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The Newsletter Pro - September 2017

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#343 in the 2016 INC. 500 | #120 in the 2015 INC. 500 | 2014 Marketer of the Year | 24K Club Winner

09.17 208.297.5700 www.thenewsletterpro.com

As Seen On:

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

PAGE 3 PAGE 4

What Business Are You Really In? Send Us Just 1 Referral and Get in on the Ultimate Top Gun Experience! Polish Up Your Post-it Game Spotlight on Mandy Legarreta

PAGE 6

Revenge of Print: Why Print Newsletters Still Work in a Digital Age

PAGE 7 PAGE 8

Find Your Foothold

Success From ‘Working in Sync’

YOUR BUSINESS RISES AND FALLS ON CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

I recently got a nine-hour window for the cable company to come by and fix a problem with their outside wiring. They don’t care about customer experience — socialism and monopolies will do that to you. The cable company’s idea of a good experience is to have the driver call you from a blocked number 20 minutes before they arrive, and if you don’t answer or can’t make it within the 20 minutes, your appointment has to be rescheduled. Crazy. I have an ex-client right now who hired a new consultant (and as a side note, be careful who you hire and take advice from, because many consultants have no clue what they are talking about), and this “consultant’s” advice was to go all digital on

needed to know most, which was how the customer experience was going to be.

To paraphrase something Steve Jobs once said, you have to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology if you’re looking to sell 8 billion or 10 billion dollars’ worth of product a year. Most people reading this are not reading it on an iPad, nor are they in the technology business, but that statement is profound and can be so impactful in ALL of our businesses, with a few minor tweaks. Long ago, when I was just starting my first few businesses, I would spend dozens of hours dreaming about the business, how it would operate, and how we’d turn a profit. I would plan out marketing and sales, the layout of the building I needed, our hours of operation, and everything I needed to start and run this new business — except the one thing I

In the past, I didn’t plot about how easy a process would be for customers, but rather how efficient it would be for my team or myself. I didn’t worry about building a relationship with customers because I thought I was the best at my trade, so of course, they’d come back and do business with me. I didn’t put real effort into referrals, because, again, I was the best, so of course, customers would refer others to me. Even my marketing was somewhat focused on me instead of the customer. If you take a second and look at businesses around you, you’ll see this is exactly how virtually all of them operate. Here are a few easy examples.

continued on page 2

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COVER CONTINUED ... everything and cancel most marketing, because this business doesn’t need marketing unless it is very cheap or free. You’d literally get better advice from my 11-year-old on running and marketing a business, but that aside, this advice was likely given so the consultant could show a quick and easy win of how much money he saved his new client. Unfortunately, though, when you stop marketing, you may make a little more cash now, but you will ultimately see a swift decline in new customers and a decline in revenue to follow … dumb. You can call into an office and get put on perma- hold or dropped into the phone menu system from hell, instead of getting a person or, at minimum, being offered a callback when it’s your turn in line. I could go on, but the bigger question is, in what areas of your business are you not focused on the customer experience, but instead focused on your own needs? Customer experience also has a massive impact on referrals. If it is difficult to do business with you, then when a customer does refer, they always add in, “This guy is great, but Bertha at the front desk is a nightmare,” or “Expect to wait 20 minutes to be seen.” When someone gives you a referral and adds a “but” at the end of it, followed by a negative comment, do you think people are going to charge in to do business with you? The overall customer experience includes every interaction — from the phones and reception area to the way your office looks, how they are treated, and the results they get. Customer experience and overall satisfaction includes everything in and around your business. If you’re not getting the number of referrals you feel you should be, there is a good chance one problem is customer experience. It’s likely you have other problems, like relationships and trust, but without a good experience, you’ll always be limited on the number of referrals you can get. If we go back to the Steve Jobs quote I paraphrased at the beginning of the article, he said something else profound. Here’s the exact quote: have a referral culture? Are customers loyal to you or just the lowest price? ARE YOU INVESTING IN RELATIONSHIPS? Do you

“The hardest thing is, how does that fit in to a cohesive, larger vision that’s going to allow you to sell 8 billion dollars — 10 billion dollars — of product a year? … [You’ve] got to start with the customer experience and work backward for the technology.”

These are the questions I see so few people asking.

