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.” You only get one chance to make a great first impression. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Custom 146

Custom Customer Startup Course 146

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2020

Having the best solution is a good start these days, but a solution alone is no longer enough to keep customer attention and loyalty. They expect to be surprised and delighted as well by their pre-purchase experience and post-purchase interactions. Your competition is global, so today’s customers are demanding world-class service.

Custom 168

Custom Customer Services Startup 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

For decades, efforts to satisfy customers have been built around demographics – capitalizing on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and other attributes. Customer personalities define customer experience, and sets what they love, and what they hate. There is no one set of exceptional experiences that will work for all customers.

Custom 158

Custom Customer Social Media Satisfaction 158

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.

Custom 150

Custom Customer Design Product 150

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.

Custom 147

Custom Customer Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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.” You only get one chance to make a great first impression. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Custom 124

Custom Customer Startup Course 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2023

For decades, efforts to satisfy customers have been built around demographics – capitalizing on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and other attributes. Customer personalities define customer experience, and sets what they love, and what they hate. There is no one set of exceptional experiences that will work for all customers.

Custom 131

Custom Customer Social Media Training 131

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2018

For decades, efforts to satisfy customers have been built around demographics – capitalizing on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and other attributes. Customer personalities define customer experience, and sets what they love, and what they hate. There is no one set of exceptional experiences that will work for all customers.

Custom 100

Custom Customer Social Media Training 100

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 29, 2022

What if we could do it better, do it in a new way, do it to attract new customers, do it to distance ourselves form the competition? Can we rapid prototype this idea into a product and try it out on potential customers? Are we missing something those customers think they need, or want so badly they will wait and later pay?

Design 156

Design Framework Ideas Custom 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

Most new business owners I know feel the challenges of not enough time, money, and resources, and see these as problems rather than a competitive advantage. I believe it all starts with you as a leadership role model, and the mindset and expectations you broadcast to your team. For yourself, be very sensitive to first impressions.

Resource 111

Resource Competition Outsource Development Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. You have to start with hiring only people who are willing and able to make serious customer service happen.

Startup 154

Startup Training Custom Customer 154

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2016

For decades, efforts to satisfy customers have been built around demographics – capitalizing on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and other attributes. Customer personalities define customer experience, and sets what they love, and what they hate. There is no one set of exceptional experiences that will work for all customers.

Custom 97

Custom Customer Social Media Training 97

Berkonomics

JUNE 3, 2021

An estimate of the number of customers, of the amount of traffic to your website, of the numbers of products sold or hours spent in development – there are thousands of areas where a number sounds better when it is larger. They probably don’t do the job expected in enhancing the person’s or company’s reputation as intended anyway.

Custom 156

Custom Customer Examples Email 156

Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

Having great company culture is no longer just an option. In fact, fantastic company culture is almost expected along with other traditional benefits. It has established what the company culture is, and fitting into that culture is the most important thing managers look for when hiring. Warby Parker.

Examples 100

Examples Company Companies Google 100

Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

Having great company culture is no longer just an option. In fact, fantastic company culture is almost expected along with other traditional benefits. It has established what the company culture is, and fitting into that culture is the most important thing managers look for when hiring. Warby Parker.

Examples 100

Examples Company Companies Google 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2019

Is your marketing focus product-centric or customer-centric ? With a wealth of products now available, customers look for the most memorable experience , not just the best product. Amazon is very customer-centric, but it can make all the difference in retail as well as online. Status factors are more important than demographics.

Custom 85

Custom Customer Product Metrics 85

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. These requirements must be based on market analysis, expert input, and existing customer feedback. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2018

In addition to obvious economic challenges, the emerging generation of customers is determined to radically change the rules for customer engagement. Their expectations of relationship and personalization are taxing businesses today, and their power through social media will kill those who can’t or won’t comply.

Demand 71

Demand Custom Customer Tips 71

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Call a company meeting to communicate what is happening, and why. All need to know who will be there and what you expect. Don’t surprise the team.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2017

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.

Custom 57

Custom Customer Services Social Media 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2023

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. Word-of-mouth is great, but it’s not a launch strategy that stands alone. Use every marketing channel available.

Case Study 89

Case Study Custom Customer Study 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2023

A common initiative I hear from business owners today is their effort to improve the customer experience. To achieve real growth, business leaders need to improve both employee as well as customer experiences. More and more business leaders, including Richard Branson, use this style to great advantage.

Custom 113

Custom Customer Training Tool 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2015

In addition to obvious economic challenges, the emerging generation of customers is determined to radically change the rules for customer engagement. Their expectations of relationship and personalization are taxing businesses today, and their power through social media will kill those who can’t or won’t comply.

Custom 97

Custom Customer Social Media Outsource Development 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2014

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 recent book, “ The New Experts: Win Today''s Newly Empowered Customers.” You only get one chance to make a great first impression. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Custom 98

Custom Customer Entrepreneur Startup 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it Conversely if you’re burning $600,000 per month (yes, some companies do) then you only have 5 months of cash left. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. Word-of-mouth is great, but it’s not a launch strategy that stands alone. Use every marketing channel available.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Custom Customer 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2014

In addition to obvious economic challenges, the emerging generation of customers is determined to radically change the rules for customer engagement. Their expectations of relationship and personalization are taxing businesses today, and their power through social media will kill those who can’t or won’t comply.

Custom 96

Custom Customer Social Media Outsource Development 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2015

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.” You only get one chance to make a great first impression. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Custom 101

Custom Customer Startup Course 101

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

It won’t happen right away but I’ve seen some innovative companies doing exactly this in places like Australia where they are taking a more liberal approach to allowing drone deliveries. they just put up with the food delivery company fees. Customers were happy and restaurants focused on their in-store business.

SaaS 242

SaaS Custom Customer Technical Review 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2022

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company's market is the same. Choosing the action quickly which has the best expected outcome or positive contribution. This is a problem with many product-based companies. The team is the same.

Ideas 155

Ideas Entrepreneur Research Demand 155

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. It takes a wealth of hungry buyers to sustain a great business idea.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. According to many observers , we can thank or blame technology for these higher expectations, providing information at the speed of light, leading everyone to expect more. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Custom 55

Custom Customer Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2012

A while back, I wrote about the value of Michael Porter’s Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment, and using every opportunity to highlight and emphasize your relative advantages, whether they be price, features, or bargaining power. Exceed customer expectations. Continuous customer service innovation.

Custom 104

Custom Customer Startup Organization 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

Creating the right company culture must be a top priority of every entrepreneur and business leader. Today’s business mantra must be “Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.” Once a product-first, customer-second, and employee-last culture is set, it is extremely hard to change. Marty Zwilling

Organization 108

Organization Startup Satisfaction Custom 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2018

In addition to obvious economic challenges, the emerging generation of customers is determined to radically change the rules for customer engagement. Their expectations of relationship and personalization are taxing businesses today, and their power through social media will kill those who can’t or won’t comply.

Demand 56

Demand Custom Customer Tips 56

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

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.” You only get one chance to make a great first impression. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Custom 52

Custom Customer Startup Course 52