3 key secrets of market intelligence…
How to…
1. Pick more profitable customers,
2. Grow your biz…and,
3. Have a life!
Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
June 18th, 2008
Presented by Donald Cooper,
MBA
Secret #1:
The 1st customer you serve
is you! Who are you now…
and who do you commit
to become?
SAGE
ADVICE
There’s no such thing as “Business Goals”
…only the personal goals of the people who
control the business.
1. How big do I want to be...or must I be?
2. How good do I want to be…or must I be?
3. Am I a high end or mass market person?
4. Love traveling…or sleep in my own bed?
5. How much $ do I need or want to make?
6. How big a difference do I want to make?
Reality check: In case you hadn’t noticed,
running a business today is challenging!
1. More demanding customers.
2. More & stronger competition.
3. Shrinking margins.
4. Increased complexity.
5. More difficult to find and keep
great staff!
But hey, every business is tough!
Profitability profile of a market with too
many competitors:
Market can support 3 competitors…but there are 5
 #1 - ROI of 15% to 20%.
 #2 - ROI of 10% to 12%.
 #3 - breaks even.
 #4 and #5 - will lose money!
Lets face it…mediocrity is no longer an option!
If you’re trying to succeed in business by being
mediocre, once your customers have been to
Disney World…you’re doomed!
Key questions to ask…
1. What, or who am I passionate about?
2. What, or who am I an expert on?
3. What are my values and standards?
4. How do I handle stress? Am I emotionally
resilient?
5. What are my business management strengths
and weaknesses? Will I be able to proactively
manage the business?
What do you commit to become?
Create a clear and measurable
statement of what you’re committed
to become to be a
profitable and
responsible
market leader
in 3 to 5 years!
…donaldcooper.com Free Articles B9.
There are actually 2 kinds of “future”:
#1. The future that will happen...
- population & demographics,
- changing tastes & priorities,
- invention & discovery,
- political & economic changes,
- new emerging nations,
- war & terrorism.
#2. The future that you commit
to proactively create.
? ??
Secret #2:
Choosing your profitable
customer segment.
SAGE
ADVICE
Finding customers that you love this much!
Key questions to ask…
1. With whom do I have a special relationship,
unique understanding or powerful connection?
2. Who’s serving them now and where are they
falling short?
3. Is the market that I’m looking at over-served?
4. What will I offer that will be extraordinary?
5. Will this be a financially & emotionally healthy
business to be in 7 to 10 years from now?
Focusing on profitable customers:
We call John Cooper…
He’s our ‘quiet’ guy!!
You can’t be an expert on everyone and
you can’t make everyone happy…that’s
why God invented Niche Marketing!
Niche
“I don’t know what the
marketing
key to success is…
but the key to failure is
trying to please everyone.”
…Bill Cosby
Every Feb 14th they hold “the
worlds largest nude wedding”
Dan the dangerous tree man:
Dan specializes in the difficult tree removal
work that others won’t even attempt.
…and when you call
Dan, it’s never about
price!
DAN the dangerous
tree man
Expert tree removal
Call (705) 689-2133
Niche marketing…
Sources of market intelligence info:
1. Chamber of Commerce;
2. Industry suppliers.
3. Trade Associations.
4. Hire students to do a market research.
5. The internet.
6. Yellow Pages.
7. Get out and do your own homework.
Secret #3:
Create, deliver & communicate
compelling value.
SAGE
ADVICE
It’s not good enough to be “unique”…
we must be “COMPELLING”!
You must create
USP’s
Don’t fall into the “research trap”…
When we do research, Now, if you could just tell
me what you’d like…
we find out what people
expect…then, when we
deliver what they expect,
we wonder they don’t go “WOW”!
So, we do research, not to find out
what we should do…but to find out
that which we must exceed!
Most businesses make the mistake of
defining themselves by…
1. The products or services
they’ve always sold,
2. How and where they’ve
always done business.
…it’s all about them and it’s all about yesterday!
Redefine your business by how you HELP:
I sell mortgages!
