Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’
The Future Of Business – The Consumers New Found Power
The Future Of Business – The Consumers New Found Power. It’s been said forever, the customer is always right. So why doesn’t business believe it, why don’t they practice it? Greed? Probably. I as a consumer, more than anything want accurate information, pure uninterrupted support, ease of access, and above all, the freedom to make a decision without being coerced, or sold.
It’s also been said, that a customers experience with a brand (product or service) is what determines the life span of a business. If it’s good, you get another day. If it’s bad, your days are numbered, it’s really that simple. It’s called Word Of Mouth, people talk, and now they talk to millions at the stroke of the keyboard.
The future of business is like the threat of an avalanche, a business can be wiped out as quickly, and it can grow equally as fast. Why? Word Of Mouth. The Consumer has new found power, many will abuse it, that’s human nature, but many will tell the truth. It’s the truth that’s the problem, it’s harder to deal with, it’s harder to make corrections when the truth is revealed. Those who abuse this new found power will be found out, and then will have to deal with the truth, it goes both ways doesn’t it.
Gerd Leonhard has said it, I have said, and many others have quoted it, we will have to learn how to trust the people formerly known as the consumer. Why? Because they have the new found power. Whether you believe it or not, that’s the truth in a nut shell, they can and will determine the future of your business. They don’t need to qualify, they don’t need permission, they only need an opinion. You and I have absolutely no control on how they will share that opinion. As a business owner, we have the opportunity to ensure it’s a positive opinion, there in lies the rub. We have to work hard for that positive opinion, and most of us don’t want to. We want to do just enough to reach our objectives, then get out before we have to work too hard.
I can only offer this, in order to build a legacy, to build a business that makes the world a better place, you have to plan and work hard to ensure that happens. If it’s just about making money, you’re looking at the wrong metric. Money is merely a means to an end, but the legacy, the world, it wants more from you than just handing over money. The new found power of consumers wants more, and will demand it, it will force you to be accountable, you will comply or pay the price of ignoring the new found power consumers have today. Their opinion matters, and you need to pay attention to it.
And that’s why telling the truth, honesty, sound products and services that deliver, and your integrity matter, it is the foundation that will help you build a legacy, a strong successful business. It sounds corny, and it sounds like hard work, that’s because it is. If it was easy, well you know the answer to that one.
The future of business will be built on this new found power of the consumer, they will determine whether you service or product is any good, they will determine if your recommendations actually solve their problems. Plan, work hard, and deliver. That’s how you will get on the good side of the consumers new found power.
The Future Of Business – Small & Mobile
The future of business – small & mobile, in every sense of the words. many of the big box stores have been shutting down locations, why, too expensive. Even the food industry sees the future, the mobile kiosk style restaurant merely parks on the street and serves up gourmet meals as if you were sitting in a high end restaurant. This trend is not going away, in fact, it’s a huge phenomenon.
Many resist the notion that big box stores are going away, but look at the trends, the Internet, technology, and the business that is small is the new big….you don’t need big boxes, or big anything. Small means many things, but most of all, if your business is small, it can change quickly, adopt and improvise without skipping a beat. Being small also means you are probably mobile, I don’t mean mobile in technology, I mean, you can move to another location and go where the people are at a moments notice. Being mobile technically is the other side of mobile. Technology helps put your business on billions of mobile devices with very little effort.
We used to laugh at the kiosks setup in these big boxes called malls, who’s laughing now? There is almost no overhead with a kiosk, no maintenance to really speak of, it’s like having short hair, low maintenance, wash it and go.
Today we work from virtually anywhere, no pun intended, but mobile is everything these days. Having a bricks & mortar business almost seems like you are breaking the law, why would you build a business like that? I know, I’m getting ahead of our time, but there are some serious realities to building a business the old industrial way. technology won’t tolerate it. You see technology waits for no one. We think we control it, but we don’t, our brains are not wired to control something that big, and with the exponential power & growth it overwhelms us with.
WHAT TO DO
So what do we do? This is the simple question that is more complicated than it’s simplicity. Did that even make sense to you? In my last post I wrote about being a carpenter, as if carpentry was just invented today, what would you build, what do you see that the world needs. The same holds true here, if you were a carpenter, you would probably build a small social, human, mobile business. Not a huge massive big box store with far too many staff, it just doesn’t make sense, does it?
