Unique Business Value Proposition

Existing customers and prospects make decisions everyday about how to invest their resources. These decisions are based upon what they feel benefits them. They make trade offs with each purchasing decision. A well defined Unique Business Value Proposition will help you retain your existing customers and direct new customers to your business.

Recently, I wrote a white paper article for Santa Barbara bookkeepers about the importance of having a Unique Business Value Proposition for their business. While this article was directed to bookkeepers, the concept of a Unique Business Value Proposition is universal to all businesses.

Make the Most of Your Resources

My Friend Ric Payne, CA shared the following information on Facebook this morning:

I read that the source of competitive advantage had shifted from access to natural resources, financial strength & market access to: technology, human capital & organizational capacity to manage change. Little wonder intangibles have gone from being 38% of market cap in 1982 to 85% in 2000! Where will it end? Will tangibles even be relevant in the future?

With this in mind, many small businesses may think they are at a disadvantage due to the limited resources (technology, human capital and organizational capacity) that they have internally. But, this does not have to be the case. Many small businesses over come the lack of internal resources by making the most of the opportunities available through external resources. Such resources include CPAs who are members of the Principa Alliance, their bankers, their attorneys, industry organizations, and fellow business owners (through the Business Boot Camp).

Brenda Richter, CPA is a member of the Principa Alliance.

Customer & Team Loyalty

Robin Sharma’s VLog on customer service reminds me of the work I do with my customers – reminding them that the goal isn’t to satisfy their customers but to dazzle them. We must exceed our customers’ expectations.

The March topic for Business Boot Campers was Team & Customer Loyalty. We went through a case study of a small business just like theirs that incorporated Frederick Reichheld’s Six Common Principles of Team and Customer Loyalty. These principles apply to any business and it starts and finishes with the individual business person, not with complicated software packages, expensive databases or highly energized committees.

Boot Campers had a truly extraordinary experience, and left with the tools they needed to create similar experiences in their business.

Who Are You Putting First?

Congratulations to Alexandre Bilodeau for winning the Olympic gold medal in men’s moguls. This was not only a great honor for Bilodeau personally, but also for Canada. By winning the moguls gold medal, he ended what some have called an Olympic curse. No Canadian has won a gold medal in the two previous Olympics hosted in Canada.

Bilodeau started his athletic career as a young boy on the ice. And while he showed much promise, he changed to skiing since it provided greater access for his older brother Frederic who has cerebral palsy. This single unselfish decision has led to success for Bilodeau that most would only dream of or consider unimaginable.

Truly awesome.

What about your business? What type of success could you achieve if you put someone else first?

Your customer.

With a single unselfish decision to make your customer the primary focus of your business, you too can have an awesome business and achieve unimaginable success. Think about your product/service mix, the design of your products/services, the delivery process, your pricing structure, your guarantees, and any other customer service issue for your business.

CPAs who are members of the Principa Alliance are not your average advisory firms. Far from it. They do so much more than just “keep the score.” These firms will work with businesses to identify areas in the business that are not realizing their full potential and help improve them to build a stronger and more profitable future. A firm’s membership in the Principa Alliance means that customers have access to the collective knowledge and expertise of an international network made up of hundreds of professionals who specialize in consulting to small and medium-sized businesses by providing services such as the Team Advisory Board (TAB). Everyday team members are on the front line of customer service. The TAB workshop is a facilitated interactive session designed to tap into a team’s collective experience and develop a business strategy to put the customer first. Other services include Customer Advisory Boards (CAB). This is a facilitated meeting of your top customers to discover what they truly value about doing business with you.

REMEMBER ME?

Remember me?
I’m the person who calls you and holds on forever while you eventually decide to answer the
phone.
I’m the person who waits patiently for you to arrive when you’re late for our meeting.
I’m the person who doesn’t complain when the promised information never arrives.

Many would say I’m a very nice person.

But that’s not all I am ...
I’m also the person who never comes back to your business.
And I’m the person who laughs out loud when you spend hundreds of dollars every year
trying to win my business when you had it in the first place.

Has this ever happened to you? Could it have happened to your customers?

A Principa CPA can help you develop a customer service strategy that make sure it does not.

Brenda Richter, CPA is a member of the Principa Alliance.

GREAT SERVICE TAKES TWO

Recently, MSN City Guides featured an article reminding customers that they too play an important role in securing quality service when dining out.

The author, Zane Schmalzer, presents readers with six simple ways to ensure great service.

1. Communicate your goals for the evening to your server.
2. Make sure your server is aware of your food likes and dislikes, as well as any food allergies.
3. Expect the best, and trust the restaurant to provide you with a positive and enjoyable dining experience. Leave your memories of bad dining experiences at home.
4. Don’t be afraid to make special requests or to get clarification of menu items.
5. Be pleasant, and don’t for get to smile.
6. If something does go wrong, speak up immediately. Give your server and the restaurant a chance to make things right.

As I read the article, I couldn’t help but think; what if we substitute CPA and financial terms for server or restaurant and related restaurant terms?

