more sophisticated forms of crowdfunding.

Write this on a rock…

Crowdfunding is just new tools to accomplish traditional fundraising and capitalization.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Customer Care, Moment of Relevance, Online Content , Tagged: age of the customer, crowdfunding, customer communities, customers, Jim Blasingame, online technologies, Small Business Advocate, technologies

“Thank you” is golden, “No problem” is a problem

July 30, 2014 10:47 am , admin

It has happened to all of us: You’re being waited on at a restaurant, buying a product or returning something to a merchant, and as an employee is delivering some kind of service you say, “Thank you.”

Good for you; your mother would be so proud. But she wouldn’t be impressed by what has become an unfortunate response to thank you. After you say thank you for having your water refilled or your order completed, there is sadly a good chance the employee will say, incredibly, “No problem.”

So, from this response are you now to think that simply allowing service to be delivered is some sort of problem you’ve created, for which forgiveness should be granted? Should you feel relief that you’ve been redeemed by this person with “No problem” absolution?

Clearly, American English has devolved to a level that makes many of us nostalgic for casual. It’s difficult to pinpoint where things ran off the rails. But somehow the sublime “it’s my pleasure” has deviated into the subpar “no problem.”

Well, my friends, let’s get one thing straight: No problem is a problem. When small business employees say no problem to a customer instead of you’re welcome, it’s a serious problem that over time could be the equivalent of a business death wish.

Think I’m overreacting? How much money do you spend getting a customer to do business with you? How much energy and resources do you invest into making sure your products, pricing, display, etc., are just right? How many sleepless nights do you spend worrying about how to compete with the Big Boxes?

Now that we’ve established the enormity and consequences of these answers, are you sure that no employee of yours ever causes one of your customers to think — even subliminally — that the mere fact that they do business with you could be some kind of problem?

In The Age of the Customer, the only thing unique about your relationship with a customer is the experience they have with you — how they FEEL about doing business with you. Everything else is a commodity. Everything!

So, pray tell, in what universe does “no problem” help your business maximize the positive emotions of an excellent customer experience? Stop saying it, and train your employees to stop saying it. If success is your goal, this is non-negotiable!

There must be 39 different ways in the English language to express your delight in serving a customer without saying “no problem.” Use one of them.

Write this on a rock… In The Age of the Customer, “Thank you” is golden, “No problem” is a problem.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Customer Care , Tagged: age of the customer, business, communication, courtesy, customer care, customer communities, employees, Jim Blasingame, manners, small business, training

Do you know how customers are finding you?

July 24, 2014 11:30 am , admin

In the old days, when someone would call or come in the door of your business for the first time, you would ask them how they found you. And since it’s not your customer’s job to catalog such things for future retrieval, you probably had to help them a little by reciting examples of where you might have spent your marketing budget: an ad on the radio, TV, newspaper, Yellow Pages, a Little League uniform, etc.

Here in the second decade of the 21st century, asking how customers find you is still important, but with one new element: For the past 10-15 years, you should also include, “or did you find us online?”

Not too long ago, saying “our website” instead of “online” would have been appropriate. Today, online is best because customers can find you in other places on the Internet, including the social media and customer review platforms, even if, Heaven forbid, you don’t have a website.

The question is not whether your company is “out there” online today, but rather to what degree and – this is so important it will be on the test – what is being said about your business.

We wanted to know how much small businesses are attributing sales performance to the Internet, so recently we asked our radio and online audience this question: “How much of your 2011 sales do you think will result from some kind of Internet activity, even as simple as people just finding your business mentioned online?” The results made me very happy. About 90% of our respondents said they would be able to attribute some sales in 2011 from the Internet.

Breaking the numbers down, over 50% said less than half of 2011 sales would be attributed to online activity. The next number is really exciting: About one-fourth said they would see more than half of their sales from the Internet. And finally, the bookends: Those who said all of their sales would come from the Internet were almost the same – around 10% – as those who recorded a goose egg because (read this with a nasal whine), “We don’t have a website.”

