David Shepherd's Page

I’ve written often about the death of word-of-mouth marketing. Now, I'm ready to add its close friend to the graveyard—referral marketing. But I want to be careful here, however, to differentiate the importance of whether your clients say they would give you referrals, and whether they actually do.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review concluded that the single most important question to ask a client to determine their level of satisfaction with your products and service… Continue

When cash flow is on your mind, when there is still uncertainty about just where you (and your customers) are on the economic roller coaster, there is a temptation for entrepreneurs to want to dig in, work harder, generate new ideas, etc. After all, it's that "never say die" attitude that got you where you are. But what if an even better response would be not to dig in, but to let go? The underlying strategic logic here is based on the classic (yet vital) answer to the question, "What business a… Continue

It's time for you to have a board meeting. I just did and it was very powerful. Here's how it works. Think of 3-4 business (or spiritual) icons that you have long admired. Google them and find photos to print out in full 8 1/2, by 11 size. Pin or tape those images on your wall. Now imagine that these individuals are truly on your Board of Directors or Board of Advisors. Think of 4-5 questions that you would like to ask them, and 4-5 that they would probably ask you. Get your flip chart ready and… Continue

We're all looking for silver linings in the economy, and finally, there are quite a few to see. But what's interesting to me is that when you run a business-to-business business (B2B) like I do, it's not always your immediate client that you should focus on. Take my work over the years with interior designers, many of whom depend on the ultra-affluent as clients. Even though those 7-figure net worth clients might still have plenty of money, it's reasonable to ask the question: "What business are… Continue

What do your customers want, especially in this time of economic uncertainty? Do they want you to modify your payment terms? Provide a new suite of services? Work more closely with other partners? The list of questions could go on and on, subject to your industry niche. Well, at the risk of appearing wildly unconventional, I'd like to propose an idea: Ask them! The systematic use of surveys is a tool that small business owners take advantage of all too seldom. Such campaigns have myriad b… Continue