It’s called “leverage” and it’s about the most powerful thing you have going for you in your business. Sit down with your accountant in the next five days and figure this stuff out for your business, or department. Get comfortable with the math. You’ll make better decisions and you’ll grow your bottom line. Remember, if you don’t understand your numbers, you simply don’t understand your business.
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Who are your target customers? What is life really like for them? |
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What do they really value? |
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What do they fear? |
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When they're buying what we sell, on a very human level, what are they trying to do; what do they want or need to know...and how do they want to feel? |
What I discovered is that this tire company simply defined its customers by the type of tires they buy. So, they had three categories of customers. Customers who buy car tires, those who buy truck tires and those who buy agriculture tires for farm equipment.
The problem is that these three categories are far too broad and will never lead to the level of profound customer understanding that, in turn, leads to creating compelling customer experiences. For example, all car tire buyers are not alike. They range from taxi fleets, to a mother with two kids and a flat tire, to a busy business person to whom every second counts. Life is very different for each of these customers and so what they need and want in an amazing experience is also very different.
Sobeys is Canada’s second largest grocery chain, so they’re trying harder. The work that they’ve done to understand what life’s really like for their customers has led to some simple but powerful service innovations. All deli sliced meats, sliced in store, are packaged in Ziploc bags so that the contents are easily resealed for convenience and freshness. Also, when you buy large family packs of items like grilling steaks, Sobeys gives you a special high quality freezer bag for the steaks that you don’t grill right away.
As a retailer of ladies fashions, some years ago, my passionate commitment to understanding what life was really like for our customers led to dozens of award-winning, profit generating innovations, such as…
The problem is that these three categories are far too broad and will never lead to the level of profound customer understanding that, in turn, leads to creating compelling customer experiences. For example, all car tire buyers are not alike. They range from taxi fleets, to a mother with two kids and a flat tire, to a busy business person to whom every second counts. Life is very different for each of these customers and so what they need and want in an amazing experience is also very different.
Sobeys is Canada’s second largest grocery chain, so they’re trying harder. The work that they’ve done to understand what life’s really like for their customers has led to some simple but powerful service innovations. All deli sliced meats, sliced in store, are packaged in Ziploc bags so that the contents are easily resealed for convenience and freshness. Also, when you buy large family packs of items like grilling steaks, Sobeys gives you a special high quality freezer bag for the steaks that you don’t grill right away.
As a retailer of ladies fashions, some years ago, my passionate commitment to understanding what life was really like for our customers led to dozens of award-winning, profit generating innovations, such as…
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A choice of seven free beverages, served in real mugs, when every one of our competitors had a sign on their front door that said, “No food or beverages!” |
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A magic sign on all our change rooms that invited customers to, “Please take as many items in the change room as you wish.” |
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We put four hooks in every change room. One for your clothes, one for the clothes you want to try on, one for the clothes you’ve decided to buy…and one for the clothes that you’ve decided not to buy, that have to go back and be hung up. When you think it through, it comes to four and yet no other store in the world had done it. |
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I put mirrors in every change room because I thought there were certain decisions that a woman had the right to make in the privacy of her own change room. |
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We had electric reclining massage chairs all around the store for husbands and boyfriends who just wanted to relax. |
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A wonderful pirate ship play area entertained kids for hours. I once heard a 5 year old ask his mother, “Mommy, can we live here?” And the big question is, do your customers want to “live” with you? |
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Customer washrooms had change tables with three sizes of free diapers, wipes and cream. Nobody had ever done that either. |
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We had no Credit Notes. If something was not right, customers got a replacement or their money back. Customers hate credit notes! |
We did lots more neat things but this gives you the idea of what’s possible when you truly understand your customers at a whole new level.
Go back to the four questions at the beginning of this article. Gather together a few of the best minds and hearts in your business and start the breakthrough process of understanding what life is really like for your various types of customers. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out any of this stuff. You just need to think and feel like a customer, get creative and then have the courage to do the right thing spectacularly well.
4. When's the last time you challenged your suppliers to serve you better?
(time to read this article is about 20 seconds)
When is the last time that you truly challenged your suppliers to serve you better, to help train your staff, to give you some small innovative edge on your competitors or to take your business to a whole new level? Most of the “help” that companies seemed to be focused on getting from their suppliers is all about lower prices. But there are lots of ways that suppliers can help you...and you shouldn’t miss out.
