May 6, 2024

Why You Need To Visit “BEDiFFERENTorbedead.com” NOW!

Why You Need To Visit “BEDiFFERENTorbedead.com” NOW.

Are you tired of the same old - same old textbook rhetoric and advice?

Feeling stuck and craving some inspiration and practical and proven advice from someone who has had a successful career in growing an early stage internet company to A BILLION IN SALES?

Look no further than BeDifferentOrBeDead.com!

This website is not your average, pedantic common platform; it’s a unique, unmatched and vibrant community dedicated to empowering individuals to embrace their uniqueness—being the ONLY ones who do what they do—and winning against all competitive odds in business, their career and their lives.

Here are three no-brainer reasons why you should visit BeDifferentOrBeDead.com NOW! and make it part of your daily routine.

1. Explore Practical & Proven Content You Won’t Find Anywhere Else

There’s a ton of content on my site that breaks down how I applied my BE DiFFERENT Audacious Moves to the many challenges in business, careers and your personal life.

▪️Leadership
▪️Business Success
▪️Careers
▪️Marketing
▪️Sales
▪️Customer Service
▪️Entrepreneurs
▪️Your Life

I’ve been actively sharing my experience and proven Audacious Moves for over a decade.
And it’s all “How To” material that is easy to read—“fog factor” is close to ZERO—and can be put to use immediately, unlike the theoretical CLAPTRAP espoused by many other sources.

2. Unleash Your ONLY Self

In a world that both teaches and encourages conformity, compliance and following the rules, BeDifferentOrBeDead.com celebrates nonconformity, contrarianism, disruption and how to introduce discontinuity as a key differentiation tool.

Through thought-provoking reality-based articles, personal stories and practical & actionable tips, Roy Osing’s blog and books inspire you to discover what makes you special, your quirks, passions, and individual authenticity and express them in a way that satisfies the needs of others—your company, boss and loved ones.

Discover the power of being unapologetically yourself and how it can transform your life and, more importantly, the lives of those around you.

3. Find Your Passion and Purpose to Get Out Of The Herd

Do you feel like you’re drifting through life with no clear sense of direction, being pulled to and fro by the populist narratives of the day?

BeDifferentOrBeDead.com provides practical and proven ways to help you discover your unique passions and purpose that will serve others in an exemplary manner.

From career advice to personal development strategies to successful business strategies, you’ll find guidance to ignite your inner fire, become The ONLY One who does what you do, and pursue your dreams audaciously and with confidence.

4. Join Others Who Want To Be Free Of Mediocrity

At BeDifferentOrBeDead.com you’re not alone on your journey to BE DiFFERENT and distinguish yourself from the “herd of sameness” around you

Connect with like-minded individuals who are also striving to break away from societal norms and embrace their unique path.

Share your experiences, offer support, and celebrate each other’s victories in a welcoming environment.

5. Take The Quiz To Find Out If You’re DiFFerENT

Do you want to differentiate yourself or your organization from the crowd around you and your competitors?
Take my Quiz to determine if you’re taking the right actions to achieve your objective.

My Quiz explores how you are currently applying the various aspects of BE DiFFERENT in your business planning, marketing, sales and customer service efforts. And it gives you direction on the area that needs the most attention NOW!

Have fun rating yourself (with no one watching you) HeHe.

Don’t settle for mediocrity when you can live a life that’s truly audacious, remarkable and extraordinary.

Visit BeDifferentOrBeDead.com today and embark on a journey of transformation from the norms of the day to a unique YOU that satisfies what others CARE about in a way no one else does.

Remember, it’s not about fitting in; it’s about standing out from the common herd and being proudly, unapologetically you.

Cheers,
Roy
My 100 Podcast Shows that will make your business and your career incredibly successful.

My Podcast Show Audacious Moves to A BILLION will share the specific Moves I made to achieve jaw-dropping growth in an insanely competitive internet business.

”The Audacious Un-heard of Ways I Took a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES” is the latest in my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series.