I’m not bashing those who have gone before us a built these big box stores, I’m merely pointing out that those coming after us, the under 20 generation….they aren’t interested. They’re egos are not wired that way, they want less, they are minimalists, they want fast, cheap, NOW! And that’s what they will build, legacy is not as important to them as it is anyone over 30. I’m generalizing of course, but if you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that’s what I do. There are always exceptions, but those numbers are much smaller.
So is your business small & mobile? Can you move quickly, is your business easily accessible via mobile devices, and is small? Small as in a low number of staff, low overhead, but large return on investments, that means profitable.
If you are thinking of starting a business today, think small & mobile.
Is Your Business Normal?
Is your business normal? I attended a seminar recently, it got me to thinking, mostly about businesses and two questions I like to ask them. Nothing earth shattering, but it might be to you. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner, we tend to make one big mistake, and it’s a simple thought to keep in mind:
We only accomplish what we aim for.
If that’s true, there needs to be more don’t you think? We accomplish one goal but didn’t set a goal beyond the first one, a sure fired way to fade off into obscurity.
Another area I was contemplating, was on is sales, or leads, or seeds. I’ve learned the more seeds you throw, the bigger the harvest. Are you throwing lots of seeds? Keeping things simple is best, why? Because simple is hard enough.
Two questions I like to ask business owners / entrepreneurs are:
1.) What business are you in?
2.) Hows business?
Not very complicated is it, but lets be honest, there are many, many businesses that don’t really know what business they are in. That should be addressed immediately before trying to measure the second question. Because if you don’t no #1, #2 doesn’t matter, the answer will most likely already be known.
If you are doing business as normal, or usual, you’re probably finding no one follows normal anymore.
So, ask yourself if your business is normal, if you answered yes, then make it your mission to be business as unusual. Because if you don’t, you will be ignored, maybe even considered obsolete, being normal means you’re most likely not making a difference and or shipping. Consider a 3rd question, if your business closed it’s doors today, would anyone miss it?
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- Questions for a new entrepreneur (sethgodin.typepad.com)
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The Future Of Business – The Death Of Social Media GURUS & EXPERTS!
People are a funny lot aren’t they, we say one thing and do another, we want one thing but we want everything, we don’t want to be rich but we want to be millionaires. There are literally millions of websites telling us all how to get rich beyond our wildest dreams (whatever that is), how to get FREE target traffic to your website for $17, how to write amazing content, and the list goes on. The GURUS are everywhere, they litter your inbox without notice, you are being directed, pulled and pushed into a million advertisements every day, how do we know who the real GURUS are, who the EXPERTS are.
That question almost seems like the 64 million dollar question. I have been thinking about this for a very long time, frustrated by people who lead other people down the garden path so to speak. Why do we do this to each other, why do we kill each other, why do we lie to each other, that’s the REAL 64 Million dollar question.
One of the things I’m plagued with is, I have been here in the Social Networks a little while, OK a long while. There are many more that have been here longer than me, and I’m certain they struggle with the same problem. We, have this sense of ownership when it comes to the Social Networks. We, get offended by the so called people that claim to be GURUS & EXPERTS. Why? Because we don’t agree with them mostly. In some cases, WE, fight back, we even push back, but the GURUS keep coming. It is a futile effort in my humble opinion. Why? Because people don’t care, they are only interested in making a buck for the most part. What WE, don’t seem to understand, is that the problem will take care of its self. Much like nature takes care of a forest after a forest fire, the vegetation just starts to recover, it forgets that it had a fire, it just knows the fire will fade. Because the forest never dies. The forest doesn’t get caught-up in the ownership game, why, because it already knows what will happen if you try to own it. There is a simple order of things, it adapts, it overcomes by doing what it does best, it keeps doing what it was designed to do, it just grows. The GURUS & EXPERTS of the forest come and go, they think they have control over the forest, but the one thing they can’t control, is what the forest does best. GROW!
