Customer Trust: Earn It

How can you earn the trust of your customers?

A business without customers isn’t much of a business, right? How can you ensure that your customers trust your business and would be willing to share your business with a friend? Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

Transparency – Transparency doesn’t mean sharing all of your company’s growth and revenue figures. You can, but there are many other ways to build trust through transparency. In your marketing strategy, consider using some “behind the kitchen door” style photos in your printed materials or on social media. Chipotle has done a great job showing their customers where their food comes from. They know that organic, home-grown food is important to their customers, so they take measures to deliver. Reviews are another way to show transparency. The good, the bad and the ugly – let your customers see them all. A negative review isn’t the end of the world. It’s a chance to re-evaluate, take action and earn a customer back.

Face-to-face contact – In the service industry, managers-on-duty do something call “table-touching.” It generally involves the manager visiting every table in the restaurant, touching the table and asking how everything is going. It’s not only a great way for a manger to gauge the pulse of the shift, but it’s giving customers an ally or someone to go to if they need anything. There is no better way to meet your regulars or to identify problems before they happen than with a table touch. This is the same in business. Walk the floor, and do some “boots on the ground” work. Meet your customers, engage them in conversation about your product and identify areas for growth.

Deliver – It seems obvious, but deliver on your promises – and if you don’t, own up to your mistakes and course correct. Your customers will know they can trust you when you do exactly what you say you’re going to do. Simple as that. They say word-of-mouth is the best advertising of all. By delivering, you’re ensuring that your customers will only say the best things about you. Word-of-mouth referrals stem naturally from an unparalleled customer experience that fosters clients’ identification with your brand.

EO Detroit January Accelerator Spotlight: Lynn Drake, Compass Commercial

Meet Lynn Drake, EO Detroit Accelerator and President of Compass Commercial. She’s this month’s accelerator spotlight who has recently experienced a big win for her company. Compass Commercial won the right to represent the State of Michigan in their acquisition and disposition of their real estate activates. They went up against fortune 500 companies in Commercial Real Estate and beat them! A huge win for Compass. Get to know Lynn, her company, and experience with EOA.

What has been the most important thing you have taken away from the program? If I want to own a business rather than own a job I need to take some risks to move to the next level of my business.

Have you noticed a change in your business so far?   When I joined EOA my biggest issue was with HR.  My one-on-one mentor Marie Seipenko of Preferred Solutions really helped us re-define our hiring process. One lesson I learned is I like everyone, so I’m now the last person in the interview chain.  Darton Case of Dart Appraisals,my group mentor, helped me with some different ideas on how to structure our positions.  Just through talking with other EO and EOA members I realized I needed to take on more risk to grow my company.  I have stepped outside of my comfort level to do this.  The ideas have all been implemented and now I just have to wait and see how this all goes.

What were your biggest fears going into the program? How have you dealt with those fears? I have always had coaches so I didn’t have any fears about becoming a part of the program. The only hard part was telling my wonderful coach of 3 years “goodbye.”

What advice do you have for future accelerants?  To grow yourself and your business it often takes coaching.  EOA provides so many opportunities for coaching.  If you are ready to grow your business you will have so many learning opportunities you can’t help but grow your business.  Join and make sure you fully participate.

What has been your favorite exercise your group has participated in?   The most memorable event was at the Detroit Summit when I got to fly on a cargo carrier and watch a bomber come in to fuel.  What a fun experience.  The sales classes at the  event had a major impact on my business plan which I enacted almost immediately.  That was my first exposure to EO and it was fabulous.

The Never-Ending Balance Between Work and Home Life

Think about the dividing line between your work and the rest of your life. Is it defined or is it a little blurred. A healthy work-life balance is something that almost all entrepreneurs struggle with at some time or another. We want to build healthy businesses, but at the same time, it’s important to maintain the relationships we have outside of work. Here are a couple of tips to help divide your time between work and your life outside the office:

• Dedicate some time to a hobby – Whether it’s a workout routine or a creative outlet, find something you really enjoy and dedicate some time to cultivate your hobby of choice. After a particularly hard day (or week) at work, it’s healthy to have something to look forward to.
• Keep a detailed schedule – If you feel like you aren’t spending enough time with your family, create a detailed schedule for the members of your immediate family. This way, if you are working strange hours or putting in overtime on the weekend, you’ll know when you absolutely need to dedicate some time to your family. This can include athletic events, recitals, or even birthday and anniversary dinners. Find the things that mean the most to the ones closest to you and you’ll discover where you need to spend your time.
• Unplug at home – Cell phones almost guarantee that you can be reached anytime. Are you spending more time making eye contact with your phone screen than members of your family? It’s time to unplug. Make it a point to put your phone somewhere out of sight. The work will still be there in the morning.
• Work efficiently – You don’t need to be the first one in and the last person to leave everyday to be an effective leader. If anything, it might be a sign to others that you are overwhelmed with your work load. Research some ways to be more efficient at work, if it doesn’t help and you’re still working late, delegate some tasks to others.

If you regularly take time to recharge your batteries, you’ll cope much better when things are unavoidably busy or stressful at work. An important part of good time management is to take some time off – spending less time at work will make you perform much better when you are there!

EO Detroit January Member Spotlight: Greg Bischer, Bischer Technologies

Here’s what Greg Bischer, EO Detroit member and CEO of Bischer Technologies, has to say about business, life, and the like. He’s this month’s member spotlight, kickin’ off the new year with greatness!

What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Patience, Persistence and Passion.

How do you generate new ideas?
By listening to other people’s technical problems and trying to determine ways of preventing them, it seems that all of my downtime is spent trying to come up with ways of making technology simpler, easier and more affordable for my clients.

Name one business failure and what have you learned from it? 
Trying to be everything to everyone. When it comes to technology, we have learned to focus on what we do great.

What is your greatest business fear, and how do you manage it? 
My greatest business fear is going out of business. I manage the fear by making sure that I am providing outstanding customer service to our clients and providing the best value as an IT service provider.

How do you define success? I define success by having a balance in my life, where I feel I have made a positive impact both at home and in the business.

What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
The day I opened my business. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to be a business owner and when I opened the business, it was a culmination of years of hard work.

What is one thing that no one knows about you?
Nothing that I can think of, I’m a pretty open book.

Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
I have a few, if I had to narrow it down to one it would probably be Amazon. Having started off as an online re-seller of books to what it’s become today is pretty impressive.

What is your favorite EO memory?
Taking a tour of the Dan Gilbert properties in downtown Detroit and seeing the revitalization of the city.

What is your favorite place in or thing about Detroit? My favorite place in Detroit is Comerica Park. Comerica Park is a great venue in the heart of rebuilding downtown Detroit, and the perfect venue for anyone wanting to attend a baseball game. There is something for everyone, along with the added bonus of it being within walking distance of Greektown casino, Ford Field and the Fox Theatre.

In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur. Exhilarating.

 

Happy New Year

May your new year be filled with:

• Making mistakes and learning from them.
• Celebrating successes.
• Cheering for your teammates, employees, leaders and colleagues.
• Sharing your stories with the world.
• Listening and learning from the experiences of others.
• Making the most of every situation.
• Creating uniquely attractive opportunities.
• Generating progress and movement where it once did not exist.
• Blazing  a trail.
• Relaxing and enjoying the blessings around you.

Happy 2014!