As the Age of the Customer™ becomes the marketplace norm, your customers are increasingly demanding more connection and support from you with online resources. Any company that is not making at least some effort to meet the growing online support demand will experience the painful death of irrelevancy.

Write this on a rock … You don’t have to win the online race to be successful, but you do have to show up and compete.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Customer Care, Future Thinking , Tagged: age of the customer, business, customer care, customers, Jim Blasingame, sales performance, small business growth, small business success

Connecting with global prospects and getting paid

July 23, 2014 10:42 am , admin

This is the second of two articles on small businesses going global.

In the first article, I allowed that it can be exciting for business leaders to imagine a global prospect base of more than seven billion people. But for a small business to imagine an export strategy, it’s at once exciting and intimidating because of the three elemental global business questions, the first of which we focused on last time: Who are my global prospects? Now let’s focuses on the other two: How to connect with them and how to get paid.

The good news is that there are two government agencies standing by to answer both of these questions. Each one provides digital information, human assistance and global networks designed to help a small business maximize its opportunity to create and execute a successful export strategy.

The, “How do I connect with global prospect?” question can be answered by the U.S. Commercial Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. This should be your first stop for education on finding and converting global prospects into customers.

When you consider all of their resources, the U.S. Commercial Service is a virtual one-stop shop for developing and executing a small business export strategy: a great website (Export.gov); a toll-free number (800-872-872) answered by a real person; over 100 offices around the U.S., plus dozens more around the globe you can walk right into and ask for help; and their book, “A Basic Guide to Exporting,” includes an excellent tutorial and several case studies.

All of that help is free, with the exception of the book and any direct expenses incurred on your behalf.

Export-Import Bank of the United States (ExIm.gov) can answer the “how do I get paid” question on many levels.

Part of the U.S. government, Ex-Im Bank will assist with the financial elements of your export sale. They will working with the banks on both sides of the transaction to coordinate funds transfers, provide loan guarantees, and even pre-delivery working capital for you and post-delivery financing for your customer.

For generations, big firms have owned the franchise on global business. But shifts in technology and demographics are making the global marketplace more compelling and feasible for small businesses.

Contact these two organizations and let them help you develop a global business strategy.

Write this on a rock…The global marketplace – and 7 billion prospects – are waiting for you.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Entrepreneurship, Online Content , Tagged: age of the customer, business, entrepreneurs, global, global prospects, Jim Blasingame, small business

Identifying your small business global prospects

July 16, 2014 2:35 pm , admin

In case you haven’t heard, the seven billionth Earthling was born recently.

For the global marketplace, seven billion prospects are exciting. But for growing American small businesses, 96% of those folks live outside the U.S.

Once, small business growth meant expanding to the next county. But in the 21st century, shifts in technologies and demographics have made expanding outside America’s four-walls increasingly compelling. But it has also produced three elemental global business questions: Who are my prospects, how do I connect with them and how do I get paid? Let’s focus on the “Who” first, with these global stats from National Geographic (January 2011), plus my editorializing.

Nineteen percent of Earthlings are Chinese, 17% are Indian and 4% are American. By 2030, the first two will invert.
By gender, males barely edge out females: 1.01 to 1.0. But my demographic experts report wide swings in median age among countries, which must factor in any export strategy.
In a historical shift, just over half of Earthlings are now urbanites. Remember, city folk use different stuff than their country cousins.
Here are global workplace profiles: 40% of us work in services, 38% in agriculture and 22% in industry. This means different things to different industries, but it means something to all businesses.
English is the international language of business, but is the first language of only 5% of global prospects. When doing business outside the U.S., be culturally sensitive and patient with the translation process.
Breaking news: 82% of your global prospects are literate. If you can read and write you can improve your life, which explains the growth of the middle class in emerging markets. A growing global middle class means more affluent consumers.
Computers are luxuries for most Earthlings. But cell phone usage is exploding across the globe and billions who never owned a PC, or used the Internet, will soon do both with a smart phone. Two words, Benjamin: global mobile.

