Re: Map Generator....

From: htp@mac.com (Henry)

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

In article <86pru8$qm4$1@fcnews.fc.hp.com>, "Glenn Dowdy"
<glenn_dowdy@agilent.com> wrote:

>> I'd better stop handing out my business cards which have the title
>> "Business Manager" on them, then.  I probably should also sell my company,
>> give away two offices, and shut down our 100 Mbps fibre link.  Obviously
>> my business acumen is insufficient to maintain and profitably utilise such
>> assets, and the fact that I created it all from scratch was a pure fluke.
>
> If you're still paying the bills, and your returns are what you're
> expecting, then I guess you should still stay in business. What is your
> business, by the way?

Mundane internet services (dial-up, co-location, virtual-hosting), and in
about a week, we get to add internet broadcasting (multicasting, actually)
to that list.

>> In all earnest, I do make sweeping generalisations, and I do have some
>> very narrow views on certain aspects of the world.  I prefer to think of
>> it as focus, however, and I'm not really concerned whether or not anyone
>> else agrees with me.  We employ neither marketers nor salespeople - never
>> have, never will.  We back up rock-solid products and services with
>> excellent technical support.  We don't even advertise - relying on
>> word-of-mouth for 100% of our business.  It is from this vantage point
>> that I cynically view the proponents of orthodoxy - those who think that
>> marketing and sales make the world go round.
>
> I'd have to say that if you can create and run a profitable business with
> marketing and sales, then your product falls far outside the norm.

I think you meant to say "...without marketing...".

Our 'product' is just the same product that about 500 ISPs in Australia
(and God-knows-how many worldwide) are providing.  Nothing special at
all.  Our differentiating factor is that we don't hype the product - we
just give them the raw facts and let them make their own decision.  Many
times our customers have commented an the refreshing _lack_ of pressure
and casual tone of our operations.  We're on a first-name basis with
virtually all of our customers.

> Anytime you can be successful while controlling costs, then you're
> doing a good job.  Now that we know your particular environment,
> some of your claims don't sound so much like raving.
>
> Seriously, without salespeople, how do you communicate with customers
> at the point of sale? Who actually completes the sale?

They get to hear about our products via word-of-mouth.  They get all the
raw facts from the website.  They call a phone number to have any
supplementary questions answered.  They go away and think about it for a
few days.  They call back and say they want to join.  Their service gets
activated then and there.  They send the paperwork and payment in later.

ALL of our staff can and do answer tech support questions - everyone is
technically savvy.  The same people handle the enquiries and sign
customers up when they decide they want to join.  I think we're tapping
into a 'the person who signs you up is the person who fixes your problems
later on' type of thing here.  One-to-one relationships prosper.  Customer
loyalty is *extremely* high.

We keep our customer base down to a manageable size (we've had queues, on
occassion), and our profit margins high.

Henry.

References

Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Wed, 26 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Glenn Dowdy" <glenn_dowdy@agilent.com>
Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Terry Austin" <taustin@hyperbooks.com>
Fri, 21 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Sun, 23 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
gherbert@crl3.crl.com (George Herbert)
Sun, 23 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Mon, 24 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Glenn Dowdy" <glenn_dowdy@agilent.com>
Tue, 25 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
Ilya <ilya@spam.free.gamecommandos.com>
Tue, 18 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
gherbert@crl3.crl.com (George Herbert)
Sat, 22 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Glenn Dowdy" <glenn_dowdy@agilent.com>
Wed, 26 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Wed, 26 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Glenn Dowdy" <glenn_dowdy@agilent.com>
Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Terry Austin" <taustin@hyperbooks.com>
Fri, 21 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Sun, 23 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
gherbert@crl3.crl.com (George Herbert)
Sun, 23 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Mon, 24 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Glenn Dowdy" <glenn_dowdy@agilent.com>
Tue, 25 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
Ilya <ilya@spam.free.gamecommandos.com>
Tue, 18 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
gherbert@crl3.crl.com (George Herbert)
Sat, 22 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
"Glenn Dowdy" <glenn_dowdy@agilent.com>
Wed, 26 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Map Generator....
htp@mac.com (Henry)
Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000