Now, I know many people feel that they are big enough, that they don’t need to grow more and that they are happy with their income. Great, glad for you, but what happens when the next 2008–2011 rolls around? Nearly everyone takes a hit in a recession. Now is the time to invest and grow your savings, offerings, relationships, and customers. It is those who invest now, when times are at least average, who will make it through the next storm. I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom here, but recessions happen every 10–15 years or so, which begs the question: Are you investing in relationships? Do you have a referral culture? Are customers loyal to you or just the lowest price? Is Amazon going to put you out of business because you’re just a commodity? If you’re on the wrong end of any of those answers, now is the time to fix it, when things are good. I believe that it’s the questions you ask that determine the answers you get, so I want to close with two questions I hope you’ll ponder. Everyone says that customers are the priority, but when are your actions going to match the redirect?

–Steve Jobs

This is worth looking at if you’re looking to sell 8 or 10 billion dollars’ worth of product a year.

The video this quote is taken from was filmed in 1997, the first year Steve Jobs was back as CEO of Apple. Steve wasn’t thinking small; he wasn’t thinking about growing sales 5 percent — he wanted to add billions in new sales. Although you and I may not be — or even want to be — in the right companies to add billions in revenue in a single year, far too many of us still don’t think big enough. We think about adding small percentage increases in revenue — 5 percent growth, 10 percent growth. At 5 percent, you’re barely keeping up with inflation and pay raises, and maybe not even keeping up. Are you thinking big enough? Are you pushing yourself? Is that new product or service going to allow you to achieve the growth you desire? How will that product or service affect experience? Are you trying to sell something that people feel should be included in your service?

What change are you going to make today to improve customer experience? The choice is ultimately yours. – Shaun

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BUSINESS HOW TO

WHAT BUSINESS ARE YOU REALLY IN?

users “feel like they’re part of a bigger community — part of something more than just buying razors.”

friends. I help you get your community members to buy more products and services from you that will benefit their lives. My real business is relationship marketing. Sure, I use a newsletter to start and build on that community. We use content to develop relationships and to introduce or remind people of the all the products or services you offer. We run promotions to generate more referrals. We even educate customers on behalf of our clients with the content we create. But ultimately, we want your customer to feel like a member of a community and that they have a relationship with you. This concept of relationship marketing is not an easy sell, but, more and more, you’re seeing even larger companies, billion-dollar brands, implementing this strategy. Back in early 2014, Dollar Shave Club, the subscription razor service that made the amazingly funny viral video titled “Our Blades are F******g Great,” sent a monthly print newsletter, The Bathroom Minutes, to each of its 1.1 million active members. Dollar Shave Club’s senior vice president of marketing, Adam Weber, said, “One of our most important marketing vehicles is our actual box,” which includes their product and print newsletter. The Bathroom Minutes combines editorial content with product updates and company news, and informs and entertains to make the brand’s loyal

I see many people confused about the business they are in. Entrepreneurs feel that their ware or industry defines their business, but is that true? Am I in the newsletter or publishing business? What about the content creation business? After all, we create thousands of pages of content each month. Maybe that is my business. I send this newsletter to over 10,000 people a month. Maybe I’m in the education business. Understanding what business you’re really in and developing products and services to that end is WHAT ALLOWS YOU TO

Aren’t these guys just in the razor business? Why do they add the expense of a newsletter to their packaging? I assure you they don’t get 1.1 million of these printed and inserted for free. It’s simple. They know what business they are in, which is community. With their subscription business model, the name of the game is customer churn and customer lifetime value. Making sure they improved those areas of their business was a priority, so what did they do? 1. They had a solution for people. Good, but inexpensive razors. 2. They created a unique customer experience. They had good packaging and a good welcome email. They sometimes sent out free samples with your order. They included The Bathroom Minutes each month (notice it was not quarterly or bimonthly) with messages from the founder at the start of each issue. Based on their strategy, I’m now wondering if I had a consultation call with them in the early days. They used the customer’s experience to encourage word of mouth and social engagement, which helped build the brand and get them more customers. Finally, the benefit of the customer experience was that they had increased customer lifetime values. Could they track the ROI 100 percent on the extra money they put in the packaging, free samples,

GROW FASTER, MAKE MORE MONEY, AND, ULTIMATELY, SERVE MORE PEOPLE.

The truth of the matter is, I’m not in any of those businesses, nor do I want to be. Those are commodity businesses that can be ripped off and duplicated easily. My real business is helping you build a community and develop relationships, with the goal of bringing more people into your community and helping them want to stay in your community and refer family and

or The Bathroom Minutes? My guess is they couldn’t. But with all the right pieces of the puzzle in place, they ultimately started, and in a few short years sold the company for $1 billion, all cash.

