Post by oldman on Oct 14, 2014 20:37:18 GMT 7
2002: Be An Entrepreneur!
Section: The Spirit of an Entrepreneur
Every business is built to serve a group of customers. Without customers, there can be no business. Without business there will be no need for entrepreneurs.
To be successful, an entrepreneur must be as close to his customers as possible. He must first be able to identify the group of people that are likely to be his potential customers. Then he must associate with them and understand how they think and act, and look for areas where they need certain products or services. It may be that these products or services are already available but the quality or price is too prohibitive.
An entrepreneur will recognise this as an opportunity in the marketplace and will quickly build a business to fill this vacuum. To be able to recognise this opportunity, the entrepreneur must know the industry very well. It is likely that the entrepreneur has worked in the industry before or that he has a hobby in the industry.
As he becomes more successful, he must constantly remind himself to be close to his customers. This is especially true nowadays when trends change very quickly and competitors can sprout up overnight.
As such, entrepreneurs must like people. They must like talking to people, mixing around, and taking all opportunities to know their customers well. An entrepreneur knows that if he excels in his service level to his customers, they will be more likely to buy his products or services. His interest in people and his ability to handle them is one of the hallmarks of the entrepreneur.
When I started my Internet business, I realised that the power of the Internet is not in the technology but in its ability to reach out to people. Never before could the man in the street gain the attention of tens of thousands of people without controlling a newspaper, a radio station, or a television station. As a medium, the Internet is ideal, as, unlike the newspaper, which is printed once or twice daily, news on the Web can be updated immediately. Internet sites also have the ability to incorporate the multimedia capabilities of television and radio and, at the same time, add in the interactive elements of discussion, video conferencing and targeted marketing. Moreover, an Internet platform is accessible from anywhere in the world.
It is sad to have gone through the period when the Internet was hyped up to create the Internet bubble, as we all know it today. As a result of the bursting of this bubble, many people are abandoning the Internet but not realising that though there was hype, there is something real behind the Internet. That something real is the ability to reach out to a very large audience – the exact tool that an entrepreneur needs.
While everyone else is now trying to dissociate himself from the Internet, I am doing the reverse and am putting in more effort in harnessing the power of the Internet to reach out to people.
However, as you are now reaching out to tens of thousands of people, a new skill is required to communicate and interact with such a large group. As the Internet is faceless and words can be interpreted in many different ways, misunderstanding on the Internet is not uncommon. The ability to recognise potential misunderstandings and to resolve them is an art in itself.
Sadly, I have seen many companies shy away from the interactive nature of the Internet. To these companies, the Internet is just a one-way medium for them to communicate their message to their customers or shareholders, when in fact, the Internet is an ideal platform for two-way communication. After all, businesses should revolve around their customers; and what better way of knowing how your customers think, act and feel about your product or service than to hear it directly from them. In so doing, if there are misunderstandings or misinterpretations, you can correct these immediately. Moreover, it is more than likely that many other consumers may also be facing the same problems.When they see replies from the management, they too can benefit from the exchange of views.
As business is about people, it is important that entrepreneurs stay close to their customers. No one knows what he wants better than the customer himself. Entrepreneurs can use the power of the Internet to interact directly with their customers and in so doing, get to know them even better.
Not all customers are on the Internet and as such, it is important that the entrepreneur still maintains the other traditional ways of keeping the company in touch with its customers. These will include monthly mailers and the occasional face-to-face meetings and gatherings. Only by knowing the customer well can a business identify the customer’s needs and take steps to mould its products and services to cater to these needs.
To retain customers, every business needs to provide the best possible customer service. This may mean that we should go out of our way to give our customers a personalised service that they will not forget. A loyal customer is more likely to refer others to our business. On the other hand, a disappointed customer is likely to share his disappointment with others.
Every business must identify its customer base, mould its products and services to fit the customer’s requirements, and must provide the best customer service in order to retain and encourage the customer to do more business with it.
Section: The Spirit of an Entrepreneur
Every business is built to serve a group of customers. Without customers, there can be no business. Without business there will be no need for entrepreneurs.
To be successful, an entrepreneur must be as close to his customers as possible. He must first be able to identify the group of people that are likely to be his potential customers. Then he must associate with them and understand how they think and act, and look for areas where they need certain products or services. It may be that these products or services are already available but the quality or price is too prohibitive.
An entrepreneur will recognise this as an opportunity in the marketplace and will quickly build a business to fill this vacuum. To be able to recognise this opportunity, the entrepreneur must know the industry very well. It is likely that the entrepreneur has worked in the industry before or that he has a hobby in the industry.
As he becomes more successful, he must constantly remind himself to be close to his customers. This is especially true nowadays when trends change very quickly and competitors can sprout up overnight.
As such, entrepreneurs must like people. They must like talking to people, mixing around, and taking all opportunities to know their customers well. An entrepreneur knows that if he excels in his service level to his customers, they will be more likely to buy his products or services. His interest in people and his ability to handle them is one of the hallmarks of the entrepreneur.
When I started my Internet business, I realised that the power of the Internet is not in the technology but in its ability to reach out to people. Never before could the man in the street gain the attention of tens of thousands of people without controlling a newspaper, a radio station, or a television station. As a medium, the Internet is ideal, as, unlike the newspaper, which is printed once or twice daily, news on the Web can be updated immediately. Internet sites also have the ability to incorporate the multimedia capabilities of television and radio and, at the same time, add in the interactive elements of discussion, video conferencing and targeted marketing. Moreover, an Internet platform is accessible from anywhere in the world.
It is sad to have gone through the period when the Internet was hyped up to create the Internet bubble, as we all know it today. As a result of the bursting of this bubble, many people are abandoning the Internet but not realising that though there was hype, there is something real behind the Internet. That something real is the ability to reach out to a very large audience – the exact tool that an entrepreneur needs.
While everyone else is now trying to dissociate himself from the Internet, I am doing the reverse and am putting in more effort in harnessing the power of the Internet to reach out to people.
However, as you are now reaching out to tens of thousands of people, a new skill is required to communicate and interact with such a large group. As the Internet is faceless and words can be interpreted in many different ways, misunderstanding on the Internet is not uncommon. The ability to recognise potential misunderstandings and to resolve them is an art in itself.
Sadly, I have seen many companies shy away from the interactive nature of the Internet. To these companies, the Internet is just a one-way medium for them to communicate their message to their customers or shareholders, when in fact, the Internet is an ideal platform for two-way communication. After all, businesses should revolve around their customers; and what better way of knowing how your customers think, act and feel about your product or service than to hear it directly from them. In so doing, if there are misunderstandings or misinterpretations, you can correct these immediately. Moreover, it is more than likely that many other consumers may also be facing the same problems.When they see replies from the management, they too can benefit from the exchange of views.
As business is about people, it is important that entrepreneurs stay close to their customers. No one knows what he wants better than the customer himself. Entrepreneurs can use the power of the Internet to interact directly with their customers and in so doing, get to know them even better.
Not all customers are on the Internet and as such, it is important that the entrepreneur still maintains the other traditional ways of keeping the company in touch with its customers. These will include monthly mailers and the occasional face-to-face meetings and gatherings. Only by knowing the customer well can a business identify the customer’s needs and take steps to mould its products and services to cater to these needs.
To retain customers, every business needs to provide the best possible customer service. This may mean that we should go out of our way to give our customers a personalised service that they will not forget. A loyal customer is more likely to refer others to our business. On the other hand, a disappointed customer is likely to share his disappointment with others.
Every business must identify its customer base, mould its products and services to fit the customer’s requirements, and must provide the best customer service in order to retain and encourage the customer to do more business with it.