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. The challenge is to transform and hardwire your entire team to think in these terms, rather than the default focus on distinct towers of product quality, closing the sale, or fixing a complaint.

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Customer Custom Services Startup 168

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. Thus the real challenge in building your brand is building the level of engagement and delivery of your team.

Customer 123

Customer Custom Services Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

In fact, having one marketing guru on the team alone won’t get you very far. You need to make sure that everyone on the team, from the clerical assistant to the chief financial officer, knows your vision and product, and doesn’t hesitate to actively engage and be an effective proponent with anyone who might be of value to the business.

Marketing 130

Marketing Develop Development Startup 130

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Even when they have talked to multiple developers or development firms, we’re often the first to ask basic questions like “Who are your customers?” Who are the customers?

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Develop Development Technical Review SEO 520

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.

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Customer Custom Design Product 150

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

DECEMBER 20, 2021

It takes an effective team to attract and serve a community in business these days. With real-time online reviews and feedback via the Internet, and instant relationships via social media, a voice from the top that is inconsistent with what is heard from the firing line defines a dysfunctional and noncompetitive company for today’s customer.

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Class Develop Development Startup 155

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2021

New generations of customers respond better to the “ participative ” approach, where they get to provide input via social media and the Internet. Some call it a move from always “ hunting ” for new customers in the wild, to “gardening” or nurturing loyalty and value from the ones you already have.

Customer 168

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 168

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.” Great startups manage to continually improve the relationship through outstanding follow-on support and service.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124

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. You’d be very wrong. Starting with a positive.

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Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

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.

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Customer Custom Satisfaction Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

They forget that adapting their company and themselves as their customers evolve is the key to long-term survival. Think of Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us , both of whom missed customer changes and the move to online. Create an overt strategy to react to emerging customer trends. Remember when you were a startup?

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Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of many startups from e-commerce to gaming to marketplace companies, among others. Most of these startups spend the lion’s share of their marketing budget in today’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snap, TikTok and so on because?—?no

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Product Platform Advertising Acquisition 424

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2019

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.

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Customer Custom Sales Social Media 107

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Deka , a new startup developing custom Bluetooth headsets, said today that it has launched a crowdfunding effort to help launch the company. The startup--led by Erik Adams--said it is raising $100,000 on an Indiegogo campaign for its products, which let users create their own, custom 3D printed Bluetooth headsets.

Customer 183

Customer Custom Help Startup 183

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2015

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members.

Startup 104

Startup Entrepreneur Resource Guide 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

Traditional marketing says you have to “push” your message out to customers, over and over again, to get you remembered. A more effective approach in today’s Internet and interactive culture is to use “pull” technology to bring customers and clients to your story. Introduce the team. Refresh it often. Skip the Flash videos.

Customer 160

Customer Custom FAQ Technical Review 160

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact). By going on sales calls you pick up directly the feedback of what customers want and also what they’re telling you about competition.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

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. Thus the real challenge in building your brand is building the level of engagement and delivery of your team.

Customer 84

Customer Custom Training Satisfaction 84

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

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.

Competition 99

Competition Services Startup Training 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2015

Every entrepreneur realizes that building a great team is critical to the success of his or her startup, but many don’t realize that it takes more than multiple qualified employees to make an effective team. That’s the way smart teams make real change happen. Remove team members who initiate unhealthy conflict.

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Startup Entrepreneur Coach Mentor 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

Vonjour (www.vonjour.com), a Los Angeles startup, has developed a cloud-based customer support and phone system which, in addition to handling all of a company''s usual enterprise phone needs--also lets employers harness employee smartphones to deal with customer support issues, make calls, and interact with customers directly from a mobile app.

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Customer Custom Startup Mobile 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2013

Customers buy from people, not companies. That means relationships with team members, investors, customers, and vendors. Entrepreneurs who like to be argumentative, complaining, or disagreeable, will have a hard time closing a contract, investment, or a customer contract. Investors invest in people, not ideas.

Customer 102

Customer Custom Startup Outsource Development 102

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. Identify a business purpose and goals that motivate any team. Encourage your team to make decisions and take action.

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Startup Customer Custom Ideas 147

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. In reality, it is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of the business and the team.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors.

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Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 28, 2020

MarketerHire , a Los Angeles-based startup backed by a slew of executives from some of the city’s hottest startups, launched its new service matching freelance marketing experts with open jobs listed on its platform. .

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Marketing Netflix Services Company 265

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

For today's interview, we spoke to Dave Eastman, the Director of the Viterbi Startup Garage, a startup incubator that is run by the University of Southern California, out of its location in Marina Del Rey. What is Viterbi Startup Garage? The Startup Garage is located physically in Marina Del Rey, in the twin tower on Admiralty.

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Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

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 Customer Custom 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2023

Every startup founder rightfully starts out as the single leader of the startup, but as the business grows, many entrepreneurs struggle with relinquishing any control, or fail to recognize and allow other leaders to emerge. The right alternative is to focus on finding and delegating some control to the hidden leaders in your startup.

Capital 107

Capital Startup Entrepreneur Customer 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions.

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Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

Startups are very risky, and most fail. As an advisor to many entrepreneurs and startups, I’m always looking for early signs that usually lead to an “almost” success, but I have found them hard to pin down. Even startups with a cast of gifted geniuses and seasoned entrepreneurs can easily fall victim to these malaises.

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Entrepreneur Startup Customer Custom 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2016

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first.

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Startup Examples Mentor Activity 58

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

The canvas is a visual chart with elements describing your value proposition, structure, finances, and customers, to help companies identify and align business activities. I look for evidence of the nine major elements of the model canvas, as paraphrased here from the author’s key points and how they apply to teams: Customer segments.

Funding 133

Funding Activity Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2014

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 memorable experiences to their customers. Thus the real challenge in building your brand is building the level of engagement and delivery of your team.

Customer 106

Customer Custom Training Satisfaction 106

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2021

If you are a new business owner or entrepreneur, you are likely to be creative and willing to take a risk , and you probably assume that most potential team members have the same mindset. It's really not that hard to recognize when potential team members come alive when describing their skills, accomplishments, and aspirations.

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Coach Activity Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. Most new entrepreneurs assume their passion will attract and motivate the right team members. Poorly defined and executed hiring process.

Organization 104

Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Screening 104