Pump fakes vs. *actual* signal - both can be indistinguishable to a founder but produce drastically different results. Let me explain.... In venture, a 'pump fake' results in a founder building a bespoke solution for a customer under the false pretense that the solution/product has broad applicability for many customers. Customer product requests are intoxicating, especially in PMF phase, because it makes teams feel that 'we're onto something' and there's a market for our product. Pump fakes can be company-killing b/c it sends a team with limited resources down a path that ultimately becomes dead-end with little runway to pivot. Here's how you can avoid the perennial pump fake and keep pushing forward: (1) Don't just hear the customer, *listen.* Hearing is a passive and involuntary activity resulting in zero info retainment. Listening is active and voluntary process that forces you to absorb and react to information. By listening, you're able to translate customer feedback into measured actions. (2) Speak to *many* prospective customers BEFORE you start building. This helps you internalize the true hair-on-fire problem customers are facing and filters out atypical feedback not shared by a customer cohort. (3) Understand customer nuances and recognize that not all customers are created equally. When evaluating prospects, try to understand the composition of their business (team, fundraising, revenue, ICP, etc..) to triangulate why your service is needed for a particular customer. Often times, pump fakes are missed simply due to lack of customer context! https://lnkd.in/euYZ-TKk
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Getting new customers is exciting, but in 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝗦, looking at the right numbers helps your business grow better. These key metrics show what’s working, what needs fixing, and how to improve. 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧👇 𝟭. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 (𝗖𝗔𝗖) This is how much it costs to gain a new customer. Keeping 𝗖𝗔𝗖 low is essential for sustainable growth. 𝟮. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 (𝗟𝗧𝗩) 𝗟𝗧𝗩 shows how much money a customer spends while using your product. Comparing it to 𝗖𝗔𝗖 helps you see if you’re making a profit. 𝟯.𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 is the percentage of customers who leave over time. High churn can hurt your growth and revenue. 𝟰.𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 (𝗠𝗥𝗥) 𝗠𝗥𝗥 is the predictable income your business generates each month. It’s a great indicator of your company’s overall health. 𝟱.𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 This shows how many people move from one step to the next in your sales process, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 or 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲. #SaaSMarketing #MetricsThatMatter #GrowthMarketing #RetentionStrategies
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72% of revenue comes from existing customers! (Isn't that crazy?) Growing from existing customers is far easier and faster than chasing new ones. Here’s the data that supports this: → 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: - New Customers: 28% - Existing Customers: 72% 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: - 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐭: Cross-selling and upselling to current customers are easier than acquiring new ones. - 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬: Your best leads often come from existing customers. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 6 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥: 1. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤-𝐢𝐧𝐬: Schedule quarterly updates to keep the relationship warm. 2. 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬: Use AI tools to communicate via your client's preferred methods. 3. 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐬: Adjust your messaging to fit each client's communication style. 4. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Use CRM and AI insights to personalize every interaction. 5. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡: Regularly solve problems and build trust, making upselling natural. 6. 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬: Recognize and congratulate client achievements without a sales pitch. Focusing on your existing customers not only drives revenue but also builds your personal brand and enhances client loyalty. It's a win-win strategy. ---- ❤️ If you support this. ♻️ to your network. 🤟
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Sometimes, you lose deals, and you just don't understand why. 😕 Was it the pricing? 💵 The pitch? 📊 Indigestion? 🍔 You'd love to know, but there don't seem to be any clear answers. Unless you dig a little deeper, that is. The answers are there but hidden in hours of sales conversations. And without sophisticated tools, it's almost impossible to wade through them and find the nuggets of truth. One such tool is Moments Analysis. It can help your sales and CS teams spot patterns in successful and failed pitches or resolutions. Check out how you can use Moments Analysis to learn from your past deals and identify winning habits more easily: https://lnkd.in/gxrFAbXn #customerservice #customerexperience #salescoaching
Moment Analysis: Understand Key Turning Points In Customer Conversations
https://justcall.io/blog
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Want to skip 80% of your testing phase? Here's how: Start listening to your prospects during calls. They often share the same pains and goals. These insights can eliminate unnecessary testing. They should be the first angles to test in campaigns. Why does this work? Real customer feedback is a goldmine. It tells you exactly what resonates. No need to guess or test endlessly. So next time you're on a call: - Pay close attention. - Take notes on their pain points. - Implement those insights immediately. You'll save time and get better results. P.S. Do you leverage client insights in your strategy?
