Tweed Business Advisory

🎙️

Boasting about great customer service in your marketing is a waste of time. It's become a cliché rather than a differentiator. And what a shame for those businesses that genuinely have incredible customer service! The term has lost all meaning in the last 3-4 years. 👉 Every company markets it, but few truly deliver. This has led to a credibility gap. Customers hear the promises, experience the reality, and trust erodes. 👉 It's ironic that a time when customer service could genuinely differentiate a business, it’s become harder than ever to prove your mettle until a customer actually commits. So how do you set yourself apart for it when everybody claims to offer it? Focus on offering something unique. If you can’t make what you sell unique, differentiate yourself by how you sell it. Tweed Business Advisory

❓Have you ever tried to make your business less reliant on you? ❓Do your customers ever ask that you personally get involved in their account? If so, one of the best things you can do to improve the value of your business (and your life) is to get your employees to treat your customers as well as you do. That’s easy to say but hard to do, which is why the story of Ian Fraser is so instructive. 🏌️A former pro golfer, Fraser got his start in business by helping elite golfers find the perfect clubs as a fitter at TaylorMade Europe. When Fraser launched his own club-fitting business, he quickly realised the necessity of teaching his club-fitting expertise to his employees if he aimed to elevate his company beyond a lifestyle business. ⛳ 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲-𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗲’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗲 Before founding TXG, Fraser had already dedicated most of his professional life to golf. He began playing at 15, and within three years, he had become a scratch golfer. He then spent eight years at TaylorMade Europe, working in various club-fitting roles where he collaborated with some of the biggest names in the PGA in Europe. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝘂 Fraser drew inspiration from Nobu, the five-star restaurant chain. Fraser argued that when you visit one of the 50 Nobu restaurants worldwide, you never question who the chef is that night. Fraser utilised the example to communicate his vision to his team. 𝟯. 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗤, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗜𝗤 Fraser aimed to establish a customer experience company that happened to fit golf clubs - that’s why he prioritised EQ over IQ when hiring. “I can teach you to fit a golf club, but I can’t teach you to be a good person.” 𝟰. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗢𝘀𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀 Most golf-fitting studios are private. Fraser, however, wanted to observe his apprentices at work and wanted them to learn from his interactions with clients. Therefore, he designed his location with three open-concept bays and worked from the middle one. 𝟱. 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 Fraser established a YouTube channel which amassed 216,000 subscribers. He understood that only 1% of his subscribers would ever step foot in a TXG store, but the channel reinforced TXG’s reputation as the world’s best club fitters. It transformed his marketing strategy from a cost into a profit centre as the channel generated over £300,000 per year in advertising revenue, which Fraser reinvested in growth. Fraser expanded TXG to a team of 14 employees, with a YouTube fan base of over 200,000, and generating revenue of £3 million. ⭐In 2022 TXG was acquired by Club Champion, the largest club-fitting company in the US, with more than 100 locations⭐ #exitplanning #business #businessadvisors

As a business owner, the decisions you make daily shape the future of your company. With so many choices competing for your time, understanding which ones most affect your company’s value is crucial. Your business is not just a source of income; it’s an investment. To maximise the return on that investment, you need to understand the details of what makes your business valuable.  💷 Financial Performance - Know your numbers 📈 Growth Potential - Is there juice left to squeeze? ⚡ The Switzerland Structure - Risk assessment ⚖️ The Valuation Seesaw - The strength of company cashflow 🔁 Recurring Revenue - Do you have any? 🤑 Monopoly Control - Strength of brand, marketing and “moat” 🙋♂️ Customer Satisfaction - Measure your customer loyalty 🛞 Hub & Spoke - Dependency on you as the owner The 8 Key Drivers of Company Value eBook: Download here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eWsV2KbQ #exitplanning #business #ebook

Most of us are trying to push our business to the next level 📈 Trying new things and adopting innovative business models is crucial for driving growth, as well as enhancing customer loyalty. One such strategy is the Trojan Horse subscription model, exemplified by giants like Amazon Prime. The model offers basic services or products through a subscription, which then serves as a gateway to upsell additional products or services. The benefits: 🟢 Enhanced Customer Retention 🟢 Increased Cross-Sell Opportunities 🟢 Improved Customer Lifetime Value 🟢 Access to Rich Customer Data How Can You Apply This to Your Business? ✅ Identify Your Core Offering: What value can you provide that will keep customers returning? This offering should be compelling enough to justify a subscription on its own. ✅ Strategically Plan Upsells: Once the subscription base is established, gradually introduce new products or services that complement or enhance the original offering. ✅ Leverage Customer Insights: Use the data collected from your subscribers to tailor upsells and cross-sells to their preferences and behaviours. Amazon Prime is a prime example of this model in action. It began as a simple loyalty program offering faster shipping but quickly expanded to include streaming services, exclusive shopping deals, and more. This strategy not only retained customers but also significantly increased their expenditure on Amazon, as reported by Business Insider. Prime customers spend 3x more than your average Amazon customer... Nobody said it was easy to implement a subscription model, especially for SME’s, but the potential rewards for your business are well worth the effort. #exitplanning #business #entrepeneurship

In the context of selling a business, "push and pull factors" refer to the reasons or motivations behind your decision to sell. 75% of business owners go on to regret selling their business within a year of exiting. The PUSH factors may be strong and emotionally leading to the decision to exit without an appreciation of WHY. Push Factors 🫸: The things that are driving you out of your business. They’re the things you won’t miss once you’ve sold the company. Taxes, red tape, employee relations. Eventually, enough of those build up that many owners throw up their hands and say, “I’m out”. More personal examples include: • Poor Health ❤️🩹 • Age 👴 • Burnout and Fatigue 😥 • Boredom 🥱 • Relationship Issues 💔 Pull factors ⚓: What you’re excited to do next. They could be things like starting another business in a whole new market, travelling the world, writing a book, or spending more time with family. Other examples include: • A Favourable Valuation 💷 • Strategic Buyers 💼 • Lifestyle Change 🚴♂️ • Philanthropy 😇 • De-Risking 📊 When considering selling a business, "push factors" often stem from less favourable internal conditions driving you to sell. These factors can make the decision to sell feel more like a necessity than a choice. On the other hand, "pull factors" are externally motivated reasons that make selling attractive, like market demand or lucrative offers, and are generally viewed more positively. #exitplanning #businesssale #businessadvisory