This is the third in a series devoted to building business on value and redesigning your business to maximize customer perceived value.

Measuring customer perceived value is a key marketing process. It replaces the idea that pricing should be based on cost of production plus profit margin. This provides great flexibility to those providing fixed products and services. Prudent small business owners can – if they want to take the risk – shape and reshape their product to fit customer needs in motion. For example, bakers or florists can flavor or arrange product in multiple variations.

Value is what makes customer’s move their business, so, keeping customers happy takes on a new importance. Where customer satisfaction can be clearly measured, small business owners need to survey their customers’ perception regularly – with the intent to adjust service and product to those measured needs. Touching base with customers with some regularity respects and flatters them. However, unless the surveys lead to change or improvement, the customer feels ignored and disrespected.

Some small businesses mistake a phone call or a “how ya doin’” as a survey. The survey is better focused on specific elements of the perceived value.

• Ask questions that address functions of your product/service. Determine if the satisfaction has to do with color, size, assembly, or structural utility.
• Phrase questions that confirm you competitive edge. Determine if the product delivers on the edge you promised. Reconfirm that your product is larger than. Lighter than, more durable than the competitor
• Check on the customer’s emotional response. There is a benefit in reassuring the customer that it is good to feel “good” about owning the product. We don’t ask enough people, “Tell me, how do you feel about this?”
• Let the survey remind the customer indirectly that your service met his dreams. Help them see how you helped them to stand out, to have some bragging rights.
• Make sure the cost is tied to the value. An assembled product may be a “bargain” to someone who doesn’t have the time or talent to put things together. Convenience, time, delivery, payment terms, and checkout process: all these are values in different ways to different customers. So, let the survey be the tool where you remind the customer that it was the convenience (or whatever) that made the difference.)

One approach is to survey the customer once shortly after the sale. Another is to survey the customer repeatedly with brief questionnaires that address each of the value factors listed here.

I know this takes time and attention, but it also gives structure to customer follow-up you should be doing in the first place. For example, you should be talking to a customer once a month. It won’t be hard to use one or more of these factors as the purpose of that call.

Ever wished your business had a mobile app to offer your customers and clients?  Mobile apps (applications) are, in fact, vital to an increasing number of small businesses. Prospects and clients need to reach you easily and immediately. They need to find you quickly among all the competition out there. They need to see your logo, find your location, examine your products/services, and pursue your links. You can’t wait for them to get home to their desktops (and neither can they).

Still, it is a daunting technology which presents fears of getting into the mix – and of staying out of it. There are concerns about set up, pricing, and expertise. It’s a sunk cost to large corporations, but the same costs have spooked small business owners.

App Express is 2011 start-up ready to bring mobile apps to small businesses owners– at a price and ease they can afford. In the words of Mary Beth Brendza, CEO of App Express, the company wants to enable small business owners “to run their business from their pocket.”

They offer an attractive and easy to navigate website at http://appexpress.com The site offers videos, trials, and samples (only fitting for a website claiming to promote same.) It promises professional and sophisticated maps to facilitate payment making, appointment scheduling, daily couponing, deal messaging, and social sharing. And, they provide you with the pricing.

25% of all US mobile users (smartphones, tablets, PDA’s, etc.) use only their mobile device (and mobile apps) to shop, schedule, set appointments, make payments, and so on. The growth in sale of mobile devices and such uses is exponential in speed and size.

Current and future customers rely on their mobile devices to the increasing exclusion of their desktops and laptops. Look around the room at your next Chamber of Commerce lunch to see people multi-tasking. For good and bad, mobile apps have become an integral part of our personal and work-lives. Google Mobile Ads reports:

• 9 out of 10 smartphone searches lead to action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.)
• 24% recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search
• 95% of smartphone users have looked for local information
• 88% of these users take action within a day
• 77% have contacted a business, with 61% calling and 59% visiting the local business
• 79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
• 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store, or on their phones
• 70% use their smartphones while in the store, reflecting varied purchase paths that often begin online or on their phones and brings consumers to the store
• 71% search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68%) to online ads (18%) to mobile ads (27%)
• 82% notice mobile ads, especially mobile display ads and a third notice mobile search ads

The times, they are achangin’, and we need to be on board. It is vital for small business to be able to develop a cross-channel strategy and implement an integrated marketing strategy that makes puts you in the hands of mobile users.  Mobile apps might just be a great way to make that happen!