Papa Johns, the third largest pizza chain in the world, recently challenged their oven maker to develop a pizza oven that…
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bakes 30% faster in order to reduce cooking time to 2 minutes.
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reduces energy consumption by 25%.
In return, Papa Johns committed to purchase 1500 of the new ovens over a two year period. What does this do for Papa Johns? In addition to the 25% energy savings, the reduced time allows them to promote a 10 minute carry-out guarantee during the important but time-sensitive lunch period.
How could your key suppliers help you to improve your business, reduce expenses or create a competitive edge? Stop beating them up on price constantly and think about what truly collaborative value you can create together.
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bakes 30% faster in order to reduce cooking time to 2 minutes. |
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reduces energy consumption by 25%. |
How could your key suppliers help you to improve your business, reduce expenses or create a competitive edge? Stop beating them up on price constantly and think about what truly collaborative value you can create together.
5. Bits & Pieces:
(time to read this section is about 45 seconds)
Item #1: McDonald’s sells Big Mac hamburgers in 120 countries around the world. They pride themselves on the absolute consistency of the product wherever you buy it…except for the price. Each year The Economist Magazine (the world’s best international business and political magazine, by the way) publishes their “Big Mac Index” in which they compare the price of the benchmark burger in USA dollars, in various countries of the world. Here are a few of the highlights…
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Average price of a Big Mac in the USA = $3.10 USD
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In Canada a Big Mac is $3.14 USD
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Most expensive Big Mac in the world is in Norway and it costs $7.05 USD
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The least expensive Big Mac is in China where it costs only $1.31 USD
Item #2: In 2005 the USA trade deficit was $782 billion dollars. In simple terms, this means that, as a nation, they bought $782 billion more from other countries than they sold to others. How long would that strategy work at your house?
How do they pay for all of these imports? The US Treasury simply prints more money. In the past two years they’ve printed 2 trillion extra dollars to pay the bills and that’s why the US dollar has declined in value over that period.
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Average price of a Big Mac in the USA = $3.10 USD |
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In Canada a Big Mac is $3.14 USD |
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Most expensive Big Mac in the world is in Norway and it costs $7.05 USD |
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The least expensive Big Mac is in China where it costs only $1.31 USD |
Item #2: In 2005 the USA trade deficit was $782 billion dollars. In simple terms, this means that, as a nation, they bought $782 billion more from other countries than they sold to others. How long would that strategy work at your house?
How do they pay for all of these imports? The US Treasury simply prints more money. In the past two years they’ve printed 2 trillion extra dollars to pay the bills and that’s why the US dollar has declined in value over that period.
Item #3: There’s big speculation around the world as to whether the price of gold will move higher or fall way back. There are lots of “expert” opinions in both directions. Here’s an interesting perspective.
Typically, over time, one ounce of gold buys about 20 barrels of oil. In today’s market an ounce of gold will buy only a little more than 8 barrels of oil. So, if history is correct, either the price of gold is headed much higher…or the price of oil is headed much, much lower. Take your pick.
Item #4: In my May Newsletter I told you about Raphaela le Gouvello, the amazing 43 year old French woman who was windsurfing, all alone, 6300 km (4000 miles) from Australia across the Indian Ocean to Reunion Island.
Well, in spite of capsizing and losing most of her possessions with 500 miles to go, she has just completed the journey.
When’s the last time you pushed yourself just a bit outside of your comfort zone to do something extraordinary? Raphaela’s website is www.raphaela-legouvello.com, in both English and French.
6. Don't plan your next business meeting or conference until you read this!
(time to read this section is about 30 seconds)…
As a keynote speaker and workshop leader, I spend my life attending conferences around the world. In fact, so far over 1500 conferences...and I've figured out a thing or two about what makes them successful, or unsuccessful.
If your company, industry Association, or local Chamber of Commerce is currently planning its next business conference, do everybody a huge favour and take two minutes to read my article on the subject of conferences. Click here to access the article.
