Kelly Rice [00:00:00]:
Your offer needs to solve a problem for your ideal customers. So, basically, when you solve a problem, you provide value, and your customers are much more likely to invest in something that makes their lives easier, or at least more enjoyable. So to determine the problem your offer can solve, you have to truly understand your audience.
Victoria Rayburn [00:00:24]:
Hey, there you are, listening to the priority Pursuit podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping small business owners and leaders define, maintain, and pursue both their personal and business priorities so they can build lives and businesses they love.
Kelly Rice [00:00:35]:
We're your hosts, Kelly Rice and Victoria Rayburn. And a common question we're asked all the time is, how do you build a successful business? So, as small business owners, ourselves, and, you know, individuals who work with small businesses literally on a daily basis, and honestly, based on the millions of books, it seems like in the trainings that we've done over the years, we found that there are four keys to building a successful and a profitable and sustainable small business.
Victoria Rayburn [00:01:06]:
And we are going to break those down for you today. But just really quick, I want to note that I'm pretty sure that literally nobody has read more business books, Kelly. I mean, I read a lot, but I do throw some fiction in there, too. You know, I need a little bit of fun reading. Kelly, on the other hand, only reads business related things. At some point, we're going to have to do an episode of just Kelly's book recs. But anyway, you're like, let's get. Let's get into this topic.
Victoria Rayburn [00:01:35]:
But, like, I kid you not, every time Kelly's out of the office or goes on vacation, I get texts of, like, this is what I'm reading. It's like five business books later on this week long vacation. But we'll have to do an episode about that at some point. But, Kelly, anyway, for today's topic, do you want to take the first one?
Kelly Rice [00:01:51]:
And just for the record, I'm always happy to talk business books. I may not remember the author's names because I'm not great at that, but I can remember, you know, all the information in the book and all of that. So, you know, that I want to like fiction, but my brain just needs to be working in order to relax.
Victoria Rayburn [00:02:07]:
And I think we've had conversation.
Kelly Rice [00:02:09]:
I know, but I think that's just a small business owner tree. If we're not doing something productive, then it's just, we're. It's not helpful, right? Like, I can't. Yeah.
Victoria Rayburn [00:02:18]:
Yeah. So, see, I say that to you, and I've read how many business books like sitting on the beach? So I, like, I can't even call you out, but I feel like I need to. But anyway. Okay.
Kelly Rice [00:02:26]:
Right. I know.
Victoria Rayburn [00:02:27]:
Let's talk successful businesses.
Kelly Rice [00:02:28]:
Yes. So the first key that we found to building a successful small business is offering a quality product or service that solves a problem. And that last part is really key. So let's first talk about quality. And I really think that it goes without saying, but if the quality of your product or service is poor or it isn't aligned with what you're charging, you're going to have unhappy customers. And then these IRA customers will likely leave negative reviews and tell their friends and family about the bad experience, which is only going to diminish your brand reputation. So whether you sell a physical product or a digital product, or you offer like, a physical service, like most of our clients do, and what we do, make sure that you're providing quality work that reflects what you charge. Really important.
Kelly Rice [00:03:17]:
And then the second thing that you need to be aware of is that it needs to solve a problem. And I know that, like, that sounds obvious, right? It's like, hello, mister obvious show. But, but this is something that we as small business owners often overlook. And it's because we start a business, because, like, we're an expert in something or we see that we can do something better than what's happening within the industry, or we're really passionate about something. And as a result, we get caught up in all of the details of what we can offer and we literally forget to think about the true pain point that we are solving for, like, our ideal customers. Right? So, I mean, if we think about it, we know that people don't buy things just to buy them. We don't buy them just to buy them. We spend money to solve problems.
Kelly Rice [00:04:06]:
Now, the problem can be like an issue that, like, truly needs to be addressed. Like, oh my gosh, the foundation of my house is caving in and I need a contractor to fix it. Right? That's like an immediate, emergent type of problem. But the other problem that small businesses can solve, or should think about solving are more like the emotional or the feeling based one. So, for example, people often make a buying decision when they want to boost their ste, their self esteem or they feel like they want to belong. And I think a good example of this is the Stanley water bottles. Everybody and their brother has one, and then they have the arm strap for one and they have the stuff. You can put your phone, like all the accessories for a water bottle, right? There are cheaper water bottles out there, but people are willing to spend like $40 or more for a literal cup that keeps your water cold with a straw.