Would you agree that past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior?  And if so, how do we as small business employers guide candidates to share those past behaviors that are applicable to the position we are working to fill?  Might I suggest a cleverly designed one-on-one interview (but only when you are satisfied as to the “advertised” details about your applicant)…

A resume and a qualifying phone interview usually can determine the facts about an applicant’s work history. Likewise, you should have all the material you’ll need to run a background check on the employee’s claims to schooling and job chronology. No matter how big or small your business is, make sure you get this done before moving forward with a hire.

Too many small business owners, though, pressed by their needs and calendar, fail to bring importance to the interview that investigates past behavior. Too many tell me that they know a good employee “when they see one,” or they’ll say, “my gut tells me this is the right guy/gal.” Often,  these are the same folks who complain about employee turnover and the work ethic of today’s generation.

Experience tells me that 90% of the bad hires made are made because of poor interviews – by the employer. If you want to fix this, prepare an interview that seeks to uncover past behavior trends:

• List the questions you are going to ask.
• List the questions that you might ask if the conversation takes you there.
• Include space for your notes after each question.
• Include a scale of 1 – 5 regarding the quality of the response.
• Use a checklist to verify the issues, facts, and behaviors covered.

Do not intimidate the applicant. Present a positive and welcoming personality. But do start the questions immediately.

Ask Open Questions up front: “Did you have trouble finding the office?” “Have you met any of our people, and what was your impression?” “Take a look around and tell me if you would have trouble working in the environment you have noticed so far?” Such questions require more than “yes” or “no” answers.

Revert to Closed Questions: “I see by your resume you graduated from High School. Is that correct?” “You’re here to interview for the customer service position?” “You wrote on your application that you are available to start immediately. Is that right?”  By now, you have like established a bit of a comfort level with the candidate and can be more confident in the honesty of the behavioral questions to follow.

Push on to Behavioral Questions:  Behavioral Questions expect the applicant to reply at length. I suggest you tell them up front that you are interested in the action they took to fix a problem and in the result their action achieved.

Pose a Problem:  “We had been receiving complaints that a customer service rep was losing his temper on the phone with customers. The complaints were reported to me by one of his co-workers. Our workers are encouraged to solve such problems on the floor. Have you been in a position where you were concerned about the behavior of a co-worker?”

Listen:  You want to listen with your script and evaluation survey in hand. You are interested in the applicant’s answer and the results of his action. But, you are also interested in the way the applicant answers. For examples, does he take time to frame his answer? does his answer reflect an understanding of the question? and do his “results” match the behavioral need?

Prepare your questions with the job description in mind: “Tell me about a time when you . . . ?” “Imagine that you find yourself in the following situation . . . “ How would you fix a situation like . . . ?” Establish metrics and a point system for each question. If there is more than one person on the hiring team, put the script in each of their hands and discuss the scores and any variances.

Then – and only then – having followed a process such as this, if you have two candidates with equal scores, then, by all means, please go with your instinct – this time backed up with preparation and investigation.

Becoming a Federal government contractor – while not always simple – often results in contracts that are lucrative and long lasting. For small business, such government contracts can easily be a path to growth and longevity, particularly in a depressed economy.

Small business owners would be mistaken to think that they are too small to matter. Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, etc. all have needs of products and services. They are particularly interested in innovation and promise, virtues that are usually cornered by entrepreneurs.

Thankfully, doing business with the Federal Government is pretty transparent. While the directions and resources may be overwhelming in sheer volume, the information is readily available to assist you in your bid for becoming a government contractor.

