In a conversation about my last blog post on Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), a business acquaintance remarked:

“It’s interesting how a big brand or shining new business gets word of mouth to work for them.  But I have a reliable small business.  I don’t want to be famous or go viral, but I’d like to grow my referrals. Can I still use WOMM?”
 
“Sure!” I answer. “One of the things you can do is WOW them with your customer service. And a WOW is the key to having great WOMM! When you give your customers or clients excellent service, they’ll say great things about you, driving referrals and supporting your overall business.”
 
“Great! But how do I make sure my service is excellent?” she asked.
 
 By implementing a customer satisfaction feedback process.
 
1) Measuring customer satisfaction can help you understand what people are currently saying, what they really appreciate and what might be improved.
 
There are several ways to do this:
 
Observation - Be aware of your customers’ body language and expressions as they interact with you and your staff. If your business has multiple locations and / or staff, make it part of your routine to discreetly observe your business operating real-time. You can validate your observations by casually asking customers their impressions of the service and environment.
 
Interviews – Interview a sample of customers by asking a set of questions over the phone or in person. The advantage of this method is that it is more comprehensive than observation. The interviewer can take the time to ask follow up questions and learn more about the why of a particular answer.
 
Social media listening -- Some people are reluctant to give opinions verbally, but feel more uninhibited online.  Also, avoid unwanted surprises by asking questions in your postings.  Finally, “listen” to what people are saying by monitoring your business name and keywords on several social media channels. Some tools that can make this easier include:

• Mention
• Hootsuite, Buffer
• Sprout Social 
• Google Alerts

 
Focus groups – This method is also interactive and gathers feedback from groups via dialogs with follow up questions and exploration of situations.  One of the keys to successful, productive focus groups is having a skilled facilitator to make sure the more talkative participants don’t dominate or sway the group.
 
Surveys – Conducting a survey is the most common method used for measuring customer satisfaction. Surveys have the advantage of scale – if you have many customers, surveys give you the ability to get a large sample size to express their opinion in a short time. This can provide statistically viable observations and metrics, although the process can have  a bias towards people with the time, energy and motivation to complete the survey.
 
All of these methods require a clear vision of what you want to learn. So keep it simple and focused – only ask the questions that will provide useful feedback. For example, don’t ask about your location if you’re not willing to move. 
 
Which brings us to the next step in the process:  
 
2) Analyze the information you’ve gained from your customers - to do this, look into these areas:
         What your business is doing well  --  and should do more of
         Where improvement is needed
         Services/products that are needed that you may not provide
       Net Promoter Score – (for surveys) standard measure of how likely your customer is to refer your business.  How does it compare to your industry and expectations?
 
 3) Build an action plan to address any customer concerns, leverage your positives and this will ultimately improve overall satisfaction.
 
4) Measure your customer satisfaction ratings against your action plan on a periodic basis. This way, you will know if the actions you’ve put into place are having the desired effect. If they are, you’ll see your metrics moving in the right direction.  If they are not, adjustments will need to made.
 
“So it sounds like my business could use this but… won’t it take time, resources and cut into my profits?”  
 
According to Gartner Research, companies that prioritize the customer experience are 60% more profitable than those who don’t. That’s an average, but you could look at your own data – what is the cost to acquire a new customer compared to retaining a current customer?
 
To learn more on this topic and how to implement it painlessly, please contact us or visit here.

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Tips for Engaging an Audience 

1) See if you can tell a story.  You will most likely be competing with many other groups for funding -- and stories are more memorable than facts.  For instance, a good way to begin your presentation is by exploring what motivates you. Is the “Why” of building the business compelling or inspiring? Will what you are doing make a “dent in the universe”?  Does the founder or team have unusual histories or characteristics? Has your progress or testing so far exceeded expectations? You get the idea. 
 
2) Use visuals – graphics, diagrams, and pictures.  Short videos can also be effective to explain part of the presentation.
 
3) Apply analogies, anecdotes, similes and metaphors when possible. 
 