Kelly Rice [00:05:00]:
And it's because they subconsciously want to feel included. And that's the part of it. I mean, people aren't walking around going, hey, I want to feel like I'm part of the gang, so I'm going to go buy this cup. But that's part of marketing. It's solving an emotional or a feeling based problem for them. So if your offer doesn't solve a problem for your ideal customers, you cannot expect your business to be successful. And when I was preparing for the podcast today, one of the companies that came up, and I thought it was a good example, Victoria, that you brought up was tidal. And most of you probably have never heard of that, but it's a music streaming service that was launched by Jay Z back in like, 2015 with the intent, and had a really great intent of giving musicians higher payouts because musicians were having all these issues with, well, all kinds of things, right? Like, we can argue all day long, though, I guess, if musicians get paid enough for what they do or whatever, but beside the point, right? So all of the musicians were on board with this idea, but Tidal's ideal audience, people like you and me, yeah, we weren't because the subscription cost in 2015 was about $20.
Kelly Rice [00:06:10]:
But the platform, it didn't offer any type of free options. But then, on the other hand, you had Spotify that had a free option. You know, you had to have ads or whatever, but everybody's used to that. And then their premium subscription was only $10 a month. So with Tidal, music listeners were going to pay more to hear the same music that they could get to here for free, or at least half the cost on another platform. So basically, Jay Z's company, it didn't solve a problem for its customers, it solved a problem for the musicians. And as a result, I mean, I think the company still exists, but it's in a very different brand position today. They really struggled, and it's still by no means one of the top streaming platforms.
Kelly Rice [00:06:51]:
Right? Like, it's, it didn't meet the needs of the audience. It met the needs of the people that were selling stuff. So they didn't make their customer the hero.
Victoria Rayburn [00:07:01]:
Absolutely. Now, Kelly. So I don't want to derail this conversation too much, but, like, hearing you talk about this, I'm just curious, do you think the issue was more related to the company's failure to solve a problem, or do you think it was an issue with its messaging oh, I.
Kelly Rice [00:07:18]:
Actually think it was a combination of both. I mean, when the company launched, like, so much of its messaging highlighted why artists should exclusively stream their music on Tidal, but the company didn't really have much messaging for their users at all. I mean, and again, I don't want to keep derailing this from today's topic, but this is why creating clear messaging that makes your customer the hero of the story is so important. I mean, we'll never know. But do you think that if titles messaging had been more along the lines of something about supporting your favorite artist by using our streaming service, I think that would have been more successful, right? Because then we as an audience would have been like, oh, we really like Joe Smith as an artist, and we want to make sure that he's getting all the royalties for all of his hard work, and I want to specifically support him. That made me the hero of the story because I wanted to support Joe Smith and, you know, those types of things. What do you think?
Victoria Rayburn [00:08:15]:
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And it makes me kind of sad because I think it would have been like a really great marketing example. And now, I mean, the company has changed. They like, specifically, their messaging is really good, by the way, now, but they specifically target audio files. So people who really, really want the high quality audio. I mean, personally, I'm still happy with Spotify, but messaging did get better. And, you know, it looks like things are looking up.
Victoria Rayburn [00:08:41]:
Title does still exist, but yeah, as we have discussed, and I don't even know how many episodes at this point, like clear messaging, it's just the key to effective marketing. And y'all, if you have yet to clarify your messaging by writing your marketing guiding statements, I want to encourage you to take our free mini course, which breaks down exactly how to write your marketing guiding statements. You can access this course at the link in the show notes or by going to treefrogmarketing.com marketingguiding statements.
Kelly Rice [00:09:12]:
Yeah, but before this becomes another episode about marketing guiding statements, which, if you listen regularly, you know that we talk about it all the time. Your offer needs to solve a problem for your ideal customers. So basically, when you solve a problem, you provide value, and your customers are much more likely to invest in something that makes their lives easier or at least more enjoyable. So to determine the problem your offer can solve, you have to truly understand your audience. And the course that Victoria just mentioned includes an entire module on determining your audience and understanding your ideal customer. So again, check it out@treefrogmarketing.com/marketingguidingstatements but it's also very important to listen to your ideal customers before we completely derail this again, because you need to engage with them. You need to ask them questions.
