Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

Here are five key ones to celebrate: Enjoy the feedback from every satisfied customer. Talking to real customers is the best way to keep your inspiration alive, as well as the best way keep on track with changing trends and future innovation ideas. Increasing customer focus and loyalty. Marty Zwilling

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Startup Satisfaction Customer Custom 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

The world keeps changing, and visible business strategies that worked well in the past, including being the premium brand or low price producer, simply don’t get the customer loyalty they once did. Today, customers are looking for real relationships, a memorable shopping experience, and satisfaction of a higher purpose.

Customer 133

Customer Custom Satisfaction Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

As I talk to many of you in my role as business advisor, I still often hear the concern for maximum return to the business and stakeholders, more than a passion for sustainably enriching the lives of your customers and team. This applies to your own team, as well as customers. Make every customer experience memorable.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

As a consumer, I rarely pay attention to your marketing pitch, but I certainly always remember a exceptionally positive total experience with your team, based on a memorable set of interactions from first contact to discussions with friends. Incent and reward employees who delight customers. That approach still is meaningful today.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2022

Sometimes the hesitation I see is not just the qualms of starting and growing a business, but an actual inability to think big, chase dreams, or build a support community around you. Good brainstorming requires you to assemble a half-dozen of the right people who are not afraid to speak up and participate. No idea should go unspoken.

Startup 142

Startup Ideas Satisfaction Social Media 142

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.

Customer 158

Customer Custom Social Media Satisfaction 158

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2020

Attracting the right customers is the key to success in business, whether you have a new startup or a mature enterprise. For example, Xerox tried to broaden the use of "xerox" as the standard term for "photocopying" to extend their existing customer segment into office automation and all kinds of computing.

Customer 123

Customer Custom Technical Review Examples 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2020

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I find that I often have to remind them that the world of customers has changed since they started their last business. But even the older Boomers have learned to use technology and social media as the source of expectations from your business, more so than your own traditional marketing.

Customer 133

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

In my role of business advisor to startups, I often recommend these to increase initial brand identity and market penetration. With the rate of market change today, and the advent of worldwide competitors, you need every strategy you can muster to keep up, and respond quickly to new threats.

Marketing 119

Marketing Social Media Mentor Conference 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 150

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

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. Market research and a business plan should be the focus at this stage. Startup and development stage.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2022

In business, entrepreneurs hunt for new innovative solutions to problems, new ways of beating competitors, new markets, and new customers. Within each of these types, I can easily highlight strengths and weaknesses that we both see every day in startups: Technicians. These are the ultimate hunters.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Marketing News Slides 124

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

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

But very quickly, it is becoming obvious to startups that the value and satisfaction exceeds the costs. Even without B-Corp status, entrepreneurs are speaking out more on the positives to support business models that benefit not just shareholders, but customers, workforce, the environment, and the greater community.

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Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

As an advisor to many startups today, I still see that most of you entrepreneurs see yourselves as the sole driver of your new solution, and the key driver of your new business. We all need to be humble and recognize that what we need to know about technology and the market changes daily. Be the model of customer focus for the team.

Startup 147

Startup Customer Custom Ideas 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Every startup needs to think hard daily about what problem or challenge is holding back progress, what really matters today, and what entirely new possibilities exist.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

After many years in business, I’m convinced that none of us has the strengths and interest in all the areas needed for success, including solution changes, finance, marketing, and operations. Trying to do everything is a sure way to maximize stress, lower job satisfaction, and minimize productivity.

Activity 108

Activity Satisfaction Metrics Startup 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2021

As I “grew up” in business in big companies, including IBM, I always wondered why the real innovations seemed to come from startups, while we had more resources and more experience. Yet we never even dreamed of a new potential for personal use of computers , until startups like Apple and Microsoft stepped into the fray.

Marketing 117

Marketing IBM IBM Resource 117

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

If you are seriously looking to start the next billion-dollar startup, you need to get beyond the realm of enhancing a current solution. But we all know that these are not solutions by themselves, but require integration into an innovative framework to solve real customer problems. Be forever curious and optimistic.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2020

It may not be as sexy, but starting a new business which builds on an existing technology or business model is usually less risky than introducing that ultimate new disruptive technology. Many of the major business successes started this way. Many of the major business successes started this way.

Startup 157

Startup Social Media Study Research 157

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Social media is the realm of public opinion and customer conversations. Measure customer response and action. Get the message from your customer. Project the future.

Social Media 127

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Every new business I know dreams of building momentum in their business, where growth continues to increase, customers become your best advocates, and employee motivation is high. Unfortunately, with limited resources, this isn’t possible, and it frustrates customers and the team. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2022

As an advisor to many startups, I’m convinced it’s an expensive and painful approach, but I do see it used all too often. In the rush of a startup, it’s tempting to start spending the money you expect any day from a rich uncle or a major new customer. Create a market you can’t supply and support.

Startup 100

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2023

Every existing business, as well as every startup, needs to reassess their product or service in the context of these five forces: Intensity of competitive rivalry. Startups that target profitable and growing markets with high returns should realize that these will draw many new entrants. Bargaining power of customers.

Competition 88

Competition Startup Framework Pricing 88

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2023

For example, a while back a passionate entrepreneur approached me with an innovative solution for reducing world hunger, but hadn’t focused on the fact that hungry people often don’t have any money, and governments are not easy customers. Find market evidence of customers with means who are willing to pay for a solution.

Tips 80

Tips Startup Satisfaction Ideas 80

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. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Funding 107

Funding Startup Satisfaction Venture Capital 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. This is the first business process that every startup needs, that I wouldn’t expect to find for a hobby. Customer receivables collection and vendor payments. Solution development and delivery.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2020

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 128

Customer Custom Activity Social Network 128

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2019

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. Walking the talk is the place to start.

Customer 84

Customer Custom Training Satisfaction 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Perhaps sparked by the now forgotten recession, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Problems will occur in every startup, simply because you are stepping into uncharted territory. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions.

Satisfaction 53

Satisfaction Marketing Mentor Entrepreneur 53

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

One of the most stressful and unanticipated challenges that comes with starting a new business is hiring and managing employees. While this approach appears to cost more on the surface, it often actually costs you less, when you consider the hidden costs of rework, poor customer satisfaction, employee management, and training required.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2020

Every existing business, as well as every startup, needs to reassess their product or service in the context of these five forces: Intensity of competitive rivalry. Startups that target profitable and growing markets with high returns should realize that these will draw many new entrants. Bargaining power of customers.

Competition 151

Competition Startup Framework Pricing 151

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. The customer experience is more than the service.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111