It was Monday morning at 6:30. I’m not even to the office yet, and we’re on a conference call discussing a competitor that has 
been launching bombs at our brand all weekend through social media. Good times! Our CEO is bringing the heat, and he wants to know what features on the Product Road Map will silence this competitor and put them on their heels.
Fifteen minutes later, we’re feeling like the morning is never going to end. Requests for competitive audits and S.W.O.T analyses are piling up so high it will take an entire quarter to dig out.
We were a newcomer in an existing market, and we spooked the number one player. And they came out swinging like Clubber Lang at the end of Rocky III. Sure they had been around longer, and their software had more features, but we were nimble. Our user experience was far more elegant, and we had one major secret power that was helping us get noticed fast.
That secret power was our relationship with our customers. Not any customers, but our promoters. The raving fans who loved us, loved what we were helping them accomplish and wanted to help us succeed.
In today’s agile, go-faster, do-more-in-less-time culture, customer-insights are often undervalued. There are many small business growth strategies, but we’ve had success with one growth strategy that has helped clients in the SaaS industry, manufacturers with dealer networks, and home restoration services just to name a few.
At MediaFuel, we refer to it as Prospect2Promoter™ Growth Strategy. It stands out from other small business growth strategies because it helps an organization identify its best customers and attract more customers like them. Think about that for a minute. What would your organization look like if you could attract more customers like your best customers? It would probably be easier to service those customers because you have a better understanding of their needs. You’d also be able to repurpose processes that have proven effective at positively improving the customer experience.
As small business owners and executives, we have more opportunities than ever before to unlock the value of our organizations. It starts by seeing our customers as collaborators in our growth and not just a means to an end. Social Media, website engagement, Net Promoter Score, and reputation management are just a few ways we can use to listen to what customers and prospects want. And believe it or not, they want to be involved in helping you grow. They want to see their lives made easier, more enjoyable and to be able to work more efficiently and effectively.
When you start looking at customers as collaborators, you might just find that your small business is knocking off some of the biggest companies in the world. Want to learn how you can get more customers like your best customers? Download our Free Guide: Getting MORE Customers Like Your Best Customers.
POST WRITTEN BY
Chris Bass
Chris is the Managing Partner at MediaFuel. MediaFuel is a digital marketing agency located in the Indianapolis area that helps small business owners and executives clarify brand messaging and generate demand for their business.