4) Present as a team.  If you have a team member who is confident in their presentation skills, have them explain the ideas and slides that apply to their area of expertise.  At minimum, have them available for questions.  This can demonstrate a depth of resources and commitment that ensures investors there is an intellectual  critical mass behind your venture. 
 
 
Helpful General Presentation Tips:
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It helps to remember the LSO Rule (Legible, Simple, Obvious):

Legible
Use text that is large and in charge!  If they can’t read it, they won’t be able to understand it
Use a simple, readable font
Have a good contrast on the slides -- Dark letters on white or very light backgrounds is best. Colors are great for accents, but think carefully before using reverse slides (dark or red with light color lettering) as these can be hard on the audience’s eyes.
 
Simple – use short sentences and one idea per slide.
 Make sure you know the point of the slide.
 
Obvious – Don’t make the audience guess at what you mean. 
Explain acronyms and technical words 
Label your graphs and charts clearly
Use graphics that can be understood at a glance.  You can test if a slide is obvious by showing it to someone uninvolved with your idea. Ask them to tell you what it means. If they don’t immediately say your idea, try explaining and redesigning until it works.
 
Overall --  Be succinct and to the point. There may be 100 reasons why your idea and company is great, but people will only remember 3 – 5 them.  So evaluate and list the critical ones and then limit your presentation to slides that express or support them.  Maintain eye contact and keep your momentum going; be aware of time limits. Have a good close --  practice a short summary that emphasizes the key strengths of your team, market opportunity and product fit. 
In closing, I have attached some presentation tips that will help you connect with most audiences.
  
A final note about the Q&A that follows your presentation:
In some audiences, you may encounter challenging questions and some might seem like criticism.  You’ve worked hard and poured a great deal of yourself into the idea, so you  wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel at least a bit defensive.  Take a deep breath and stay calm!  Listen and try to explain using their words or building on their thoughts rather than defending in a point / counter point style. (This is easier said than done – but by applying good listening skills, disipline and practice it is a winning tactic to use!)
 
Good luck!  
 
Other resources:  
This blog post is based on many resources as well as experience and observation. If you are working with a business coach or incubator, be sure to check their resources.  Additional resources are noted below. 
 
Some helpful links:
 
Kauffman videos on creating a strong presentation:
 
http://www.entrepreneurship.org/Founders-School/Powerful-Presentations.aspx
 
http://www.entrepreneurship.org/Founders-School/Powerful-Presentations/Crafting-Your-WOW-Statement.aspx
 
http://www.entrepreneurship.org/Founders-School/Powerful-Presentations/First-Impressions.aspx
 
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270420  (Good short article on stories)
 
 Best pitch deck examples: http://onboardly.com/startup-pr/best-startup-pitch-decks-of-all-time/

 
You’ve got a great business idea, put together a team, created a business plan and are furiously working. Bootstrapping has worked so far, but now you're at the point where you need capital to expand on your idea. That's a new ballgame, so to speak, and it involves...
 
Pitching to investors
 
To gain the needed cash, you’ll have to convince investors your idea is extraordinary and worth risking their time and money.  A key tool you'll need is a pitch deck.
 
So what do you need to build a pitch deck?  What is the best way to get started?
 

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You’ve got big dreams ... 
and a great idea for a business. 




​But striking out on your own seems incredibly risky.
In fact, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA), over 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years. 
 
But then again, if you never try you’ll never know -- and that can be a huge regret as well. 
So go for it!  Just do it in a way that gives you the best odds for success.  One of the first things you can do to even out those odds is start with a solid value proposition.
If you haven't created a value proposition before, don't worry. There's more than one way to do it, and two of them are listed below to help guide your thinking. 

Option One -- Two simple sentences  
 
The first sentence has four parts:  

• The target customer 
• Statement of need or opportunity
• Product/service name and product/service category 
• Statement of benefit

 
The second sentence clarifies:  

• Why it's different and superior than the competition