Professional Service Provider or Business Owner or Bust?
July 28th, 2010
Lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, and Financial Planners are all professional services that many of us use through-out the year. These professionals are great at what they do and the better they are the higher their hourly rate. However, being a great Doctor or Lawyer does not mean that you are a great business owner. Many professional services individuals go into business for themselves without being aware of the commitments of running a business.
Many of the clients we work with in the professional services field are highly passionate about what they do. Their passion keeps them motivated as the business owner. But their is a gap in understanding. The gap is in the fact that they have to do 2 different full-time jobs: Practicing their profession AND being a business owner.
So what do you do if you would like to become a large corporation with multiple locations? If you are the owner of the firm how much time is left to practice your profession? Can you grow at all if you try to practice full time and run the business? How long until you burn-out?
Sadly, this is the big dilemma that many of these business owners face when they get to a certain point in their growth…They Max Out! This is a good barrier to hit because it means you are getting more and more successful as you reach your maximum capacity. But how do you break through that barrier and reach the next level of success?
We can help. Example: We worked with a Doctor to establish a plan that would allow him to tapper his practice time and increase his management and leadership time over the period of one year. This was to ensure he was prepared to have the foundation in place for managing multiple locations.
YUSA- A Band-Aid on a Broken Arm!
June 28th, 2010
For all of you unaware, one of the most well known brands in the world (The YMCA) has decided to produce a new logo and is unveiling it this July in Salt Lake City at their annual assembly.
We must ask this question: WHY?
We are not saying that creating a new logo and an updated branding message can be beneficial, but focusing on re-branding when most Y’s don’t have the systems to hold on to their current members is like putting a band-aid on a broken arm. To be more clear, most YMCA’s have member retention issues, not new members acquisition issues.
YUSA could have spent two to three years researching the YMCA’s current members and their REAL retention rates (this is a whole other issue). They could have taken the money they spent on the new logo design and re-brand and siphoned that money back to the YMCA’s at the local level. These dollars could have gone toward TEACHING YMCA’s and their staff on how to properly raise retention rates. If your YMCA’s retention rate is below 60%, you most likely do not need external marketing! Your YMCA needs performance management and internal marketing!
YUSA would have been able to put a lot more money in their own pocket if they could show each YMCA how to hold onto members and once this was accomplished they could produce a new logo and start a re-branding initiative. In this case, we put the cart before the horse.
Now lets say that this new logo and all its new color patterns do its job by piquing the interest of the consumer. This new consumer will check out the Y, may join and will, as statistics are showing, they will eventually leave. This new consumer will leave and still have a bad taste in his/her mouth because NOTHING changed! If you don’t connect the YMCA values with the consumers VALUES then we will never hold onto them, in addition to this we need to take care of them and show them that we are different than other fitness centers and pool facilities (research shows that 60% of members join for this reason, whether we like it or not).
Think about the impact for each local YMCA after the Salt Lake City Assembly “seminar high.” Each Y CEO will come back to their community and start trying to figure out its new budget to replace letterhead, signage, business cards, etc… The local Y will now shift its focus to putting this new logo in place and showing it off…you can paint an old car and put new tires on it but it still needs gas and an engine to run. Putting a new logo on a faulty system is not going to help this brand! Again, we are putting a band aid on a broken arm! It’s a distraction not a fix.
Do members care about a new logo or do they care about being taken care of, meeting expectations set forth and following through? Putting a new logo on the building does not change how a program is cancelled and how the member gets disappointed and frustrated. A logo does not hold staff accountable and give them clear direction on why they were hired and what product they are there to produce. A new logo will not conduct focus groups and surveys to find out the real way to give the member better service. A logo will not fix your communication issues. At many Y’s the back door is wide open and hundreds or thousands leave each year and could have been prevented.
We have fixed the retention issue and shut the back door with many Y’s; email us to talk about increasing your member retention: info@theoctopussolution.com
How to plan for a meeting to be most effective
May 28th, 2010
How many of us really plan for meetings, presentations and important things in our life? How can you truly give your best to make sure that you are prepared going into any situation?
G.R.O.W. Technology is going to soon be available for your to purchase. G.R.O.W. stands for:
- Glue
- Reason Why
- Outcomes
- Wrap-up
This planning tool provides you the necessary planning details and process to get the results you want from a meeting or anything else in your life. The way the G.R.O.W. Technology works is easy to use, simple and highly effective.