Kelly Rice [00:10:03]:
Like when you receive feedback, you need to actually use it. Because when you do, you'll be able to tailor your products and services to meet your ideal customers specific needs. And you'll be able to solve their problems, create customer loyalty, and literally lay the foundation for long term business success. So you agree?
Victoria Rayburn [00:10:23]:
Absolutely.
Kelly Rice [00:10:23]:
And then I can stop talking about marketing guidance statements.
Victoria Rayburn [00:10:28]:
Yeah, I swear we do prepare for these episodes. Maybe we'll just eventually just start recording and ranting because it does happen. But anyway, second thing you need to do to build a successful business, in addition to offering a quality product or service that solves a problem, it's so important. I'm going to say it one more time, but you also need to provide an excellent client experience. Now. Okay, next, though, I am going to say something that you may not want to hear, and that is that the quality of the client experience you offer actually matters far more than the quality of your products or services. Stay with me. This is not to say that the quality of your offer doesn't matter.
Victoria Rayburn [00:11:09]:
I mean, we just spent five minutes talking about the importance of quality and problem solving. However, the customer experience you provide does matter even more. And this can be hard to hear when you take a lot of pride in your work. I mean, when I was a wedding photographer, I really, I wanted my images to speak for themselves and for people to book me because they love my photos, because they love me as an artist. However, unfortunately, you know, here's the thing. The average person has no idea what makes a great photo. Prospects were not going to my website, looking at my images and thinking like, whoa, I bet that harsh light was really hard to shoot in on that wedding day. Victoria did an amazing job.
Victoria Rayburn [00:11:48]:
Or, oh, wow, you know, I so appreciate how she used lead lines and framed the couple in these images. Like, she has to be our wedding photographer. Nobody, nobody thought that. Like, it makes me so sad to this day, but, like, my clients were never truly going to understand the quality of my photos. Your clients, regardless of what your small business does or sells, likely won't ever truly understand all the intricacies that go into your work. In fact, like, if you did a side by side of your and your competitors work, there is a really good chance that your clients wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. Like, even if your work is superior simply because your customers aren't experts in your field. Again, I am not saying that you should offer anything less than a great product or service.
Victoria Rayburn [00:12:34]:
However, in today's competitive market, providing an excellent client experience can set you apart from your competitors. Even if your market is saturated. From the initial interaction you have with your customers to the support that you give them during and even after their time with you, every touch point matters. So please, please, please be sure your communication is clear, timely and helpful under promise and over deliver great customer service protocols that you can ensure every customer is served well. And remember that happy clients are always going to be your best advocates. They're likely going to return for repeat business and refer you to others. So basically focus on service, not just transactions. This will help you create a loyal customer base that trusts and values your business, and this loyalty is only going to lead to success and growth.
Victoria Rayburn [00:13:30]:
Now, we've done several episodes on ways you can improve your client experience, so we aren't going to dive into different tactics or anything like that for the sake of time, but we will include links to some of these episodes in the show notes, so please check them out.
Natalie Franke [00:13:44]:
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Kelly Rice [00:14:29]:
Many small businesses don't have an effective marketing strategy, and because of this, they try one tactic after another without seeing results. This not only prevents consistent business growth, it makes managing marketing efforts more difficult than it should be. As a marketing agency for small businesses, we understand how frustrating it can be when hard work doesn't deliver the results that you want. Because of this, Treefrog has developed a proven four step marketing system that will help any small business grow. On our website, you can also schedule a 30 minutes discovery call to discuss working with Treefrog to build a marketing strategy that will allow your small business to finally see the growth you've been working so hard to achieve. Having a great client experience is so important because it builds loyal fans and followers. But then, on the flip side, a poor customer experience can be very troublesome for small business. Right? And especially small businesses.