OR…
I help people to buy a home
and to own that home,
mortgage-free,
as quickly,
conveniently
& inexpensively
as possible.
Clarifying our “customer commitment”:
1) We’re in the business of helping _________
(whom
______________________________________________.
including “where”)
2) To ________________________________________
(do what)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________.
3) By ________________________________________
(doing what specific things for them)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________.
…better than our competitors.
Taking “understanding” to a whole new
level!
When our target customers are buying or
using what we sell…
1. What are they trying to do?
2. What do they want (or need) to know?
3. How do they want to feel?
…Alive & Well examples.
We need to
create
compelling BIG
IDEAS!
A “BIG IDEA”…
• Defines your Value,
• “Grabs” your customers,
• Focuses your team.
…Peregrine Lodge, Queen Charlotte Islands,
B.C. Lodge,
…
…Peregrine
Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C. …
…Peregrine Guide, Stef
Olcen, displays
spectacular
72 lb. Jr’s
Chinook.
…Peregrine
Guide,Peter
Stef Toigo
Olcen,Jr’s
displays
Peter Toigo
spectacular 72 lb. Chinook.
Your “BIG IDEA” must be…
1. Compelling…it “grabs” your target customers.
2. Unique…if it’s everywhere it’s not a BIG IDEA.
3. Deliverable…promise & don’t deliver = bad idea.
4. Profitable…losing money is not a BIG IDEA!
5. Sustainable…what’s its life expectancy?
Businesses built around a “Big Idea”:
1. Lenscrafters
2. Dell Computers
“Eyeglasses in
an hour!”
“We sell direct to you!”
3. M & M Meats
“Hundreds of meal ideas
…just one aisle!”
4. ING Direct
No branches, higher interest.
Engine rebuilder rethinks what customers
really want and changes business model:
1. Average shop has an owner and 4 machinists.
Pays staff $44,000 and himself $50,000.
2. One guy changed his business model…
• Enlarged his shop. Carries rebuilt inventory.
Rebuilds 4 or 5 at a time = economy of scale.
• Delivers rebuilt engines and cylinder heads
immediately. Garages turn jobs over quickly
and customers get vehicle back in 3 days
not 7- 8 days.
…
Engine rebuilder changes business model
to thrive in shrinking market:
3. He added mechanics to his staff and now
does the entire engine replacement job in just
two days…local garage makes $300 for
making a phone call.
4. With 14 staff, he now has an asst. manager
and can take vacations with family.
5. He makes $140,000 and
has built a profitable
and saleable biz.
We are what we communicate!
Everything we do communicates:
Advertising problem or fundamental
marketing problem?
“Advertising is creative bragging!”
What compelling…
1) Functional,
2) Emotional and,
3) Financial Value
…are you delivering that’s worth bragging
about?
…the Average North American is exposed to 8000 ad messages per week.
When you’re
delivering
compelling
Value…
compelling
communication
is easy!
The power of having well understood
target customers and a clear brand
message & personality:
The power of proactive communication:
1. Baskin Robbins ice cream cakes.
2. Pizzeria calls customers to ask for the order.
3. Companies book my 1-day Mgt. Seminar for
their customers.
4. Liberty Mutual coaches clients on how to
reduce workplace injuries and illness.
5. Coppertone offers UV skin photo and
personalized suncare profile.
Knowing our customers as individuals:
 Name & address,
 Phone, fax, e-mail,
 Purchase history,
 Special needs &
preferences,
 Lifestyle & interests,
 Significant dates,
 Preferred method of
payment,
 Complaints & problems.
Finally…
“Thank you” for joining me
today…and I look forward to
chatting with many of you
this afternoon.
…and a promise of ongoing help.
SAGE
ADVICE
A promise of on-going help!
Free “booster shots”!
Monthly E-tips on how to…
• sell more,
• manage smarter,
• grow your bottom line…and,
• have a life!
So…
For your business,
For your customers,
For your bottom ordinary life…
What’s possible?
and…
what’s next?