I ’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Fear is not productive. Yes, there are warning signs of recession all over the economy right now. I remember reading an article in “Business Insider” in January that really put it in perspective. It said that in 2023, the tech sector is laying off an average of 1,600 workers every single day — 1,600 a day! That’s not chump change. But just because Twitter, Meta, and Salesforce are creating scary market indicators doesn’t mean business owners like you should be running scared. That’s what your competition is doing! The real question you need to ask right now is, “How can I take advantage of the changes happening in the economy?” There are many ways to do it, and I’ve already shared a bunch of them in past newsletters. Today, I want to drill into three more things you can do to strengthen your business, keep your current clients, one-up your competition, and set yourself up for massive success. 1. Improve your customer experience. It’s time to reevaluate your entire customer journey, starting with the moment a lead converts. What is your team doing to build relationships with those customers during that journey? How are you creating a community for them? Those two things are vital to client retention — but they’re often overlooked. Too many businesses focus solely on bringing in new customers and don’t develop personal relationships with the people who have already proven willing to pull out their wallets and buy. This is a huge mistake! It’s much cheaper to upsell and resell to the clients you have right now than to find new customers, especially in this economy. So, what are you waiting for? Start learning, communicating, and relationship- building right now. According to Forbes, “Brands with superior customer experience bring in 5.7 times more revenue than competitors that lag in customer experience.” Do you want to be one of them, or do you want to hemorrhage clients the second the economy tanks? Newsletter Pro’s ultimate Customer Retention Guide can help you get on the right side of history. Download it now at NewsletterPro.com/retention-1 .
March 2023
It’s Time to Be Greedy 3 Ways to One-Up Your Competition
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Building Relationships to Help Small Businesses Succeed.
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2. Cut the fat out of your business. Businesses tend to get sloppy when sales are rolling in and money is easy. You might be shelling out for a Facebook marketing campaign right now that hasn’t done a freaking thing for your bottom line in six months. Maybe you’re wasting time sending emails that could be automated
or letting a third of your leads fall through the cracks because your sales system is a mess and you don’t have a protocol in place for multiple follow-ups! Now is the time to sit down with your team, look at the money going out and the systems you have in place, and use tried-and-true business principles to clean up the crap. Don’t knock the basics: They’ve gotten companies like mine through every recession so far. “Your competitors are fearful right now. They’re laying off staff, compromising customer experience, and slacking off on follow-ups and nurture campaigns. So, it’s time for you to be greedy!” 3. Find and smooth out friction points. Friction points lead to increased customer churn and unhappy employees — things that won’t do you any favors in a recession. To prevent future problems, look for areas in your sales process, hiring process, and customer journey that frustrate your employees, annoy your customers, or are just overly complicated. What do your customers complain about? What does your team gripe about? The biggest culprits are your friction points. Remember that for every complaint that comes in, there are three people with the same problem keeping their mouths shut. Maybe you get a lot of complaints from customers about the way you bill. Maybe your team struggles to hit a particular KPI every month or hasn’t quite figured out your new CRM system yet and keeps making mistakes. Figure out how to alter your systems, change your policies, or revise your goals to remove those friction points. The worse the economy gets, the more penny-pinching customers will complain and reveal these issues to you.
I give this advice to business owners all the time, but they don’t always listen. Often, they fall victim to one of these two mistakes: They either wait too long to get started, or they let their ego get in the way and refuse to hire the coaches, consultants, and experts they need to make it happen. Don’t be one of those people! Instead, follow the wise words of Warren Buffett: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” Your competitors are fearful right now. They’re laying off staff, compromising customer experiences, and slacking off on follow-ups and nurture campaigns. So, it’s time for you to be greedy! Make those investments, do that hard work, and double down on the efforts you’ve already made. If you do all that, your business will come out on top no matter how tough the economy gets.
- Shaun
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Keeping Count Why You Should Focus on Churn
management tools can help with this task.) Further, you should always ask questions whenever one of your customers cancels. The process can be automated on your website or verbally requested. Determining why your customers are most likely to leave will give you clues to keeping them in the future. Once you know your churn and retention rates, you can look deeper for insights into why and when your customers are leaving. After how many months do customers most frequently cancel? What is their most common reason for opting out of your service? The answers to these questions will determine your best response. Say, for example, that a customer states they’re canceling your service because it’s too expensive. You might then offer them a discount before processing the cancellation to see if you can retain the business. Reminding your customers of lower subscription tiers can also be helpful. Meanwhile, if your subscribers are most likely to cancel after their third month, you’ll know this is an excellent time to engage them with reminders of your product’s value. Being proactive in your approach to churn is much more effective than waiting until a customer tries to pull their business. Happy customers don’t leave, so find ways to leave them satisfied. Invest in customer service, provide customization options to suit your customers’ needs, and remain engaged throughout their experience. Further, take customer feedback seriously. Addressing problems upfront will likely reduce your churn rate, save your business money, and promote continued growth.