Kelly Rice [00:15:22]:
It's like large businesses can usually overcome these things a lot easier than small businesses. But moving on to the next key to building a successful small business is something that many of you may not particularly enjoy, and that is knowing the numbers and making wise financial decisions. And this includes understanding your revenue streams, cost of doing business, expensive profit margins, and cash flow. And for the record, when I opened my company in 2000, I didn't really understand any of this. And it took years of the Lord putting phenomenal people in my path to understand these and guide me in the right direction. So I want that as a giant disclaimer, that if you're listening to this episode, Victoria and I are not financial experts. So we are not going to pretend that this is our zone of genius. So we're not going to tell you how to handle your finances.
Kelly Rice [00:16:11]:
But I do want to encourage you to check out a few resources. So, first of all, if you aren't currently working with a CPA or a fractional CFO, if you don't have a CFO in your company, you know, if you're a smaller business, I want to encourage you to find one, at least to bounce some ideas off of or give you some resources or some the basics, right? Like, we love our CPA, so don't try to do it yourself if you don't have, like this amazing accounting degree or whatever. That's what I learned very quickly. So while there are a lot of tools that you can use to track your finances, and having a financial expert making sure that you're recording and reporting and projecting everything properly is going to save you so much stress come tax season. And when you're looking at profitability and when you're looking to potentially add more employees or to grow or do anything like that, that will help you make wiser financial decisions. And one of the things that I do want to recommend, as we're, you know, we talked about book recommendations, is Donna Miller's book how to grow your small business. I highly recommend it. It's written in a way that anybody like me can understand it.
Kelly Rice [00:17:20]:
And it makes a ton of sense because he has systems and formulas and all that stuff in there, and he covers a ton in the book. But one of the things is, is that he details a simple structure that will help set you up for financial success. And I'll be sure to add the link to that book in the show notes. But then also while I'm recommending books. I also want to recommend profit first by Mike Kalawitz. I think I said it right. I am terrible at names. Again, we already covered that.
Kelly Rice [00:17:48]:
But in fact, the steps that Donald Miller lays out in his book, how to grow your small business are actually laid out in the profit first book. So highly recommended. Those two are, for those of you that were, like me, that just needs it laid out in, like, layman's terms to get an idea of it. Great, great books for that. And Victoria, I think you just recorded an episode with a CPA and fractional CFO, Linda Kersey, about practical ways for small businesses to handle their finances. But I don't think it's aired yet as of this episode, has it?
Victoria Rayburn [00:18:23]:
No. Not quite putting me on the spot.
Kelly Rice [00:18:26]:
Sorry.
Victoria Rayburn [00:18:26]:
Trying to think on the calendar. Linda's episode airs on July 9, so y'all be sure to tune into episode 152. So this is episode 150. So two episodes from now, there's lots of financial wisdom coming, but, yeah, yeah. Linda did just a fantastic job of breaking down systems that you need to put in place to manage your finances, as well as what financial professionals that you should be working with, like, such as a bookkeeper, CPA, fractional, CFO, just depending on the size of your business and your particular needs. So, yeah, that's coming.
Kelly Rice [00:19:04]:
Okay, so, everybody, stay tuned. Two episodes from now. Listen to Linda. Linda's interview. If you have no idea what you're doing from a financial perspective or you want to make sure that you are doing the right things. So. But for now, you need to know your numbers. You.
Kelly Rice [00:19:16]:
You really do. So otherwise, you simply aren't going to be able to make informed decisions or make wise investments or really to be able to build, like, a sustainable business. You'll just be kind of going off the cuff and crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. Yep.
Victoria Rayburn [00:19:30]:
And, I mean, I'll be honest. I am a creative at heart, and I really hate math. Like, I mean, how many times have.
Kelly Rice [00:19:38]:
You said, don't make me do math? Yeah. Yes.
Victoria Rayburn [00:19:41]:
Like, when we have to have financial conversations and we look at the back end of things, like, I'm sure my face just expresses nothing but fear, but I'm really thankful that we have people in our lives that are better at math, and I am. So, anyway, the financial side of running a business truly is not my favorite. But, you know, your revenue is. It's just so much of how you measure growth. So small business owners, you know, they're constantly saying, I want to grow, but, like, you cannot grow or set goals if you don't know where you are, you have to have something to compare and measure against use to set goals. And also, I do want to just say, like Kelly, I know you already said this, but I know this part of running a small business that can be intimidating. But like we said, like remember there are experts who can help you. And as Linda shares in her episode and the authors that Kelly recommended sharing their books, you really just need to be aware of a few key metrics.
