Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2023

Let me be a bit more specific on how follow-up trumps ideas for success in the key challenges of a startup, or any small business: Networking with investors, partners, and customers. Meeting people and talking about your ideas won’t get you very far. Customer acquisition, retention, and support.

Startup 155

Startup Ideas IBM IBM 155

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2017

First customers are critical. Your first customers for any product or service form your reference base, the important group of allies that your marketing and sales people rely upon when attempting to create buzz and make a mass market for a new product. These first customers are critical.

Customer 243

Customer Custom Resource Sales 243

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2022

We are living in a new generation of business, where customers drive the experience, and highly engaged employees are required to keep up with customer expectations. The bottom line is that by directing your actions toward helping others pursue their dreams and customer dreams, you will make amazing progress in achieving your own.

Customer 152

Customer Custom Coach Satisfaction 152

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2021

Today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making a decision is a challenge. You may think this is only important to your marketing and sales people, but in reality it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer decision process.

Customer 136

Customer Custom Sales Social Media 136

Berkonomics

APRIL 16, 2020

There is lots of literature published by the SBA, attorneys and accounting firms about both. Are you salespeople making few if any sales because your prospective customers are distracted by their own problems? Both are easier to get than conventional loans, and the PPP can be forgiven in some circumstances.

Layoffs 218

Layoffs Sales News Marketing 218

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2023

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. Now customers seek out people who are willing and able to add value, with expertise and insight, even before they have a product. The key is consistency.

Content 104

Content Customer Custom Marketing 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. No matter how passionate you are about your solution, it doesn’t mean that if you build it, they will come. Customer support is more than handling exceptions.

Customer 109

Customer Custom Satisfaction Sales 109

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

They actually lost about $175 million in cash in that quarter, FWIW. I know this seems obvious but I promise you that even smart people forget this when talking about profitability. Do 20% of the customers make 80% of the revenue or do the top 3 customers represent 80% of the revenue. Is it one product line or multiple?

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2021

With the advent of the Internet, social media, and instant communication via texting, customer expectations for service, as part of their entire customer experience, have changed. They expect you to be there, to know their history as a customer, and to treat them with priority and respect.

Customer 171

Customer Custom Social Media Design 171

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. It’s part of our job to ask questions about their plans, challenge their assumptions, and suggest paths to success. After all, that’s what tech innovation is all about. Commenting?

Develop 520

Develop Development Technical Review SEO 520

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Bloom’s classic book, “ The New Experts: Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers.” This is a key moment where your customer acquisition costs go way down, and your profits go way up.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2021

In addition to obvious economic challenges, the emerging generation of customers is determined to radically change the rules for customer engagement. He makes a convincing argument that it’s time for every company to get prepared for the next customer generation, or your company is heading toward life support.

Customer 173

Customer Custom Social Media Outsource Development 173

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. I agree with YouTube (that they provide more (hosting, ad sales, etc.)

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2022

Entrepreneurs and business executives seem to be even more focused on their technology than the rest of us, and less inclined to listen to the voice of the customer, even if they remember to ask. Real two-way conversations with real customers, including the all-important body language, are unheard-of these days.

Customer 104

Customer Custom Product Social Network 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Yet, as a business consultant, I often find minimal focus on improving employee engagement and assessing their customer-facing performance. For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. From these meetings you can really tell the leaders that care deeply about their customers and those the look down on them. We were talking about raising money from LPs.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

I actually really enjoyed many of the points Muhammad made about marketing in general and I found myself nodding through the entirety of the article except for it’s core premise. I believe growth hacking is about all of this. I’d like to make the case that the article is wrong. I’d strongly encourage you to read it.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review SEM SEO Marketing 384

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

Yet, these days, I am seeing overwhelming evidence that customer buying decisions, especially with consumers, are often based on emotional and psychological factors , including passions from others, your experience, and social relationships. Other startups use technology to provide personalized products to all customers.

Customer 172

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 172

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2021

Every business I know is intimately familiar with outbound marketing, or pushing your message out to customers through email, newspaper, and television advertising. Only a few really understand the process and value of inbound marketing, for pulling customers to your brand. Don’t just monitor – engage customers.

