Lecturing at Harvard University…
August 2nd, 2010
The Octopus Solution gave a lecture to a great group of international business students who attend the Harvard Business School. The lecture consisted of our background stories, the global impact on our businesses and successful strategies we have implemented. Our key talking points was:
The Three Hearts
One of our main foundational systems used by The Octopus Solution is The Three Hearts. These three hearts: the potential customer, the established customer, and the repeat customer, are responsible for pumping and renewing life through out a business. Without customers,there is no business.
The Potential Customer: The first heart beats within External Marketing, where the potential customer is driven to the company through marketing efforts.
The Established Customer: The second heart beats within Sales, where the potential customer is turned into an established customer by closing them on your product or service and then providing them a great customer experience.
The Repeat Customer: The third heart beats within Internal Marketing, where the established customer is turned into a repeat customer because he or she is highly satisfied.
These three hearts represent the source of life responsible for the survival and growth of a business. Therefore, your knowledge and understanding of customer flow must be a major focus. Most business owners, as they should be, are fixated on driving customers in the door. Without a customer, as common sense would tell you, there is no sale and without a sale, you have no business. Unfortunately, most business owners forget that once they have a customer, they must focus a balanced amount of energy on keeping them as they did to initially attract them.
The better you are at creating repeat customers, the more successful your business will be in the long run. “Acquiring a customer costs five to ten times more than retaining one. Repeat customers spend, on average, 67% more. After 10 purchases a customer has referred as many as 7 other people.”
Bottom line: keeping customers satisfied will pay massive dividends in the end. Making sure customers come back means knowing exactly what they want. Consequently, the more you can profile the potential customer and established customer, the better chance you have at catering to the needs of a potential customer and maintaining the needs of a repeat customer.
Happy 4th of July
July 2nd, 2010
We wish you a relaxing and safe 4th of July weekend. Enjoy time with your family, friends or just laying on the beach. Thank you for following our Blog and wanting the BEST for your business.
Independence Day, commonly known as July 4th or the Fourth of July, commemorates the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The document, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, served as a formal announcement that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire and would henceforth be free and independent states. Regarded as the birthday of the United States of America, the day is typically celebrated with parades, fireworks, ceremonies, barbecues and family gatherings.
We will keep posting…If you keep wanting great things for your business! Thank you!
Sometimes They Just Don't Get It!
June 2nd, 2010
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heSudg-tfIk&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6]
Many times marketing firms and advertising agencies do not listen, pay attention or care about your success. With these types of firms you become a number and the relationship goes away. We do not want to see your business hire a marketing firm that will not provide you with the experience and results you deserve. Our firm, The Octopus Solution, is not a fit for all businesses and organizations, but the ones we do work with achieve high levels of success and break through barriers. That is what we are dedicated too.
Enjoy the video and remember that all great relationships take time to develop and earn trust. Contact us to talk shop about the marketing needs of your company and we will tell you if we can help: info@theoctopussolution.com
The Easter Bunny Gone Bad
April 2nd, 2010
Like many holidays there is money to be made on Easter. It is sad that we commercialize all the major holidays, but we do so lets talk about it.
When did Easter go commercial? It seems that in the past 100 years corporate America has tried to make every holiday an everybody celebration. We now have mini-Christmas’s with this holiday and purchase:
- Food
- Candy
- Decorations
- Toys
- Easter baskets
- and a ton of the small things
These are all billion dollar industries and Easter is another point in a year to be able to capitalizing on increasing annual revenue. Maybe we should start to come up with huge holidays every month. The capitalization pulls away from the importance of holidays which is to share time with your family and those in need.
Can we using marketing to shift back into the other direction? Or does marketing screw holiday spirit up or do we need it to shift mass focus back to a different context? Can it be done?
The Octopus Solution is passionate about marketing and enjoy helping business owners increase their top line or brand exposure, but we do not want to do that if we compromise our ethics. Marketing is powerful. You learn about customer buying behavior, price sensitivity, demographics, rational, and many other things. With that information, marketers have tremendous power for how they can present products or services. We need to be careful.
For example, should we market products with aspartame knowing the damages it causes to our bodies? Should we market products we do not believe in? Can we honestly serve our clients?
So Easter is selling candy and other things to the public and what boundaries should we not cross?
Living the Life of a Business Owner…Need Help?
