Business Tips from the Dragons' Den

A privilege and honour to be nominated for the Mount Pearl Chamber of Commerce's annual Best in Business Innovation Award last night, it was an equal pleasure to listen to Dianne Buckner of Dragons' Den fame share her Top 10 Tips - those characteristics that successful entrepreneurs share - straight from the Den!  I paraphrase as I summarise them here.  The list should be read in reverse for order of priority.

1. Successful entrepreneurs know how to get to YES.  They seek to understand where their "target" is coming from, what would be important to him/her and how to make a pitch that will get an ultimate yes.
   
   
2. When pitching a solution, successful entrepreneurs remain open and flexible.  By being agreeable they negotiate until a deal emerges that is good for all the parties involved.
   
   
3. Tough times are not necessarily bad times. Most successful people have the ability to deal with circumstances that present themselves at the moment and many success stories such as Home Depot started in times of recession. Tough times can spur great creativity.
   
   
4. Successful people stay abreast of trends.  In this age of fast paced innovation there is no shortage of new trends.  While eco-friendly economics and social media are currently hot trends, Dianne also cited the example of a company who came up with temporary phone numbers - used like a disposable phone number that could be useful for online dating etc.)
   
   
5. Successful entrepreneurs are brief.
   
   
6. A comfort level with their own weaknesses - successful entrepreneurs understand that they cannot be great at everything and they have a plan for dealing with them.  They understand that there is always something to compensate for.
   
   
7. Contrary to popular belief, successful people proceed with caution.  They go out on a limb with caution.
   
   
8. Hard work.  No surprise here and no way of avoiding it.  Successful entrepreneurs work exceptionally hard.
   
   
9. Success also requires not to work too hard. Successful people define success by something broader than money.  Working too hard always takes a toll - health and relationships being first in line.
   
   
10. Persistence.  Successful entrepreneurs learn and get better continuously.

Which Side Are You On?

I have been reading numerous books on Business and Internet Marketing lately, and frankly, it leaves me somewhat confused. 

Let's start with "Profits Aren't Everything.  They're the Only Thing."

Self-proclaimed contrarian small business guru George Cloutier says:

"You must micromanage and then micromanage some more.  With a small business you have to know everything that is going on at all times." 

"It's OK to be a control freak". 

"Fire and hire faster. Don't tolerate mediocrity." 

"I want my employees to do what I say, not what they think." 

You are starting to get the picture, right?

On the other end of the scale Josh Bernoff's latest book "Empowered" says the opposite:

"Your company is not and cannot be nimble enough to serve them. With our established processes and departmental boundaries, you move too slowly."

"To succeed with empowered customers, you must empower your employees to solve customer problems."

The ideas don't come from management:  management's new job is to support and empower employees."

Both books were published during the past year.  How can both modern business books punt two opposing points of view and both be right?

On moral grounds the principles of empowering employees and unleashing collective creativity for the greater corporate good sound like a good idea.  

From my small business experience I tend to understand the authoritarian stance.  Even if there are cheques in the cheque book, you cannot write them if there is no money in the bank.

So, like so often the case, is the truth not somewhere in the middle?  Experience has taught me:

1. Train and mentor employees to deliver great service, BUT stay close to your valued client.  Staff come and go and as business owner, the client remains YOUR customer.
   
   
2. Empower, but do not abdicate. Once a clearly defined task has been delegated, check in to gauge progress. Follow up afterwards to measure success and to give feedback, thanks or rewards. My business associate Cathy is a proponent of checklists. I am a fan of our internal project management system. The secret lies in clear instructions.
   
   
3. A small business has less leeway than a larger organization.  Each employee in a small business sits directly on the profit line and the business can ill afford the luxury of learning from mistakes. Social media and social networks expose our businesses daily, and everyone has a direct line to almost everyone except the most untouchable deity.
   
   While this connected world offers vast business potential that HAS to be harnessed within a clear policy, agreed use and measurable outcomes,  social media is an emerging technology that requires time to mature. A small business does not have the flexibility of allocating staff to research trial and error in a new media world.  Hire an expert and pay for results.

Although I do not particularly subscribe to the authoritarian language in Cloutier's book, he is very clear in what he believes.  Simply put, if we are not in business to generate profit, our energies are best utilized in a different environment than the world of hard commerce.

On the other hand, although I do not believe that Bernhoff's book was born from the school of hard business knocks, we have to acknowledge that this millennium is giving birth to a generation of Internet-connected employees and customers who are changing the world - one click at a time. Ignoring this emerging force is business suicide.

What do you think?  Share your comments here and let's continue the discussion...

Why Are Loyal Customers Leaving?

You hired the smartest people.  You offer the best product. Your prices are competitive. Why are your customers leaving?

People Do Business With The Nice Guys
In "Fierce Leadership" author Susan Scott makes the point that when you land yourself in a competitive situation with all the above being true, customers choose the "nice guys".  People want to do business with people that they have a connection with.  People that they can talk to and people who listen.  People who make them feel good about what they buy.  And that is just too bad for the smart guys.