Customer 172

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 172

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

I’m sure you have all noticed how today’s customers have changed the way they shop, but I still find, as an advisor and consultant, that many of you aren’t sure how to deal with the new mode, or are still waiting for things to get back to the old normal. Convenience is in the eye of the customer, not your company.

Demand 126

Demand Customer Custom Startup 126

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Most startups are happy to find any customer, and will hang on for dear life to every one. Only later do they realize that some of these cost more than they are worth, or lead into commitments they can’t sustain, but no business wants to violate the golden rule that every customer needs to be treated as if they were the only customer.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Startup Pricing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2022

Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. High-technology product startups, without customers, don’t make a business. Solis outlines the heuristics of social psychology that are key to building positive customer experiences today.

Customer 122

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 122

TechCrunch LA

MAY 3, 2022

Upgrade’s e-commerce marketplace has two sides: one that enables consumers to choose a vetted stylist and have their wig colored or customized based on their desired look. A hairstylist can help a woman feel better about themselves. The company, which raised $1.7 Remember Mary J. Blige’s hair at the Super Bowl ? That was via Upgrade.

Tool 179

Tool Customer Custom Marketing 179

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I summarize the key elements of the transformation as follows: Customers are seeking control in a run-away world.

Customer 173

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2022

Most businesses spend big money testing their brand logo, catchy marketing phrases, and demographics, but spend little time training and validating that their employees can and do deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. Keep your team happy to create engaged customers. Build relationships and stop surveying customers.

Customer 123

Customer Custom Services Training 123

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

If you haven’t read Adam Lashinsky’s awesome new book about Apple , you should. It takes on many of the lessons MBA programs and Corporate America have been teaching about business for the past 50+ years and questions whether lessons from Apple might be more applicable in thinking about the future.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Berkonomics

JANUARY 24, 2019

Rules about non-compete agreements . So, what are the rules about those pesky non-compete agreements signed upon your discharge, or upon the sale of your previous company? Some of these entrepreneurs starting a new company are alumni from companies that would be a competitor to the enterprise being created or joined. Digital or analog!

Company 120

Company Companies News Startup 120

Berkonomics

JANUARY 24, 2019

Rules about non-compete agreements . So, what are the rules about those pesky non-compete agreements signed upon your discharge, or upon the sale of your previous company? Some of these entrepreneurs starting a new company are alumni from companies that would be a competitor to the enterprise being created or joined. Digital or analog!

Company 120

Company Companies News Startup 120

Berkonomics

JANUARY 9, 2020

One of your employees is approached by an employee of a customer or of a supplier, stating that “It sure would be great to work in your company.” The rule should be one that includes only one “out”: if a person resigns from the position with the stake-holding company, then you will be happy to talk about a position.

Customer 156

Customer Custom Innocal Email 156

socalTECH

MARCH 14, 2018

As part of our sponsor relationship with the conference, we're running a series of interviews with speakers from the conference about their experience in the area of recurring revenues, customer service, and similar topics. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about retaining and keeping your customers using the subscription model?

Customer 166

Customer Custom Conference Social Media 166

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

The Truth About the Scooter Economy?—?An Pause to think about how remarkable that truly is. But what is unique about Bird is that with each generation of scooter platform we launch our unit economics get better and better. It was a fascinating discussion in which he also talked about the early days of building Bird.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

I recommend you read Fred Wilson’s recent blog post about the need for a well articulated business strategy before pushing a particular business model. Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2020

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. Now customers seek out people who are willing and able to add value, with expertise and insight, even before they have a product. The key is consistency.

Customer 127

Customer Custom Marketing Content 127

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2021

Customers are people too, so customers tend to take their relationship with a brand personally. Fiske, in their classic book “ The Human Brand ,” humans are very perceptive, from early survival evolution, and make quick judgments about other people’s intents toward them (warmth), and the capability of carrying out intents (competence).

Customer 109

Customer Custom Commerce Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2023

Businesses see this as the Holy Grail for finally being able to predict who, where, and when customers will buy their existing solutions, and what their future solutions must look like to be attractive. According to published estimates , ninety percent of the data in the world today was captured in the last two years, at roughly 2.5

Customer 115

Customer Custom Social Media Research 115