Category: Small Business

Why Adelphoi? What’s in a name?

Why Adelphoi? What’s in a name?

Posted on by Steve Tucker
It has been nearly 8 years since the decision was made to create a company that would enable me to go beyond my normal business activities. At the time, I was the owner and operator of several business units related to construction and manufacturing which I began in 1997. I had spent the majority of my career in construction, manufacturing, sales, marketing and product development. For my part, I was the entrepreneur who saw a need and met that need. I recognized other symbiotic opportunities and by 2011, was operating multiple entities.
My nature was to know everything about my business. I knew the products because I development all of them. I knew the systems, processes, chemistry, logistics, supply chain and so on. I was the founder, CEO, CFO, COO and experienced all the challenges of owning and operating small to medium sized businesses. I am an idea guy. There was never a moment that I did not have a new idea for a product, for a system for a sales or marketing strategy. My tendency is to think from the end user backwards. I never wanted to build or sell a product that someone wasn’t already asking for, or that didn’t solve a need that existed within my target market. It paid off.
So, almost 15 years later, lots of ups and downs and wins and losses; I started Adelphoi (2011). We needed a place separate from our operating businesses that would allow me and some crazy talented folks to develop software, marketing collateral, engineer and build new equipment for manufacturing and technology implementation within our other businesses. So what am I going to call it? If you are a business owner, you understand what it is like trying to come up with a company name that checks off all your boxes. For me, I wanted something that was relevant to my mission for the business. I also wanted a name that would be different yet fit well within the tech industry. Adelphoi was perfect, it represented me, my beliefs and my mission. Adelphoi is a Greek word for brothers and sisters, also used to describe community, neighbor and siblings. The word is used approximately 343 times in the Bible. Again, it was perfect.
After a short time, Adelphoi pivoted slightly and we hung out our shingle, so to speak. We moved into a really cool space in old downtown McKinney, just off the square. Our team agreed that we really had something special. We had an artistic and very capable quasi engineer/maker/builder/designer who could build and design almost anything. We had marketing whiz, an amazing software developer/programmer with extra skills, a super organized operations manager along with an outside bench of specific talents that one could only dream of!
The Team decided to pivot slightly and open up to the public for ideation and product development (hard and soft products), digital marketing and SEO, and business consulting. Shortly after the sign went up and the media blasts begun…we were running. It was a blast. It was clear that every single person on the planet, certainly in north Texas, had 2 or more ideas in their heads and were chomping at the bit to get them to market and start making money! Some had visions of the corner office on the 30 floor and some were after mailbox money. Our clients dreams were as different as their ideas, but they all had ideas. I am continually impressed by the inventiveness of most of the people I get to meet.
After being involved in lots of business consulting and coaching over the years, Adelphoi has added Coaching as a key offering moving forward. I have recently published a downloadable book (https://adelphoicoaching.com/#) and have another on the way very soon. We have launched 2 new websites under adelphoicoaching.com and adelphoibusinessacademy.com. The first is for one on one, group and other types of coaching. Our coaching site also offers some FREE training. The latter is an incredible E-Learning membership site that offers an unbelievable amount of information, instruction and “done-for-you” marketing collateral. Find some time and take a tour!
Recently, we were preparing to launch our Adelphoi Advisory Groups program. This is a business owner/manager peer group program and despite our current situation dealing with COVID-19, remain excited about launching soon in a digital environment such as Zoom, Skype, GotoWeb, etc. These peer groups will consist of a minimum of 8 up to 14 business owners and will meet on a regular basis. Due to the virus and the impact it is having on small businesses, we are going to offer a weekly schedule to help owners through this period. Email info@adelphoiadvisorygroups.com if you would like to learn more about this program.
My goal is to help business owners become better versions of themselves! The more you learn, the more you earn. Now is the time to get prepared for the new economy that is coming once the “lockdowns” are over. There will inevitably be more customers available and better pricing from vendors as the supply and demand has been down for so long already. Many businesses will not survive this. Those that do need to be prepared with a plan to be different, to be better and to dominate their markets.
I can help. That’s what I do.
Coach Steve

Kick Start Your Marketing

Posted on by Steve Tucker

Today I’d like to teach you about the three most important start up marketing tools you need to get and keep new customers.

  1. In person: It’s essential you meet with customers/clients in person whenever possible. This shows you respect them and take the time to work with your clients to give personal attention to each of them.
  2. Follow up letter: Always take a moment to send a follow up letter about what you talked about, new agreements or partnerships made and to thank them for taking the time to meet with you. Likewise, you should always send thank you letters or small gifts to partners you find success with.
  3. Phone call: Use a telephone call to follow up with them to talk again about the matters you talked about in your meeting and offer any assistance you can to help their business run smoothly and more successfully.

