Client vs. Customer: Your Mindset Matters

It’s important to revisit this issue regularly to ensure you’re maintaining an appropriate branding and “client service” mindset that can impact your business success. It’s NOT a B2B vs. B2C thing, and it’s imperative when branding places.

3 Critical Benefits of Properly Branding Your Business

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

Crafting your brand based on your values is a critical initial step in jumpstarting business–an investment you can’t afford to forgo.

According to the Young & Rubicam Brand Asset Valuator®, companies that increase their brand’s differentiation over competing brands have about a 50 percent higher operating margin on average versus companies that allow their brand differentiation to decrease.

Benefit 1:  Brand Identity.

Branding is much more than a name and a logo.
It is about discovering the thing deep inside you and your business that creates unique value for your customers. If you clearly and consistently brand your business, you’ll have a laser-focused understanding of your business’s values, personality and goals, and a self awareness that dictates all your actions. It’s the cornerstone of a strong business identity.

Benefit 2:  Brand Promise.

A brand is a promise – the emotional and psychological deal you make with your clients. To inspire others with your brand, you must believe in everything it represents. Just as no two snowflakes are alike, so it must be with your brand Only when you prove you are different and trustworthy will people talk about you, show their loyalty, and recommend you to their friends.

Benefit 3:  Brand Value.

Strong brands elicit strong emotions, opinions, and responses from your target market that contribute to the growth of your business. All good business decisions are made in alignment with the established brand. Your brand differentiation determines the position and strength of your entire marketing framework, and serves as a constant internal point of focus.

Do you have any stories to share related to these benefits about how properly branding your business up-front, or NOT properly branding your business initially, either contributed to or hindered the success of your brand?

7 Top-Notch Branding Blogs Every Small Business Should Follow

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

While I hope that you’ll consider following THIS blog, which was ranked #4 among the Best Business Branding Blogs of 2013, and join in the discussion or write a guest post to become part of the community (just click the “Click Here to Sign Up…” link in the upper right corner), I’ve compiled a list of what I consider 7 of the best branding blogs around as far as value of content. [It’s not all inclusive–there are certainly others worth following.] You should consider following these branding-focused blogs.

Branding Business

Here you’ll find timely, topical takes on the role of branding in the B2B world. Authored by Ryan Rieches, Ray Baird and Alan Brew of RiechesBaird, along with guest bloggers, this blog is a companion to the Branding Business™ Internet radio show. Branding Business is a corporate branding methodology that embraces business strategy to enhance business performance. Brand-building in the B2B world is fundamentally different than it is in the high-volume/low margin, closed–end transactional world of B2C. The distinct branding implications of a considered purchase warrant special attention–the kind given here.

iMedia Connection – Brand Issues

iMedia Communications, Inc. is a trade publisher and event producer serving interactive media and marketing industries. Their mission is to advance the business of interactive media and marketing by serving as the primary conduit between buyers and sellers. And, to inspire marketers of all types to explore and embrace interactive marketing strategies.

Adhere Creative – Inbound Marketing and Brand Development Blog

Adhere thinks of themselves as problem-solvers that have a knack for creating ideas and solutions for your specific marketing situations. Their team’s experience in brand development, web design, and inbound marketing gives them a full arsenal to create an action plan that produces the results you require.

Small Business Branding

Simply a small business blog with articles written by contributing small business branding authors.

Branding Strategy Insider

The Blake Project’s sole focus is helping organizations create brands that build and sustain trust. Branding Strategy Insider is an extension of their efforts as brand consultants to help marketing oriented leaders and professionals build strong brands.

brandSTOKE

Blog author Kirk Phillips has this to say about brandSTOKE: “I hope you will engage me in conversation about all things branding and marketing. The old and the new, the good and the bad. I will share things I’ve learned during my 30-plus year career and you will set me straight. Maybe I’ll learn something.”

brandUNIQ

Blog author and Professional Certified Marketer Michael Baicoianu explains: BrandUniq is about the things that should be done before launching your brand’s Facebook and Twitter pages: differentiating your brand from competition, choosing a unique slogan that reflects the your brand’s points of differentiation, and managing the 4 components of the Marketing Mix: product, packaging, placement and promotion.

Do you follow any other insightful blogs devoted to the topics of branding and brand management?  If so, please share them.

