Reimagine the Restart Part 2: The hidden competitive advantages that will reset your business

This part II of Reimagine the Restart is focused entirely on how we can reimagine operations and the way we do business as markets reopen.

As lockdowns are being lifted and markets reopen, we are slowly coming out of this stage of grief. According to NPR, cell phone data shows people are transiting significantly more than in late April and payment processors are seeing an uptick in consumer spending. People want their lives back.

What if you could help give it to them?

You love your customers and you want them to be able to spend again. This stakeholder, your existing customer base, is your biggest hidden asset right now. A company can downgrade or discount a customer but if it loses a customer, the cost to acquire a new customer is more then to give now to retain the current customer.

These are the root of your next sales leads, repurchase deals, and referrals because they know you already, (hopefully) had a positive experience and are yearning to hear from you and how you’re helping them. Let’s make that happen.

Since early March, we’ve noticed one key differentiator among our clients and best practices we’ve seen in the marketplace: the top-performing companies are over-delivering value to retain their customers, generating new business, and stabilizing their profitability.

Based on their examples, we have developed a 90-minute sprint to help you benefit from this hidden strategic advantage. As competitors retract and protect, let’s lean in, give and get.

The companies that have followed us on this sprint have, on average, retained 100% of their customer base, decreased A/R by 42%, and actually increased MRR by 13%. Other clients have introduced new product lines, increased their referral rate and diversified revenue streams.

The three-step approach to developing your own Customer Operations Reset is O.D.A.:

  • Offer
  • Delivery
  • Authority

How to craft your offer

The purpose of the offer is to deliver value above and beyond for your existing customer base that already knows and (hopefully) loves you. You want them to not question your worth and keep top of their mind when they are ready to repurchase or buy again (which may come sooner than you think).

People are actually buying right now. But they’re buying from companies that have iterated their products/services that address their immediate needs, which is why the O.D.A. Method is so powerful.

The question becomes what can you do for customers to help them and provide value right now (free, fast, and with ZERO Cost)?

Here are some questions to pose:

What can you do that is unexpected?

What can you do that no one else is doing?

What is something that could bring your customers together and build community

Don’t shy away from actions you could take that are outside of the scope of the company and/or that utilize internal resources and know-how.

For example, maybe you’re a consumer goods product but you understand and implement influencer marketing really well. Could you share your internal know-how around influence marketing with your B2B customer base?

Examples from clients include:

  • Design services
  • Social media services
  • A free product feature
  • Targeted consulting 30 min blocks
  • Delivery services
  • Private Facebook group
  • Customer only Zoom call

Of those, choose the three that provide the most value for the customer right now, not what is best for the company.

How to deliver your offer

The purpose of determining the best way to deliver your offer is to serve, not sell. It’s a #GiveFirst mentality with a focus on effectiveness. Show your customers that you love them and empathize with them during this life-changing time by delivering the offers you’ve crafted inside a message of hope and trust. Prove that your company is helping these businesses get back to life as they once knew it..

The question becomes what is the best medium and cadence to deliver your offer of help to your customers (free, fast, and with ZERO Cost)?

Examples from clients include:

  • Customer blog
  • Call outreach
  • Online customer portal
  • Landing page of website
  • Text where applicable
  • Community you built from above

Of those, choose the three that are the most effective for the customer right now, not what is best for the company.

When you deliver your offer, ensure that you get ROI from your efforts by using original language that will capture their attention. Repetitive language that uses phrases like “unprecedented” “turbulent” or “uncertain” are in one ear and out the other and are even scoffed at. You want 100% attention to your offer and the way you are helping.

How to become establish your company as an authority

The purpose of establishing authority is to elevate your brand as a market leader. Market leaders synthesize information and forecast; they don’t just deliver.

There is one clear go-to solution no matter your industry: begin a State of the Industry (SOTI) report, ideally with CEO or top management.

Once you streamline this with your offer and deliver methods, you just need to choose the platform, length and cadence of a SOTI.

Platforms to choose from include:

  • Zoom with a public link
  • Facebook Live
  • IG Live

Hint: Go where your customers are not where you’re comfortable.

As for length, it could be anywhere from 2-20 minutes depending on your business. The cadence I’m recommending to my clients right now is weekly until change starts to slow down.

Then in the end, repeat your three customer offers.

The Proof is in the Pudding

One company I work with added 10% to their monthly recurring revenue in the last 30 days simply by calling 100% of their customers twice; and offering free ancillary services that cost very little during SOTI calls.

They got web leads, they got existing customer leads; and they got referrals. The proof is in the pudding – create your value through authoritative information sharing, coupled with free, valuable offers, can build trust, save existing customers, and win new ones.

Here are the key details that ensure this approach drive results:

Position this as what you are doing to help people back to their life (not “this is our webinar series”

This approach is only effective when they work together as a system; It’s not that any one of these alone are revolutionary ideas.

Iteration is key (AKA rapid change). Run this as a two-week sprint. Your customers’ needs are changing. In two weeks evaluate each step of O.D.A. and iterate.

Use this outreach effort to get a true real-time pulse on the customer needs. Aggregate the information to iterate the offer for the next two weeks. This informs your customer behavior predictions and helps you better predict your revenue curve.

We are in a game of rapid change and those companies that are able to stay just ahead of their customer needs and deliver on them will benefit from being first to market and elevate their brand above their competitors.

You’ll be remembered for what you did to serve not what you did to sell.

In love and respect,

Hilary Corna

 

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Hilary Corna

Bestselling Author, Keynote Speaker, Podcast Host, Founder of the Human Way ™...

Hilary’s favorite title is HUMAN.

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I am starting a revolution. One business and one person at a time.

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