It’s easy to find companies making a multitude of business mistakes so I am happy when I find an example of a great business. A few months ago I wrote about my experience contacting a potential dentist after I moved to a new community. (If you missed it, you can read it here.) The very short version is they made a marketing error that at first blush cost them my patronage.

Several of you emailed me and suggested I send my article to the dentist. I considered this and hesitated because I didn’t want to come off sounding arrogant. After some thought, though, I went ahead and sent the article to the dentist, marked “personal and confidential” along with a short note with the intent of being helpful.

A day or two after I mailed the article and my note, the dentist called me up! He was not defensive. He took responsibility and appreciated my feedback. He said he had shared the letter with his staff in one of their twice a day staff meetings and they had a good discussion about it and how to rectify it in the future.

I was very pleased. The upshot was I scheduled my appointment. I was happy about this outcome, because his practice really sounded like a good fit for me.

If you’re like me, you get sick of marketing hype and are wary of claims. Although this dentist sounded good from his website and subsequent materials that were mailed to me, I was waiting to see how it actually was being there as a patient.

I am pleased to say his marketing was not overblown. It was indeed the most professional dentist I have ever been to. I was given a tour of the premises, the dentist introduced himself and I sat in an automatic massage chair for 15 minutes before my digital X-rays were taken. (Those things are pretty darn good!).

For their clients they have snacks and drinks available. I was shown some excellent videos on a computer about various topics. The dentist was very down to earth and open to my opinions. The dental hygienist gave me a terrific cleaning. A week later I had some fillings repaired and again I felt I was in very skillful hands.

This is one of those great examples of an unhappy customer who, when their problem is addressed and handled, becomes a happier customer than they were before. (Although in this case, I wasn’t a previously happy customer, I was an “almost never” customer.)

The takeaway for us business owners: When a customer complains, be grateful for the feedback, thank them and take action!

I read a fascinating article recently in Inc. Magazine about diapers.com, a five year old online business that this year made the Inc. 500 of the top 500 fastest growing private U.S. companies.

Diapers.com CEO Marc Lore discussed his day to day life running the business and I gleaned three key lessons to share with you.

1. Superb customer service. The business spends about 10 percent of their marketing budget on flowers, gift certificates, massages and other goodies for their best customers. If a customer service rep sees that someone has been a really good customer and has referred other parents to them, they have the authority to send them a gift.

Do you empower your employees in this way? Or if you are a solo entrepreneur, do you consistently give gifts, rewards and other “thank you’s” to your best customers?

2. Fanatical data tracking and analysis. Prior to launching the company, Marc and his co-founder Vinit Bharara did extensive analysis of all aspects of their business including what the optimal number of boxes should be in their warehouse and what size the boxes should be. They took action on the results of their analysis and bit by bit added margin points. Their gross margins started at 4.6% and now are in the teens!

I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs neglect to pay close enough attention to their margins and it either drove them out of business eventually or caused them to net much, much less profit than they should have and could have.

Do you analyze your operations and review expenses regularly, with an eye to improving your margins?

3. Planning, visualizing and not much TV watching. Of his ambitious five-year plan, Marc says he “visualizes the path over and over again.” In the evenings, between family responsibilities, Marc researches, analyzes and plans things like pay-per-click and other elements of his business. A typical entrepreneur, Marc said “I don’t really watch TV at all. I much prefer working.” And part of his daily work is focusing on those all so critical “important, not urgent” areas of the business.

If you’re stuck all the time in do-do-do with no time to think, research, study, plan and strategize, your business will fall short of its potential.

Do you schedule time daily or weekly to focus and do quality thinking about the vitally important areas of your business (not just always putting out fires)?

I invite you to see if you need to strengthen your business in one or more of these areas. There’s no time like the present. As always, let me know if I can help.

John Lennon said “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.” Surely that’s what happened on my 50th birthday. My oldest friend took me and my partner out to breakfast at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse ( a fabulous place to check out if you’re ever in Boulder, Colorado).

Afterward we headed up to the National Center for Atmospheric Research to participate in their guided tour. It’s supposed to be a cool place about weather and other things scientific.

However, no sooner did we arrive in the lobby when my partner, Susan began to feel dizzy and nauseous. They called in their onsite medical team, and discovered that Susan’s blood pressure and heart rate were alarmingly high. So they called an ambulance and soon we were heading over to the local ER.

At the ER, blood work and chest X-rays also revealed everything to be normal. After about four hours, we went home and by morning her blood pressure and pulse had returned to normal. In situations like this, it’s easy to imagine the worst, like heart attack and even death. We both felt this fear acutely and it took a few days for us to really calm down.

So…this was obviously not the birthday I had anticipated! The gift was pretty quickly evident, however, because my beloved partner of eight years is alive and well.

Sometimes, just getting back to “regular” life is a huge blessing! A regular day coaching with my wonderful clients, seems doubly miraculous. Eating healthy, plentiful food becomes even more of a gift. Answering emails is almost a holy act. Discussing business strategies with Susan, I feel like the luckiest person alive.