• Posted 5.6.24 at 05:44 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink

March 3, 2024

80+ proven ways to make your business unbelievably successful

Check out these podcast shows—over 85 now!—where I break down my seventh book, Audacious Unheard-of Ways, and show you how to grow your business and your life!

***NEW! “As president, Roy Osing guided a Canadian early stage internet company to $1 billion in sales. He identifies six major drivers that helped to achieve that growth, including differentiation, planning, and championing the frontline staff. He insists that there are no silver bullets – running a business is a game of inches.” — Chris Ashmore, Host, The Business Essentials Daily Podcast, How Roy Got To $1 Billion In Sales

***NEW! “If you can’t differentiate yourself in a rapidly changing, highly unpredictable and insanely uncertain market, the outcome will be filled with agony.”
With these works, John, Rich and I explore every nook and cranny of my Be Different or be dead journey from killing “Dumb Rules” to “Hiring for Goosebumps” Listen in…— Be Different or be dead. The Entrepreneurs United Podcast

***NEW! “Roy is an expert in making businesses successful. He has tons of experience and knows exactly how to make a company really stand out from the crowd. This episode is great for students, young entrepreneurs, or anyone interested in starting their own business.
Get inspired to make your business idea amazingly unique with advice from Roy Osing!” — Simple Proven Ways to Break The Horrific Mold

***NEW! “Customers don’t like it when they’re told “No, you can’t do that,” or “No, you can’t have that.” Many organizations insist on rules and regulatory systems to control and handle large numbers of customers. The problem is, observes entrepreneur Roy Osing, they ignore customers as individuals, which leaves them annoyed and upset. And you don’t want that! Instead, Roy encourages businesses to implement a strategy of “YES!” — Chris Ashmore, Host, The Business Essentials Podcast

***NEW! “We’ve got something exciting for you. In the latest episode of ‘Sell The Sizzle’, we had the privilege of hosting Roy Osing, a seasoned pro in the world of sales and marketing. And he dropped some real gems.
The concept of ‘the only’. It’s not about being better. It’s not about being number 1. It’s about being the ONLY one. The only one that does what you do. According to Roy, that’s the ultimate manifestation of being different. Of having a differential advantage.
In a world where everyone is trying to outdo each other, to be the best, the fastest, the most efficient, we often forget about uniqueness. About being the only one with our particular set of skills, offerings, and value.
Tune into Season 2, Episode 1 of ‘Sell The Sizzle’ to hear more about this unconventional approach to sales. You won’t regret it.” — Mick Holly, Host, Sell The Sizzle Podcast

***NEW! “I’m excited to share with you a fascinating conversation I had with Roy Osing, a renowned expert on business and personal branding. We delved into the importance of differentiation in business and personal branding, a concept Roy encapsulates in his mantra, “be different or be dead.
During our conversation, Roy emphasized the critical role differentiation plays in helping businesses stand out from their competitors. He criticized the common practice of using generic claims like “better” or “number one” without actually offering anything unique. According to Roy, being different isn’t about superficial characteristics, but about serving customers in a way that truly matters to them.
He introduced his solution, the “only statement,” which declares what a business is the only one at. This statement is a powerful tool for businesses to differentiate themselves and provide a compelling reason for customers to choose them over their competitors.” — Doug Thorpe, Host, Leadership by Common sense Podcast

***NEW! “In this episode of ‘Podcast Marketing Secrets’ Roy gives us some real-world advice that’s all about growing and scaling your business in just 24 months. Get ready to dive deep into the concept of competing for customer cravings, the power of the ‘only statement’, and why being different is your ticket to unparalleled growth.
He’ll shed light on why rapid execution trumps long-term planning and how creating ‘gasp-worthy experiences’ is the key to dazzling customer service. And this episode is packed with insights that challenge conventional wisdom, push against the over reliance on technology, and advocate for human engagement and a relentless drive toward revenue goals” — Al Morentin, Host, Podcast Marketing Secrets

