Are You Telling or Asking?

Great Info and advice as always Danny! Thanks for sharing it!

Great Info and advice as always Danny! Thanks for sharing it!

Great Info and advice as always Danny! Thanks for sharing it!

Danny Just posted the blog on my Facebook page directed at the followers who keep trying to sell me nightclub tickets. I'd rather have my fingernails removed than go out on the town. There are so many on Facebook & Twitter who adopt the "Yellow Pages" mentality of selling rather than sharing & listening.

Danny
Just posted the blog on my Facebook page directed at the followers who keep trying to sell me nightclub tickets.
I'd rather have my fingernails removed than go out on the town.
There are so many on Facebook & Twitter who adopt the "Yellow Pages" mentality of selling rather than sharing & listening.

Danny
Just posted the blog on my Facebook page directed at the followers who keep trying to sell me nightclub tickets.
I'd rather have my fingernails removed than go out on the town.
There are so many on Facebook & Twitter who adopt the "Yellow Pages" mentality of selling rather than sharing & listening.

Awesome advice of course...as always. Great minds think alike....just yesterday I sent out an email to my subscribers asking them whats on their plate. Got some awesome responses and few great ideas for future posts...talk about a win-win-win :-)

Awesome advice of course...as always. Great minds think alike....just yesterday I sent out an email to my subscribers asking them whats on their plate. Got some awesome responses and few great ideas for future posts...talk about a win-win-win :-)

Danny, very perceptive post my friend!

At least 500 of my 600 or so products have come straight from the questions and comments of...
#1 my customers
#2 my subscribers
#3 people who comment and question on public forums.

Without those 3 categories, my business would have been much more difficult and much less internally rewarding...not to mention financially.

Thanks for the time you spend on your posts, I appreciate it.

Dennis Lively

Danny, very perceptive post my friend! At least 500 of my 600 or so products have come straight from the questions and comments of... #1 my customers #2 my subscribers #3 people who comment and question on public forums. Without those 3 categories, my business would have been much more difficult and much less internally rewarding...not to mention financially. Thanks for the time you spend on your posts, I appreciate it. Dennis Lively

So let me get this straight Danny.....Are you telling me I can't force-feed perks and services on my customers?? What the heck is up with that?!

Seriously though, great point. I do think we often times try to make our customers fit into a box of our liking....and that doesn't always fly.

Marcus

So let me get this straight Danny.....Are you telling me I can't force-feed perks and services on my customers?? What the heck is up with that?! Seriously though, great point. I do think we often times try to make our customers fit into a box of our liking....and that doesn't always fly. Marcus

Danny - I've had this topic in mind quite a bit lately, as we have three new marketing initiatives in mind, which I'm hoping will bring large returns. The only way for any marketing to be successful is to keep the customer/client in mind first. Love this post, my friend. I'll be sharing it with my network.

Danny - I've had this topic in mind quite a bit lately, as we have three new marketing initiatives in mind, which I'm hoping will bring large returns. The only way for any marketing to be successful is to keep the customer/client in mind first. Love this post, my friend. I'll be sharing it with my network.

Danny - I've had this topic in mind quite a bit lately, as we have three new marketing initiatives in mind, which I'm hoping will bring large returns. The only way for any marketing to be successful is to keep the customer/client in mind first. Love this post, my friend. I'll be sharing it with my network.

How Now Brown Cow..? Haha – great post Danny

There’s many ways to listen to the consumer these days… now more than ever.

Although good listening skills has always been an advantage in business, the social web has certainly amplified the importance of listening to consumers.

Any business that delivers what consumers really want will be market leaders in the future. There’s tremendous opportunity for businesses that recognize and act on this in a timely manner.

All markets are still relatively untapped for businesses with listening skills. All that’s necessary to position you at the top of just about any market niche is to tune out all of the old school marketing dribble and strap on a big set of ears.

This is one viable way to get a step ahead of the competition right now :)

How Now Brown Cow..? Haha – great post Danny

There’s many ways to listen to the consumer these days… now more than ever.

Although good listening skills has always been an advantage in business, the social web has certainly amplified the importance of listening to consumers.

Any business that delivers what consumers really want will be market leaders in the future. There’s tremendous opportunity for businesses that recognize and act on this in a timely manner.

All markets are still relatively untapped for businesses with listening skills. All that’s necessary to position you at the top of just about any market niche is to tune out all of the old school marketing dribble and strap on a big set of ears.

This is one viable way to get a step ahead of the competition right now :)

How Now Brown Cow..? Haha – great post Danny There’s many ways to listen to the consumer these days… now more than ever. Although good listening skills has always been an advantage in business, the social web has certainly amplified the importance of listening to consumers. Any business that delivers what consumers really want will be market leaders in the future. There’s tremendous opportunity for businesses that recognize and act on this in a timely manner. All markets are still relatively untapped for businesses with listening skills. All that’s necessary to position you at the top of just about any market niche is to tune out all of the old school marketing dribble and strap on a big set of ears. This is one viable way to get a step ahead of the competition right now :)

This is great, Danny...

Client service types who work with any sort of small biz can learn from this mantra...

One thing that I have found in listening to small business people is that they have two buckets of stuff. One is what they need to do to keep their business running - so restaurateurs need to know how to cook, how to hire staff, how to keep the bills paid. THE OTHER BUCKET? Every. Thing. Else.