If your company, industry Association, or local Chamber of Commerce is currently planning its next business conference, do everybody a huge favour and take two minutes to read my article on the subject of conferences. Click here to access the article.
If you're looking for a bottom-line business presentation that will make your next conference a huge success, we can help. My extraordinary new presentation...
“How to sell more, manage smarter, make more money…and have a life!”
...will inform, challenge, disturb, entertain and uplift even the most cynical business audience. To quote one recent client, "Anyone who wants to succeed in business today needs to spend a few hours with Donald Cooper. It changes everything!"
This presentation can be delivered as a Keynote address, a half-day interactive Workshop or an intensive full-day Management Boot Camp. You’ll be a hero just for recommending any one of these three possibilities!
For more information, just email the wonderful Sharen lady at sharen@donaldcooper.com and she’ll get right back to you with more information.
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“How to sell more, manage smarter, make more money…and have a life!” |
...will inform, challenge, disturb, entertain and uplift even the most cynical business audience. To quote one recent client, "Anyone who wants to succeed in business today needs to spend a few hours with Donald Cooper. It changes everything!"
This presentation can be delivered as a Keynote address, a half-day interactive Workshop or an intensive full-day Management Boot Camp. You’ll be a hero just for recommending any one of these three possibilities!
For more information, just email the wonderful Sharen lady at sharen@donaldcooper.com and she’ll get right back to you with more information.
7. Our "Quiz of the Month":
(time to read this section is about 40 seconds)
"Thanks" to all of you who answered our May Quiz question which was, “With an estimated feral population of about 300,000, this particularly large animal is not one that you'd expect to find in Australia...but it's there.” Name the animal.
And the Bonus Question which was... "Name any other animal that was brought to Australia by settlers that has turned into an unwanted pest."
Answer:
There are an estimated 300,000 wild camels in the Australian outback. They were brought to Australia in the 1800’s as beasts of burden but were replaced by motorized vehicles starting in the 1920’s. Their owners turned them loose to run wild and, over the years, their numbers have increased dramatically. In fact, large numbers of them are now being exported to the Middle East.
Bonus Question answer: The animals that were brought to Australia by settlers that have now turned into unwanted pests include rabbits, foxes and cane toads.
Congratulations to Corey De La Mare of Golder Associates in Alberta, this month’s winner who selected as his prize our "Creating a Winning Culture" and the “Simple Truth About Effective Business Leadership” DVD Seminars.
This month’s Quiz:
In “Bits & Pieces” (Section #5 above) I wrote about the price of Big Macs around the world. The most expensive Big Macs are in Norway, where they cost $7.05 (US) each…and that’s without fries! To answer this month’s quiz, name the second most expensive country in the world in which to buy a Big Mac. (Clue: This country has come up in two previous quizzes in the past year)
Bonus question: What is the price of a Big Mac (in US dollars) in this 2nd most expensive country?
Send your guess to Sharen Skene, our wonderful Director of Marketing, at sharen@donaldcooper.com. Each correct answer received within three days will go into the ‘pot’ and one winner will be randomly selected. The winner will receive their choice of any of our excellent Video Seminars worth $60 to $80.
BONUS: If you also answer the bonus question correctly, you’ll get to pick two of our wonderful Video Seminars.
There are an estimated 300,000 wild camels in the Australian outback. They were brought to Australia in the 1800’s as beasts of burden but were replaced by motorized vehicles starting in the 1920’s. Their owners turned them loose to run wild and, over the years, their numbers have increased dramatically. In fact, large numbers of them are now being exported to the Middle East.
This month’s Quiz:
In “Bits & Pieces” (Section #5 above) I wrote about the price of Big Macs around the world. The most expensive Big Macs are in Norway, where they cost $7.05 (US) each…and that’s without fries! To answer this month’s quiz, name the second most expensive country in the world in which to buy a Big Mac. (Clue: This country has come up in two previous quizzes in the past year)
Bonus question: What is the price of a Big Mac (in US dollars) in this 2nd most expensive country?
BONUS: If you also answer the bonus question correctly, you’ll get to pick two of our wonderful Video Seminars.
8. Lessons on Marketing & Profitability from Dan the Dangerous Tree Man!
(time to read this article is about 45 seconds)
Printable version.