Departmental size, bureaucracy, and decision-making can also be barriers to your success. Still, if your business provides a product or service useful to government needs, you shouldn’t be deterred.

Keep the following tips in mind when considering or pursuing government contracts:

• Time is not your friend. Give your plans 12 to 14 months to mature. The current contractor doesn’t always get a renewal. Sometimes, they have failed the agency; other times, you can beat the competitor’s bid.
• Put your hat in the ring. List your business on the Central Contractor Registration. This is a database agencies can search for info that appears to suit their current needs.
• Put the plan in motion. Check FedBizOpps.gov where all government interests must be posted. Reviewing their needs locates potential targets for you; it also tells you what they are looking for, so you can adapt to their needs.
• Do deep and wide research. For example, the Department of Defense has an Office of Small Business Programs which includes a Guide to Marketing to the DoD.
• Explore resources such as your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center, set up to assist small businesses, especially those that are veteran, disadvantaged, or women-owned business, in their application processes with assigned Small Business Specialists.
• Secure the “solicitation for the requirement.” Study it in detail, seek advice, and do what you can to meet the specifics required.
• Turn information on the competition inside and out. Explore available databases on current contractors, subcontractors, and earlier contractors. It’s all available to you – if you take the time.

Now, be advised:  Federal contracts represent a significant undertaking in time, and time is expensive. So, clearly – if there is no felt return for this investment, stay away. But, if you see potential here, set goals, staff to the need, and secure qualified advice. It can re-shape your business future! 

Whether or not to register a TLD – or Top-Level-Domain – is the newest challenge in front of small business owners. It’s not an easy decision and requires some thought.

Internet domain names are registered with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). They have filed 100+ million names which do not admit duplication. So, for example, if the name www.maria’srestaurant.com is already taken, you can’t call your restaurant Maria’s or you need to find an alternative for your domain name. Top-level-domain names will open wider categories and optional choices. A new TLD choice allows you to distinguish your business from others with similar names, others in the alphabet, others without your performance standards. It is a marketing boost. If you are registered, licensed realtor, you can separate yourself from the pack; yours will be an exclusive address in an exclusive directory. And, ICANN will be there to police the exclusivity.

But, clearly, there are critics and those who don’t see the need. There is a short and long-term expense. The cost to apply for the TLD is no big issue, but there are immediate and subsequent costs in marketing materials in advance of, during, and following the re-naming. This involves planning, marketing materials, and stationery and billing. Owners have to decide on the timing for this – and the subsequent value. In addition, apparent changes in direction threaten customer goodwill. Customers establish relationships with websites; they learn to navigate them, know where to find information, know how to contact you through the site. You may not want to jeopardize this.

In a poll offered by The Wall Street Journal, 53% of respondents think the idea of a TLD is a good move while 46% do not. That split indicates some lack of clarity on this issue. Small business owners haven’t had very specific labels in the past. The web address usually ends with a .com, .biz. .net., or .org. TLDs offer very specific identifications, such as, .realtor, .contractor, .restaurant, .florist, and the like.  

Every small business has been or will be approached sooner or later to purchase new domain names. There are aggressive and numerous campaigns to sign you up with wildly contrived IDs. They layer on costs for international addresses and renewal fees. The ICANN reputation is singularly positive. It’s history and processes are transparent, and not a bad place to place your trust. The small business owner’s decision is individual:  investigate the options, the process, the expense, and the value to your business at this time.

Despite the resources we have gathered here, our American Heroes – service men and women – often find it difficult to find placement upon their return (in fact, NBC reports 12% unemployment in this group).  Small business owners are not positioned to solve all of the problems, but as job creators, you can help.

Included here is a list of various campaigns and efforts aimed at helping our Heroes re-join the workforce.  As you review the list, ask yourself how returning vets can address your business needs. The vast majority of these Heroes are clerks, drivers, cooks, nurses, equipment operators, etc. They have demonstrable skills and extensive training. They are – in their experience and training – alert, dependable, reliable, and accountable. They work with focus, and they finish assignments as instructed and on time. They work collaboratively and without ego.