Even though India and China are much in the news, American small businesses should consider export opportunities in our own hemisphere first, especially where trade agreements are in place, like Canada, Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Chile.

In the next article we’ll address the other two elemental questions: How to connect with global prospects and how to get paid.

Write this on a rock… Consider business growth outside of America’s four walls.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Business Ownership, Entrepreneurship , Tagged: age of the customer, business, business development, business growth, development, global business, growth, international business, Jim Blasingame, small business, success

Converting to a new kind of quality in the Age of the Customer

July 9, 2014 3:59 pm , admin

Successful customer service is the process of delivering value to a customer in exchange for payment.

Surely this is the prime directive of any business.

But this process isn’t truly successful unless the relationship can be sustained; and only quality produces sustainability.

“Quality service” is a 20th century term businesses use to declare a commitment to diligent customer support. But customers typically associate it with, and businesses too often tolerate it as, promptly addressing a problem. Here’s what quality service might sounds like:

“We’re sorry that part was the wrong size. But we’re committed to quality service, so one of our trucks will be there in an hour with a new part.”

In most cases, quality service impresses the customer. But while prompt attention is admirable, it’s not optimal because it has a negative impact on sustainability in at least two ways:

1) The customer was inconvenienced by inaccurate service;

2) fixing an avoidable problem is the worst kind of profit-eating inefficiency.

In the 21st century, successful small business customer service requires converting “quality service” to the quality process.

Executing a quality process, put simply, is serving customers right the first time. Accomplishing a quality process ranges from the very basic – accurate order filling, to the more complex plan of integrating into your operation only those vendors that share your quality process commitment.

The optimal goal of your quality process is sustainability through profitable customer relationships. This is accomplished when customers return to find your profitable business is still there, ready to serve them successfully – again.

Cash is king because the impact of negative cash on a business will take your breath away. And profit is queen only because the manifestation of negative profit takes longer than negative cash, which is the reason why quality service is even tolerated as a business practice.

When you’re ready to stop tolerating profit-eating quality service and convert to the profit-making quality process, here’s a good a place to start: Leslie Kossoff’s book Managing for Quality just out now in the new 21st century edition, in hard-copy and e-formats.

Remember, the quality service you’re so proud of may be admirable, but when delivered in response to something that was avoidable, it assaults profitability, threatens sustainability and, therefore, ultimately could put you out of business.

Write this on a rock… Convert quality service into the more profitable – and sustainable – quality process.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Management , Tagged: age of the customer, business, business practices, Jim Blasingame, quality, quality process, quality service, small business

Forge the customer goodwill alloy of “Thank you”

July 3, 2014 11:00 am , admin

What would you pay for a small business silver bullet to win the fight with Big Boxes and online competitors?

Before you get overwrought about how you would come up with the cash for something so valuable, here’s good news: It’s free and you already possess it.

There are several versions of this silver bullet, each to be used at an appropriate time and engagement, but here’s the default version and the most important one: “Thank you.” I promise, if your customers never leave behind their hard-earned cash without hearing a heartfelt, “Thank you,” your business would become a competitive force to be reckoned with.

Here’s an expanded version: “Thank you for your business.” Long after this sentiment enters the ears of customers, when they’re considering the next purchase of what you sell, they will remember that you looked them in the eye and lodged these words in their heart: “Thank you for your business.”

Here’s one more, in response to a request or when a customer thanks you first: “It’s my pleasure.” And if you really want to pull off the silver bullet hat trick, say, “Thank you. It’s our pleasure to serve you. We really appreciate your business.”

Photo courtesy of lifecare-edinburgh.org.uk

Saying thank you – and making customers believe it – forges what I call the “Customer Goodwill Alloy.” Just as steel is created when you forge iron with other elements, customer goodwill is created when values, commitment and engagement are forged in the crucible of training, practice and execution, causing your employees to say “Thank you.”

