When business consultant Nancy Michaels had a near-death experience requiring a liver transplant in 2005, one of her biggest national clients kept her on retainer even though she was in a coma. Why? Because Michaels had proven her value to the company many times over, and she had developed a solid team that could keep her work going even as she fought for her life.
The crisis proved to Michaels that doing business by the Golden Rule works: she treated her client well, giving above and beyond of her time and talents. In return, when she was in trouble, the client came through for her.
“I think, for me, even in this high-tech world we live in, it can be as simple as the personal touch,” Michaels says. “If you want to grow your business, you need to take people to lunch and send personal notes. When I almost died, it was the relationships I had built in my personal and business life that helped me get through it.”
Michaels says there are many ways businesses can distinguish themselves, even on a shoestring budget. Handwritten notes are a biggie, because they are a lost art in today’s world of emails, Tweets and instant messages. Another way to grow your operation is to create a corporate mindset of wanting to benefit your customers — and, when it fits, your customers’ customers.
“You want to make sure that you are always thinking in terms of value-adds,” Michaels says. “What can you give your clients that will seem like a bonus? You can easily give things that will be a win-win-win for you, your customer, and even your customer’s customer.”
In Michaels’ case, for example, she recently offered a large client a free promotional brochure on marketing ideas that the company could send to their small-business customers in a monthly enewsletter. The client got the benefit of offering something free to its customers, the customers received something from the client that was unique and helpful for their businesses, and Michaels built a stronger bond with her client and exposure to her client’s subscriber base of more than 1.5 million customers.
“And it cost me nothing,” Michaels says. “The marketing brochure was already written, so for very little investment, everyone benefitted.”
Michaels says it’s that kind of thinking that can help entrepreneurs start or grow their business today.
“In a time when most people see this as an economic crisis, I think it’s a great time to start or grow a business,” Michaels says. “There are so many opportunities available. Certain industries might be in a downturn, but others really emerge. I think, as a result of that shift, people are interested in hearing new ideas, new ways of working together.”
Nancy Michaels is president and founder of GrowYourBusinessNetwork.com and is known as a “Serial Entrepreneur and America’s Most Sought-After Fortune 500 Consultant.”
Top Tips from Marketing Expert Nancy Michaels
• Train your brain to see opportunities where other people don’t.
• Understand what the benefit is of what you’re offering, not only to your customer but to your customers’ customers.
• Get in front of the right people. Michaels makes inquiries via hand-written notes, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings directly with the CEOs of companies she wants to woo.
• Follow up. Don’t wait for a prospect to call you. If you have a great meeting or click over lunch, follow up in a few days.
• Become known as the expert. Write articles, blog and get on the speaking circuit.
• Do things differently. Instead of Christmas cards, send something to your clients on the Fourth of July.
• Add more value to your client than he or she is paying for. Go the extra mile to do the unexpected to develop the client’s loyalty to you.
Tags: marketing, Nancy Michaels, personal touch