|
Join Our List
|
 |
|
|
Greetings!
The Fall is upon us and soon we will be in the thick of the holidays. Before we know it we will be greeting 2011. So now is the time to start planning for next year if you have not already done so.
Your planning does not need to be overly complex or burdensome. Keep it simple and to the point. Focus on the essentials and don't get bogged down with trying to prefect every element of your plan.
Simple is good! We hope you enjoy our Fall newsletter. Feel free to send any comments or thoughts; we would love to hear from you!
Regards, The Valens Point Team |
Feature Article
|
|
Simple - As a Business Goal
You would think that explaining Simple would be just that. But it turns out that Simple and the qualitative word Simplicity can ironically be complex if you over think these concepts.
There are volumes written on this topic (483 book results are returned when you search for "Keep it Simple" on Amazon) so a person can be constantly learning about how to become Simple and achieve Simplicity. One of the books I like is John Maeda's The Laws of Simplicity in which he spells out 10 Laws, explaining that the first three are "basic" laws, and the remaining 7 are more nuanced and deeper. I personally like the first 4, which are:
- Reduce. The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
- Organize. Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
- Time. Savings in time feel like simplicity.
- Learn. Knowledge makes everything simpler.
There are many ways these 4 Laws could apply to your business. For example - Law 1: Reduce. Thoughtful reduction can be used to narrowly focus you target market in order to serve your ideal customer. Using this approach you can improve your business and marketing strategy to differentiate your company from your competitors. Chip and Dan Heath, contributors to Fast Company and authors of Made to Stick, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die and most recently released; Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, advocate that companies need to develop strategies that are simple to understand. They explain that simple plans are actionable and ensure that everyone within the company can then be certain that they are all rowing in the same direction. (See Dan Heath's short discussion of this topic on the American Express Open site). They also discuss Analysis Paralysis in their Made to Stick column of Fast Company and illustrate that complicating things, even only slightly, such as introducing an alternative choice, can prevent execution and realization of intended benefits.
Valens Point offers Simple Advice. This should not be confused with offering Easy Advice. In order to reduce, organize, save time, and produce plans for action you must first have knowledge of the right strategy for your business and the ways to implement it. That makes the advice Actionable - which is what we will discuss in our next article in this series.
|
In The News...
| | |
This quarter our "In The News" section is focused on the power of using events to nurture and develop your customer and prospective customer relationships. Here are examples from our customers.
TOP Step Consulting to be the Platinum and Go Green Sponsor for the OpenAir User Summit 2010
 Established in 2007 and Headquartered in South Riding, Virginia, TOP Step Consulting will be the Platinum and Go Green Sponsor at the upcoming OpenAir User Summit. TOP Step Consulting is the leading expert in helping project based organizations improve business operations and increase productivity. They provide both strategic consulting and implementation consulting for putting in place Professional Services Automation tools and process. TOP Step invests in the OpenAir event because it provides a unique opportunity to establish themselves as the expert and "go-to" consultants for business operations efficiency. Their key to a successful event is to create and follow a well thought out plan that establishes goals for the event supported by the plan to achieve those goals. TOP Step generates a significant percentage of new and repeat business as a result. Visit the TOP Step website for more information.
PelliGroup Maximizes Value of Industry Conference
PelliGroup, Inc. headquartered in West Point, VA will be attending ARMA International's 55th Annual Conference & Expo at the Moscone Conference Center in San Francisco in early November. PelliGroup will be presenting a number of sessions including the closing Keynote and will also host their annual client appreciation dinner. "This is an important event for us" said George Cunningham, CEO of PelliGroup "Valens Point has helped us with the planning and preparation that is key to maximizing this opportunity to promote PelliGroup to prospective clients and partners and reinforce relationships with our existing clients."
PelliGroup is the premier global independent records management consulting company providing records management consulting and expert witness testimony to and for Fortune 500, global, and other businesses that have complex records management needs. PelliGroup's LexPelli records retention software tool, and team of records management lawyers and consultants enables PelliGroup to provide legally defensible records management strategies and assist organizations in implementing and updating their records management programs. Visit the PelliGroup website for more information.
|
Upcoming Events
| |  Referral Engine Power Groups
Referral Engine Power Groups enable participants to learn and implement systems to manage referrals. These popular group-learning sessions are based on the John Jantsch book The Referral Engine and are guided by Valens Point Duct Tape Marketing authorized coaches.
The next sessions will begin October 26 (Tuesday mornings weekly) and October 28 (Thursday afternoon weekly), 2010 and enrollment is limited. Read more about our program or register here, but hurry early enrollment discount expires soon.
Seven for Eleven: 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success in 2011
Now is the time to think and plan for the New Year. Join us October 25, 2010 for 7 for 11 and learn seven steps that will impact your marketing success in 2011. The event is on-line and free. Read more about our program or register here
|
Simple Advice: Making your business better
| | Are You Delivering Exceptional Service?
One of keys to capturing repeat and referral business is to deliver exceptional service - doing something remarkable! Here are some signs that your business is delivering on this concept: - You receive raving feedback from your customers.
- Your customers refer you to their business contacts, friends, and family.
- You are able to compete and win business.
- Delivery of services is meeting your profitability goals.
If your business isn't at that level yet, it may be time to innovate your service offerings and delivery process. There are many definitions for service innovation. Simply put, Service Innovation is the improvement of what you do in a repeatable manner that benefits both your customer and your business, often resulting in a competitive edge. Service innovation includes any and all components involved in delivering your service to the customer. This may involve examining processes, delivery channels, technology, and interaction with personnel.
The innovation process starts with understanding and documenting your service offerings, the delivery process and supporting tools. If you have already accomplished step one, you should now look for ways to improve and build greater value in your delivery methods. Examples might include eliminating unnecessary steps of a process (customers love it when you give them time), automating manual steps (confirmations and responses), or providing greater visibility to the working process. Some of your greatest innovations are realized through your customer's eyes. If you don't have a customer advocate or advisor group this is an ideal time to begin one. Also, continually seek to capture customer input with post-service delivery surveys so any issues are identified and corrected immediately. Begin your service innovation efforts now and deliver something remarkable in 2011!
|
|
|
