Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If customers don’t know you exist, you can’t solve their problem, they won’t buy. Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems. Talk to real live customers in addition to marketers. Avoid the use of jargon, big claims, and special promotions.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

But it will be patiently deployed, waiting for a cohort of founders who aren’t artificially clinging to 2021 valuation metrics. We could talk with customers, meet the entire management team, review financial plans, review customer purchasing cohorts, evaluate the competition, etc. By 2021 we had to write a $3.5m

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Recent studies indicate that less than ten percent of business leaders show this balance today. Unfortunately, technology doesn’t create a vision, and usually frightens customers away, unless they understand the vision and value first. Listen to customer feedback and tune your vision. Every balanced leader does marketing early.

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Satisfaction Metrics Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2023

According to a classic Harvard Research study, first inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators. Market research can thus be based on real customers and a previously tested market. Studying and learning from the mistakes of others is the best way to reduce your own risks.

Social Media 92

Social Media Study Research Satisfaction 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

According to one study a decade ago, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. These only come with the proper training, investment in tools, and focus on customer relationships. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2022

True business success and leadership starts with real personal values, extends to building a team, and finally to inspiring customers and your community. I fully support and appreciate his case studies and conclusions on specific required personal initiatives, and how these can change people, organizations, and even entire industries.

Case Study 139

Case Study Customer Custom Tool 139

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2020

According to a classic Harvard Research study, first inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators. Market research can thus be based on real customers and a previously tested market. Studying and learning from the mistakes of others is the best way to reduce your own risks.

Startup 157

Startup Social Media Study Research 157

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

How good are you and everyone on your team at proactively scanning the environment for opportunities, emerging trends, and customer feedback? Imbue customer change focus. Provide direct customer contact to everyone, as well as training. Increase change agility. In summary, change will happen.

Startup 116

Startup Training Statistics Summary 116

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2020

It’s important to note slippage indicators, including less internal feedback on requirements to fight competitors, and more focus inward than outward on customers needs and trends. Assess many change initiatives have come to fruition from your team, visit a couple of key customers and listen for future needs, and study your newest competitor.

Metrics 122

Metrics Training Satisfaction IBM 122

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2020

In business vernacular, targets are usually called metrics. A good metric has to be easily measurable, and directly correlated to results, rather than hours worked. For example, for a sales person, this metric number would likely measure new revenue or new customers. Provide incentives to focus everyone on real results.

Metrics 124

Metrics Entrepreneur Satisfaction Study 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

A broken process or a subtle quality issue can generate a flood of customer satisfaction problems, cost overruns, and loss of market share. Without this mindset, and the determination to make a decision, nothing happens, and customers find alternatives. Build motivation through rewards and incentives.

Satisfaction 152

Satisfaction Mentor Study Startup 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2023

Most great business leaders, including Jeff Bezos , maintain a key internal team to study and implement the next steps. Don’t fail to develop the proper comprehensive metrics for assessing how you and any partners are doing in terms of value creation. Not having a means to measure holistic impact.

Outsource Development 140

Outsource Development Outsource Startup Metrics 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2016

That’s the right place to start, but real growth and scale requires attracting customers who are not like you. For example, Starbucks found initial success with professionals aged 25 to 40 in urban areas and with moderately high income but later looked to a new market of millennials who wanted a place to sit and chat, study or work.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 55

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

Per the latest study by networking giant Cisco , the world’s yearly mobile data traffic has grown 17-fold over the past 5 years, reaching 11.5 This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Analytics will soon drive nearly all business decisions for any company that wants to remain relevant to its customers.

Technology 97

Technology Social Media Startup Entertainment 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2022

Yet the value of real relationships, as with consumer customers, has become critical to your business services growth and success. Here is my list of some key recommendations to help you get your fair share of business: Customize and personalize every communication you can. Provide relevant case studies illustrating your results.

Services 121

Services Technical Review Social Media Case Study 121

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Technology is not the solution per se , but it provides the key enablement, drivers, and support for the required flexibility, integration, communication, metrics, and affordability that are required in the workplace today. The costs of these elements will be more than repaid by employee engagement and customer loyalty.

Coach 132

Coach Satisfaction Startup Organization 132

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Thus I was pleased to see my own insights covered in a new book, “ Why Startups Fail ,” by Tom Eisenmann, a Harvard Business School professor, who has mentored many more entrepreneurs, and authored more than a hundred HBS case studies from real-world startups. Look for validation from your mainstream customers.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Nimbleness and urgency to get the job done will set you apart from your competitors in so many ways, particularly with customers. Well-articulated goals and metrics. Study their moves and engage your team for an analysis of updates. Build it at the start and don’t ever lose it. Maintain an intimate knowledge of the competition.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2021

Yet I still see many companies focusing on what I believe are ineffective approaches to turning this productivity challenge around, including stricter processes, more metrics, and financial incentives to improve motivation. Every study shows that people are really engaged in their work, if they feel that it has value and purpose.