Be Prepared to Manage Social Media Risks

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

The basic difference between an ordinary person and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse. (Carlos Castenada) To be an effective leader, you need to look at risk as a challenge, while making sure to manage it like you do any other opportunity. Torben Rick, international executive with a strong track record in developing, driving and managing business improvement and development, change management and turn-around reminds us, “There is no brand immune to a negative event … it happens, that’s life and most companies plan for this to happen by developing action plans and the like.” Such should be the case when engaging in social media marketing.

Social media marketing affords the opportunity to create a community of fans and customers alike. According to Jim Goldstein (“Social Media + You – Brand and Reputation Management = Disaster”), “Reinforcing the positive sentiment of this audience is key to creating a long lasting positive (brand) perception. In addition a passionate following will ensure that as negative sentiment arises that the community behind you supports you. A supportive community of followers expands the number of eye and ears looking and listening on your behalf. It’s not uncommon for passionate supporters to actually take on negative sentiment directly on your behalf.”

The problem is that incidents move faster in social media, so you need to create a crisis response plan, suggests Jeremiah Owyang (“When It Comes To Social Media, Many Marketers Jump The Gun”). “For instance, how would your company react if some of its products turned up in an unflattering YouTube video on a Friday evening before a three-day weekend?” He says many companies jump into social marketing before they are ready. “The opportunities to connect with customers, learn from them and benefit from word-of-mouth marketing are irresistible. But CMOs must first establish the internal resources and processes that are necessary for their companies to be successful in social marketing.”

You don’t need to look far to find examples of business who were not prepared to handle an unforeseen crisis, manage the risks, or harness the power of social media:

• According to Owyang: Greenpeace’s organized brandjacking of Nestle SA’s Facebook page a few years ago is an example of what makes CMOs afraid of social media. There is good reason for this: The power has clearly turned to those that participate, and now detractors are starting to organize using the same organized marketing campaigns that companies create. Greenpeace takes issue with Nestle’s purchase of palm oil from farmers who are destroying forests. The organization prepared a frontal assault with prepared assets such as off-brand logos, detrimental videos, and called for their Twitter followers to attack Nestle’s Facebook page. Nestle, the giant food company, was unprepared. It apparently lacked qualified community managers, a community policy and an advocacy program. Proof of the power of online communities: Today the Swiss company said it will work with a nonprofit organization to probe the firm’s palm oil suppliers.
• In his article, “Better have a social media risk management plan”, Rick points out that in terms of bad online sentiment, it doesn’t get much worse than BP’s disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. He said in May 2010, “a search for “BP oil spill” on YouTube returned over 900 videos about the disaster and in April 2010 BP was one of brands that was generating the most buzz on Twitter. BP seemed to have a poor micro-blogging strategy at the time and each twit was drowned by a deluge of hostile Tweets. This is partly just a question of quantity, which could be balanced if BP had a larger presence on these sites and more followers to begin with – but since it was too late to do anything about that, the company might have benefitted by at least putting a more human (and humane) face on its social media communications. Let’s see the CEO make some personal twits – a symbolic gesture which might help temper the maelstrom of negative PR currently engulfing the company. Or even better – lets see the CEO apologize in a video broadcast.”

Should you be concerned about bad sentiment circulating online about you or your business? Certainly, says Goldstein, but not to the degree that it paralyzes you from doing business. Bad things will always be said about an individual or business. We can’t please everyone all of the time, but it is possible to keep bad situations (and unpredictable events) from getting ugly in the social media world…Strategically speaking turning lemons into lemonade is a critical online business strategy. You just need to plan ahead and be prepared.

Does your organization have a formal social media risk management or crisis response plan?

Small Business Advice: Risks of responding (or not responding) to RFPs

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

Regardless of whether or not you respond, and whether you target price buyers, value buyers, or relationship buyers, reviewing RFPs provides insight to an organization’s current or anticipated issues and what it needs to meet its business objectives. Responding to RFPs can be part of a marketing strategy and can result in more business, or can rob you of time and resources.

In their book, Pricing With Confidence, Dr. Reed Holden and Mark Burton assert that when competing for business, the worst thing that a dominant incumbent can do is to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP). They say an RFP is often a sign that a customer is not interested in the value offering or a relationship, but rather RFPs come, for the most part, from price buyers who make their buying decisions exclusively on price. They suggest considering what percentage of RFPs you win and, if your close rate is low, suggest you’re wasting valuable resources if you’re spending more than an hour per RFP response.

