find, keep and grow your customer

November 10, 2008

True Confession

BY DON RIGBY – www.integratedmarcom.com 

Recently, I was speaking to a recruiter who seemed to have his head screwed on right about the business climate in Atlanta.  After all, he’s in the know on which companies are hiring people, which ones are minimizing staff and those that are idle or sitting on the side-lines.  His comment was revealing, “Right now in Atlanta, there are businesses aggressively growing and others definitely withdrawing, but strangely, it’s a true black and white picture (no gray).  Businesses are either proactive or reactive.”     

What this means to me is there are companies that get it, others that don’t.   So, what do I mean by get it 

It is the main thing that makes a company’s product or service easy to buy.

It is the sales person’s character to first understand a prospect’s needs.

It is the culture of the company that’s worthy of alignment. It is the understanding how each customer prefers to buy.   

It is the messaging that encourages prospects to want to be customers. 

It is the customer experience that enables them to buy repeatedly.

It is the depth of product and services to better meet customer requirements.  

It is the premium a company can charge by avoiding commodity status. 

It requires work. This is work GrowthANSWERS provides to clients through a suite of proprietary services that absolutely never fails to yield better companies, greater equity for owners and rewarding careers for employees.  

The problem is some companies get it while others don’t.   

If I’m granted an opportunity to speak with a top officer in a company and they still don’t get it, do I take it personally?  Damn right I do.  If I can’t help them understand how to build a more competitive enterprise, it’s my fault.  That makes me accountable to every stakeholder in that company as well as my partners in GrowthANSWERS.  Intentionally, I carry this burden of responsibility as a source of energy.  It defines me and why I take it so personal, but no excuses.   I must become a better teacher and help decision makers get it.     

It is so obvious to me–when the business climate restricts, those companies that get it will proactively thrive while the others react to survive.   

If you’ve already figured out that “it” is your brand, you’re well on your way to taking market share from your competition.  If you believe brand is for Coca Cola, grant me an hour of your time.  I need the practice.  

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