About a year ago, I decided to transition to a larger and more sophisticated client base. This decision was based on a number of reasons. I found that the smaller clients I had started my business with in many cases were detached for their role in the sales and marketing process. Many times they missed important marketing meetings, ignored reports on the progress of our marketing efforts and often never really knew what was really going on with the marketing effort. We found that we were taking an enormous amount of time responding to us on issues like copy approvals, or content information that we needed to proceed. These continuous delays resulted many time resulted in missing important deadlines and posed a negative impact on the marketing results. We even had problems getting return phone calls or emails and many times had to resort to driving over to their offices to get the information or approvals we needed.
At the same time we realized that we had become far more knowledgeable than we were in the beginning of our business. We also found it difficult to acquire and maintain a quality staff due the constant frustrations of client apathy. This led us to believe that moving to the next level was the only step. This was a scary move and one that required stepping outside our comfort zone. Those first steps were big ones and really into the unknown. We started by establishing a profile for our new customer base. This included their estimated gross sales and a heightened understanding of marketing. Prior to making this change, I shared this idea with my good friend and strategic partner, Brian Tucker at Impact Media. He agreed and encouraged me to move beyond the clients that only had limited vision and made marketing a low level priority. Once making the move it was like relocating to a whole new neighborhood. We left the comfort of the old neighborhood where everyone knew us and liked us, to a neighborhood that was somewhat intimidating where we knew far less of our neighbors. Most of all they knew far less about us. While I’ve been in the marine industry for nearly 20 years, this was a segment of the industry which I had never visited with frequency.
A year later, I’ll have to say, the move was a great one. I’ve found that the larger and more successful clients have a much more broad level of expertise and professionalism. They take marketing and the work we do for them more seriously. They have a greater understanding and ultimately respect for the job we do for them as well as our time. Best of all, they challenge us to be better organized and knowledgeable. They also make it fun to bring new ideas to the table even though many times it’s even out of their comfort zone. I gotta say…..I really like this new neighborhood. It was scary at first. We had to build new relationships and sharpen our game, but it was rewarding. Now we feel challenged to find new ways to make these clients successful because we know they will take our efforts and turn it into that success. These clients inspire me to learn and share that learning with my staff. They inspire me as well as my staff to perform better every day and for that I want to thank them.
Over the past year I learned that the “comfort zone” is probably misnamed. It should be the “stagnant zone”. The one thing our current clients seem to all share is their ability to move out of that “stagnant zone” and pursue success on a far more grand level than those that stay there. This is the reason their companies are larger and their sales are greater. It’s the reason they are innovators and leaders in their respective fields. As a result of their influence, I plan to an innovator and a leader in the field of marking thanks to them. Take that leap to the next level. It’s the level where great things happen, largely due to the great people (neighborhood) you surround yourself with. You’ll be glad you did.
