38%+ of OBC clients have a need for additional products and services

It’s true; on average 38% of OBC clients have a need for additional workspace and services. This need can be uncovered via a simple semi-annual client satisfaction questionnaire.  I like to use Survey Monkey to administer the questionnaire – but other tools are available as well.

When I create questionnaires I build them with two objectives.  The first is to underscore the operators’ commitment to the client and the second is to uncover additional revenue opportunities.

Historically, when I capture results from the questionnaires, the satisfaction level is typically quite high.  I also include a question to determine whether the operator is adding value to the clients’ businesses. I  get a huge smile if I can uncover this statistic because it reinforces that the operator is providing much more than a “box” to work from, the operator is adding value / contributing positively to their clients’ businesses (a good sound byte to use during the sales process to get out of the price death spiral)!  Another interesting stat is that in most cases 97%+ of clients would refer the operator …

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McDonalds: The next great third place. Really?

30 million white-color knowledge workers are conducting business from a third place (an environment separate from home and the workplace), and that number is expected to grow 10% annually (USA Today). In a 2010 study conducted by IDC, the IT research firm projected that by 2013 the total number of office-based, non-office-based and home-based mobile workers will grow to nearly 1.2 billion people representing more than a third of the world’s workforce. Look around at the people who are sitting in your offices. Are these folks really going to use McDonalds as a place to work? Can anyone really conduct business while kids are running around and screaming in the McDonalds indoor playground? Would any professional want to risk smelling like oil, burgers and fries for the rest of the day?

There are other 3rd Place options out there. Let’s consider Starbucks. Clearly this environment is much closer to enabling the mobile worker to get work done. I work from Starbucks from time to time. In fact the other day I was in-between meetings and stopped into Starbucks to work. …

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Pride

We had a busy day last week and needed to grab a super quick lunch in-between meetings.  Knowing we had about 25 minutes to eat, we chose a good-looking diner on a side road that we had never been to before. It was a standalone building, 50s “DINER” style, shiny and inviting.  We were greeted at the door and as we were guided to our table we noticed a glass cabinet of “Miracle Grow” cakes, pies and cookies.  These are the kind of desserts you see only at Diners and the kind only a giant or someone planning to go on a fasting diet the next day would attempt to eat.  We ordered off the “fast menu” which included a drink, sandwich and a very big piece of pie.

It took a while before our food actually arrived but it was worth the wait (um as far as diners go).  My hamburger was thick and juicy and the perfect temperature.  The fries were fat, hot, crispy on the outside and mushy on the inside. Yum.  The portion size was enormous so …

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Believe.

Sue and I had two separate client meetings on Tuesday.   Our clients were different from an “industry”  and “size” standpoint, but at their essence, the same.  Throughout the day both of our clients weaved in the concept of “believe” into our discussion.  I don’t typically take notes during meetings, but my pen hit the paper several times and in all CAPs I wrote BELIEVE. BELIEVE. BELIEVE.  At the same time I noticed that my ears perked up and a little smile emerged.  I remained engaged in the discussion (this doesn’t always happen)  really wanting to hear more.  There is a certain thrill, a contagious positive spirit that results when you engage with people who “believe” in what they do.

Believe: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something (Webster).   Easier said than done – isn’t it? You know, when you’re at the heartbeat of a company, when you are a driving force for its success or failure …when you eat, breathe, sleep your offering… “believing” is a prerequisite.  As many of us have experienced, …

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The Price Death Spiral

Price. Stop the FIRE SALE!

I spoke at a small conference a few weeks ago and was asked to address the role of “price” in a down market. There was much debate, of course, as to the state of the market (recovering or not) but for me, the state of the market and the semantics of whether it’s down or recovering, did not impact my position.  Very simplistically – you’re either built to compete on price – or you are not.

I was thumbing through some articles in preparation for the presentation and came across an interesting quote from Reed Holden, a leading pricing strategist who explained that, “Pricing should not be used as a Band-Aid solution for bleeding income statements.  Rather, they should be a part of a long-term plan for fiscal fitness”.  I knew who would be in the audience at this meeting and I knew that these individuals did not build their business to be the “low cost provider”.  If they had – I would have said “fantastic – go out there…. compete on price and gobble up market share”.  But alas, …

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Marketing in a new economy. The power of planning.