“In this episode, Roy delivers valuable nuggets to help us understand what it takes to build teams that grow our business.
The discussion was a real “eye-opener” and offered beneficial learning.
Don’t miss this great episode sharing direction and guidance to entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders who wish to increase revenue, and outperform the competition! — Beverly Hathorn, Host, Teambuilding Cultures Podcast 

In this episode Chris Dubois and I break down the Moves I made and the Methods I used to incorporate the right business toolset to stand apart from the herd and get a BILLION DOLLARS IN SALES! Unbound

“Business plans are traditionally too expensive, they take too much time, they’re too rigid, and they’re not properly implemented. Roy Osing advises on his Strategic Game Plan with a rule of three: focus on the three things that will produce 80% of your results.
Beware, though, of being diverted by what he calls the “Yummy incoming”, the distractions that will pull you away from your game plan.” — Chris Ashmore, for Business Essentials Daily. Don’t Be Distracted by YUMMY!

“We All Live in Red Oceans” podcast on Business is Blumin!
Some people preach that you should look for a “Blue Ocean” where you have ZERO competition. That would be nirvana, but for most business leaders, we have to learn how to win in “Red Oceans” with hungry competitors and powerful customers.
Listen and learn how I not only survived in a Red Ocean, I grew a startup business to A BILLION IN SALES!

“Osing’s mantra—be different or be dead—has been the backbone of his audacious journey, driving him to constantly innovate to create ripples of value for his customers.
Osing dissects the magic of differentiation through offering customer experiences that customers can’t resist while ensuring that you’re the only game in town offering it.
This discussion is peppered with personal encounters of working with small companies, outlining the significance of differentiation, and the power of prioritizing the customer experience above all else.
Osing also dives into the world of audacious Leadership by Serving Around and how this seemingly simple idea can pave the way to success in business.” The Power of Differentiation and Audacious Leadership

In this Mindset Growth Show, we unpack my crazy secrets to growing a startup TO A BILLION IN SALES. They’re not complicated but they work.
Pick one gem to try and see what happens! From a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES | Part Two

“Ready for a jaw-dropping journey into the world of audacious entrepreneurship? I just had a mind-blowing chat on the Grownlearn Podcast with none other than Roy Osing, the genius who took a startup to a BILLION in annual sales!
We spilled the beans on “The Audacious Entrepreneur’s Guide: Roy Osing’s Journey to a Billion in Annual Sales.” From crafting bold brands to tackling those make-or-break business moments, Roy’s story is nothing short of extraordinary.”

From a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES | Part One.
What’s the motivation to BE DiFFERENT? Why go on this “painful” journey? Why put up with the backstabbing? Why be The ONLY One? The Mindset Growth Podcast.

In this episode, I discuss why most organizations are too myopic in their #sales #strategy, pushing monthly or quarterly goals rather than embracing a long-term strategy for effective sales. I share my ‘customer report card’ Move to refocus sales teams on nurturing the customer rather than foisting pushy sales techniques. Business Essentials Daily

In this Chasing Happiness episode, we strip the layers of a journey that transformed a startup into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
Roy Osing, a maverick in the business world, shares his unfiltered, raw insights on what it takes to scale the heights of entrepreneurial success. From laughable mistakes to strategic masterstrokes, get ready for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and lessons.” Turning Bold Ideas Into Billions

The Audacious Unheard-of Ways of Using Practical and Common Sense Strategies to Drive Success, The Disruptive Minds Podcast

“Special guest Roy Osing shares very thought-provoking and audacious ideas to help you differentiate yourself from your competition, so you can achieve your goals sooner rather than later and maybe even exceed what you thought possible. This is a must listen to interview.”, The Accountability Podcast

Audacious Leadership is all about breaking away from the normal way leaders practice their art. In this ‘Biz Gone Social’ show we explore the Moves I made to successfully grow a startup to A BILLION IN SALES! Biz Gone Social Podcast