We all know what happens when steel is left exposed and unmaintained: Corrosion causes it to revert to its base elements as rust. But do you know what happens when the “Customer Goodwill Alloy” is left unmaintained and exposed to the elements? It sounds like this, “No problem.” Or, “Here you go.” Or, “Have a good one.” Or even worse – nothing! Not even eye contact!

If you want to compete in The Age of the Customer, you can’t allow your business to revert to customer service rust. More than a means to an end, it must become a way of life to forge and maintain the “Customer Goodwill Alloy” every hour of every day of every year.

If your door is open, if your phone is ringing, if your website is working, customers must know how important they are to you. Otherwise, save yourself a lot of money and anguish and close up your business now. The Big Boxes have beaten you.

Paraphrasing Paul Simon so customers don’t leave you, there must be 50 ways to express your delight in serving a customer instead of “No problem.” Use them! Words matter!

Write this on a rock …“No problem” is a big problem that can be solved by simply saying “Thank you.”

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Customer Care , Tagged: age of the customer, business, customer care, customer goodwill, Jim Blasingame, small business

Plan for success while operating for survival

July 2, 2014 11:00 am , admin

Blasingame’s 2nd Law of Small Business states: It’s redundant to say “under-capitalized small business.”

Growing small businesses operate in the narrow danger zone between the leading edge and the bleeding edge of the marketplace. And since our capital reserves and options are limited, every small business CEO makes decisions every day that are at once as much about survival as success.

Photo courtesy of KSU

Here are four “operate for survival” things to do that will serve you well this year, followed by four “plan for success” ideas.

Cash used to be King, today it’s the Emperor. Ask employees to find and cut waste. Get them involved in reviewing operational processes and eliminate or tighten up inefficient ones. What’s their motivation? How about job security? Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
Stay close to accounts receivables and cash management. Many tasks can and should be delegated, but in a small business, whether you’re growing or just holding on, cash management is not one of them.
Declare war on excess inventory. Inventory is cash you can’t spend until a customer pays for it. Practice Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory management, not just-in-case.
Stay close to customers. This isn’t complicated: Ask customers what they want and then give it to them. We’re in the Age of the Customer – know your customers’ expectations.

Since opportunities will present themselves over the next year, here are four “plan for success” thoughts to consider as you take risks:

Eyes wide open. The marketplace we’re entering is going to look different than last year. That means opportunities – and threats – will look different, too.
Measure twice, cut once. Before taking a big growth step, apply the carpenter’s rule. Don’t scrimp on due diligence: check your assumptions, recheck your assumptions and then proceed with the best information you have, which might tell you to stop.
Mistakes are expensive. Can your capital picture support inevitable mistakes and/or surprises? Remember, there is a very fine line separating opportunity at the leading edge and the cash-eating bleeding edge.
Make your banker your partner. Keep him or her informed whether the news is good or bad – especially the bad. Remember this: An uninformed banker is a scared banker and no one ever got any help out of a scared banker.

Write this on a rock –Successful small business CEOs operate for survival while planning for success.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Banking, Customer Care , Tagged: business success, cash, CEO, Jim Blasingame, small business success, survival

AUDIO: Are you meeting your customers’ new expectations?

June 27, 2014 3:11 pm , admin

It’s the Age of the Customer, and your customers want to know about your business. But it’s not just the business practices they want to know about. They want to see your business from every angle.

Your prospects and customers have new expectations. Jim Blasingame explains that if you’re doing business the way you’ve always done it, you won’t meet your customers’ new expectations and your business will not survive.

Click the image below to start the recording.

Posted in: Age of the Customer, Customer Care , Tagged: age of the customer, business, customer, customer care, Jim Blasingame, online content, radio, radio program, small business

VIDEO: Allow customers to see your business’s authentic side

June 25, 2014 4:22 pm , , admin

Age of the Customer author and Small Business Advocate Jim Blasingame discusses the importance of introducing your customers to your business or company’s authentic side and offers three suggestions to help you convey your vision and values to your customers. Content is King — and we’re consumers of many different types of online content — but most content lacks the necessary engagement customers are craving. Give them authentic words.

Click the image to start the video.