by JimRaffel on May 14, 2010
Yesterday Scott Stratten made a comment during his #unGeeked presentation, he got on Twitter to meet other awesome business people.
Catch that? The guy with forty some thousand followers on Twitter did not get on to sell you something. He got on to network. I got on Twitter for a different reason but networking with other awesome business people is why I’m there now.
A quick story…
Over sixteen years I’ve built a big database. When times are good all I do is add to the database and kind of ignore it. I don’t recommend this action. Now that we have had a few rough years in the printing industry I am mining the database.
I dug up a small list of customers who have left us over the last two years. I started thinking about a marketing campaign to bring them back. At a Milwaukee area tweetup I discussed the idea with @Streetzapizza. Scott provided a few ideas that got the campaign started.
The campaign is multi-channel. First a piece of highly personalized 4/color direct mail. Then, an email. I may also follow this up with phone calls. Without the phone calls I have three paying customers back. Thanks Scott for the idea that got this rolling. Thanks Twitter for providing the conduit that allowed us to meet.
Digging deeper into the results. Our industry is in transition. The information in this database was no more than two years old and fully 25% of the contacts are no longer there or the company is *poof* gone. So, now my database is smaller BUT it’s far more relevant. Again, thanks Scott for the idea that got me rolling. I have a cleaner database in part because of you.
Wait, I thought this was a post about Twitter? Nope. It’s a post about networking with humans. Taking, engaging and learning. Twitter is just a tool. Being excited about Twitter is like being excited about the telephone because it’s a telephone. Now, if you are excited about the telephone because it allows you to reach out to someone across the country or around the world then I’m with you.
So, is it about the tools and the technology or about what you do with them? You’ve got my answer above. What’s yours?
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by JimRaffel on May 10, 2010
Yep, I can guarantee it like the sun will rise and set. You will have those days that just plain suck. And when you have a blog those are good days to go unplugged and let people know that even you have those days.
Parts of the printing industry continue to shrink. The overall economy is not good in spite of the lies your government is telling you. Don’t believe me on those topics? Bop on over the WhatTheyThink.com and have a look at what Dr. Joe Webb is saying. He’s a damn smart guy who has been watching the industry for years.
Me and ColorMetrix are not going anywhere. I’ve been doing this for sixteen years and have no plans to stop now. I have a great, solid and loyal base of customers that has carried us through these times in better shape than most. It’s just that there is no longer any automatic easy business. You have to fight and scrape for even the tiny deals now.
I’ve worked tirelessly to make it easier and easier for our base of customers to renew their support and maintenance contracts with us. I’m working on an eBook idea about this very subject. This recurring revenue stream is key to the long-term survival of any niche software business. Our recurring customers understand this and even vocalize it often.
Servicing the base actually is the hard work. There is nothing sexy of fun about making sure the renewal notices go out and following those up with phone calls. I continue to automate the process as much as a small company can cost justify but it’s a lot of work and not fun work at that every month. In tougher times this is probably the most important work you do.
The point to this post is for entrepreneurs. When times are tough and you have your ears tucked in so you survive (remember I’ve been at this 16 year) you will end up doing a whole lot of the shitastic work you hate to do. I get through it by being glad I have that work to do for my customers.
Somehow it always works out. In the middle of all those calls and emails to bring in the much needed base dollars that are our survival I find a nugget of a lead and plan a 3-day sales trip to a far away city that quickly fills with appointments. I’m not really sure how it works it just does. Keep plugging away, keep doing the good work, keep scheduling time each day (first two hours for me) for the most important projects you are working on.
It will all work out. If not today, then tomorrow or the day after if you keep after it. Anyone else have similar days and similar feelings? Or am I just a messed up whiner on this one?
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xfp/4089484918
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