3/24/09: Talking Trust + Loyalty with Fred Elsberry of the BBB and Marc Ellis of Thanks Again
Fred Elsberry of the Better Business Bureau joined us this morning to talk about trust, honesty, and integrity which are more important now than ever before especially for small businesses. Whereas big companies often don’t put as much stock in developing that type of relationship with their consumers, it’s no less important but it doesn’t affect them as much. However, for small businesses, it’s a life or death scenario. If your customers don’t trust you because you haven’t been honest, you will feel it in your bottom line. The Better Business Bureau plays a key role in supporting that relationship. Each of their member companies are accredited by a very careful selection process. Rest assured that if you are doing business with a highly-rated BBB company, you will most likely have a satisfactory experience. And, as a merchant or business, this is a great badge of honor to be one of the 3,500 or so companies out of the 150,000 in the Atlanta Metro area to be listed as a Better Business Bureau accredited company.
Marc Ellis, of Thanks Again, came on GFR to discuss customer loyalty. He says the economy doesn’t really scare him because what they are seeing is that because consumers are more discerning, they are flocking to businesses that offer them incentives beyond the typical discounts. In fact, even if the monetary value of a discount and a reward is different, there is more perceived value in the reward (airline miles, gift cards, charitable donations) because they are aspirational goals. People will frequent a merchant more because of that customer loyalty program because they are working toward something such as a free trip. Thanks Again offers a great service to both the consumer (enrollment is free!) and the merchant by saving everyone money. At the same time, however, they are the conduit for a great relationship between a company and its customers. He also credit social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) for helping business owners listen and respond more quickly to their customers’ wants and needs.
Great show today! Thanks to both our guests. Have a stellar week and we’ll see you next Tuesday at 10am!
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60 Second Marketer Jamie Turner and Intellectual Property Strategist Jackie Hutter talk with Gravity Free Radio!
Stephanie was down in Austin for the big South by Southwest Interactive conference but we managed to have a terrific show anyway :) Our associate Keith Fletcher was an ample substitute but we’ll still enjoy having Stephanie back on the mic with us next week.
The real story as always though was our incredible guests and the terrific information they had to share. Jamie Turner, the 60 Second Marketer had a lot of great things to say about marketing, brand management and differentiation from a small business owner’s perspective. Be sure to listen for Jamie’s free advice and check out his web site!
Our second guest, “recovering attorney” and intellectual property strategist Jackie Hutter had great information for any business owner who has ever invented something. Listen for her tips on when to — and when NOT to — consider a patent and how business owners can get the most value from a patent. Be sure to visit Jackie’s web site and her IP Asset Maximizer Blog.
Happy St. Patty’s Day! We’ll see you next Tuesday!
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3/10/09 GFR Talks with Brian Patrick Cork
Have you ever sat across from someone and wondered how they’ve managed to pack about 10 lifetimes into one? Because we did that yesterday when we were joined by Brian Cork, a very successful entrepreneur who lives in the Atlanta area. Brian has been many things throughout his career–professional athlete, stock broker, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, executive coach, and recruiter…just to name a few. It seems like we always hear about something else he’s done each time we talk to him.
Brian is a highly energetic, charismatic figure who has channeled that energy and charisma into helping build successful companies and people. We asked him what it takes to build a successful company and above and beyond anything else, he says you need to have a plan. But, it also helps to pick good strategic partners and do a lot research including focus groups to make sure you have a viable product or service before you bet your house on that plan. He also said that an entrepreneur needs to be prepared to live without income for 18 months and expect that it could be somewhat stressful for your spouse and family. If you succeed, however, it will be well worth it.
Brian is a Catalyst Top 25 Entrepreneur and heads up brian cork Human Capital, a specialized recruiting company based in Alpharetta, GA. He is also very excited about the work he’s doing with his accelerator and with college students at his alma mater, Radford University. We will definitely have to have Brian back on GFR because even though he was our only guest, we barely scratched the surface with everything he has going on. And check out his blog, The Unsinkable Brian Cork when you get a chance. Thanks, Brian!
Have a stellar week! Stephanie will be at SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX so if you are there, say hello! Keith Fletcher will be filling in for her next week. See you then!
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3/3/2009 GFR Talks Sales Strategy and IT Services with Michael Scher and Chas Arnold
What can we say? We’re on a roll. All of our guests so far have been fantastic and today was no exception.
Michael Scher, the President of Frontline Selling, joined us to talk about how to effectively and efficiently create demand for your product or service. He said that most salespeople don’t get in front of the right people to articulate their company’s value proposition. Frontline Selling has developed methodologies to help accelerate a sales pipeline by securing time with key people in an organization. This results in qualified sales opportunities and shorter sales cycles. His free advice was also great. He said that when trying to reach a high-level executive in a company, you may not get a response but that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested. They are simply very busy and may not have the time to return your call or respond to your email. Being persistent is the key to getting some face time with the right person.
Chas Arnold, VP of Sales & Marketing for DynaSis, talked about managed IT Services for small/midsize businesses. He said that these days, it’s really important to protect your company’s data not only for security reasons but also in case of a disaster. During Hurricane Katrina, many businesses learned this lesson the hard way. They lost valuable company data when computer equipment and servers were either destroyed or simply left behind. DynaSis can manage your entire IT infrastructure from soup to nuts. Your data will be secure and more importantly, your network will never go down. DynaSis manages everything from a state-of-the-art data center with multiple redundant connections. As Chas said, “Uptime is paramount.” If your network isn’t working, you’re not making money. His great free advice to small business owners was to not ignore your IT needs. Be proactive and take care of this early before something happens. It’ll be one less thing you, as a small business owner, have to worry about.
Great show and a big thanks to Mike and Chas for joining us! Have a stellar week and we’ll see you next Tuesday!
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