If you hire this year, give them first crack. But, if you are concerned about erratic behavior, dependency issues, and post-traumatic stress disorders, think again. The great majority of vets return without these problems, and most serve with honor in and out of the military. Still, you can form a pro-active alliance with the designated Vet Rep at your local unemployment office. Develop a relationship that is clear and honest. Let the rep know what you need and what limits you put on variance from the “normal.” Where there is difficulty in the match, the rep can anticipate your needs, smooth the transition, and coach the candidate. Check out the resources below and make a vet your next hire!

Hire Heroes USA is a campaign orchestrated by a non-profit with partners including The US Chamber of Commerce, Anheuser Busch, Ryder Trucks, and others. With distinguished Boards of Directors and Advisors, it presents a professional venue to assist returning veterans in finding worthy employment.

Hiring Our Heroes is an initiative of The US Chamber of Commerce to provide job opportunities for 500,000 veterans in alliance with Capital One and The National Chamber Foundation (NCF). Since their start in 2011, they have sponsored 130 job fairs and hired 9,000 vets or military spouses.

Heroes Hiring Heroes encourages veterans to hire returning military. A project of the Employer Support Group of the Guard and Reserve, it is significant federal to support the hiring of vets into national and state employment opportunities.

Hire a Hero is a Monster-like employment search engine where vets can post resumes and research job opportunities. Employers can post jobs here for a focused attention. The site includes alliances with UCLA and Discover credit cards.

The Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 offers incentives attractive to small business owners. This bi-partisan legislation enables veterans to return to the civilian job market through the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP). TAP offers job search information, cover letter and resume writing training, and interview practice. The Hiring Heroes Act fast tracks veterans into federal employment opportunities by eliminating the wait for their veteran preference. It removes barriers in transitioning returning vets to jobs requiring skills they have demonstrated: medical practitioners, drivers, heavy equipment operators, etc. And, finally, employers are promised $5,000 in benefits for every veteran hired and $9,000 for hiring those with disabilities.

Before the Business Plan:  For those of you that know me, you know that I’m a firm believer in making sure you have a marketable product or service long before you start your business plan.  So for those of you who already know there is a demand for your product and/or service, please sharpen your pencil.   Determine your purpose, and identify your target audience. Then, write, write, and re-write.

Unless you are trying to secure millions in venture capital, you can do it on your own with a considerable level of comfort if you remember a few things.  It’s not necessary to trust your Business Plan to an online template, so keep the following in mind:

• On-line or textbook templates are cookie cutter devices and, therefore, descriptive at best, a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. There simply is no master plan.
• One plan does not suit every need or audience. For example, I am a big advocate of sharing your small business’ plans with your partners, officers, and staff. Such transparency is a proven link to success. But, I think you need a more private plan that self-accesses, forecasts, and self-corrects. The language of the former plan, for example, would be motivational, but the language of the latter would include more specific and current data.
• Not every plan tries to raise money. Some sell product or service, and others solicit business alliances. If you plan is meant to position your product, the stress is going to be on performance, markets, and competition. If your plan is to form alliances with like businesses or complementary services, you want to stress all the elements that you and the solicited partner bring to the table and its future.
• Seeking funds and investors requires its own form. When applying for loans or capital, you need to provide data, experience, and forecasting. It requires appended records, incenses, contracts, etc. Still, I find many such plans to be unoriginal, ineffectively standardized, and overwritten.

Accept templates for what they are: descriptions of what goes where. Avoid templates or lessons that encourage you to fill in the blanks. Try to position yourself as the lender. Typically, a committee makes the lender’s decision, and the committee pretty much thinks it has seen it all. In fact, it has seen every template that MS Word offers.

The Plan is a leave-behind. As such, it should be very neat and clean, and it would be worth the buck to get designer advice on laying out your plan: margins, type size and style, logo/color, and data displays.