“There are always more fish in the sea” is an adage better applied to dating than business. When business is growing, many entrepreneurs think they don’t need to worry about their churn rate. But retention will remain crucial to your success throughout the entire life of your business — whether or not you choose to admit it. Churn is a metric best used for subscription-based businesses and tracks how many clients who sign up for your service cancel over time. Its inverse is retention, or how many customers stay with your business throughout the same period. The most basic way to calculate retention is by dividing your current customers by the number of customers you had at the beginning of the period. No one likes losing customers, so the benefits of tracking churn and retention are self-evident. But these numbers matter even more than you might realize. Bain & Company reports that increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits anywhere from 25%–95%. Meanwhile, the Harvard Business Review estimates that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. Reducing churn will allow you to grow your business faster while spending less money. But it’s worth noting that you can simultaneously have a high rate of new customers and a high rate of churn. Therefore, it’s best to track customers by their sign-up date rather than determining whether your total number of customers has grown. Gaining 20 net customers in a month is great, but it still matters if you lost five existing ones during that period. You may already have this type of data on hand, but it’s time to start compiling it if you don’t. (Many business
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It’s an Influencer’s World Should You Advertise in It?
influencer’s social media page is likely the first place anyone will ever hear of your brand. If your company isn’t doing any social media marketing or SEO to increase awareness or traffic to your site, people likely won’t just come across it on their own. What they will come across, however, are posts made by their favorite online personality, because they follow them for their own enjoyment. Clay says this idea that an influencer’s profile can be the genesis for your brand’s awareness has become even more critical as sites like Instagram introduce new one- click checkout processes, where consumers can press a button and make a purchase. Essentially, it reduces your sales funnel to two steps: awareness and purchase. And influencer marketing is a lot like an SEO strategy because it keeps your brand in front of your target audience. But instead of using keywords to rank your site, you use an influencer to place your business in front of thousands of people ready to buy. Influencer marketing also capitalizes on relationship marketing by utilizing the person so many consumers rely on for advice. Part of the reason people follow
If you have a social media account, you’ve probably seen the same few faces on these online platforms: people with tons of followers who do virtually anything they ask simply because they like them. These people are influencers, and in the last few years, their role has shifted from posting personal images and videos to becoming one of the biggest assets of digital marketing. The use of influencers in promoting a brand is called “influencer marketing,” and its primary goal is to target the influencer’s fans by promoting a product or service to the influencer for a price. This tactic is incredibly effective because an influencer’s fans trust them like they would a friend. In fact, 66% of online users report they trust the opinions of other consumers they see online, according to Nielsen.
So, the question begs to be asked: Should you try it?
Rachel Clay, the head of social media marketing at Matter Of Form, says the answer to that question is a resounding “YES!” Clay is so adamant all businesses can benefit from influencer marketing because, for many people, an
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But before you agree to anything, ask for some proof. Just because someone has a lot of followers doesn’t mean they’re an influencer, and you wouldn’t want to waste your money on a strategy that yields no results. Simply ask for a screenshot of their engagement rates, which should never be lower than 2% but ideally higher than 6%. You want to ensure the people who follow them actually interact with that person, not just mindlessly swipe past their content. Once you seal the deal with the influencer of your choice, let them work their magic. If they have great engagement rates, what they’re doing obviously works, so don’t micromanage them or provide extremely strict instructions on what to post. The point of hiring them is to take advantage of their unique personality, style, and content that attracts a broad audience and will ultimately boost your business.
internet stars is that they want to be like them. They want perfect skin, money, friends, notoriety, and everything else the person they admire has, but more than anything else, they want to be their friend. So, in the lens of marketing, a consumer is much more likely to buy a product or service because someone they wish to befriend uses it rather than because of an overt advertisement or random link. How does influencer marketing even work? You may be wondering just how you get someone online to promote your product to their followers, and the answer starts with identifying who you want that “someone” to be. While you may want to start with a prominent influencer you follow yourself, it’s better to look at your demographic. If your organization sells computer accessories, hiring a fashion influencer is probably not a good idea; a gamer might be better
instead. Try to imagine who the people you’re targeting follow on social media and contact influencers in that specific niche. When contacting that influencer, many of them have talent agents to field their inquiries, and these details are often listed on their social media page. You can start there with an email, or if no contact is listed, try a direct message. In this message, outline exactly what you’re looking for and details about your product. If they’re interested, you’ll likely have to sign an influencer marketing agreement, which is like a contract that outlines the terms and payment of your marketing arrangement.
Good News
“It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.” – Psalm 112:5 “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” – Proverbs 14:23
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What Is Quiet Quitting? And How Will It Affect My Business?
One of the best ways to avoid quiet quitting is to check in with your team regularly. Hold one-on-ones with each of your employees once a month to see how they feel about the business, check in on their work, and learn what you can do to improve their experience or
If you’ve kept up with popular business trends over the last year, you’ve likely come across the phrase “quiet quitting” on more than one occasion. Quiet quitting occurs when an employee does the bare minimum at their job. They’ll refuse to put in any additional time, effort, or enthusiasm than necessary to complete
encourage them more. After talking with each employee, you’ll have plenty of feedback you can implement to make the work experience and environment more enjoyable for everyone involved. Look for common themes in your employees’ responses and try to fix the most pressing issues first. This is your opportunity
their daily tasks. Although the employee doesn’t quit, their rebellion in the form of quiet quitting can negatively impact your business. When one employee shows signs of quitting quietly, it can quickly spread throughout the business. You’ll notice your employees are disengaged and unmotivated to do anything
“When one employee shows signs of quitting quietly, it can quickly spread throughout the business.”
to get ahead of the quiet quitting trend before it impacts your business.