Satisfaction 168

Satisfaction Coach Resource Tool 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. These only come with the proper training, investment in tools, and focus on customer relationships. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2019

True business success and leadership starts with real personal values, extends to building a team, and finally to inspiring customers and your community. I fully support and appreciate his case studies and conclusions on specific required personal initiatives, and how these can change people, organizations, and even entire industries.

Case Study 93

Case Study Customer Custom Tool 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2019

How good are you and everyone on your team at proactively scanning the environment for opportunities, emerging trends, and customer feedback? Imbue customer change focus. Provide direct customer contact to everyone, as well as training. Increase change agility. In summary, change will happen.

Startup 94

Startup Training Statistics Summary 94

InfoChachkie

APRIL 30, 2012

One of the immersion techniques Guy promotes is to offer a hands-on trial, in which the prospective customer can touch, feel and experience your product before purchasing it. A/B testing requires marketers to leave their egos and emotions at the door and allow quantifiable metrics to drive their decisions.

Study 243

Study Advertising Research Customer 243

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2015

Per a new study by networking giant Cisco , the world’s yearly mobile data traffic grew 69 percent in 2014, reaching 2.5 This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Analytics will soon drive nearly all business decisions for any company that wants to remain relevant to its customers.

Startup 106

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 106

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

So they create a task list of all the marketing activities an organization can do: press releases, web site updates, customer case studies, blog posts, daily Tweets, Facebook fan page, attending conferences, etc. You get a lot of traffic — not always results. If you aren’t careful every PR team will measure inches over impact.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

According to a classic Harvard Research study, first inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators. Market research can thus be based on real customers and a previously tested market. Studying and learning from the mistakes of others is the best way to reduce your own risks.

Startup 65

Startup Social Media Study Research 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

He outlines six dimensions of a winning business strategy, with some practical, research-based steps that I like, to focus on in achieving extraordinary results: Above all, deliver an exceptional total customer experience. This requires constant study of what your customers value, what competitors offer, and your target market.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Customer Custom Competition 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2014

According to a recent Harvard Research study, first-time inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators. Market research can thus be based on real customers and a previously tested market. Studying and learning from the mistakes of others is the best way to reduce your own risks.

Technology 103

Technology Entrepreneur Study Research 103

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2017

Per the latest study by networking giant Cisco , the world’s yearly mobile data traffic has grown 18-fold over the past 5 years, reaching 7.2 This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Analytics will soon drive nearly all business decisions for any company that wants to remain relevant to its customers.

Startup 55

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 55

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. These only come with the proper training, investment in tools, and focus on customer relationships. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2019

In this era of rapid change, you can’t afford to stop learning, or you will find that your competitors, your customers, and your team, may soon be following someone else. In fact, you may have noticed in a recent study , that the business CEO turnover rate last year was the highest in 10 years, and may go even higher this year.

Tips 97

Tips Mentor Coach Metrics 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2014

In a recent study by networking giant Cisco , the world’s yearly mobile data traffic grew 81% in 2013 and will reach 1.3 This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Analytics will soon drive nearly all business decisions for any company that wants to remain relevant to its customers.

Startup 99

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2016

According to a classic Harvard Research study, first inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators. Market research can thus be based on real customers and a previously tested market. Studying and learning from the mistakes of others is the best way to reduce your own risks.

Technology 57

Technology Startup Study Research 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2017

How good are you and everyone on your team at proactively scanning the environment for opportunities, emerging trends, and customer feedback? Imbue customer change focus. Provide direct customer contact to everyone, as well as training. Increase change agility. In summary, change will happen.

Startup 56

Startup Training Statistics Summary 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2014

How good are you and everyone on your team at proactively scanning the environment for opportunities, emerging trends, and customer feedback? Imbue customer change focus. Provide direct customer contact to everyone, as well as training. Increase change agility. In summary, change will happen.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Startup Training Statistics 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. These only come with the proper training, investment in tools, and focus on customer relationships. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

After a year in the market, MakeSpace was growing rapidly and our biggest issue was CAC (customer acquisition costs) relative to payback period (when we get our marketing investment back) and relative to LTV (lifetime value). The metrics were good but we wondered how much better they would be when we expanded our product. Efficiency?

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150