“Roy discusses the importance of breaking out of the “sameness” that businesses have accepted as the norm and standing out to be the ONLY ONE doing……(fill in the blank). We discuss practical ways to make that happen and touch on some of the points from Roy’s many books.”, Customer First Podcast

“This week I was lucky enough to interview a very cool and articulate guy named Roy Osing. One of the highlights of Roy’s illustrious career was driving a company to a BILLION in annual sales. Roy documented his journey in a book - not the ordinary how-to textbook type - but based on what he did differently to actually grow a business to a billion in annual sales.
Let’s fly all the way to Vancouver and explore Roy Osing’s ocean of thoughts through his book ‘Be Different or Be Dead’!”,  The First Customer Podcast

A Journey to A BILLION in Annual Sales. “Join me this week as I talk with Roy Osing, Author of “BE DiFFERENT or be dead,” about his journey to bring his company to $1 billion in annual sales. Roy and I talk about how he reached this milestone through learning on the run, “leadership by serving around” and building trust and consistency within his organization. Roy shares many tips that he has implemented throughout the years and encourages front line recognition and a strong culture to create a successful team.” The Positive Polarity Podcast

From a Startup to a Billion Dollar Sales. “In this episode, host Michael Brooks dives deep into the world of business success with Roy Osing, a renowned business advisor with a remarkable journey. Roy takes us through the audacious strategies he employed to take a small data company and grow it into a billion dollar industry behemoth. If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, or aspiring leader looking for practical, real-world strategies to scale your business, this episode is a goldmine of insights you can’t afford to miss!”. The Scaling Edge Podcast

Growing Business at an Audacious Level, Your Spectacular Life
The Audacious Unheard-of Ways Roy Osing took a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES. “Roy provides tangible tips and frameworks for developing effective business strategies, leading teams, standing out from the competition and more. You’ll come away with new perspectives and motivation to take your business to the next level.” The Profit Answer Man Show
Famous Interview with Roy Osing. “ Roy is a stellar man with a grand vision and unique walk .. very cool cat….” Joe Dimino, Neon Jazz

Unleashing Audacity: Being DiFFERENT and Dominating the Market. “ This is an episode you won’t want to miss, packed with practical advice, proven strategies, and audacious ways to break away from the norm. Join us in the conversation and learn how to stand out in today’s competitive business landscape. So, tune in, get inspired, and learn how to be audaciously different.” Financial Freedom for Physicians
How a Guy Took A Startup To A Billion In Sales. “Dive into the remarkable journey of Roy Osing, a true powerhouse in the business world. Roy has seen it all and done it all.”, The Pete Primeau Show
Breaking Away From The Herd: Why it’s critical to break away from the herd, be different and the key elements of an audacious leader, The Audacious Living Podcast
How to be the ONLY ONE who does what you do, In Turn Podcast
How to Avoid Being Forgotten, Design your Legacy
Keys to a Great Sales Team, Business Essentials Daily
Standing out. Defining the Fox. Being The ONLY One, Remarkable People

Your Mistakes Could Win You Business, Business Essentials Daily
Differentiation. Why? Why now? Ian Selbie Sales Pro
Being Memorable with Dazzling Customer Service, Business Essentials Daily
What’s Wrong With Blue Ocean Strategy? Business Essentials Daily
How to Build a Remarkable Personal Brand, Author to Authority
How to Stand Out, Spark The Genius

You Can’t Sell People on Ideas Alone, You Must Deliver Results, Time to Shine Today
Building a Unique One-of-a-Kind Business Strategy, Business Essentials Daily
Executing Bold Moves to Unlock Billion-Dollar Growth, The UNLOCKED Show
A Journey to A BILLION IN SALES, From Embers to Excellence
Roy Osing Helps People Cut Through The Noise, Life’s Essential Ingredients

Don’t run with the herd! Business Essentials Daily
How Being Different is the Real Path to Success, Hurricane H
Small Business Mobes for Unbelievable Growth and Success, Time to Thrive Show
How to be Audaciously Different, The KAJ Masterclass LIVE Podcast
Why Compliance Sucks, , Coaching in Session

I’m a guy who took a startup to A BILLION IN SALES, The 12|30 Podcast
Win In A Competitive World With Strategic Differentiation, CPA Marketing Genius
Roy Osing, The Original “How To” Guy, Online for Authors
How to Outperform Your Competition and Achieve Astonishing Growth, Biz Help for You
How I Took a Startup to a Billion in Sales, SalesPop!