If you are the incumbent, can you afford not to answer the RFP and risk losing the business altogether? There are times when you need to walk away, especially when cost — not value, relationship, or your past performance — is the bottom line driver. I think it’s wise to always identify the key sources of risk in responding to any RFP before deciding. The best approach is to analyze and consider opportunities on a case-by-case basis rather than routinely responding or not responding to them. Consider the following with each RFP opportunity:

1. Consider who has been asked to submit a RFP.
While you may not know who has been asked to submit a RFP, be aware that sometimes buyers request a total value RFP from the top few candidates, and request a competitive RFP from other candidates for “control” purposes. If it’s a broad RFP and it’s obvious that bids will be better from smaller lower-shelf competitors, then the buyer could be trying to get the services of stronger candidates at a better price, and winning on value may be more challenging. On the other hand, if you are one of the top providers and the other top provider responds to the RFP, is it worthwhile or necessary to respond even if price is the main criterion?

2. Look for themes in the RFP.
How many times does the word “cost” (or a similar reference) appear in the RFP? As Martin Andelman suggests in his whitepaper, The RFP and Creating Proposals that Win, “Read between the lines. You can tell an awful lot about what a company is looking for and struggling with by close examination of the questionnaire. Read carefully [and you will find that] those issuing the RFP will tell you how to sell them.” If your strategy is not to sell them on low cost, but that’s clearly what they’re looking for, then as a value or relationship provider you may not want to waste any time responding.

3. Know the evaluation process.
Fully review each individual RFP to see what the criteria are for selection. Before spending any time responding, you need to know how to avoid being disqualified. Is cost the first criteria used to eliminate candidates? What process will the requestor follow in their evaluation? If the RFP reflects a sensible level of due diligence, it might be a positive sign that the company is aiming for a long-term partner rather than a low cost solution.

4. Know your value proposition.
Highlight every factor that will distinguish you from your competitors. Understand how your own strengths compare with your competitors. If your pricing is in line with the competition and you have a stronger value proposition based on expertise, experience or some other factor, you can still win the deal. However, if cost is the most important driver of the decision and you are not the low-cost provider, then let the win go to the competitor who prefers to serve price buyers. Provide your added value to the customers who value it and don’t waste the time responding. Demonstrate confidence in your value proposition.

5. Make relationship a part of the process.
Meet with the prospect to gain a deeper understanding of their needs beyond what is in the RFP. Focus on their business and financial drivers, not yours. Even when you’re not dealing with relationship buyers, gaining some rapport and trust along the way just might give you the edge.

According to Martin Andelman, “The bar is not nearly as high as you might imagine.” He suggests that 20-40% of those who receive the RFP won’t respond. Another 30-40% will respond reluctantly and, therefore, poorly. Only 20-30% of those given the opportunity to submit a proposal will even be in the running. If price is not the primary driver, if you know your value proposition and have used it to address the requestor’s needs, and if you have gained some trust in your relationship along the way, I think even a dominant incumbent can be better off responding than not responding to the RFP.

And for those issuing RFPs:

• Know your limits. Do you have a limited budget? Are there things you definitely want included? Are there things you definitely want excluded?
• Is what you want from the RFP reasonable or possible? If you want the highest levels of service and the lowest possible prices, is it likely you will be satisfied in both areas?
• Understand that tradeoffs may be necessary and understand what tradeoffs are involved. Is low cost more important than unconditional on-time delivery of services? You’ll have to pay for higher levels of service or a long-term relationship.

What are your thoughts on this, or what are the guidelines you follow when deciding when to respond to an RFP?

Acknowledgements: The thought leadership of the following fellow members of professional networking groups is expressed in the content of this feature through their responses to discussion on this topic: Hope Oriabure-King, Ernie Harris, Jill Markquardt, Karie Barrett, Frank Restifo, and Lou Barbato. Additional insight was captured from the Martin Andelman (www.rfpnation.com) whitepaper, ‘The RFP and Creating Proposals that Win,’ and from multiple RFP-related whitepaper authors at Captureplanning.com, a provider of proposal and business development support. Thanks to all of you for your insights and contributions.