Experience Economy
Joseph Pine ("The Experience Economy") wrote that today's economy is an "experience economy", indicating that customers are seeking more than a good product or good service.  Using the product or service has to be an enjoyable experience which begins with the very first encounter a customer has with your business.

Deepen the Experience with Web 2.0
In a global economy that first experience often starts on the Internet and relationships are deepened through the tools of web 2.0 - social networks, comments, reviews, ratings and sharing.  The customer experience is created not only through your messages but also through what others say about you.  The media relations and advertising departments no longer control your brand.  Your customers and staff do and they are a part of your brand conversations.

Engagement - The Glue In Your Brand
In the latest of the well-known "Did You Know" videos (also known as Shift Happens) Eric Qualmann's version says:  "What happens in Vegas, stays in... Facebook, Bebo, MySpace..."  Keeping loyal customers will require rallying the troops -  and those troops are staff and past clients.  Engagement and meaningful deep conversation create loyalty which becomes the glue in your brand.


Employees who feel engaged and who are a part of meaningful conversation at work, become empowered brand ambassadors. Engaged employees contribute to the customer experience (some airlines get this right - see Southwest Airlines and WestJet or just think about the Fish vendors at Pike's market in Seattle).

Also rally current customers - they are guaranteed to talk about a great experience.  Help them along by providing the forum on your website, your social network page, or your blog.

Where to Start?
It starts with buy-in at the top. As the leader of an organization the buck starts and stops with you - setting the example, creating the tone. Scott tells the story where a top notch consulting firm with the smartest employees and managers who are referred to as "partners" could not sew up a billion dollar contract - only to discover that the competition won the contract because they were the "nice guys".

If customers are walking away, competitors stealing your staff, or getting the job done is like pulling teeth - check the level of engagement with your staff and your customers.

Facebook Places

Facebook is entering the world of location-based marketing, similar to Gowalla, FourSquare, and Yelp, with Facebook Places.  Facebook Places was recently launched in the US and is being deployed world wide.


Location Based Marketing, including services such as Four Square and Facebook Places is a fairly new addition to the Internet Marketing toolkit and has enormous potential for businesses, in particular businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other "social" businesses where the general public gather.


A service like FourSquare is a fun web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Points are awarded for "checking in" at venues. 


Facebook Places, similarly, will allow users to let others know where they are.  This video that was published on the Social Media Examiner page explains what Facebook Places is all about.

Get Organized this Fall

As we leave summer behind, we get into work and school mode with being organized on of the top items on the list.  Here are a few tips to make it easier...


Get it out of your head and onto paper.
Many competing ideas in your head will drive you crazy.  Paper is tangible, so get it out of your head and onto paper.  From there you can underline, colour code, connect certain items, stick it on the wall or share.

Set up space in the clouds to store information.
Upload documents to space on the Internet where they are accessible and secure such as Microsoft's  Skydrive, Apple’s Mobileme iDisk, Dropbox.  Store your client contact information online in Google Contacts (need a Gmail account or in Apple's Mobileme.)

Flag your to-do items for follow up.  
Often emails contain a reminder to do something or to follow up on something.  In Microsoft Outlook, use the Flag feature to flag those emails for follow up or in Google Mail, use the Star feature.

Online collaboration saves time.
Use Google Docs to take minutes in meetings.  Save, format and share with others.  It saves paper and time. Zoho is a service that rivals what Google has to offer and Zoho Docs is worth looking into.

Search, not File.
As a time saver, use a mail program that lets you search for information in stead of organizing information into folders.  Google Apps is a must for your small to medium sized business.

Keep track with an online calendar.
Google Calendar lets you store multiple calendars in one, it syncs with other calendars (Microsoft Outlook, iCal, iPhone) and it can send you a reminder by SMS or email.  Your Google Calendar can also easily be shared with others.  And above all, you can access it from wherever you are.

Get an iReader.
Carry multiple books with you, save paper, add notes and bookmarks electronically and see what other readers highlighted in a book. My favourite is the Kindle app on my iPad.  iBooks on the iPad is equally as nice. The Kindle app will also let you read books on your PC or Mac.

So you have any time saving organizing tips to share?  Let us know.

13 Things to Do at the End of the Tourism Season

For Tourism Operators:

Labour Day Weekend in North America signals the end of summer for many and with it, the end of family vacations, visits and travel.  June, July and August is peak tourism season in the northern hemisphere and tourism operators work like bees to create a good time, comfort, memories and great experiences.

With the end of this busy season in sight, the list of work continues as things are getting wrapped up.  Here are a few marketing ideas to consider:

Manage Contact Information

• Organize your list of names and addresses of guests and customers that you collected during this past season.

• Segment your contact lists (couples, families, boomers... whatever is suitable for your business).  

