Author: Garth Beyer

Moments Of Disappointment And Delight

Garth Beyer

Moments Of Disappointment And Delight

There are plenty of moments during a customer’s journey that you can either disappoint or delight them.

First there are the expected moments you put the most attention in, often around the moments of service or transaction.

Then there are plenty of given moments that happen without you remembering you planned them: forms, feedback sheets, notifications, letters, and the alike.

Lastly, there are the moments of priming. This is the giving you do before you ask. It’s top-of-mind for you because you’re always working to get new customers.

With these three monumental factors, any slight error can lead to disappointment and I’m going to tell you where it often occurs: the basics.

The givens, the planned items, the situations that have been set into a routine are often the moments of most disappointment for customers. Why? Because owners think that there are pieces of the customer’s journey that they can set and forget… and that’s simply not true.

The second moment that creates disappointment is in the moments of priming. For some reason, we get so much more excited about trying this clever widget or offering that neat discount for new customers instead of getting excited about investing in the lifetime value the existing customers.

As result, the existing base feels jipped. They feel that they’d rather give their money to someone who wakes up and works to win their hearts (business) every day.

The resolution is as obvious as you would imagine: listen.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Easy To Delight When You Listen To What Disappoints

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The Road To Impact

Garth Beyer

Path To Creating An Impact

There are two moments of total impact that a brand makes.

The first is at businesses inception. It’s based on the values the founder holds. It’s based on the reason the business exists. Think of Toms or Warby Parker or Krochet Kids. They started with impact.

A note on starting with the impact: you’re better off  starting with impact than trying to tack it on. People can sniff out the fakes. No one you ask will associate JCPenney with X charity even though they have a jar at the register to collect donations. It’s not why JCPenney exists.

The second moment of total impact is far down the road and what we hope to stretch. It’s the impact we have after we make mistake after mistake trying to generate a difference, trying to do things differently, trying to create change.

Impact is that thing that happens when we stop trying to avoid blunders and embrace them.

 

Stay Positive & Turn Your Misstep Into A New Form Of Dance

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Proof Of Concept

Garth Beyer

Show And Tell

Some stumble when trying to show proof of concept (PoC) for something that doesn’t exist yet.

They falter in their attempt to show PoC because, to them, PoC means to show the demand for what they’re offering, that people want it and use it in their own ways already.

However, PoC won’t truly exist for a new idea because the new idea doesn’t exist yet.

We can do as much market research as we want to pinpoint the best strategy for deployment, but, at the end of the day, what matters is if the idea worked or didn’t work – and the only way to show that is to have tried, delivered, shipped.

The telling rarely works before the showing.

That’s why it’s called show and tell, in that order.

 

Stay Positive & Set Out To Prove Your Way

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IN THE BOX PODCAST

Episode 45: Business Blogs, Mortar Shops, Craft Beer And More (Podcast)

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast we talked about negative competition in the work place, giving ourselves permission to change our minds, every business having a blog, what makes craft beer special and the two important variables when it comes to starting a brick and mortar shop.

Episode 45: Business Blogs, Mortar Shops, Craft Beer And More

Work Place – How do you handle someone who is being negatively competitive with you at work?

Changing your mind – One tip on how to give yourself permission to change your mind?

Business blog – Should every business have a blog?

Craft beer – What’s special about craft beer?

Bonus – What are the two most important variables when it comes to location for a brick and mortar shop (does location matter as much as we think?)

 

Stay Positive & Listen To More

From Your Competitors

Garth Beyer

Looking At Your Competitors

There’s a lot you can get from looking at your competitors.

You can learn what to do and what not to do.

You can track and compare the variety of USPs.

You can gain information for how to steal some share.

Most importantly, though, by looking at your competitors you may realize how similar you are.

Sometimes the first step to being different is to realize you’re just the same.

That knowledge inspires some hustle.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Just Think Differently, Do Differently

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When You Make A Transaction

Garth Beyer

Learning A Better Marketing Strategy By Listening

It’s worth pondering what you get out of a transaction beside money.

In addition to the sale, what do you learn?

Why not validate your business and ask what need the item is fulfilling in the customer?

Why don’t you note what each customer is wearing and find a trend?

Every transaction is an opportunity to learn more, to get a level deeper in knowing who your target is. When you merely scan an item and start thinking about the next person you need to scan an item for, you’re missing out on your opportunity to have a stronger marketing strategy.

 

Stay Positive & ABL (Always Be Learning)

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When You’re First Starting Out

Garth Beyer

The Map To Starting A Business

You may feel inclined to keep things hush hush when you’re first starting out.

Perhaps you feel journalists will be more inclined to cover your story when it’s new and right out of the gate.

Maybe you think investors will be likelier to back you up once they see that you’ve established yourself.

Reasonably you might wait to talk to friends, family and people in your prospective industry before you launch because you fear what they may say.

This is not the best process.

It’s better to reach out to publication outlets and journalists before you start so you can establish a connection and they can get excited about what you’re working on.

Also from my experience, reporters are more likely to help you out before you launch because they know you’re not aiming for a one-off placement, amongst other things.

Moreover, contrary to what you may believe, it’s easier to get a series of small investments from folk who want to see you get started and be part of the startup process then people who know you just opened your doors and now need backing.

Not to mention, in this connection economy, people are desiring and empowering each other to start rather than continue.

Consider how much information is out there about keeping a business going (a ton!) and the demand by people who want to learn how to start their own business (a ton!) – this makes the economy wickedly well suited for those wanting to start a business.

Lastly, it’s better to learn how to deal with people being naysayers early on. They’ll queue you into what problems to resolve. They’ll help you consider angles you never have before. And, most importantly, they’ll surprise you with how much they’ll support you rather than hold you back.

Yours fears aren’t as real as you’re making them out to be.

 

Stay Positive & Go Start

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