9 Valuable Bits of Business Advice for New Entrepreneurs

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

I’ve compiled what I think is some great advice for emerging entrepreneurs from small business and entrepreneurial experts on mosiacHUB, an entrepreneur community and resource center where entrepreneurs, service providers, mentors, and investors connect. (I’ve included links to the mosaicHUB profiles of those who contributed to the advice offered in this article.)

1. Define your brand up front.
   Crafting your brand–your promise to buyers with a foundation of trust– is one of the most important initial steps in jumpstarting a business. Branding is about discovering the thing deep inside you and your business that creates unique value for your customers. If you clearly and consistently brand your business, you’ll have a laser-focused understanding of your business’s values, personality and goals, and a self awareness that dictates all your actions. Over time, you will build a stronger business identity. Strong brands elicit strong emotions, opinions, and responses from your target market that contribute to the growth of your business. All good business decisions are made in alignment with the established brand. Your brand determines the position and strength of your entire marketing framework, and serves as a constant internal point of focus.
   (Rob Wolfe)
2. No matter how much you think you know, you know less than you realize.
   The key is to surround yourself with people who know more about things you don’t know and people who challenge your way of thinking about things you do know, then listen to both.  People are the most important asset. Don’t ignore your people.
   (Steve Meyer, Jim Finkelstein)
3. Keep focus on the vision and stay flexible to market dynamics.
   All good businesses should have an idea of where they want to be at a point in time in the future and create a plan to get there. All long journeys are made up of a path of small steps. However the plan must be followed and developed to overcome problems along the way and to identify a new path if the goal changes. Continually research your market and be open to new opportunities. 
   (Brian Omolo, Philip Gale, Frank Odia)
4. Invest in marketing.
   An average product with big marketing dollars can succeed, but the greatest of the products without sufficient marketing dollars won’t go anywhere. Marketing needs as much money as you can afford to put in. That is where people underestimate and get in trouble all the time.
   (Brijesh Kumar)
5. Accept that problems are a part of business.
   Just accept that there will always be problems. Consider them part of your business, and deal with them as they arise. Don’t hit the panic button every time. Trust your instincts – you will now if a problem is REALLY a problem. Sometimes problems are in fact opportunities, chances to learn, etc.
   (John Flanagan)
6. Pay full attention to your financials.
   This tells a business owner what happens in their company from when the lights are turned on in the morning to when they are turned off at night. Tap into the intellectual experience in your circle to ensure you are rightsizing your expenses and paying attention to your top line. Keep your expenses as low as possible when you’re starting up. This will insure that you can last long enough to grow that seed. Once you have grown the seed into a viable business, then you can spend to grow the business.  Cashflow, cashflow and cashflow—manage it daily !
   (Danita Harn, Rick Tuinenburg, James Gibson)
7. Be ready to be wrong. You learn more by failing than by quitting.
   Entrepreneurship requires trial and error to find the best way for you to execute it. You will make bad investments, you will hire the wrong people and you will miss opportunities–it’s the nature of entrepreneurship. If you cannot accept and learn from mistakes, that will cost you money, time and worst of all, clients. Then you will not find the patience and perseverance necessary for you and your business to develop, grow and succeed.  Things are probably going to get really tough at some point and you’re likely to seriously consider giving up. Carefully review the path you took to determine where you might have been better off to change directions for future reference. Learn from the mistakes, make changes and move on quickly.
   (John Wolforth, Steve Meyer, Ken Helmers)
8. Stop thinking like a small business owner.
   Ask yourself this: “If Richard Branson didn’t have a dime, and had to build his fortune back from where I am now, would he be doing what I am doing?” The answer is invariably, “No!”  So, what would he do? Fine tune the model and make it work as a pilot. Keep the pilot low cost, and be close to the customer to achieve valuable feedback. Once the pilot is successful, rapidly scale.
   (Alok Sharma)
9. Dress for the part.
   Far too many budding entrepreneurs think that being an entrepreneur means fulfilling the image of showing up to important meetings wearing a golf shirt. Having the right image not only impresses others favorably, but it creates a strong impression on YOUR mind and gives you a feeling and persona of power you can’t get otherwise.
   (Frank Rumbauskas)

Are there any other pieces of critical advice that you would like to add to the list to offer to emerging entrepreneurs?  What are your thoughts on the bits of advice provided above?