March 2nd, 2010
“The Appeal: Work for yourself, and you’re automatically the CEO. You get to make all the decisions, set your own hours, and keep all the profits. And you’re inspired by the stories of other entrepreneurs who became wealthy.
The Reality: Most new businesses fold within a few years. There are good reasons. For one thing, running a small business requires you to be good at many jobs: salesperson, buyer, accountant, marketer, operations manager, even janitor. Few people can do it all.”
- Marty Nemko: US News and World Report
Small business owner’s need real help! There are entire studies devoted to the analysis of small business progression and digression. Each study implies the same message just as strongly as the next: viable success. There is no doubt that most of these works are extremely valuable, providing information and advice on small business issues that have yet to be solved.
But, as clearly illustrated by the following statistics, there is still something missing. According to the following table, of the 649, 700 new firms that opened doors in 2006, a shocking 564,900 of them failed. This statistic indicates a failure rate of over 86 percent.
Interestingly enough, two-thirds of new businesses survive at least two years, while only 44 percent survive another two years. So what is the problem here? In order to fully understand the issues that these numbers represent, we must dig deeper into the mind of the small business owner.
In the most recent Staples Small Business Survey: 2008, the catalysts lurking deep within these statistics were revealed. Data suggests that over “98 percent of U.S. small business owners and managers are working during their time off, including nights, weekends, and vacations—and nearly 54 percent expect to work even harder in 2008.” Slightly more than 38 percent cannot remember the last time they took a vacation. Why is that? According to the survey, the two most influential factors in the downfall of any small business were organization and teamwork. Fortunately, the very essence of our company, The Octopus Solution, is based upon creating and perpetually improving these components in order to create more time and money for the small business owner.
Without a solid framework for providing organization, there is only one inevitable end: chaos and subsequent failure. In fact, when asked to compare their businesses to a track and field event at the Olympics, a mere “14 percent said their business operates like a relay race, with everybody working in tandem toward the same goal, whereas 26 percent think of business operations as a 100-meter dash, always sprinting and trying to do everything quickly.” In addition to this, if given a choice, nearly 52 percent said they would accept comparable business results in 2008 if they could have twice as much free time, while 48 percent said they would work more hours if they could double their company’s sales. Hence the American Dream becomes the American Nightmare and the only race that is running is the rat race.
In the end, if all the small business books, teachings, and seminars really worked, these statistics would be different. Unfortunately, there is not one small business solution available at this moment that offers a precise, step-by-step management system that is simple to implement for a small business.
The Octopus Solution is a step-by-step system for dealing with ROI Marketing, Relationship Selling and Performance Based Management. We maximize efficiency and production.
“People acquire small businesses in many ways, but all are faced with one common challenge: taking charge of everything involved in running a business.” – This Life Advice® material about Running a Small Business was produced by the MetLife Consumer Education Center.
You don’t have to run the rat race anymore.
Join with us and Succeed!
Advertising Slogans that Stick and Stuck
February 2nd, 2010
Reach out and touch someone. – AT&T
Please don’t squeeze the Charmin – Charmin
Life’s Good – LG
Snap, Crackle, Pop – Rice Krispies
The Real Thing – Coca-Cola
Where’s the beef? – Wendy’s
Plop, plop; fizz, fizz; oh, what a relief it is. – Alka Seltzer
Finger lickin’ good. – Kentucky Fried Chicken
He keeps going and going and going. – Energizer Batteries
Because you’re worth it. – L’Oreal
Let’s Make Things Better – Philips
Hello Moto – Motorola
It’s everywhere you want to be – VISA
We make money the old-fashioned way….We earn it – Smith Barney
Everything is easier on a Mac – Apple Computer
Nothing Runs Like A Deere – Deere&Company
Live unböring – Ikea
The ultimate driving machine. – BMW
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. – Federal Express
Go further with Shell – Shell Oil
Once you pop, you can’t stop. – Pringles
How do you spell relief? – Rolaids
We’re number two; we try harder. – Avis Rental Cars
Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven. – Pillsbury
No battery is stronger longer. – Duracell Batteries
Fahrvergnügen – Volkswagen
“I’ve fallen… and I can’t get up!” – LifeCall Medical System
Where’s The Beef! -Wendy’s
Time to Make the Donuts! -Dunkin Donuts
The Best Part of Waking Up is Folgers in Your Cup! -Folgers Coffee