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Developing a target market is actually pretty easy. It’s just 3 steps: 1. Do deep research to understand your market. 2. Pick a customer that sits right in the middle of it, one that represents the broader market you want to serve. 3. Wrap the “blanket of love” around this customer. The “blanket of love” means using your full attention and every other tool at your disposal to make your relationship with this customer meaningful. If you succeed in wrapping them in the “blanket of love,” you’ve won the right to ask for introductions to other stage-appropriate prospects in their network, which starts a virtuous circle of referrals and new business. And as long as you keep wrapping these additional customers with the “blanket of love,” the circle won’t break. With each new customer that sees success, it will expand exponentially. I’ve built several companies with customer success as the core element of our mission, vision, and values, and it’s been the foundation for every great company I’ve been a part of. It’s been proven, validated, and can be replicated across almost any market. So if your company’s “blanket of love” is sitting in a closet somewhere, take it out. It’s time to get wrapping.
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Understanding and categorizing leads is essential for any business aiming to enhance customer acquisition. At RingBoost, we emphasize recognizing whether leads are cold, warm, or hot, requiring different engagement strategies. Cold leads need nurturing, while warm leads are more receptive and ready for targeted content. Hot leads are primed for conversion and require immediate attention. Beyond temperature, leads can be classified further into Information Qualified Leads (IQL), Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL), Sales Ready/Accepted Leads (SRL), and Sales Qualified Leads (SQL), each indicating a deeper level of interest and readiness to buy. Leveraging tools like custom and vanity phone numbers can significantly help maintain brand presence and convert leads at various stages. Discover how RingBoost numbers can help attract and retain customers effectively.
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Business owners, it might seem counterintuitive, but the customers who choose to leave your business can offer the most valuable insights. Why? Because they hold the answers to questions you didn't even know you needed to ask. When a customer departs, it's easy to brush it off as an isolated incident or a fickle preference. However, each departure is a potential data point in a larger pattern. For me, analyzing the reasons behind customer churn, i uncovered: - Dissatisfied customers often identify problems you weren't aware of. Maybe a feature isn't intuitive, a product falls short of expectations, or your customer service needs improvement. - Did customers leave for a specific competitor? Understanding their motivations reveals how your rivals are positioned and what they might be doing better. - Feedback from lost customers can spark ideas for new products, services, or improvements to existing offerings. When you address their needs, you not only win back lost customers but attract new ones. Question is how do you mine for exit? Check comments to find out how 👇 #businessowners #customeracquisition #founders
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Couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Olli Myllys from Surveypal, a company that works with customer feedback. Even though I wasn't looking to buy anything, the call wasn't a waste of time. Instead, it turned out to be quite the opposite. I was honest with Olli during the call and said that we are not looking to buy a CX software at this point, however his answer was something interesting right from the start: "Most customers are not ready to buy right away." This made me think; this simple truth highlights a crucial aspect of business-to-business (B2B) sales, especially for companies with long sales cycles. It's not just about closing a deal quickly; it's about laying the groundwork for a lasting relationship. So, we decided to talk more about it, and we set up an online meeting which took place this morning. This wasn't just any meeting. It felt like talking to a friend rather than a salesperson. Admittedly, both of us are talkative. Despite having just met, we found common ground in sports—a shared interest that added a personal touch to our discussion 😊. Obviously, I was asked good questions about current state of customer feedback, my thoughts were carefully listened and the demo was very clear; all aspects which are important for a meeting like this. After the meeting I started to think about the importance salespeople are to a company's image. Salespeople and everyone working in customer-facing teams really shape what we think about a company. My chat with Surveypal wasn't about selling me something I didn't need. It was about making a connection and understanding my needs, which is really valuable. This experience reminds us that in the world of business, being genuine, understanding, and connecting with people is key. These qualities make not just for good salespeople but for great companies too. p.s. Thanks Olli Myllys once more for the great meeting; it really made my day 😊
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Want to keep your customers happy and spot growth opportunities?⚡ Building an effective health scoring model in HubSpot is key to understanding where your customers stand. With the rising costs of acquiring new customers, keeping your current ones engaged is more important than ever. Health scores let you measure how likely a customer will grow with your business—or if they’re at risk of leaving. But setting up a health score takes more than just numbers. Our latest blog tells the practical steps to building a customer health scoring model in HubSpot that works. Learn how to spot at-risk accounts early and identify where growth is possible. Check out the blog now to strengthen your customer relationships! https://hubs.ly/Q02WYK4M0
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U.K. Firms turn to Salesforce to Enhance Customer Loyalty | MarTech Cube Data is good, but its relationships, not data that drive purchase decisions, particularly among repeat or B2B customers. I would suggest you consider the advice found in this article, and use the simple customer interview script it contains: https://lnkd.in/g5H4nMV4
What Are Your Customers Thinking Right Now? Ask them to Find Out
inc.com
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