10 Questions to Help You Assess the Market Opportunity for Your Business Idea

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

As an entrepreneur or anticipated founder of a new business, conducting a thorough market analysis is one important part of what you must do before taking the leap. In his book, 6 Secrets to Startup Success:How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial Passion into a Thriving Business, author John Bradberry says you need to consider your purpose. Why are you pursuing this venture? When it comes to market opportunity, he asks: Are you driven by a great product/service idea? Do you see an irresistible opportunity such as a timely market or an unmet customer need? Can you provide a better business solution for an existing problem?

Assessing the market opportunity can help you, the entrepreneur, discover a sense of demand and whether there is a market (or whether you can establish a market niche) to build a viable business. Of course, there are many other analyses and discovery processes you should work through (such as industry analysis, market segmentation, determination of your target market, how you will differentiate yourself through your positioning and value proposition, etc.), but by answering the ten questions that follow you can establish a fairly solid understanding of whether a real business opportunity exists for you and whether you can fill the shoes within the market. Furthermore, these questions will undoubtedly spark additional questions about your chances of successfully entering the market and establishing a place for your brand and your business.

1. How large is the current market or potential market (in your target geographical area)?
2. How fast is the current and/or potential market growing (or declining), and is it an emerging or mature market?
3. Who are your competitors in this market and what are their offerings? Be very thorough.
4. Who is already buying this type of product/service or something like it and why?
5. Why is NOW the right time for you to enter this market?

Talk to clients/customers you have served (or potential clients in your target market) and get them to answer the following questions. The point is to answer these questions from your target market clients’ point of view.

6. What are the shortcomings in the current offerings and what frustrations do they cause for clients/customers?
7. What do customers complain about?  What are their points of pain?
8. What would customers really like to have that they don’t have/aren’t getting now?
9. Question “top of mind awareness” among current or potential customers:
   When you think of category X (the product/service that you are offering), which brand comes to mind first?
10. Why does that brand come to mind first?

What other important questions do you think must be answered in order to thoroughly assess the market opportunity for an entrepreneur planning to launch a new business?

Are You Ready to Be an Entrepreneurial Leader?

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global

So you have a business idea and are ready to start your journey as an emerging entrepreneur. To ensure you’re ready for the road ahead, you need to have the proper mindset.

I feel there are three primary questions you must ask yourself (and answer) before you get started. Or, if you’ve already started your business venture, use these questions to continually guide you and motivate you.

Do You Welcome Risk and Accept Failure?

“When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.”
~ Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Take risks and don’t be afraid to fail. Entrepreneurs must make lots of mistakes to learn and discover new approaches, opportunities or business models. Use failure as a stepping stone. Assume that everything you do is a learning opportunity with new lessons.

“Before you take any sort of risk, always carefully think through everything. Outweigh the pros and cons of those risks,” advises Tara Horner, author on marketing-related topics. “If the pros are plentiful, it makes sense to take such a risk, especially if it means the possibility of reducing losses for your business… when you are willing to take risks and think outside of the box, you are more likely to have success with your business ventures than a non-risk-taker. Weigh your risks carefully, set goals, and take charge. And remember that sometimes a risk may turn out to be a setback. If you continue learning from your mistakes and moving forward, though, your calculated risks will help you reduce losses in the long run.”

Have You Partnered With the Right People?

“I’ve been blessed to find people who are smarter than I am, and they help me to execute the vision I have.”
~ Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam

Don’t go at it alone. Find one or more partners in whom you believe. Your partners will help you get through the tough times, offer advice, and help you celebrate the little wins. Also, new partners add new ideas to the mix. Find and rely on the resources you need to navigate the obstacles you will encounter along the way, and to get feedback to ensure you remain flexible and innovative. Seek advice and wisdom from those you trust and who have already been through what you’re facing.

Be sure you know what you don’t know, and be open to finding the right person/people who can help educate you and ensure you get varying perspectives on your options and actions. Consider partnering with a seasoned mentor or business advisor—possibly, someone who has started their own business and successfully grown it.

According to Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact, the number one thing startups need to do “is to build a team, and not necessarily a paid one.” Goodman believes startups particularly need people they can count on, whether it’s an informal board of advisors, peers, a formal board or a mentor.