I firmly believe that getting to the right answers starts with asking the right questions, so I ask again, what business are you in? Are you in the commodity business or the relationship business? Do you need people to buy your products or services? Do you want and need referrals or repeat business? Understanding what business you’re really in and developing products and services to that end is what allows you to grow faster, make more money, and, ultimately, serve more people.

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RESOURCE OF THE MONTH

REFERRAL PROGRAM

POST-IT GAME Post-it Plus Turns an Office Staple Into a Robust Collaboration Tool POLISH UP YOUR

EXPERIENCE! SEND US JUST JUST 1 REFERRAL AND GET IN ON THE ULTIMATE TOP GUN

At The Newsletter Pro, we’re the type of people who live and die by the Post-it. The walls of our meeting rooms are adorned with the little notes, meticulously organized to remind and drive us toward our company vision. Step

into our cubicles, and you’re sure to see at least a few sticky notes, reminding us of an important call or to keep our goals top of mind. By now, Post-its are so ingrained in the office environment that they almost seem ancient, but the fact remains that there are few tools that enable a team to brainstorm, collaborate, and stay on task A STELLAR PRO FROM DAY 1 Mandy Legarreta hasn’t been with The Newsletter Pro long, but she’s already made her presence felt. As our marketing manager and head of partnership development, she’s at the tip of the spear when it comes to helping TNP reach new heights. If we’re being honest, we’ve had her on our radar for quite some time, and we’re thrilled that she’s hopped aboard our paper airplane. INTRODUCING MANDY LEGARRETA

I want you to join us in Las Vegas for an adrenaline- packed experience like you've never had before. I’m offering to pay for two nights at a downtown hotel, a networking dinner and drinks, and the opportunity for you to experience the rush of flying a fighter jet in the skies above Las Vegas. Getting in on the trip is as simple as this: Refer just ONE qualified business owner or entrepreneur to The Newsletter Pro, and when they sign up for a custom newsletter package, you'll be on your way to Las Vegas for two days of action-packed fun! If you haven’t joined us as a referral partner yet, take a minute to do so now. Go to our page at thenewsletterpro.com/topgun to register, then refer a friend to our services and join us for the ultimate Top Gun experience in Las Vegas!

together,” she explains, “and we’ll often bring our chocolate Lab, Layla, along with us.” Luke is 13, so he’ll be starting junior high school. How does Mandy feel about it? She laughs, “It’ll be interesting to have a teenage boy in the house for the next few years, but I’m looking forward to watching Luke continue to grow.” Speaking of dogs, one of Mandy’s greatest accomplishments was completing a children’s book called “My First Puppy.” “I had this thought for about 10 years,” she remembers. “I would pick it

“I’ve known Shaun for about 10 years,” Mandy says. “We’ve been friends, and I’ve watched TNP grow into the company it is today.” What made her join the team? “I was at a place in my life where I was looking for a challenge,” she notes, “a place where I could effect change and a company I could believe in.” When she’s not busy contributing to our mission here, you’ll probably find her enjoying the outdoors with her family. “My husband, Miguel, my son, Luke, and I love biking the Boise Greenbelt

– Shaun

See you in the air!

4

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SUCCESS STORY

more effectively than these humble, 3-by-3-inch pieces of paper.

“The Newsletter Pro hasn’t just made the creation process for my monthly newsletter easy; they’ve made it enjoyable. I love that the newsletter gives me a framework to develop my ideas. Every month, I speak with my writer, they turn my concept into a stellar finished article, and I look it over to ensure my message is relayed. The team at The Newsletter Pro keeps me goal-oriented and deadline- focused, which results in my newsletter arriving consistently in the hands of my readers.

Luckily, the new Post-it Plus app makes the humble sticky note more useful than ever before. The application allows you to capture up to 50 square Post-its at a time with a click of your camera, recognizing the boundaries of each Note so you can save, group, organize, and manipulate your set of Post-its digitally.

After a six-hour think tank with our marketing department, you can bet the walls of our infamous Marketing War Room are covered in Post-its. As we spitball ideas and initiatives, they amass on the wall, and by the end of the meeting they become an intricate grid of carefully organized notes. With the Post-it Plus App, we can take a picture of this meticulous mess and digitize every scrap of information we gathered. Once the notes are uploaded, we can share them throughout the team, accessing the >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8

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