Many successful leaders use a similar type of planning tool to help them affect the results of a sports game, annual corporate goals, and many others things. An example for you:
The Boston Celtics are falling behind in the playoffs and their coach Doc Rivers needs to get the team back on track. He can use G.R.O.W. Technology to help lay the foundation and planning for the team to turn things around. Until you determine the detailed picture of the future and the ideal scene, you can not work backwards into the things needed to achieve those end results. This is what we designed this planning tool for!
G.R.O.W. Technology is available on request starting June 1, 2010 for $38.00. You can order your workbook by emailing us at: info@theoctopussolution.com, please write “G.R.O.W. Technology Request” in the subject line.
The planning tool will change how you plan all things in your business and personal life.
Direct Mail Still Works, Some Issue To Consider…
April 28th, 2010
It’s getting more expensive and has a low rate of return but if done correctly it can be a very useful tool.
It has been said that a 2% return on direct mail is considered a success. I do not hold this as being a benchmark for today’s business environment. Too many aspects of business have changed dramatically for old standby standards to be applicable to today’s marketing strategies.
The first huge adjustment to be made is the influence of the internet which is rapidly replacing direct mail for many marketing programs.
Secondarily the cost is no longer low as it costs us approximately $1.50 to print and mail a typical direct mail piece in an envelope first class mail.
A one sheet mailer without an envelope sent first class will cost approximately $1.00. Thus a basic cost per 1000 is $1000-$1500.
However please keep in mind that the only way to capture the full potential of the mailing list is with multiple mailings. Thus a successful targeted mailing strategy must include a series of mailings to extract the full benefit from the list.
We start with a two page first class mailing in an envelope, followed by calls and faxes or emails if appropriate, then a one sheet mailer, then a postcard reminder. This seems to get the most return for us.
Others use additional mailings, some use all postcards or all on sheets without envelopes, we use all three. The post card ends up costing us about .50 per.
The strategy is heavily influenced by the size of your normal average invoice, and the profitability of the sale. In addition the rest of the marketing plan must also be considered as it’s the whole plan that must work together and be considered together when discussing a single aspect of the plan.
For example, are you trying to educate? If so, are you driving them to your web site where more information can be disseminated cheaply? Are you setting the stage for a visit or a phone call or an appointment, all to be considered when determining how many mailings, and what they consist of and what your budget may be?
Are you throwing darts at a board randomly or are you pinpointing your market and going right after a specific potential client?
All those factors will help you decide what mailing piece to use and how many to send over what period of time, and when to make the call.
The one thing we have learned, that no matter how good your mailing piece is, it takes many hits to create an impact. The return is always far less than you think it ought to be. Thus you may be wasting good money if you shoot your budget on one mailing and then wait and see what happens. Be prepared to mail again and possibly another time or two sharpening the message and developing the story and of course a call following the mailing is extremely important in most cases.
Humor works, a good story works, testimonials work…, information is usually second in importance. See what works for you. Mailings have a definite place in a marketing strategy. You should evaluate and determine the role a mailing piece has in your overall strategy. It works, even if its purpose is to simply drive you potential customer to your web site!
However it can be expensive and thus you need to track, monitor and control the effort and be very careful about how you do it and what return it brings you. If it isn’t working stop it as soon as possible, but remember the need for multiple hits before you see a meaningful response, and the need for a total marketing strategy that is integrated and includes a number of communication tools, so quitting too soon does not work either.
Frequently it is hard to determine what worked other than the customer purchased, so was it the mailing piece, the call, the web site, or the visit. However a close analysis will reveal the roll each component played.
In the right place and with the right strategy a direct mailing strategy can be very successful and an important part of an overall marketing campaign.
I have a client who spends a small fortune on direct mail, with each piece being lavishly made, printed and produced, usually including a gift of some sort and always sent special handling or even overnight delivery. Very very expensive, yet its a very targeted and sent to a pre-qualified list and it yields a tremendous return. His product carries a high invoice and a large profit. It works very well for him.
Your mailing program requires a complete strategy based on all the different parameters discussed. Figure it out. It can be a very valuable program or a huge waste.
I Should be Arrested for Posting These 1970's Ads…Ouch
January 28th, 2010
I am having a hard time believing that the 70’s was a good generation. The fashion and ads are dreary looking, but the messaging can be funny as hell.
This was a trip down memory lane and tomorrow we are bringing you the advertisements of the 1980’s. BIG HAIR!