Just Do It.

This is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant brand campaigns ever launched and the hugely successful tag-line is as powerful today as it was when Nike introduced it almost 30 years ago (in 1988). It was a massive shift away from the company’s top of the pyramid style advertising strategy that had been previously adopted. The focus on elite athletes as inspiration had shifted to inspiring the everyday person with other everyday people, just doing it. Getting out there and moving their bodies without all the excuses. It was perfect and I could spend hours talking about the power of successful branding… but that’s for another article.  What I really want to discuss here is the value this sentence brings to all businesses.

During my 20+ years in business, I’ve discovered it’s actually the key to your success.

You can be the smartest guy in the room, the best funded or the most charismatic… but it means jack if your business fails to deliver. Too many business leaders miss this. The business looks great, invests in professional sales tools, a marketing plan and receives plenty of enquiries. But they forget about the basics of delivering what's required for the business they've chosen to be in. They pat themselves on the back and start the process again. They forget delivery. 

Now the chase is important. You need a well considered, consistent brand, a strong marketing approach and professional presentation. But you also need clear sales and operational processes to make sure the business delivers on its promises and absolutely delights its customers. Attracting the customer simply isn't enough. You need to romance them a little.

I’ve been noticing recently just how many businesses fail to deliver and then complain about the market, competitor pricing, a lack of resources…or whatever else they consider to be the reason for their poor performance. Yet the answer is often far simpler... poor business performance is almost always linked to poor business performance. You just haven’t shown up. You haven’t cared enough about the customer and been too focused on yourself.

Here’s a few examples of what I'm talking about…

• If you’re invited to quote on a job, quote on the job. Then follow up… and keep following up, providing value until you secure the work. Then of course, deliver!
• If you don’t want the job, tell them. Politely thank the potential customer and explain that you won’t be able to deliver in their time frame, or that your schedule is full…. whatever your reason, communicate it. Never ignore a sales enquiry. You’d be amazed how much damage this does to your brand.
• If you’re delivering a product or service to a customer and there’s going to be a delay, call them. Apologise sincerely and offer a revised schedule and perhaps a sweetener to say sorry. Take responsibility for the problem and don’t ever pass the blame to a supplier, team mate or other. Own it. Your client doesn’t EVER care about the reason. Your reasons just sound like excuses, so deal with them separately. They have nothing to do with your customers.
• If there's an issue, resolve it. Proactively work through the problem and don’t make the customer follow up for answers.
• Mistakes happen. Things go wrong, but this is not what causes damage to your brand. It’s what you do about it that makes all the difference. If you own it and fix it, you may actually end up with a loyal customer for life.
• Give your employees the autonomy to fix problems. If you aren’t sure you can trust their judgement, they aren’t right for the team. This is where the culture within your organisation is vital…. but that’s also for another article.
• Train your team well and regularly. Make sure everyone is crystal clear on expectations and hold them (and yourself) to high standards… without exception.
• Always be polite. Always.
• Make it easy to buy from your business. Monitor the effectiveness of your processes and keep evolving. If something doesn't work, change it.
• Look after your team and they’ll look after you. You need to expect a lot, but be generous in return. And that doesn’t mean you need to pay them more. 

Once you’ve found a potential customer, make sure your systems work to secure them and then work to keep them for life… or if your business is geared toward the one-off purchase, focus on referrals. It's really that simple. Start with the delivery basics and build from there. When you’ve nailed the basics, start adding extras that will seriously impress. And watch your business grow.

Seriously. Just do it.

​David