The Contrarian Leader, The Introspective Manager
How to Use Books as a Strategic Tool to Standout, The Author Factor
How to Build Your ONLY Statement to Declare Your Uniqueness, Mind for Success
How to Build a Remarkable Personal Brand, Stuck in My Mind

Satisfy Cravings not Needs, Business Essentials Daily
Avoid the Price Trap, Business Essentials Daily
Breaking Through the Noise: Building a Winning Brand that Stands Out From Everybody Else, Curate Your Success
BE DiFFERENT or be dead, Deep Conversations with Dope Individuals

Hiring people Who Like People, Business Essentials Daily
Making Your First $1 Billion, Late Boomers
Debunking Leadership Myths, Business Essentials Daily
The Audacious Communications Skills I Learned as a Leader with Roy Osing, Publicly Speaking with Peter George
Breakaway from Boring! Be Different, Be Audacious, Straight Talk About Small Business Success
Avoid the CLAPTRAP and Move to the ONLY, Weekly Wins and Losses with James Heppner

Differentiating for Success, Success for Life
Creating an ONLY Statement to Differentiate Your Organization, Lubar Executive Education
How to Differentiate your Business and YOU, Terminal Value
Being an Audacious Leader is about Breaking away NOT Pivoting, Leading to Fulfillment
How’s That for Marketing, Leadership Powered by Common Sense

To Have a Successful Career, It’s Important to be YOU, Pursuit of Relentless
It’s Not Complicated. Look Here For the Roy’s Simple Stuff That Works, Business That Matters
Don’t be #1… be the ONLY ONE, Business Essentials Daily
Behind the Numbers is a Different Leader that ‘Lights Fires in People , Behind the Numbers
Be Audacious with Roy Osing, Straight Talk No Sugar Added

Be Audacious and Different, OR Be Dead, InnovaBuzz
Roy Osing’s Leadership Rules for being Audaciously Different, Zoe Routh on Leadership
How to Break Out, Be Different and Make an Audacious Impact, Evolution of Brand
Here’s What Sales Must Do To Succeed In 2022, The Confessions of a Sales Pro
Be Different or be dead Leadership, Tech Pro Unicorn

The ONLY way to Build a Great Business, Hive with Us
From a Startup to a BILLION, Science of CX
Audacity or Death, Fire in the Belly
If Your Sales isn’t Different, it’s dead (or soon will be), The Business of Sales
Going Boldly is about Being DiFFERENT, Russ the Big Guy
Audacious Leadership - Why it’s Absolutely Critical to your Organization’s Success, Lubar Executive Education

Why Innovation Needs You Need to be an Audacious Leader, Mind the Innovation
Roy’s Unheard-of Ways to Achieve A BILLION IN SALES, Aim to Win
How to be Different and Audacious, Leadership is Changing
An Audaciously Different Brand Story, BrandAPeel: Brand Storytelling in a Digital Age
To Live Your Best Life, Live Label Free (But BE DiFFERENT), Label Free Podcast

Cheers,
Roy

Order your copy of ‘Audacious’ NOW at:

Amazon
Google Books
Barnes and Noble
Indigo.chapters.ca
Books-A-Million
Indie Bookstore
Bookshop.org

• Posted 3.3.24 at 07:26 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink

June 5, 2023

One simple way to get salespeople to stop flogging products

Flogging products is disgusting pretty well sums up how I feel about salespeople who try to push the wares of their organization down my throat when I’m looking to get my needs satisfied.

The flogging process is a one-way street where the sales person’s sole objective is to sell the product or service inventory they’ve got.
It’s a supply-dominated process that has little room for customer input; the engagement profile lacks a conversational element with sales listening skills not required.

