"...keeping you great"
HEADLINES:
5 Keys to Scaling Up -- my latest Venture column in Fortune (Dec. 1 edition) is online highlighting 5 ways to build up your business:
- Don't be myopic about marketing
- Fight process paralysis
- Love your accountants
- Teach your people well
- Invest in systems
Please take 2 minutes to read the one-paragraph details for each and choose one of the five to act on the remainder of the year. My choice for Gazelles is marketing.
Dental Brand Promises -- make three promises and then measure if you're keeping them (Kept Promise Indicators - KPI!) - then grab a Net Promoter Score (NPS) while you're at it. This dental practice has nailed it with this simple survey - see picture below:
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Notice how specific and measurable each promise is - can you say the same for your three brand promises? And we learned from Steve Martin, co-author of The small Big, that three is the ideal number of "reasons to buy" - more influencing than 2 or 4 or 10 reasons! Thanks to Rockefeller Habits 2.0 fan Tony Gedge, owner of Marketing Pirates of Dentistry, for sharing this example.
Why Best Buy's Stock Doubled -- Best Buy's CEO Hubert Joly knows how to rev up companies, especially those in trouble. Take 3 minutes to learn three practical lessons from this ex-McKinsey consultant who has turned around 3 major companies. These are powerful ideas shared by Kaihan Krippendorff in his latest blog. First, can you state your strategy in a sentence? Best Buy's -- "The strategy is very simple. We believe that price-competitiveness is table stakes. The way we want to win is around the advice, convenience, service." This led to a low-price guarantee and then a maniacal focus on delivering on the three measurable brand promises - advice, convenience, and service. Again, take 3 minutes to read about the other practical lessons. BTW, Best Buy's stock price is soaring.
Must Read Strategy Book -- speaking of strategy, if you want to create products and services customers want, read Value Proposition Design, this is the latest book by Alexander Osterwalder. Though I was never a big fan of his Business Model Generation book and approach (too cumbersome); I'm a HUGE fan of his Value Proposition Canvas. It starts with a very important Clayton Christensen (Harvard Prof) question - "what is the job the customer needs done?" Then you build your value proposition from there.
IDEO vs. Quirky -- need something to listen to while doing email? Here's my latest short interview hosted by Paul Dunn, co-founder of B1G1, for his online Global Impact Summit. Skip the intro (start at 6:00) to pick up the important lessons from IDEO vs. Quirky - and more tips for scaling up your business. Then check out Paul's business which makes it easy to give to charities through his Buy 1, Give 1 technology - it automates the process.
Holiday/Thanksgiving Gifts -- looking for something to give to your customers as a gift? Give them a gift of growth (helps your business as well) - a gift-wrapped copy of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). To purchase in bulk at a discount click here.
COACHING:
Need help implementing the Rockefeller Habits?