Lean business practices
Small Business and Startups: 3 Essentials for Customer Service
Mike | November 19th, 2012I had (another) bad customer service experience with an airline last week. I know – a shocker. Sometimes I start to think that poor service and unhappy customers are a requirement for the airline industry. That this is a part of meeting some unwritten baseline needed for any entrant in the space. Then I come [...]
Small Business and Startups: Slice & Dice Your Customer Service Data
Mike | October 29th, 2012After every quarter I delve into our customer service data to have a look at a few things: first (and foremost) are we effectively meeting out goal of providing world-class customer service to our community? Next, what is the demand on our system and do we have capacity available to meet it? Third, have we [...]
Small Business and Startup Tips: Pricing and Analysis
Mike | October 22nd, 2012Periodically every business needs to take a fresh look at pricing their products or services. There are several basic questions that need to be asked, and then a great deal of work to analyze the current state of pricing data and then to forecast the impact of any change in pricing. First, you need to [...]
Lean Marketing Tips: Public Relations and Focus
Mike | August 13th, 2012“The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people” ~ Edward Bernays Most startup entrepreneurs and marketing professionals will agree that a robust public relations strategy is crucial for startups and many small businesses. While there is no argument that these efforts [...]
Your Startup Or Small Business Sucks But You Can Fix It
Ross | June 28th, 2012Don’t take it personally, but your startup or small business sucks. Most do. Here’s why. Even the best companies become complacent, over time. At its peak, Kodak controlled 90% of the US film market and was one of the most valuable brands in the world. Sony, not long ago, dominated the market for televisions, cameras, [...]
Lean Marketing Tips: Hyperlocal Marketing Channels
Mike | March 26th, 2012We write often about marketing strategies and tactics for small business and startups. These companies typically have limited budgets, thin resources, and strained capacity which combine to create a challenge for managers and owners: how to develop an effective marketing campaign using tactics that will work for their business. The Lean Startup movement provides a [...]
