In a two-part series, I will share stories of six companies I have worked with to show the impact of crystal-clear business clarity or a lack of it. To preserve confidentiality, I have not included details about their market or a description of their product or service.
A client with no competitors
A client I have served for four years has no competitors, providing a service that is easy to understand and has an immediate and usually quick return on investment: an enviable situation. This client is an expert in assessing and in optimizing equipment sold and installed by another vendor that has been operating for years. My client fixes problems and improves performance caused by design flaws by the original vendor or because operators lack the knowledge and experience. The original design doesn’t allow the equipment to operate under various conditions. Prospects who turn down their service often think they know better!
They are down-to-earth thinkers, humble but confident subject matter experts backed by team members who can use sophisticated computer modeling to confirm that the upgrades will work.
Here is what they do that makes them exceptional:
- They keep systematic records of prospects and clients. So highly organized.
- They charge for their assessment, a practice that qualifies if the prospect is serious.
- They deliver expertise and solutions and guarantee performance increases within a few percent accuracy based on test work.
Results
- Their presentation conversion rate is high,
- they are highly profitable,
- getting upgrade work for a high percentage of clients for whom they do an assessment and
- they are hiring more staff to strive to keep up with the demand.
Standing apart in a HIGHLY competitive market
The second client serves a highly competitive market with a long sales cycle because this service is usually set up as an annual contract by multinational suppliers. Most competitors offer poor service as the staff are not highly experienced and have high turnover. Service also suffers because they provide only off-the-shelf products. My client custom-formulates at the same or lower price than competitors while often providing better process performance. Custom formulation means performance is better. If operating conditions change, my client adjusts the formulation. This company sets a high competency standard for staff with long careers because of job satisfaction. They are winners.
Their products are customized rather than off the shelf yet competitively priced. They yield better performance and provide diligent support. They visit the site frequently as operating conditions can change often and quickly.
Here is what makes them exceptional:
- They hire top performers, then train, support, and reward them well.
- Post-sales support is exhaustive, visiting the client’s site as often as weekly
- Customized rather than one-size-fits-all product.
Results
- High level of repeat business because of customer satisfaction
- Profitable
- Great employee morale
Turtle versus the Hare
In my third successful client case study, I describe a company founded by two partners. One partner focuses on subscription-based software-as-a-service, while the other provides sophisticated modeling and planning services and products for technical associations or large clients.
They usually aren’t the first to market because they hold off on product release until government regulations are established. They are methodical in developing the engineering assumptions and have a thorough understanding of the working conditions and concerns each person, from operator to manager to executive, has, something competitors can’t match.
Here is what makes them exceptional:
- Unlike their competitors, they don’t pin customers into multiyear contracts.
- They have regular lunch and learn to share the vision and progress of the company with employees.
Results
- They are profitable, but wisely, they pour most of their profits into R&D to enhance existing products or develop new services.
- Morale in the company is exceptional, so employee retention is high, leading to high customer satisfaction.
- Their clients include the biggest and the smallest businesses in their market.
- Their reputation is stellar, including among technical recommenders who are market advisors.
Adding Spice to Your Business
In this article, I have shared three success stories with you.
Do you see some or many secret sauce ingredients in your company?
What changes do you plan to make to fine-tune your business if you need to add some spice?
In my next article, I will share some not-so-successful stories.