Most entrepreneurs need to do more planning and not go after their business in a random manner. Yet, as in life, business is what happens when we’re busy making plans. If seen in a wider perspective, rebuilding a database after a computer crash makes you giddy with relief. If your business endures a fire or a flood and no one is hurt, just putting the pieces back together and running normally becomes the most amazing blessing.

Life/business happens, and rarely according to plan. Yet there are always silver linings, if we look for them. When you see your life as the precious thing it is, you empower yourself, your loved ones and your business.

There’s one key thing you need to know to make 2009 a successful year for yourself. It’s something that never goes out of style, because it’s not about style. It’s about you being rock solid authentic in everything you do. There’s more hype than ever and we must all be diligent in avoiding hype and misrepresenting ourselves.

Your authenticity is a huge key to prosperity.

Marketing guru Gary Bencivenga talks about something he calls The Credo Technique. Credo is Latin for “I believe” and Gary believes, as I do, that we must never be afraid to say “with clarity and boldness” what we believe about our business, products and services.

The strongest marketing, says Bencivenga, tells the truth. It doesn’t have to exaggerate or lie to gather customers. It relies on the integrity of you and your business to set you apart in an overcrowded marketplace.

In other words, your authenticity.

The Credo Technique is an expression of our core values “which serve as a clarion call to gather the like-minded faithful of your marketplace.” Although people do buy products and services that are less than authentic, ultimately they respond well and for a long time to authenticity. Your product or service may not even be the best quality, but if your marketing conveys accurately your authenticity and trustworthiness, you and your enterprise will thrive.

New Coaching Club

I’ve launched a Green Business Coaching Club, designed for owners of small businesses with 0 – 10 employees to get vital help in growing their business and thriving personally.

There are monthly business development teleseminars on marketing, productivity and many other business topics, along with monthly phone-based mastermind groups where members get individual coaching from Coach Anne. Plus many more resources on the member-only website!

For a limited time there’s a $9.95 one month trial. Check it out at www.GrowYourGreenBusiness.com


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Last week I went to a nice restaurant which has great ambiance and food. Unfortunately an employee who answered a question for us had forgotten to clean his nose, then proceeded to smoke a cigarette somewhere and then sit next to our table, the delicate odor of smoke wafting off his clothing and over to us. He proceeded to talk loudly with a co-worker, while his pants with a ragged hem pulled up to reveal his hairy calves.

Now, in the right context, I don’t necessarily have anything against boogers, cigarettes, loud conversation or hairy calves. But at a nice restaurant, it didn’t fly and I wasn’t planning on returning anytime soon.

However, unlike most of your customers who never complain, they just stop using your products or services, I emailed the restaurant to let them know of my experience (since it’s my mission to help businesses, whether their my clients or not). I received a very nice email back thanking me for the feedback. Apparently that employee will not be working there much longer and she’s sending me a gift certificate. So, guess what? I will be back.

Are YOU aware of the things about your business that are annoying or off-putting to your customers or clients? You won’t know unless you make it part of your mission.

If you’ve been in business awhile, I bet it’s been some time since you really did some research on your target market’s needs and wants. Or possibly, you’ve never done this, in which case there’s no time like the present!

It’s extremely important that you understand your best client’s needs and wants as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, we tend to assume we know. After all, we own a business – we know everything, right?

Remember the ancient saying that those who think they know, don’t know, and those who think they don’t know, know. We all need to recover our “beginner’s mind” and not make assumptions.

Luckily, you can easily conduct your own research, whether through an online survey, mailed surveys or third party phone calls. When you do, I guarantee you will find some golden nuggets you can act on immediately to improve and grow your business.

First ask yourself, what END RESULT do your prospective customers want from:

Your product or service:

Doing business with you:

Next, determine who you will survey:

Suspects

Prospects

Shoppers

Customers

Clients

Advocates

Raving Fans

Former clients

Design a Needs And Wants Analysis Questionnaire. Here are some sample questions:

What do they expect from this type of product or service?

How long have they used this type of product or service?

What has been their experience in the past?

What is their biggest frustration with the products/services they’ve used in the past?

What do they expect from the provider (company) of this service?

What is their past history/experience with other salespeople?

What is their biggest frustration with businesses in this field or area?

What made them choose the type of product or service they currently have?

What made them choose the particular salesperson or company they’re currently with?

What is the most important consideration for choosing this type of product/service?

What is the most important consideration for choosing a sales person or company?

If they had a magic wand and could construct an ideal buying experience, what would it look like?

If they could construct an ideal ongoing client/salesperson/company relationship, what would it look like?

How often would they like to be contacted with new information, or be contacted by their salesperson or company service person?

Do they prefer being contacted by phone, mail, or email?

Do they prefer being contacted at home or at work?

If you’d like to receive some sample surveys, as well as a list of over 80 additional questions you might want to consider, drop me an email and I’ll send them right out to you.