Where’s the innovation in your business? Without innovation your company’s offerings will grow tired and growth will stagnate.

Peter Drucker, famous management guru, said, “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”

A proven way to create customers is through innovation. We must always seek ways to improve how we serve clients to better meet their needs. If you’re looking for an essential baseline from which to innovate, think time and money savings. People will always pay to save time and money with a good product or service.

I’d like to introduce you to the Keurig, one cup coffee maker. I purchased this unit for my wife for her recent birthday. It’s vastly more expensive than your average coffee maker. You’d probably question whether you like coffee that much when confronted with the price.

Well, we do like coffee around here, but we have a basic problem. My wife drinks regular and I drink decaf. Do you really think we’re going to make 2 pots of coffee each time we want a cup? Moreover, our former coffee maker isn’t a one-cup device. We were always throwing out leftover coffee with it.

Because I couldn’t have my decaf at home so easily I found myself buying it at Starbucks quite often, say 2-4 times a week. If each cup costs me $2., then that’s $4 – $8 a week. Multiply that by 50 and you have as much as $400 being spent annually at Starbucks.

On top of that I have to go to one to get it, which I won’t do in pajamas on a Sunday morning. The Keurig solved these issues. They have what they call Kcups that make one cup at a time and it’s brewed to one of three strengths to suit every drinker. It’s faster than brewing a pot and will pay for itself many times over in the first year of use (for us).

The final innovation is this machine’s eco-system. There are 200 varieties of Kcups to choose from including tea and hot cocoa being supplied from numerous companies including Tully’s and Emeril’s. It’s incredible, really. So, I’m looking at this machine and thinking to myself, “Now how can I save my clients time and money with my services? And can I do it as well as the Keurig does?” Very good questions. What are your answers to these questions?

by: Michael Neuendorff, Strategic Business Owner, The Growth Coach

One of the best actions you can take for your business is to keep talking about it. Never stop marketing. When you market inconsistently, you will create erratic results.

I was at a meeting the other day with my FYbI Network partners. As our meeting was wrapping up my phone rang. The caller was interested in learning how I could help him with his business. This is what he told me, “I have seen your ad (in the San Mateo Daily Journal) several times and finally decided to call you.”

Now how would I have convinced this person that I’m worth a call if I only advertised once? You might be saying, “Well if I advertised in the paper I’d do it more than once.”

Fair enough. But do you go to the same networking group over and over? Do you send out your newsletter regularly? Do you update your Facebook Fan page daily? Do you post your ads on Craigslist every week? Are you blogging every week?

See, this is what I’m talking about. Across the board are you marketing consistently? Note that this doesn’t have to mean you spend money regularly – though spending some is wise – it means that you keep up the drumbeat about your company. You just don’t know when your message is going to click. And you’ll never know if you don’t keep talking about your business.

by: Michael Neuendorff, Strategic Business Owner, The Growth Coach

In this economy we are susceptible to the desire to serve anyone and everyone who can use our product or service. There isn’t anything wrong with this type of thinking per se. It’s what can happen to our business if we lose focus on our target market that’s the danger.

Let me expound on this. I talk to multiple business owners every week and I often ask during our first conversation, “Who is your ideal customer?” Most business owners know the answer to this question. But then when I start to look at their marketing to see if they are speaking to that ideal customer and their needs, things start to get a little fuzzy.

You see, we often worry that if we target a certain customer type with our messaging, then we’re apt to not get any other type of customer. Well, that may be true. So, you should be sure that your ideal customer represents a large enough population that they could support your business. Otherwise, you have a target market not worth serving.

If your target market is worth serving, then you owe it to them to be clearly focused on serving them to the best of your ability with a product or service that will satisfy them better than anything else. And let this market know you’re there to service them with messaging that clearly targets them.

Here’s an example from my own business. I created a flyer for businesses in Burlingame that will be sent out in May by the Chamber of Commerce there. In the copy I specifically state that I serve ‘small’ business owners. Might I lose attracting medium and large business owners with this messaging? Yes, I very well could. But, they’re not my target market. Small businesses are. And since there are hundreds of small businesses in Burlingame, I have plenty of prospective customers to serve. I don’t need the Marriott hotel calling me.

If you disagree with me and you are targeting many disparate groups with your marketing, contact me and let’s talk about it. I’d like to learn why it’s best for your business to try to be all things to all people. If you’re not sure who your target market is, or how to reach the market you’re targeting, contact me and let’s talk about that.

by: Michael Neuendorff, Strategic Business Owner, The Growth Coach

When it comes to running your business, do you run with the pack? That is, do you do what everyone else is doing? Or do you run in a different direction taking advantage of opportunities others are eschewing? I read a promotion for an upcoming teleseminar on telemarketing yesterday, which made me think of doing things others aren’t doing in order to be successful.

In my last career I prided myself on being successful and remaining gainfully employed because I was always willing to do what others weren’t. In one sales job I was willing to work until 10 pm five nights in a row. Others were only willing to work late one or two nights. This willingness catapulted me in to a sales manager position and into the number 2 ranking on the team in a relatively short time.

In another position I was willing to take on a key relationship management role that others wanted nothing to do with. I thrived in the position others didn’t want and gained a lot of valuable negotiation experience (and a promotion).

Right now, what I see other business owners unwilling to do are a couple of key marketing activities: Telemarketing and Public Speaking. These are both proven ways of promoting your products and services. I suspect that with the rise of email and social networking, these two tried and true methods are falling back in importance in owners’ minds. There’s also some measure of dread involved in actively using these marketing tools. Ah, but there’s the opportunity. You don’t have to expend as much effort to get results if there’s not as much competition.

Now I know telemarketing and public speaking aren’t right for every business. However, they are right for many more than are currently willing to give it a go. Where do you fall? If you would like to discuss how either or both of these contrarian tactics could work for your business, give me a call. I can help you put a plan together. If you’re not a client and have never met with me, then this planning session will be on me.