It’s my policy to keep the language at a minimum. Clarity, logic, and specifics match lender needs and mind-set. Avoid contractions, first and second person pronouns, and passive voice. Pay for support and coaching in preparing the covering letter and introduction. You may need the help in creating the first impression.

Some lending opportunities require a verbal or visual presentation. Do not confuse these needs with the business plan itself. They serve different purposes. For example, the live presentation offers you the chance to present yourself, your energy, and business savvy. Do not burden the presentation with the data and research that the plan includes.

Of the many advisors out there, I would suggest a review of the following sites for additional perspectives and tips: the Small Business Administration roadmap, a simple approach by Entrepreneur, and a detailed presentation by VetBiz/gov.

If we are going to make room for small business ambition, strategy, value, and success in the future, we have to find a new vocabulary - not to mention a new lens with which to view the world.  Try these different perspectives on for size…

Downside:  Unemployment will hover around 9%.

Upside:  Unemployment is not likely to increase until returning military are processed into the workforce. However, this represents a real plus if you see this as a pool of dependable, accountable employees. Form an alliance now with the designated veterans’ rep at your local unemployment office. Meet with him/her and make clear what you are looking for in terms of character and skills set. This will prove an invaluable partnership.

Downside:  Inflation will increase slightly.

Upside:  Inflation reduces the impact of debt. More important, it is a sign of the availability of money. You need to position yourself to land the part of that money that is discretionary spending. With fuel prices declining or at least returning to 2010 levels, you have cash flow you didn’t have throughout 2011. Plan now to make use of it.

Downside:  Housing starts are still down and repossessions have not bottomed out.

Upside:  Construction has resumed on unfinished developments in many places, and many cities are seeing an uptick in denser residential development and delayed retail construction. These are all signs that someone has faith in the direction of the economy.

Downside:  2012 is an election year.

Upside:  Issues of importance to small business owners and to your customers will be argued 24/7. Efforts will likely be made to please the middle class, but nothing material is likely to take effect until after the next inauguration. If the payroll tax break is extended, small businesses are likely to benefit directly.

Downside:  World economies will remain volatile.

Upside:  Economies in Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. are worrisome. Hysterics in their markets affect investments in ours. Nonetheless, American markets remain relatively steady and consistent. Inflation in China and political unrest in Russia favor US currency, and emerging Middle Eastern nations are creating potentially loyal markets.

Downside:  “Quality” is not the buzzword it once was.

Upside:  Quality has become a given in US manufacturing, and global markets demand it. But, as Time Magazine reported recently, perceived value is the deal breaker. US software, pharmaceuticals, aviation, and other manufacturing sectors are succeeding in new ways. I’d like to believe this is the tip of a resurgence.

Downside:  Small business owners remain discouraged.

Upside:  Their level of discouragement has dropped, and their pessimism has lessened in key indexes, such as accessibility of funding, capital investment, and expansion of labor force.

This may not be a terribly optimistic view of 2012, but it marks positive steps. In most sizable cities, the major bank hosts a yearly event in which an economic expert paints a picture of the coming year. Make sure you get an invite or pick up the report. It can provide strong and layered direction for your 2012 planning.

This is the third in a series devoted to building business on value and redesigning your business to maximize customer perceived value.

Value is not just in the eye of the beholder. It has a feel to it. Customers know what value feels like as they run it through their fingers. If you, the small business owner, don’t feel it the same way, you are going to lose customers.

Suppose there are burger joints on each corner at a traffic light near home. Time in and time out, you always go to the same one because of taste, ambiance, convenience, discount coupons, a playscape or senior bargains. What would make you change your buying habits? A restaurant-borne disease, advertising, change in the drive-in access, an upgrade in the store design? A customer changes a purchasing habit because of customer perceived value.

Why don’t more small businesses market this way? Well, too many businesses cannot think themselves outside traditional costing methods, i.e. adding the desired profit percentage to the cost of doing business. Nothing in that concept, math, or need interests your customer, and the only value in it is the value to you.

