2004 Marketplace New Year Resolutions

Reserved

This article is the fifth in a series covering the hows and the whys of the 2004 Small Business New Year Resolutions published in this space a few weeks ago. This series covers four of the Marketplace Resolutions, why they're important, and how to accomplish them.

Of the thousands of words in the English language, there are a few that are particularly powerful - not because of how they sound, but because of what they stand for. Words like community, and universe.

One of my favorite words in this category is marketplace. I consider the marketplace to be as close to a living, breathing being as any non-sentient entity could be. When you say or write marketplace, you evoke a sense of energy, vitality, dynamism, productivity, and cooperation.

But as powerfully positive as this description sounds, the marketplace is actually cruelly indifferent to our very existence, let alone whether we succeed or fail. It's at once a place of opportunity and failure, and whichever you find depends more on you than anything or anyone else.

Below are a few resolutions to think about that can help you make your way successfully in the marketplace. This is certainly not a complete list of things you need to do, but may be things you haven't focused on lately.

Marketplace Resolution One: I resolve to focus more on what our customers need and less on what we need to sell.

A customer's relationship with your business is totally one-sided - it's all about them. The sooner you accept this rude truth the sooner you will find people lined up to come in the door of your business.

Unfortunately, this truth is not intuitive is because of the process of developing the products and services you offer. In that process, you're the customer who is creating or buying things that benefit your business. But things that are benefits to you turn into mere features in the eyes of your customers. Success is waiting on you to make the conversion from focusing on why you're excited about your stuff, to how your stuff can excite your customers.

Think WIIFM. Imagine that you're the customer looking at your stuff, and ask yourself: What's In It For Me? Then do that, and only that.

Marketplace Resolution Two: I resolve to work with at least one vendor to create a new advertising, marketing, pricing, and/or service strategy.

Think of this as a type of strategic alliance. Your success is dependent upon the products and services you offer to customers, and your vendors' success is dependent upon you, their customer.

To gain a competitive advantage, or to one, talk with your vendors and see what they can offer in this alliance in addition to just their stuff. There's a good chance they already have a plan you can participate in. If not, identify what it's going to take to increase sales, and talk with your vendor about participating with you. It might be co-op advertising, or joint calls with your customers to introduce a new product, or provide technical assistance in a customer application.

There could be an opportunity for the vendor to provide consignment inventory to help you expand your lines at a time when you don't have the capital to fund new products. Remember, the relationship with any vendor should be more of a partnership than just a business deal. If you don't find an attitude of partnership with any vendor, find another vendor.

Marketplace Resolution Three: I resolve to find out what keeps my best customers up at night and develop a plan that allows my company to help them get more sleep.

Every business, large or small, is influenced by the challenges of its customers. And when your customers have bad news, it typically rolls downhill to you.

The classic Pareto Principle is alive and well in the marketplace, where it's often true that 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers. This is particularly dangerous for a small business, because YOUR 20% represents a small number of customers. Consequently, a threat to even one of your best customers can become dangerous for you. And while you may not be able to prevent threats from happening to your customers, if you pay attention to what's happening in their industry, you won't be blind-sided by a drop in sales and/or slow collections.

You should be reading what your best customers are reading like their industry news and trends. Another way to find out what's going on is to ask. Ask them how their business is going. Ask them about their industry and its position in the global marketplace. Don't worry, your customers won't mind if you show an interest in them.

Read, ask, listen and learn. It's part of your job description to know what's going on in the life of these customer that your organization depends on so much. Then focus your market strategy on how to assist them with their challenges. It's the straightest line to customer loyalty and consistent success.

Marketplace Resolution Four: I resolve to find a way to create a partnership with a bigger business - perhaps even a VERY BIG business.

The 21st century is finding small businesses playing a more integrated role in the operations of much larger companies.

The operative word in the previous sentence is "integrated." When you're a just a vendor, if you don't perform, the customer probably has a handful of other vendor options to choose from. But when you're integrated into the operation of your customers, you're as important as any internal division of that customer.

Small businesses must realize that big businesses are looking for ways to find efficiencies. You are one of those "ways." Don't miss an opportunity because you're thinking of your company's role in the marketplace as a vendor. Partnership opportunities abound today for those small businesses who are capable of seeing the possibilities, can deliver excellence, and think like a big business while delivering the efficiencies and nimbleness of a small business.

The marketplace is alive, growing, evolving, and moving. The question you have to ask and answer is: how well is your business growing, evolving and moving in concert with the marketplace? It's a dance. And if you can't master this dance, more than your toes will be in jeopardy.

Write this on a rock - The marketplace is like a teacher who rudely challenges you to achieve a level of excellence you previously did not think possible. But, like that same teacher, it will quickly move on to another if you waste time and resources whining about the rudeness, instead of being motivated by the challenge to perform.