We’ve presented Marketing in a New Economy – 7 “Must Do” Tactics in webinars and throughout a number of speaking engagements and thought it’s be helpful to summarize some key points for all.

The first topic we addressed is the importance of creating and executing against a thoughtful strategy. I shared with attendees the PMG Marketing Quadrants (seen below) that I developed over the years and use as a guide in creating my “acquisition” strategies.

Marketing in our current economy requires that you drive extreme efficiencies into your process. A gun shot approach – a little classified ad her, a keyword there etc… — will not serve you well in the long run. I have empirical data to prove this. Invest a bit of time on the front end to establish your strategy and you will have the tools and foundation to profoundly impact your Return on Investment (ROI).

VALUE:

Lets begin with the perimeter of the box. The first step is to establish a powerful value proposition (VALUE = BENEFITS / COST. The more benefits you provide to outweigh …

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Your Extended Sales Force (we all have one).

Friend?  Foe?  Neutral?

Real Life Example #1: I had a Dr. appointment the other day.  While waiting in line to check in with the receptionist I noticed three really wonderful flower arrangements on the desk, one for each attendant. When I commented to the woman behind me how lovely the flowers were she smiled and agreed. Moments later, I arrived to the front of the line and overheard another woman ask the receptionist where the flowers came from. The receptionist said verbatim, “They are beautiful aren’t they.  It’s interesting because we typically don’t have flowers here, so we’re really enjoying them.  But, I have no idea where they came from”.  WOW, I thought to myself what a missed opportunity.   Even though they didn’t realize it, all three receptionists represented the florist’s extended sales force and none of them could provide the potential buyers in the line with contact information for the florist.   I categorize the receptionist as “neutral”. They complimented the florist but didn’t add any value to the florist’s business.   In this instance the florist itself was its own …

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Office packages for cost-conscious SMEs

Unemployment is at the highest point in recent history.  While millions have lost their paycheck, these hard working individuals still need to put food on the table.  So, when Americans with a survival spirit can’t find jobs – they create their own work.   As a result, many operators are seeing more prospects with start up businesses and home based offices moving to virtual, shared, or full-time offices.  These SMEs are cost-conscious for sure, but, slashing price on your core  office product is not your only solution.  Have you created an office plan specifically for this group?  There is a nice opportunity here to provide a practical, no-risk, cost sensitive solution that will truly differentiate your offering from traditional / sublet / home office space.  If you would like to explore ideas, post here or give us a call.

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2010 Marketing Plan

How to create and optimize your 2010 Marketing Plan?  In past Webinars sponsored by OBCAI,  we walked you through the process of creating the optimal marketing stratey.  Our goal is to always provide you with a tried and true roadmap to support you in creating a plan that: (1) Builds brand equity to fuel your pipeline for future inquiries.  Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you arrived at a solid point where your prospects are buying rather than you having to sell each and every time? (2) Drives leads now.  Yep, building the pipeline is great but if you aren’t generating sales that allow you to eat “now” the pipeline is really moot.  So, there will be a lot of focus on this area. (3) Generates maximum ROI.  Our prospects and clients are still extremely cost-conscious.  So, while we’re creating plans to drive in high-converting leads, we’ll also take a hard look at ensuring you are streamlining your costs to generate maximum margins and ROI.

Look back to help with planning ahead…let the numbers direct you.  What worked from a …

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Marketing: Basic Check Points to review… Now.

We talk with business owners each week about their overall business and the marketplace.  Times are challenging and many companies are seeking advice from us as to how to drive revenue.   Really, basic “good business practice” holds true time and time again.  We just apply it to our marketing outreach.   Here are 4 points off the top of my head.

(1) STOP THE BLEEDING OF FUNDS: SLASH all activities that you cannot quantitatively validate are

driving revenue. That means, review every single touchpoint of your lead generation and conversion process to ensure optimal execution at each point.  Review media, creative, offers, call to action, sales process etc… Most of all, ensure you have established a core set of Key Performance Indicators that you live by and systems with which to measure.  Profit margins are too tight right now for error.

(2) RETURN TO THE BASICS:   Stop experimenting! All too often we’ll go into a business and run down our checklist of “must do” activities and find that they are not being done.  For example: Do you …

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