• Capture the contact information in a contact management system (Google Contacts, Batchbook, Zoho CRM, Microsoft Outlook Address Book or an Excel Spreadsheet) or in an email program (Constant Contact, MailChimp or StreamSend)

Follow Up

• Send a follow-up e-newsletter with photos from the summer and a bit of news to encourage happy memories to linger a bit longer. If it makes sense in your business, create different version of your e-newsletter for different segments of your list, i.e. outdoor enthusiasts; theatre-lovers; families, honeymooners etc.

• Send a sincere thank-you note or card - make sure your business gets a fond spot in the email box, on the fridge, album or notice board.

Continue the Relationship on Social Media

• Invite guests to become a part of your social community on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr or YouTube.  Continue conversations with your guests on these social channels.

• Search for photos, tweets, blogs or videos that were posted by guests or visitors to your region, establishment or town and comment, link, "friend" or "like" the content.

• Add a Facebook "like" button to your website as well as social media buttons to your social channels.

Freshen up your Website

• Update your website with photographs and images for the new season to encourage a few more weeks of travel during the shoulder season.

• Post photos to your website and invite your guests to provide their favourite pictures for your site. 

Create Packages

• Plan travel packages with other tourism operators in your area or a location along the route for the new season.

Testimonials

• Update testimonials on your site and invite your list to submit testimonials to sites like Canada Select and Tripadvisor.

Learn and Network

• Plan for your own professional development and register to attend one of our workshops! You may learn a few new things but also network with like-minded people.

Where do I start with my website?

"Where to start planning a new website?" is a question I am asked quite often. This is a broad question and many resources already exist that help getting to the right answers.

Here is a link to a comprehensive blog post on the topic "Preparing to work with a designer: What to bring to the plate when you are planning your website?" It is well worth the read.

Or perhaps you prefer to get advice from a Rapper - see this SEO Rapper tell the story of web development.

Digital Daisy's blog also has a few articles that answers this same question:

• The ten most commonly made mistakes in online marketing.
• The web development process.
• What to ask before you hire a web developer.

Planning

Like all planned journeys, the web development process starts with a destination in mind. There are two questions that are important before embarking on the web development journey:

1. Why the heck am I doing this?

2. What do I want from my site?

Elements

A website has 4 basic elements that require planning:

1. Design
2. Content
3. Navigation and
4. Functionality

Developing content will most likely be your responsibility and the earlier in the process you get this done, the easier it will be on the rest of the process. A small business owner knows best who he/she is talking to, and what to say.

Navigation

Planning a site's navigation is like planning a journey with its main route, detours and excursions. Think of how content in the site has to connect to each other. Two sites I like for planning, are GoMockingbird (great for mocking up a page that shows where all the elements of the page should be) and Slickplan (for creating flow charts). Microsoft Excel is useful for this as well.

Functionality

The functionality you'd like your site to have depends on the site's purpose and could be an events calendar, a form, a photo gallery, social media widgets, a shopping cart or more. One piece of functionality that is almost a given nowadays is having a content management system (CMS) for your site. This allows you as the owner to add, delete and edit pages on your site in a user-friendly way.

Popular CMS's are Django, Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. Even Blogger which was originally a blogging site, now allows for easy addition of pages to the blog page. In the list of questions to ask a Web Developer - ask to have a CMS and ask to see an example of how it works.

Other benefits of a CMS: CMS's like the above are used by many developers across the globe who collaborate to write functionality for sites (also called plug-ins). These are often available for download by other developers (free). This means that you are able to "plug in" new functionality into your site as you need it at low or now cost very quickly, like a registration form or a calendar.

Content

The most important point about content is that is should be written for the user and from the user's perspective. What is your reader looking for?

Other web writing tips are on this blog post 11 Tips for Techknowledgeable Writing.

The Hidden Bits

1. Ensure that you get the domain name of your choice, that it is registered in the name of your company, using an email address/es that will always reach you.
2. Make note of your registrar, its web address and passwords to your domain registration account.
3. Make sure upfront that the web host you select can host the files your developer will create.
4. Make a note of your web host's web url and password to your account.
5. Meta content (page titles, tags, key words, alt-tags) are not always visible on first glance at the site. Make sure that they are there, that they are unique for each page and that they are search engine optimized.
6. Plan for links: Link the content of your pages together. Hyperlinks is another form of site navigation and search engines like it. Also plan for other sites you want to link to or want to request a link from - good for users, good for search engines!
7. Add analytics to your site - Google Analytics is a popular choice and ask your web developer to set it up on your site and to show you how to use it.
8. Plan for Social Media - which of your social media would you like to integrate on your site and where? Widgets are available from most social media sites (Linkedin, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and more). This can help to keep your site fresh and interesting. Also plan for sharing options to add to the page such as RSS feeds, Email This, Tweet This, Like, comments and ratings options. One quick way to add this is by adding something like AddThis.