Focus Your Energy Outward - Reap The Rewards - ISSUE 40 - 6/13/12

I’ve said this time and time again, “If you want to be successful, you must focus your energy outward.” Whether you have the best intention or not, if you aren’t perceived as outward focused to your customer, you aren’t outward focused. You must always put yourself in the mind of your customer. Failing to do this could lead to a failing company.

This morning I was drinking my coffee and perusing our company Twitter account (@SuitedMktgCo). I always look at the Mentions section first because I want to see what our followers are saying about us and what they are quoting to their followers. We provide a lot of value so we receive quite a few daily Mentions and ReTweets.

One particular ReTweet caught my eye because there are a very large amount of people on the Internet making the claim of being so-called “experts” in their field when they are the furthest from the truth. To clarify, I don’t know who this individual is, nor do I know his reputation as an “expert.” I’m simply stating that there are too many of these “experts” and not enough success nor credibility to truly consider them as such.

I could tell that the individual had the best of intentions, so I decided to take a look at his webpage to understand his qualifications a little better. His company is incorporated and directly on the front page he specifically claims to have over 20 years experience in the field of entrepreneurship. I thought to myself, “Ok. This guy seems to know what he’s doing.”

However, as mentioned previously, one very crucial aspect of an outward focused company is to ensure your current and future customers feel the same way you do. On the front page of his site, I noticed a pattern he may not even know exists. There was an overwhelming feeling that everything stated on the page was all about his company and not enough about me (the customer). Because of this, I decided to count how many times he used the words “us, our, we, [our company name], etc.” compared to “you, your, the customer, etc.” The outcome was 12-to-4, respectively.

Again, I'm confident he has the best of intentions, but this is definitely something that needs to be addressed. It’s not at all about him or his company. Rather, it’s all about the customer. One way to easily alleviate this issue would be to mention the customer early and primarily in all the claims being made.

For example, stay away from, “We provide expertise and integrity, analysis and insight, and high quality/high tech input into your company’s success.” This makes a potential customer feel that everything being said is all about the company.

A better way to prove to the customer you have their best intentions in mind would be to say, “We provide you, the customer, with all the expertise you need to ensure your company’s success such as 20 years in the field of entrepreneurism, integrity, analysis, and insight combined with high quality and high tech support.” If you didn't notice, the focus shifts significantly away from the company and onto the customer.

Just remember, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. The mistake being made is that he emphasizes and focuses too heavily on himself and his company. Always put the customer’s best interest first. If you do this for everything, you will reap the rewards. I guarantee it!