We - I am guilty of this - run the risk of trying to shoehorn our stuff into their needs. You need a shiny web thingamajig.

If we asked: "what do you need?" and they say "customers," or, more specifically, "couples in their 30s with disposable income who like organic, grass-fed beef" we'll probably be much farther along in helping them - even if helping them means sending them another direction.

This is great, Danny... Client service types who work with any sort of small biz can learn from this mantra... One thing that I have found in listening to small business people is that they have two buckets of stuff. One is what they need to do to keep their business running - so restaurateurs need to know how to cook, how to hire staff, how to keep the bills paid. THE OTHER BUCKET? Every. Thing. Else. We - I am guilty of this - run the risk of trying to shoehorn our stuff into their needs. You need a shiny web thingamajig. If we asked: "what do you need?" and they say "customers," or, more specifically, "couples in their 30s with disposable income who like organic, grass-fed beef" we'll probably be much farther along in helping them - even if helping them means sending them another direction.

I never did share my list of what you need with you yet have I Danny?

The premise of your post goes to the heart of my current business. I don't own any nor have any dedicated advertising platforms so I can help clients select what is best for their needs. An example I use is if you go to a Print Media Buyer the solution is always more Print. A TV Commercial shop will tell you more TV is the solution. An Interactive Agency..Ahem..Cough...

Let me ask you this Danny. If a potential client could be sold on Bonsai's services, even if you knew services you do not offer are best fit...what do you do?

I never did share my list of what you need with you yet have I Danny?

The premise of your post goes to the heart of my current business. I don't own any nor have any dedicated advertising platforms so I can help clients select what is best for their needs. An example I use is if you go to a Print Media Buyer the solution is always more Print. A TV Commercial shop will tell you more TV is the solution. An Interactive Agency..Ahem..Cough...

Let me ask you this Danny. If a potential client could be sold on Bonsai's services, even if you knew services you do not offer are best fit...what do you do?

I never did share my list of what you need with you yet have I Danny? The premise of your post goes to the heart of my current business. I don't own any nor have any dedicated advertising platforms so I can help clients select what is best for their needs. An example I use is if you go to a Print Media Buyer the solution is always more Print. A TV Commercial shop will tell you more TV is the solution. An Interactive Agency..Ahem..Cough... Let me ask you this Danny. If a potential client could be sold on Bonsai's services, even if you knew services you do not offer are best fit...what do you do?

You've touched on a very important subject here Danny. I've found over the last 14 years in my business that the most effective tool is sitting down with my clients 3-4 times per year to take stock. During these meetings I find out how they are doing, how their business is doing and offer suggestions and support.

Sometimes the support is simply introducing them to someone that can help them. Sometimes it is suggesting they replace some old equipment that is getting more costly to maintain. In recent years it is often suggesting blogging and social media as an avenue to achieve some of their goals. The possibilities are endless but the listening portion is the most critical as you've pointed out. So much of what is done is simply solving problems, it's hard to do that if you don't know what they are.

You've touched on a very important subject here Danny. I've found over the last 14 years in my business that the most effective tool is sitting down with my clients 3-4 times per year to take stock. During these meetings I find out how they are doing, how their business is doing and offer suggestions and support.

Sometimes the support is simply introducing them to someone that can help them. Sometimes it is suggesting they replace some old equipment that is getting more costly to maintain. In recent years it is often suggesting blogging and social media as an avenue to achieve some of their goals. The possibilities are endless but the listening portion is the most critical as you've pointed out. So much of what is done is simply solving problems, it's hard to do that if you don't know what they are.

You've touched on a very important subject here Danny. I've found over the last 14 years in my business that the most effective tool is sitting down with my clients 3-4 times per year to take stock. During these meetings I find out how they are doing, how their business is doing and offer suggestions and support. Sometimes the support is simply introducing them to someone that can help them. Sometimes it is suggesting they replace some old equipment that is getting more costly to maintain. In recent years it is often suggesting blogging and social media as an avenue to achieve some of their goals. The possibilities are endless but the listening portion is the most critical as you've pointed out. So much of what is done is simply solving problems, it's hard to do that if you don't know what they are.

Hi Danny.

Pointless "customer benefits" with no value are indeed a wasted opportunity. I think that smaller businesses may worry that they cannot offer something to reward loyalty. For me, it doesn't need to be very much. Perhaps a small discount on my next order. A small gift to say thank-you at the end of the year. Even just a nice letter to say thank-you for your custom makes a huge difference.

Lets not get lost in thinking "big gestures" - the smaller things can often be more potent.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts as always.

Cheers
Barney

Hi Danny.

Pointless "customer benefits" with no value are indeed a wasted opportunity. I think that smaller businesses may worry that they cannot offer something to reward loyalty. For me, it doesn't need to be very much. Perhaps a small discount on my next order. A small gift to say thank-you at the end of the year. Even just a nice letter to say thank-you for your custom makes a huge difference.

Lets not get lost in thinking "big gestures" - the smaller things can often be more potent.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts as always.

Cheers
Barney

Hi Danny. Pointless "customer benefits" with no value are indeed a wasted opportunity. I think that smaller businesses may worry that they cannot offer something to reward loyalty. For me, it doesn't need to be very much. Perhaps a small discount on my next order. A small gift to say thank-you at the end of the year. Even just a nice letter to say thank-you for your custom makes a huge difference. Lets not get lost in thinking "big gestures" - the smaller things can often be more potent. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as always. Cheers Barney