As a customer, you need to let your CPA know what your service expectations are and whether or not they are being met.

As a service provider, your CPA has a responsibility to meet or exceed your service expectations.

Also, consider how to apply these same principles to your business when working with your customers.

To read the complete article, visit: http://cityguides.msn.com/restaurants/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3795099&page=1

And, why not send a copy to your CPA as well.

If the article is no longer available on MSN, please let me know. I will be happy to forward you a copy.

Taking Care of the Future

How well does your CPA tend to and nurture his/her own business?

The care and attention your CPA gives to his/her own business is a direct reflection of the care and attention that your CPA is willing and able to give to your business.

The next time you are visiting your CPA, take a look around. Look for positive signs that your CPA is giving attention to on-going and future operations of his/her business. Such signs include:

• Office environment and décor – Does your CPA maintain a neat and tidy work environment? Is the décor kept fresh and well maintained?
• Technology - Is your CPA aware of the latest technology available to increase efficiency in business? Does your CPA have a technology plan for his/her business? Has your CPA implemented paperless technology? Has your CPA established a Virtual Office, in order to make working with him/her easier?
• Continuing Education – What is your CPA’s attitude toward continuing education? Does he/she take the minimum required hours each year, and limit his/her choices to tax and accounting? Or, does his/her annual CPE hours far exceed the minimum requirement and include management, technology, leadership, and personal development classes?
• Corporate Culture – Does your CPA and his/her Team keep a professional appearance and dress style? Does your CPA and his/her Team appear to enjoy their work, the company they work for, and the customers they work with? Does your CPA have a vision and mission statement? Are these statements reflected in everything your CPA does?
• Leadership – Does your CPA have a succession plan? Does your CPA develop leadership skills among Team members? Is work properly delegated among Team members?

With this last concept in mind, the California CPA Society has created the Young and Emerging Professionals Conference (YEP). The conference is designed for CPAs licensed for 0 – 5 years, CPA candidates, accounting students and mentors. Future leaders of the CPA profession will be asked to challenge their thinking and experience professional growth at the conference. Speakers will be sharing their expertise in career development, networking, negotiating, and leadership. In order to make it easy for CPA firms to send their young professionals to the conference, the conference will be held one day in northern California and another day in southern California.

Forward thinking CPA firms with an eye towards enhancing their business and developing a strong successful firm for the future will be sending their young professionals to the YEP conference. Is your CPA sending his/her young Team members to the YEP conference?

To learn more about the YEP conference, visit: http://www.calcpa.org/yep.htm

To register for the conference, visit: http://www.educationfoundation.org/courses/courses_display.asp?Par_EventId=57123001&Par_EventYr=07

Another way to think about it…

Recently, Mega Millions reached an all time high of over $390 million. The winning couple from New Jersey were quoted as saying: “We are retired, effective immediately.”

If your CPA were to retire, effectively immediately, would you be left in good hands?

And on the flip side, what has your CPA done for you to ensure that if you were to retire effective immediately, your customers would be left in good hands?

Delivering WOW Service

Tom Peters said it best in his book In Search of Excellence: “The best kept secret in the global economy is this: When your service is awesome, you get so stinking rich that you have to keep buying new bags to carry all the money home.”

Notice he didn’t say that your service should be good, or great, or mediocre. Or that your customers should be satisfied. He said, “When your service is AWESOME.” The kind of service that makes people sit up and take notice. The kind of service that makes people talk about you.

Look at the businesses and companies that have achieved truly great things. Businesses like Disneyland, McDonald’s and Virgin have made big names for themselves by delivering the type of service that qualifies as awesome.

That’s easy for them, you say? Well, it’s easy for you too.

Many small businesses have carved a niche for themselves by delivering more than expected to their customers and delighting them in the process.

Notice again I didn’t say “satisfy them” - I said “delight”. Why? Because delighted customers talk. Oftentimes about your business.

If you doubt the value of delivering awesome service, think about how much business is obtained through word of mouth. Many business owners, when asked where their business comes from, answer with “word of mouth.” If that’s the case, how can you capitalize on that to get more people referring business to you?

The easiest way, by far, is to impress your customers so much that they become advocates for you.

The way to do this? Give them WOW service!

Service that gets your business talked about. It’s a way to create absolutely free publicity for you—and the good news is that it doesn’t cost you a penny more to give ‘WOW’ service than it costs to give ‘satisfactory’ service.

CPAs whi are members of the Principa Alliance are not your average advisory firms. Far from it. They do so much more than just “keep the score.” These firms will work with businesses to identify areas in the business that are not realizing their full potential and help improve them to build a stronger and more profitable future. A firm’s membership in the Principa Alliance means that customers have access to the collective knowledge and expertise of an international network made up of hundreds of professionals who specialize in consulting to small and medium-sized businesses by providing services such as the Team Advisory Board (TAB). Everyday team members are on the front line of customer service. The TAB workshop is a facilitated interactive session designed to tap into a team’s collective experience and develop a business strategy to create WOW service.