Victoria Rayburn [00:20:36]:
Then a financial pro can help you take care of the rest. Like, you don't need to know every IR's rule and preference, but you need to know where your business stands and where you want to go. Okay, we're going to stop talking about finances because even just talking about this like this stresses me out already. So last but not least, and I know you aren't going to be surprised at all to hear me say this if you are a regular listener, but the final key to building a successful small business is having a marketing strategy that works. Especially if you want to take your business to the next level. You know, whatever that means for you. But. But offering a quality product or service, it solves a problem.
Victoria Rayburn [00:21:15]:
Providing an excellent client experience, knowing your numbers and just plain hard work like these are all keys to building a successful small business. But these things can only take you so far. In fact, most small businesses plateau, fail to get to the next level, or even can't keep their doors open simply because their marketing isn't equipped to take them any further than where they are now. Offering a great product or service and giving a great client experience like this is going to result in referrals. And don't get me wrong, as a small business, referrals are super important. I mean, 92% of people are more likely to trust businesses that friends recommend. Referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value than the average customer you know, meaning preferred customers are going to be both some of the easiest sales you make and your most profitable clients. However, if your business depends on referrals and word of mouth alone, your growth is limited.
Victoria Rayburn [00:22:14]:
Essentially, you're leaving your success up to others and the conversations they're having, because your business will only grow if your customers choose to share your business information with them. But when you have an effective marketing strategy, you can reach new prospects, which makes your growth more or less limitless. So to make this last region short and sweet, if you want to have a successful business a long term, you need a marketing strategy.
Kelly Rice [00:22:41]:
Yes, 100%. Amen. Like right?
Victoria Rayburn [00:22:47]:
Like that's kind of why we do what we do.
Kelly Rice [00:22:49]:
Right? Right. And there's nothing that Victoria and I want more than for your small businesses to succeed. And that's why we like to share the exact strategy that we use to help our agency clients and coaching students grow by 800% in some cases. And, and we want to share it with you so that you guys can make it your own. So we've detailed every single step in a guide which you can access in the show notes or@treefrogmarketing.com/flywheel.
Victoria Rayburn [00:23:21]:
Yes, you work to ever love and hard for your businesses growth to be limited by poor marketing. So please do not let a lack of having a marketing strategy or having an effective marketing strategy stand in the way of reaching your goals. So again, to access our guide, which is called the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses, the flywheel marketing method, check out the link in the show notes or like Kelly said, go to treefrogmarketing.com/flywheel.
Kelly Rice [00:23:50]:
Right. And you guys will be able to utilize that guide to one, understand, learn, and then implement this strategy yourself. So if you don't have a strategy, you do now. And you have zero excuses for not having a strategy now. So there's that. Right?
Victoria Rayburn [00:24:06]:
Yeah. All right.
Kelly Rice [00:24:07]:
On that happy note.
Victoria Rayburn [00:24:09]:
Yeah.
Kelly Rice [00:24:10]:
Love.
Victoria Rayburn [00:24:11]:
Tough love, right?
Kelly Rice [00:24:13]:
I mean, come on, how many of us business owners aren't like black and white, though? They're like, either do this or don't. And it is what it is. So I say it with love. We've given you a strategy. Use it. Yeah. So, yeah, yeah.
Victoria Rayburn [00:24:26]:
I could not agree more. But before we rant or yell at you anymore.
Kelly Rice [00:24:31]:
Yeah, I know, I know we've thrown a lot at everybody today. But like we said, we will include all of the resources that we mentioned in the show notes. But when you focus on these four things that we reviewed and, you know, a few caveats that we threw in there today, I can almost promise you that you'll be able to not just scale your business in the near future, but build a sustainable business that leaves a lasting legacy. And that is our goal for small businesses. Right? Not to work ourselves to death, but to build a lasting legacy.
Victoria Rayburn [00:25:03]:
Yes, that's a much happier note to end on. So on that note, thank you for tuning into another episode of the Priority Pursuit podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, we hope you'll take a moment to share it with your small business friends to leave us review on Apple Podcasts, and that you'll join us next week for even more marketing boundary and priority driven tactics. Plus, some tough love you can use to build a life and small business that you love.