Last Fall we needed to cut down a huge but dying oak tree at our cottage. Located close to power lines and partially hanging over both our workshop and our neighbour’s cottage, this mighty oak was located in a very difficult spot.
We called in several tree removal experts but one after the other they said it was too dangerous even to attempt. They all walked away leaving us with a dying and dangerous tree. Then, one day, as I was driving to town, I spotted a pickup truck with the answer to my prayers written on its side. The sign on the truck said, “Dan, the dangerous tree man!” Now, that’s niche marketing.
Of course, Dan had his phone number on his truck, so I knew how to get in touch with him. He came over the next day, looked at the situation, agreed that it was dangerous and described exactly how he was going to go about it. He had to bring in a gigantic rented crane to lift each section of the tree safely away from the power lines and buildings once he had climbed up and cut it. He told me how much it was going to cost and then softened the blow by adding that the good news was that we wouldn’t be running out of firewood any time soon.
At that point I realized that with Dan’s ability and willingness to take on the work that everyone else couldn’t or wouldn’t even attempt…it was never about price. By being the best at what he does in his market and then positioning himself as “the dangerous tree man”, he had removed himself from the low end, commodity work. Dan picks his jobs, names his price, shows up and gets it done! He loves the challenge, the "celebrity status" and the higher income that goes with it.
Are you that good, that focused and that well positioned in your market that you get the high skill, high margin, high profit business…or are you an undifferentiated commodity fighting it out over price? What do you need to do to be so good at what you do that it’s never about price? What can you learn from Dan the dangerous tree man?
Printable version.
Last Fall we needed to cut down a huge but dying oak tree at our cottage. Located close to power lines and partially hanging over both our workshop and our neighbour’s cottage, this mighty oak was located in a very difficult spot.
We called in several tree removal experts but one after the other they said it was too dangerous even to attempt. They all walked away leaving us with a dying and dangerous tree. Then, one day, as I was driving to town, I spotted a pickup truck with the answer to my prayers written on its side. The sign on the truck said, “Dan, the dangerous tree man!” Now, that’s niche marketing.
Of course, Dan had his phone number on his truck, so I knew how to get in touch with him. He came over the next day, looked at the situation, agreed that it was dangerous and described exactly how he was going to go about it. He had to bring in a gigantic rented crane to lift each section of the tree safely away from the power lines and buildings once he had climbed up and cut it. He told me how much it was going to cost and then softened the blow by adding that the good news was that we wouldn’t be running out of firewood any time soon.
At that point I realized that with Dan’s ability and willingness to take on the work that everyone else couldn’t or wouldn’t even attempt…it was never about price. By being the best at what he does in his market and then positioning himself as “the dangerous tree man”, he had removed himself from the low end, commodity work. Dan picks his jobs, names his price, shows up and gets it done! He loves the challenge, the "celebrity status" and the higher income that goes with it.
Are you that good, that focused and that well positioned in your market that you get the high skill, high margin, high profit business…or are you an undifferentiated commodity fighting it out over price? What do you need to do to be so good at what you do that it’s never about price? What can you learn from Dan the dangerous tree man?
9. That’s all for this month!
"Thanks" for all of your great feedback and suggestions! We especially love to hear of your successes using our insights.
Don't forget to visit our Free Articles section on our website for lots more valuable info on how to sell more, manage smarter and make more money in your business.
Also, let us know what you'd like to hear more about...or less about. And, do send us your stories and examples of great, horrible or just plain bizarre business practices that you find in your travels.
Finally, if you know of others, anywhere in the world, who will find value in this E-Newsletter, we'll appreciate your sending this along to them and inviting them to sign up at www.donaldcooper.com.
Kindest regards!!
Donald Cooper, MBA
Canadian Speaking Professional
Member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame
For information about booking Donald for your company or Association, contact Sharen Skene our wonderful Director of Marketing at Sharen@donaldcooper.com.
If this Newsletter has been forwarded to you from a friend or business colleague and you'd like to continue receiving our free business Newsletter, please click here: subscribe.
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THE DONALD COOPER CORPORATION Tel: 1+(416) 252-3704 Fax: 1+(416) 252-3705
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