None of these will work if you don’t have a quality product/service to back you up!

Here are the key steps for putting together your start-up marketing tools:

  1. Research potential customers, buyers, competitors and their preferred methods of distribution.
  2. Talk to potential customers. Take a hard look at your product from a customer’s perspective and see what it needs to be successful.
  3. Follow up with your 3-step process from above.
  4. Develop systems for contact follow through, quality control standards and customer service.
  5. Develop post-sale follow up system to keep lines of communication open is customers and build on your current relationship which increases future purchases.

“Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs” Peter Drucker, management consultant

Here’s another one I love from an icon:

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company

This lesson has offered you the tools to put together a start-up marketing plan that can be used over and over again to help your customer base and business grow in a manageable way.

Stop Wasting Your Resources!

Posted on by Steve Tucker
Today you’re going to learn how to find a target market of potential customers so you aren’t wasting precious resources on blitz marketing. So, the two questions you have to ask yourself are:
  • What do people really want to buy from me?
  • What related products are they already buying?
Once you figure this out you will know who is more predisposed to purchase your products/services. Then, you find other businesses with the same customer base who you can customer share with. Come up with an incentive and great arrangement to encourage both of your customer bases to shop at both of your stores. The basic concept is this: You want to find existing businesses who have the customer profile that you are looking for to market your products/services to. Then strike up a relationship with those business owners to work out an incentive for customers to purchase from both businesses. As a result, you have an audience to market to and they generate an added value from their current base. So, how do you figure this out? There is a great formula from Jay Abraham you can follow with great success. LV = (P x F) x N – MC Here’s what it all means:
  • LV is the life time value of a customer
  • P is the average profit margin from each sale
  • F is the number of times a customer buys each year
  • N is the number of years customers stay with you
  • MC is the marketing cost per customer (total costs/number of customers)
Once you know how much you need to spend to attract a new customer, you will know how much of an incentive you can offer to a business to help attract new customers. So, here’s your step-by-step process:
  1. Find companies who already have the customer base you are looking for.
  2. Negotiate an incentive for them to share that customer base with you.
  3. Focus your marketing resources to this group of predisposed customers.
If you need help working through this process, please contact us and we’ll set you up with the most comprehensive system of marketing tools and resources.

Educate Your Customers

Posted on by Steve Tucker

Educate them about what, you may be thinking. Well, consider this, many businesses focus solely on attracting new customers, but you NEED to spend a good chunk of your time retaining current and former customers. These are people you already know to be a good sales potential…they’ve already bought from you!

Take the time to market and sell new products to your old customers and less time trying to sell old products to new customers and you will see a drastic change in your sales, customer quality and branding position.

Here are a couple of key elements to use to retain your current customers:

  1. Stay in contact: This means by phone, email, e-newsletter, in person-by pigeon if you have too!
  2. Post-Purchase Assurance: This means you need to follow up with customers. Your customers need to feel like they are being supported for their purchase and with the item they purchased. How many times have you purchased a product, then felt completely abandoned? Something as simple as a Thank You note with your contact or customer service information can go along way in retaining a great customer.
  3. Deals & Guarantees: Always offer your current customers the best deals and guarantees you have. Show them you appreciate their business or even come up with a club specifically to reward loyal customers. You can also do this with a preferred pricing option.
  4. Integrity: Using good business practices and simply upholding integrity, dignity and honesty go along way with customers. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of swindling and crap out there and the safer and more confident you make your customers feel, the more they will trust you and that makes for an amazingly supportive and loyal customer.

There are three cornerstone ideas to a successful business:

  • Quality product/service
  • Offering useful products/services that solve a problem for or enhance the life of a customer
  • Offer subjects your customers find interesting

Use this approach of educating your customers and offering them real information and insight and you will be rewarded with loyalty and success.

Stop wasting all your time on new prospects while your current customers fall by the wayside!

As Jay Abraham says, “Your best prospects are your existing customers. If you’ve been putting all your marketing efforts into acquiring new customers, stop and diverts some of your resources into reselling, upselling, cross-selling to those same customers. In every ways possible – through package inserts, regular mailings, special offers – stay in touch with those customers and get them used to buying from you.”

So, there it is! Remember, we can help you put together the resources and tools to do exactly that. We can help you educate your customers and you can watch the benefits pay offer many-fold.