GROWCO Tidbits

March 17, 2010

So I was at INC magazine's GROWCO conference this week. I wasn't too thrilled with the majority of the content - speakers were off-topic or just blowhards. But here are a bunch of ideas:

"Fear is necessary," said George Foreman. It was reiterated by many others because fear means that you are uncomfortable and growth only happens when you are uncomfortable.

3 R's to Customers: Rave Reviews, Repeat Business and Referrals from Gail Goodman, CEO at Constant Contact.

Who is your perfect customer?
Where do you get Rave Reviews from?
The wrong customer can hurt you.

3 L's: Listen, Learn & Adapt, and Live and Lead the customer-centric culture of your company. (Again Gail Goodman).

You must talk to your customers to get feedback. Feedback is a gift. Listen to it. Even online.
Where do you want to get to?
Everything is happening faster.
It's the age of conversation.
Change is a constant.
"Plan from within." - Warren Church of Deskey.

3 basic questions to define your business for branding by Warren Church:

Who are you and what do you believe?
What do you do? What business are you really in?
Why does it matter?

An identity for your business should be polarizing. Some people will like it, some won't. It's self-selecting for your target prospect. Big Thought: Business is not about everyone liking you. You can't be all things to everyone because you will be nothing to everyone. Your brand is an emotional connection that a customer has to your company or service. [All from Warrne Church]. Jason Fried said to draw a line in the sand, so that you know where you stand. It makes it easier to make decisions if you know what you believe in.

What customers do you want?
What customers don't you want?
What matters to the customers you want to target?
Culture can close sales.
It is vital to be interesting!
Be Creative! Steal good ideas. - Jim McCann from 1-800-FLOWERS
Understand your Community and your Customers.
Are you crazy? - Jim McCann
Bet on Relationships, not companies.

For you startups, Jason Fried of 37Signals, asked Why is Bootstrapping better than Raising Capital? Besides ownership, Bootstrapping is a mindset of making money, while a capital mindset is one of spending money. The better habit is making $$.

Everything is so complicated, make it simpler for your customers. Focus on the basics. Concentrate on what really matters. Useful is more important than innovation. (Post-it notes will be around longer than any iPhone app).

For many businesses, 1000 or 2000 is all the customers you need to be a success.

I'm para-phrasing obviously, but you get the bigger points. If you like this list, take a look at the notes from a presentation that I did with Jack Brandt at ISPCON in 2007 called 50 Ideas in 50 Minutes

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