The three decades I spent in the cloth diaper industry taught me a whole lot about how hard running a small business is, but nonetheless, I fell in love with doing just that. The cloth diaper industry is a complex, wonderful, and very unique niche industry, fueled by passionate advocates for the environment and extreme lovers of all things baby-related. It is challenging and gratifying and I believe that you can apply the lessons learned to most small and medium-sized businesses. Here are 5 of my favourites!
Never say bad things about your competition or about anyone.
When asked to compare my products with those of another company - I learned to say the following: "I'm sorry, I don't know a lot about their products - but let me tell you why MY products are so great." When you do business like that, even your nastiest competitor will find it hard to say bad things about you or your brand.
Once upon a time, one of my diaper service clients actually copied my product with a local manufacturer and put a 'patent pending' label on it. He then sold it to his customers in place of my product. I called Industry Canada, took the steps I was advised to by them, and despite the anger and hurt I felt, spoke courteously with my customer about what I had put in motion.
I also said that I appreciated working with him, and hoped that someday he would consider selling my products again. I never bad-mouthed him and I never gossiped about what happened to anyone.
Half a year later he did come back, expanded the range of my products he was selling, and became one of my best customers and a good friend too. Our customer relationship spanned over 20 years, and our personal friendship continues.
Positive marketing works better.
The argument for using cloth diapers is always a VERY positive one - all about saving money and the environment. This creates a feel-good buzz – and is genius for marketers.
For example - talking about how much garbage is kept out of the waste stream by using cloth diapers works better than telling new parents how many tons of garbage they'll generate using disposable diapers. It's a subtle but powerful difference that allows consumers to choose your products for POSITIVE reasons.
Several years ago there was a big scare about a brand of disposable diapers that seemed to cause severe skin reactions in some babies. Resisting the temptation to market negatively and take advantage of this news story and new parents’ fears of toxicity, we focused instead on how comfy, cozy and healthy cloth diapers are. Again - a subtle variation, but it made a HUGE difference in marketing.
Positive imagery and upbeat marketing mean that people think good things about your product, and associate feeling good about themselves with choosing your brand!
Everything is easier when passion shapes and drives your business.
The passion people feel about selling cloth diapers really fuels their marketing story. It inspires and infuses their brand vision and creates powerful momentum and cohesion in their marketing message.
The truth is that MOST people start a business because they have a passion, something to share with others - something they think the rest of us need or want or that will enhance our lives or solve a problem for us. So speaking from the heart, having a simple and clear message and using that message in all the ways that you communicate with clients, suppliers, investors and the media - this is where marketing magic happens.
Your social media becomes easy, product development is a clear road ahead, and your expansion strategy simply falls into place. It's the kind of message that convinces people to buy your brand and to talk about your brand. It's also what makes a business plan seem utterly logical AND actionable to bankers and investors.
Good customer service can transform cranky and disaffected customers into lifelong fans of your brand.
Active listening, having real empathy for the dilemma, making a promise to find a solution, and then keeping that promise are the most important tools in your customer service kit. This is marketing genius. I discovered that simply following up on a leaking diaper situation and showing we cared about it - was pure gold to new parents.
Make sure YOUR brand (whatever you sell) stands up to the promises it makes to the consumer, and hire and train your employees accordingly, so they represent your brand well - even with cranky customers.
In fact, cranky customers need even MORE love than nice customers! When this is put into action, people can move from distrusting your brand to being loyal brand advocates - because someone in your organization cared about them and their dissatisfaction. That caring could take the form of actually replacing the product, telling them about another way to wash the product, sending a sample of something inexpensive or even something as simple as a follow-up e-mail to say "I'm sorry you had a problem."
Hire curious, kind people and let them shine.
Hiring can be a real crapshoot! Choosing the most experienced person is not always the way to go. I learned to hire for character, and for kindness and curiosity.
Kindness - because these are people who will care about your customers and you, and because they work well with other people.
Curiosity - because curious people are forward-looking and always interested in learning new things. They embrace new technologies more quickly, are always willing to take on projects, try to do the best they can at everything they do, and are often excited about change - a mindset that keeps businesses ahead of the curve.
Hiring kind and curious people is just the start! Communicate effectively with your employees, seek their opinions and treat them like respected colleagues. It's a simple recipe for success and will bring their best selves to the fore.
It doesn't mean they always get to choose the path or the solution to a challenge. Making those hard decisions is ultimately YOUR responsibility, after all, as a manager or business owner. But it's very likely that they may sometimes come up with ideas that are even better than yours. Letting them shine brightly and nurturing their skills will make your workplace happier, healthier and more productive - and your kind, happy and brilliant team will make YOU look really smart….
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