The quiet quitting trend has reminded business owners about the importance of employee morale in the workplace. Employees who are unhappy with their work conditions or expectations will lose motivation and enthusiasm in their jobs. Create a business where employees feel appreciated, and you will never have to worry about the consequences of quiet quitting.
more than what’s required. When your employees aren’t engaged and enthusiastic about their work, productivity will decrease, which will cause your customers to grow frustrated with your business. Sales will start to decline as customer satisfaction diminishes. If you don’t do something to stop quiet quitting before it sets in, your business could be looking at a quick downward spiral.
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What’s Your Number? How Enneagram Can Help You Connect With Others
Discover your unique strengths and weaknesses with the Enneagram. With nine distinct personality types, each represented by a number, you’ll get a comprehensive overview of your core characteristics and areas for self‑improvement.
Simplify Your Bookkeeping With Help From Melio
Working with vendors can often be a difficult task, especially for new businesses. Not only should you build and maintain relationships, but you should also ensure people are being paid in a manner that works for them. Wouldn’t it be beneficial if a program was available that synced with your accounting platform to auto-record payments while making the process much easier for your vendors and clients? Melio can bridge that gap. Melio is a business payment platform that allows companies to pay bills and invoice their clients directly from a single program. It can even enable businesses to streamline their bill payment process, reduce manual data entry, and gain greater control over their cash flow. While Melio boasts a host of unique benefits, the one that keeps users coming back is its flawless compatibility with QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and other accounting software. Additionally, Melio provides a secure and compliant platform. Your business and the businesses you work with are protected from fraud and other financial risks that can arise with online payments. You can even automate payments if you’re regularly sending funds to the same vendors multiple times a month or week. Partial payments, international billing, and paying multiple bills to one vendor are easy to complete with Melio. You can send your vendors or clients a check or bank transfer through this program without them even needing to sign up. Melio will completely change how you handle payments for the better. This is a powerful tool that will bring positive change to your business. There is no monthly fee for Melio, and they provide free ACH bank transfers. There are fees for other types of payments, but they are minimal. If you are interested in using Melio in your business, head to MelioPayments.com for more information.
1. The Perfectionist cares deeply about being reliable and maintaining their integrity. However, they can often be overly critical of themselves. 2. The Helper is kind, warm, and friendly. However, they can put the needs of others first to the point where it negatively impacts their quality of life. 3. The Achiever wants to be seen as valuable and competent. However, they can experience feelings of worthlessness if they are not achieving their goals quickly enough. 4. The Individualist is sensitive, contemplative, and creative. However, they tend to be jealous and overly emotional. 5. The Investigator is interested in data, acquiring knowledge, and pursuing their own curiosity. However, they can come across as cold and unempathetic. 6. The Loyalist seeks security and wants to be prepared for every potential situation. They can often be anxious because they spend time ruminating about potential threats. 7. The Enthusiast is spontaneous, fun, and adventurous. However, they often use distractions to avoid dealing with their problems. 8. The Challenger is a natural leader, direct and protective of others. However, they can often be confrontational and overly aggressive. 9. The Peacemaker is polite, accommodating, and avoids conflict at all costs. However, they can often become complacent.
If you’re interested in learning more about your Enneagram type, you can take the Enneagram test here:
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From Our Blog
The Benefits Of Customer Relationship Marketing Marketers often spend much time finding innovative strategies for attracting new customers to their
retention rates. Contrastingly, 44% report they spend a significant amount of time dedicated to attracting first- time customers. But is reaching out to new customers the best use of your business’s resources? Many businesses don’t realize that attracting new customers is much more difficult and far less profitable than retaining old ones. New customers cost more to obtain, spend less, and are much more likely to switch to a competitor. However, your current customers are already familiar with your business and interested in what you offer. Focusing your efforts on retaining them can result in a massive boost in overall profits and ROI. Here are a few key statistics demonstrating how critical retention is for businesses.
business. However, marketers often exclude one critical demographic: current customers. That’s why it’s essential to understand what customer relationship marketing is, how to implement it in your business, and the long-term benefits of customer relationship marketing. What Is Customer Relationship Marketing? MailChimp defines customer relationship marketing as “a strategy by which your team concentrates on building relationships with your patrons rather than on transactions.” Or, when you focus on relationship marketing, you build a long-term connection with your customers. You’re not trying to influence a short-term, immediate sale. When nurtured over time, these strong customer relationships can be fruitful. In fact, the benefits of customer relationship marketing often outweigh the benefits of attracting new leads. Here are a few things businesses can gain from investing in relationship marketing. Retention Rates Boosting retention is an often-neglected area of focus for many businesses. Less than 2 out of every 10 businesses report they devote substantial attention to improving their
Want the rest of the story? Read more on our blog! NewsletterPro.com/blog
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