The customer in the flogging process is a victim of sales abuse.

As I’ve said many times before, in order for an organization to get more value from their sales teams, sales must move from the flogging mode and be charged with and held accountable for a strategic role.

And the singular focus for sales in a strategic role is to build deep strong relationships with customers, not flog products at them.

Relationship-building is not a WHAM! BAM! affair, it’s a long term process because trust with another person isn’t achieved overnight.
It takes deliberate actions on the part of the salesperson to develop a rapport and establish credibility with the customer so that they earn the right to transact with them at some point down the road.

Effective mutually beneficial relationship-building results in sales transactions but patience and commitment is required of the salesperson to make it happen.

Why don’t we see much relationship-building from sales today?

It’s simple, really. The compensation plan for sales is short term—annual—and it’s based on the number of products sold (or revenue from products or services).
And as we know, sales are driven by how they get paid. If their bonus is based on achieving annual product sales they will do whatever it takes to get their bonus and will ignore other aspects of their role.

They won’t devote time to relationship-building and they won’t make it a priority to develop the skills necessary to get better at it.

They will continue to flog products because that’s what they get paid to do.

So, how do we get sales to change and take on the relationship-building role?

It’s simple, really.

Change the sales compensation plan and you’ll change sales behaviour.

The issue becomes how do you change sales compensation from a short term product focus to a long term relationship one?

Here are some practical steps I took in my role of president of a startup I took to A BILLION IN SALES:

#1. Communicate the change

It’s extremely important that the shift from product selling to relationship building be communicated to salespeople in terms of why the change is being made.
The critical strategic role of sales should be emphasized along with the new behaviours expected to replace the traditional approach.

Sales leadership must be front and center in the communications process; everyone in sales needs to hear from the leader what action is being taken and why it’s critically important.

Communications elements to stress:

— flogging products is no longer the accepted way.
— long term value to the organization is created through deep customer relationships.
— competitive advantage is achieved by having more loyal customers than the competition.
— the only way to make the shift is to change the way salespeople are compensated.
— the compensation plan will be changed in a number of steps.
— the plan will (as described below) be launched as a trial.

#2. Design the initial plan

The pivot from a product-centric compensation plan to a relationship plan shouldn’t be attempted in one step, to be successful it should be implemented in a series of steps.

The end game of the change should be to have at least 50% of the sales bonus attributable to relationship building, so design the plan in a number of steps to get you there.

I suggest designing the new plan in 3 steps over a 3-year period:

Step 1 - product sales (80%); relationship-building (20%).
Step 2 - product sales (70%); relationship-building (30%).
Step 3 - product sales (50%); relationship-building (50%).

The 3-year migration period is important in order to learn how the new plan is working as well as allowing for revisions along the way.

#3. Develop customer questionnaire

How well a salesperson builds customer relationships should be judged by the customer, therefore a vehicle to get customer input is required.

In my experience, a simple questionnaire is the way to go. It needs to be brief, covering the elements of relationship-building the organization deems appropriate.

As a sales leader, these were the traits I expected every salesperson to demonstrate; they were included in the monthly questionnaire—Sales Report Card—we had customer’s complete on their sales rep:

#1. Responsiveness: how quickly do they respond to a customer request?
#2. Follow-up: do they take action to ensure the customer’s need was satisfied?
#3. Communication: is the sales rep in regular communication with the customer?
#4. Solutions Orientation: is the sales rep focused on understanding the customer’s problems and finding solutions to them?
#5. Proactiveness: does the sales rep proactively offer solutions to the customer without being asked?

Obviously, the exact Report Card elements should be crafted to meet your organization’s specific requirements but these 5 I found to be very effective.
In addition, I reviewed them every year to determine if they needed to be tweaked based on customer and sales rep feedback.

#4. Trial the plan

Launch Step 1 of the plan as a trial so people understand that it’s not being ‘shoved down their throats’ and that learning on the run is the way the plan will be managed.

