Is Your Business Retention Program Designed to Fail?
It's an unfortunate reality: far too many business retention and expansion programs are designed to fail.
Why? These programs are focused on surveys and data gathering when they should be helping individual businesses survive and flourish. Survey-centric or data-driven programs typically start with a bang and quickly end with a fizzle because they are not focused on key business and community stakeholders.
At ExecutivePulse, Inc. business retention takes a decidedly different approach. It is defined as a relationship-building opportunity with the community's business owners – not a question-and-answer interrogation or a survey process. It is multi-disciplinary and holistic, encompassing economic, community and workforce development. Working in a clearly defined team structure, these professionals share a common objective and focus squarely on the customer – the business owner who employs local residents, considers investment decisions and, ultimately, makes the stay-or-go decision.
This approach to business retention is a reflection of its principals, Laith Wardi and Del Birch. Unlike other business retention and expansion consultants, Wardi and Birch are experienced in all facets of business retention – from outreach activities and team building to program managers and management/ technology consultants for clients across North America. Their approach to business retention combines in-the-field experience with proven private sector customer satisfaction techniques including one-on-one database marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) practices.
The goal is to create unique, customized solutions that meet the needs of your community's wealth- and job-generating businesses — one business at a time.
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Data Gathering or Relationship-Building?
What's the focus of your business retention program?
Is it gathering data so you can issue impressive-looking color reports with tables and charts of data?
Or is it an opportunity to build a relationship and provide assistance to a business owner who employs local residents, invests in the business and is part of the civic fabric of the community?
At ExecutivePulse, Inc., business retention is emphatically a relationship-building opportunity.
As practitioners, we know it's a tried-and-true phenomenon… when the CEO understands that you are focused on the business (and not your database), he/she will tell you just about everything you need to know to understand the company and provide relevant resources.
If you are fixated on data gathering, go ahead and collect data… just don't make the mistake of calling your data-gathering effort a business retention program.
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