Are You 100% Devoted?

“Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life.”
~ Abraham Lincoln

Embrace your passion and don’t lose determination. Entrepreneurship is 10% idea and 90% execution. You need a strong emotional commitment and a focus on persistence. Find a way around every obstacle and never give up on your mission—even though you can expect it to evolve or change along the way. Stay flexible and don’t hesitate to change your product or service idea or business model to adapt to a changing business environment, new technologies, or ever-shifting client/customer expectations. Those who devote themselves fully and consistently to their new business idea to move it forward are already ahead of most other entrepreneurs.

“We were told ‘no’ by venture capitalists over 50 times before we closed our Series A round,” says Andrew Laffoon, cofounder of the online custom photo book company, Mixbook. “They told us to change our business model, to change our technology, to switch markets, even to switch to a “video advertising” startup. Ultimately, our persistence paid off.”…”Accept at the outset that you’ll probably have to knock on hundreds of doors before you’ll find the ones that open. Advisers will want you to change your plan. Customers won’t buy your product. But if you can take that rejection as a gift—an opportunity to learn, improve and persist—it can lead to an advantage.

Do you feel there are any other questions that are more important than these for an emerging entrepreneur to ask before taking the plunge (or to motivate those that have already started down the road to success)?

Is Your Business’s Value Proposition Powerful Enough?

Your value proposition is what sets you apart from your competition, what makes you unique and provides that niche in which you cannot be rivaled. Here are some tips to help you articulate it.

Can Entrepreneurs Build Loyalty Simply by Listening to Clients’ Stories?

by Rob Wolfe – Connected Places Global
In his book Enchantment, Guy Kawasaki devotes many pages to the concept of achieving likeability. “For people to like you they have to accept you, and you have to accept them,” he says. You should use the right words to communicate your attitudes, personality, and perspective. Don’t impose your values. He says that finding a shared passion is a great tool for developing relationships.

I believe that rather than focusing on telling clients/customers why your company is so great—on your website, in your marketing collateral, or in your social media postings—let them tell you their stories. Spend time listening to them. This will allow you to connect with your clients through your shared passions and their experiences and help you build lasting relationships with them.

The following excerpts from the book Letters to My Son, by Kent Nerburn, which I’ve adapted slightly, provide strong insight into the power of listening to people. These principles can be applied in business by both emerging entrepreneurs and seasoned business leaders: listening to your clients and letting them tell their stories, and then responding to them, will help you build an emotional connection with your clients, enable you to achieve likeability among them, and build their loyalty to your business and your brand.

Craig…was one of those people who brought energy and life into any room he entered. He had an uncanny ability to focus his entire attention on you while you were talking, so you suddenly felt more important and more responsible than you had before he started listening. [I learned a lot from Craig from these words he said to me:] “People like people who like them.”

From that day forward…each encounter became an adventure, each person a lesson in life. Each [person] had a unique story to tell, if only I had the ears to listen. If you are the one who reaches out, if you are the one who dares to like other people, the walls around you will fall away. Those whose attention you crave will turn toward you because you are turning you attention toward them. You [and your business] will find yourself more valued and respected than you ever could be by parading your accomplishments and sense of importance before other people, because you will have given other people a chance to shine. And far from being lost in their shadows, you will be reflected in the light of their happiness and increased sense of self-worth.

Craig…brought people alive because he cared about them more than he cared about their opinions of him. He took a chance and liked people…he generated the good feeling that filled the space that separates people.

Being a person like Craig takes courage. People may accuse you of manipulations and false motivations. They will question your associations and take advantage of your openness. But nothing they can do or say will take away the sense of adventure that comes from enlarging your interest in the people around you. Your life [and your business] is made richer by every person you meet—every person whose story you listen to.

What can you do to listen and let people tell their stories? Some suggestions: build a client community on your website to encourage and enable exchange of stories and ideas from your customers; use social media channels to listen and respond to your clients; or let clients’ stories help guide innovation or product/service development for your business. Listen to them. Include them. Let them know you care about their personal stories and how they can be applied to improving your business and your brand.

As an entrepreneur or business leader, what story would you like to share about how listening and responding to clients/customers has changed your business or your approach to client interactions?