The objectives of the trial should be clearly communicated and there should be regular reports on how well the trial is achieving its intended outcomes.
Sales reps should be featured in the communications roll-out, providing a running commentary on how well the trial is going.

#5. Launch the final plan

Finally, after the 1-year trial period is over, launch the plan in its final version incorporating all the learning obtained from the trial design.

My experience was that if the trial period was robust in terms of communications and revisions based on customer and sales rep feedback, the launch of the final version of the plan won’t be a big deal.

After 12 months of living with the concept and seeing it tweaked along the way, the surprise factor associated with the permanent version is normally zero with minimum roadblocks to implementation.

But make sure people understand that the plan will be reviewed annually with modifications based on their feedback.

Final word

You don’t affect a change from a product flogging sales culture to building strong customer relationships by declaring the intent to do so; a disciplined process must be put in place to make it happen.

If the sales performance scorecard I’ve given you here is put in place, I guarantee you will not only strengthen sales’ strategic role, you will also solidify the currency you have with your customers who will love you for the pivot you’ve made.

Cheers,
Roy
My 50+ Podcast Shows that will change your life.

Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 6.5.23 at 06:20 am by Roy Osing
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April 17, 2023

Why offering special deals only to new customers is a bad marketing tactic

Why offering special deals only to new customers is a bad marketing tactic.

I am absolutely against offering special deals and promotions to attract new customers while not making them available to existing customers.

Yet many, if not most, organizations do it.

▪️“Come to us and we’ll give you a free iPad.”
▪️“Come join our team and we’ll give you 2 months service FREE!”
(small print: this offer is available for new customers only…)

These are the main reasons I have no time for this kind of marketing tactic.

#1. The economics of this type of marketing program are flawed to say the least.

Advocates say that each new customer acquired by “giving goodies” and additional benefits away to them generates new revenue for the company, and hence value to the bottom line.

NFW!

First, ‘New Deal Customers’ are fickle (because generally they left someone else to come to you) so expected revenues from them will likely fall short of expectations because they will leave you when they sniff out a better deal.

Second, the costs of acquiring these new customers are HUGE, and will likely never be recovered due to the short life cycle of New Deal Customers. They leave or spend far less than the marketing business case assumed.

So you may get a short term upward blip in revenues but margins—due to acquisition costs—suffer.

#2. It disregards the existing loyal customer. Focusing on New Deal Customers refuses to benefit those who have supported the organization and got it to where it’s at.
It’s insulting.

I find it interesting that organizations are starving to be inclusive, to support local communities and be advocates for the environment, for example, yet can turn their backs on their ‘loyalists’.
Hypocritical? I think so.

#3. There are conflicting internal cultural issues created when this approach is used.

On the one hand, most organizations espouse the importance of the customer, and to serve them in a way that engenders their sustainable loyalty. Many talk about creating memorable experiences for their customers as the vehicle to get there.

And yet in practice they push them aside to binge on attracting New Deal Customers.

No wonder employees are confused about what’s important. Leaders say one thing and do another.

#4. It’s a misallocation of investment. Costs of acquisition are HUGE in comparison to the costs of keeping a loyal customer which argues that investments should be targeted to the existing customer base FIRST.

#5. It’s an illusion to think that the new customer will be loyal. These are false benefits. Short term at best.

If the New Deal Customer came to you for the Deal, what makes you think they won’t leave YOU for a better deal elsewhere?

#6. It amounts to competing on price in a different form. Giving value away for free essentially drives down the price of the product or service being purchased.

#7. A focus on New Deal Customers damages your brand.
It signals to new customers that you want to appeal to them based on price, not building relationships.

It shows you’re willing to get new customers AT ANY COST.

It shows you’re an uncaring organization with no consideration for the customers who helped build your success.

If you must use freebies as bait to lure new customers to you, at least do the right thing by offering the deal to your existing customers FIRST.

Cheers,
Roy
My 50+ Podcast Shows that will change your life.

Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 4.17.23 at 05:06 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink