Process

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Be a Brander-in-Chief

Are you a technician or an entrepreneur? Do you know the difference? A technician is someone who is really good at doing a certain job. They may quit their current employment to start their own company doing for others the same task or service that they performed for their former employer. The technician does everything from manage the books to sell the product. Are you a technician?

The Brander-In-Chief (BIC) should be the goal of every business owner. The BIC is a coach and a systems creator. The BIC develops systems of “this is how we do it here”. Everyone who joins the organization is taught the system and a consistent Customer Experience Factor is generated. You know you’re an entrepreneur if you can leave your business for six months and when you come back it’s healthier then when you left it.

Personally, I can tell you that I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer! The Prophit Marketing System is designed to get you on the right track to becoming a Brander-In-Chief. Total freedom is what the entrepreneur truly craves. Money isn’t the goal, money is the result. I commend you for reading and listening to a system that, if practiced, will set you FREE!

Step 1 – Market Viability

Market Viability is your position in the marketplace. For example, the position of Taco Bell, in the fast food marketplace, is a Mexican restaurant. If I asked you to name three fast food restaurants, perhaps Taco Bell wouldn’t make your list. However, when I ask you to name three Mexican fast food restaurants, Taco Bell will most likely be the first to come to mind.

You want to be known for something when someone is thinking of your category. Perhaps you are the “service king” in your category or the “on-time business”. If you’re an independent used car dealer in the midst of many, consider being the truck dealership or perhaps the mini-van expert. It’s important to be able to carve out your niche in your category.

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Step – 2 Customer Experience Factor

Your Customer Experience Factor (CEF) is crucial! This relates to how well you consistently deliver the same experience to your customer. Take McDonald’s for example. McDonald’s serves the same burgers and fries at all thirty plus thousand restaurants around the world. You know exactly what to expect when you walk in to Mickey D’s! The reason they are so consistent is due to the systems Ray Kroc and his team put together to ensure it.

You too must create a consistent customer experience. The only way to do this is to create a system of service within your four walls. Don’t worry, you don’t do this alone; you must engage your people to help you. If they create it, with your guidance, your employees can begin to live it because they came up with the system. Systems are crucial. When systems are consistently followed this gets you closer to the freedom you seek!

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Step – 3 Process Managers and Process Partners

Process Managers are those employees in your care who take ultimate responsibility over a certain area of the business. They should be treated as share holders for their leadership is the reason your business will thrive. Process Partners are business partners outside your business, vendors if you will, who you treat like owners. You tell them just about everything so they can feel like they are a part of your business. Process Managers and Process Partners contribute to the speed of your business. When you throw a project their way, they spring into action executing to perfection because you brought them in and told them everything they needed to know.

Not every vendor you have becomes a Process Partner, just those you learn to truly trust. You know they are of extreme competence and help make you look good in front of your customers. I know of businesses that have no employees and run their whole organization in the hands of their Process Partners.

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Step – 4 Mantra Concept

Companies who do great business have a Mantra or “feeling” the customer has when doing business with them. Every business, including yours, has a feeling, especially if the business has been around for over five years. In my book, The Brander-In-Chief, I have provided a questionnaire you can give to your associates and customers to better understand your own Mantra.

When you understand your Mantra, advertising becomes so much easier. The Mantra guides every business decision you make. Here are a few Mantra Concepts I’m sure you’re familiar with: Disney (be a kid again), Hallmark (giving feels good), Corona (relax, vacation, no worries), and Apple (cutting edge, individualism). You have a Mantra. It may not be a good one, but it’s there. You must learn how to define it, develop it, and then turn to it to grow your business.

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Step – 5 Share of Voice

Share of Voice is your advertising plan. It means how and how frequent you will advertise to your target market. When most people reach out to Prophit Marketing, they are typically looking for advertising. Certainly, advertising is what we do; however, we make sure they have identified the above pieces of the marketing puzzle. These pieces  must be in place first before advertising can have any significant results.

If you are ready to advertise, you will learn that frequency beats reach almost every time. Your potential customers are very busy people. They need to be reminded over and over as to the benefit of working with you. You want to be available when they are ready to buy. So when you do begin your advertising plan, make sure you’re in it for the long haul so you can feel the effects of your efforts.

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Step – 6 Passion

Do you have passion for what you do? Make sure you identify what you are truly passionate about. For me, I love leading and coaching other people. My sole purpose is to enrich relationships no matter what they are: clients, co-workers, couples, and parent-child. What is your passion?

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