Moreover, some types of business find it hard to turn this ship around. Corporate complicity and trade regulation freeze Real Estate and Insurance prices. Professional standards and insurance legislation drive the price of Dental and Medical services. Lawyers, accountants, and consultants have their sacred billable hours.

For example, ask yourself why people like the Chinese Restaurant’s menu. The value lies in being able to order one from Column A and two from Column B – at will. Or, speaking of restaurants, when you order a Philly steak sandwich in a Philadelphia steak joint, they will ask if you want your sandwich “wit” or “witout.” (Translation: do you want it with or without cheese and onions?) The trick is you pay the same price “wit” or “witout.” Suppose the joint across the street charges $.50 less “witout,” would you switch to the other place? And, though it may date me, I remember Jack Nicholson, in Five Easy Pieces, trying to order toast in a diner only to be told that he had to order a chicken sandwich to get the bread. He couldn’t see customer value in that.

Admittedly, this may be simpler than customizing obstetric services or tax advice, but these business climates would benefit from offering more flexibility – and marketing it! Admitting that some industry standardization brings stability to real estate and insurance marketing, there are known price variances that could be extended to a larger customer public. If, for example, you bundle your services at one price, consider unbundling them to suit the customer’s needs. If you offer one item from Column A with Item 2 and 3 from Column B, nothing stops you from allowing the customer to move the pieces around. Or, if you do not bundle services, consider price reductions to those who want a bundle.

If you are not in one of these hunters’ blinds that makes it hard to see the customers’ future, take action now to realign your services and products so you can offer a “Chinese menu,” allowing the customer can see your flexibility and responsiveness. If you are stuck in the blind, do what you can within the wiggle room you are allowed. And, work from the inside to shift the thinking of your trade or professional group.

After all, you are a small business operator, and flexibility and agility are your strength. This is not a movement you want to fall behind.

Woman-owned businesses are fast becoming their own industry sector. 2010 Census figures rollout, reports from Forbes, National Association of Woman Business Owners (NAWBO), the Small Business Administration’s Office of Woman Owned Business, and others are emphatic about their expectations.  

Allow me to summarize the statistics.  Currently, woman-owned businesses account for less than 18% of the U.S. employment force.  By 2018, women owned businesses will be the source of one-third of the 15+ million jobs the Department of Labor expects to book. The very same numbers tell us that the new workplace will be more diversified, inclusive, and horizontally structured. 

Why the increase in numbers? For one thing, more college-educated women are making the move towards business ownership. For another, women have traditionally dominated the industry sectors that expect growth – healthcare, service industries, and the like. And finally, woman-owned businesses are less likely to depend on restrictive bank financing.  

How are female business owners different?

 Workplace.  While it may be stereotypically dismissive to label women as nurturing, evidence shows that women build business by creating a positive working environment for workers and customers.  They seek to:

• Value life/work balance and share it with others.
• Take pleasure to creating opportunities.
• Provide better pay and benefits to employees.
• Help employees feel better about themselves.

Customers.  Additionally, because they often have more to risk financially and emotionally than their male counterparts, women owners tend to:

• Focus on customers more directly and personally.
• Keep and cultivate appreciative customers.
• More strongly differentiate their business from the competitor.
• Stay ahead of what their rivals are doing.

Networking.  For women, networking is a more shared experience and less exploitive. They are more likely to co-exist creatively than to divide and conquer. Consequently, they are more likely to:

• Seek and take advice from others, including their consultants and advisor team.
• Listen to their employees on a whole range of issues from process to customer satisfaction.

Planning.  Women business owners, behaviorally speaking, are apt to have a broader and longer-term vision. They write thorough business plans and work hard to stick to the plan. They think about retirement more and toys and trophies less.

Support.  Such women are also quick to seek assistance from an increasingly large number of agencies, groups, and sites that study and respond to their increasingly articulate needs. The SBA Women’s Advocacy, National Association of Women Business Owners, and Count-Me-In are just a few of the hugely supportive info centers.