The same can be said for the Internet, you have different, billions of different kinds of growth, some good, and some bad. The bad we will call the forest fire, the good we will call healthy growth. These GURUS & EXPERTS like their 15 minutes of fame, they seek it without realizing how short that really is, and many follow them only to be found out later. We have GURUS & EXPERTS in every sector of the world, industry, society, races, and so on. They are everywhere. But they always fade into obscurity at some point, the growth around them is overwhelming, they are left behind because healthy growth wins every time. We all eventually catchup, before you know it, the shiny new thing no longer is, the GURU or EXPERT no longer is.
Social Media GURUS & EXPERTS are fads, they can’t sustain or stay ahead of the growth, the change, they simply disappear, they die and move onto something else. Social Media GURUS & EXPERTS will lose their job to one simple thing, everyone will catchup. Soon, Social Media will become something you just have to know how to do, like using the phone, the smart-phone is now the phone of the day, you just know how to use it. Why? You caught up, you learned, I call that healthy growth. So, someday soon, we will read about how those Social Media GURUS & EXPERTS died. When they can no longer find a customer to listen to something we all will already know how to do, they will move on to the next thing.
So today, I claim The Death Of The Social Media GURU or EXPERT, we have, or we are very close to catching up, and no longer in need of these wind bags, these snake oil salesmen & women.
From this day forward, business owners will need to learn, you don’t plug your business into Social Media, you plug Social Media into your business. That Social Media is not a business, businesses become Social. The best way to eliminate Social Media GURUS & EXPERTS? Grow, and they will scramble to find another way to sell you something.
I charge you, GO and build something great, let the world know about your passion(s), and don’t be that guy or girl that calls themselves a GURU or EXPERT of anything, just do. If you just do, the truth will come forward and you will find your place. And remember, an EXPERT is just a drip under pressure : )
Let 2012 be the Death Of Social Media GURUS & EXPERTS!
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- The Future Of Business – Change Is Coming, And Lots Of It. (owengreaves.com)
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- Ten Social Media Strategies to Define a Successful 2012 (briansolis.com)
What’s New & Exciting For 2012?
This year, 2012, is a year where we all have great anticipation of special things to happen, hoping life treats us better than it did the year before. I’m no different than you, I’m struggling with much the same issues you are, just differently.
This morning I was asking myself a simple but yet complicated question, I’m going to be 55 this year, and I’m looking ahead at the next 20 years. Should I have them. What do I want to do with what may be the last 20 years I get to live? I mean what meaningful work do I want to pursue and deliver, or execute, better yet ship. How was I going to help you for the next 20 years, should you let me.
You already know how much I love to help people, you already know that I’m passionate about the business community, you should also know that I am concerned for mankind when it comes to technology. But those things don’t mean much, especially when the metal meets the meat.
One of my passions is to bring light to business start-ups in my area, I’m also looking outside of my community area. I haven’t done a good job of this just yet. Public speaking and workshops are cool and fun, but they don’t generate revenue for my clients the way good old fashion PR & Marketing do.
What I mean by that is this, I can show you what’s coming, I can tell you what you might do about it, but no one knows about you, not in the way the Future Of Business will require. You’ve read it, you’ve heard me say it, there are 2.1 Billion people on the Internet and there are another 3 Billion plus coming. How will you be found, how will you be heard, and most importantly, how will you generate revenue?
With that in mind, I’m going to be doing something extra around my workshops and public speaking, and my webhosting business, I’m going to help promote your business, or business idea for you. It’s simple really, I’m going to be doing Podcast interviews of businesses doing something interesting, something great, these interviews will be done via Skype and then released on my Blog with links to your business.
I’m looking for business start-ups to interview, if you know of one, maybe it’s yours, send an email to interview@owengreaves.com and lets talk about your business. I want to know some basic information, like what you are doing, how you are doing it, how long has your business been doing business, what’s your vision for your business, how is your business making the world a better place, and most importantly….what’s your businesses story?
Every business wants and needs exposure, qualified exposure, and it is my desire to help you by interviewing you and publishing those interviews all over the Internet.
If you know of an interesting start-up, or you are starting a business of your own, let me know, and let’s talk about a possible interview. So what’s new & exciting? I would love to hear from you.
Good luck in 2012, and thanks for being a part of what I do here at Owengreaves.com
Many Blessings,
Owen Greaves
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- The Future Of Business – Be Useful (owengreaves.com)
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