Sales & Marketing

Be Strategic to Surpass The Competition

Fotolia_103199139_XS.jpg

Strategic Managers create value by re-imaging the industry, they come up with superior business models – by devising new ways of doing business. They provide unique products or services for which customers are happy to pay a premium, or they cut costs without reducing quality, or ideally, the do both: they sell for more and produce for less. 

Strategic Managers value thought above action, the never let action (or conformity) drive out thought. They think very hard on how to do more with less – strategic thinking. They usually don’t follow routines like most Managers tend to do. Strategic Managers are ambitious.

Strategic thinking is however only the first step that Strategic Managers take, due to the fact that Strategic Managers tend to be ambitious, the usually “force” themselves to commit to something unfamiliar with determination.

With those elements in place a Strategic Manager is usually able to create new or better business models - as long as it leads to higher prices and lower costs or a combination of both.  Innovative ideas are only good when producing the desired results.

Strategic Managers are usually:

  • Highly collaborative
  • They possess disciplined authenticity
  • Their economic models work
  • They appeal to customers in different and new ways

5 Key Principles for Mastering Social Media

Fotolia_69323276_XS.jpg

A lot of people use social media without knowing what they're doing. From one perspective social media is very straight forward and easy to use, but the people that use it blindly aren't making any progress within their business goals. In order to be successful in social it is crucial to know the main principles!

Here let me give them to you (try to take mental notes):

1. Attract

  • Pass the eye scan test by using an attractive title


2. Engage

  • Share content through the power of story telling

3. Connect

  • Bring out the human side in you

4. Convert

  •  Have a call-to-action

5. Retain

  • Keep them interested once they follow you by using the 3E’s (Educate, Entertain, Empower)

Overall the goal should be to create super fans, you can do this by using the human element (make 1 in every 5 posts a personal post), becoming an authority, encouraging fan dialogue, and spreading the word (Create giveaways).

Now that you know what to do, always keep them in mind and watch how your results will boost. If you are worried you'll forget then just bookmark this page and rename it "Read Before Posting!" you'll always be able to have a quick refresher and know exactly what to do, cheers.

Using Outstanding Service to Gain Success

Fotolia_65535411_XS.jpg

In order to gain trust, credibility and truly standout as a business you have to have outstanding service. The customer always has to come first. Make sure that every area of your service as a business is up to a high standard, it is crucial to success. 

 Here are some areas in your "service" to have in mind: 

  • Methods and tools:  you are expected to have them in place to measure the quality of service you provide and response you provide

  • Responsiveness: your clients and customers expect you to be responsive, they expect you to respond to their calls and emails.

  • Credentials:  depending on your profession, credentials might be expected or assumed more in some fields than in others;  in the medical, legal or financialfields credentials are of high importance.

  • Client importance: no matter what, make your clients always feel important – it should be a given.

  • Appropriate price:  people do not always by based on lowest price, price is only part of the whole package; by itself, offering the lowest price is not going to help establish credibility – in fact, many potential clients may be leery if your prices are significantly below market value.

For more information on our consulting services, please visit www.isucorp.ca 

 

Written by John Krumbach,
VP of Finances
, ISU Corp