"Before and After" is a classic "Wheel of Fortune" category. And it's also a really good strategy for both product management and revenue growth. 

At a Local Board meeting, the idea of "Look Before and After" was suggested as a way to identify opportunities with existing customers. "Before and After" refers to looking at what a customer does or what products or services he uses just before or just after he uses your product or service.  You may be able to pick up that business, help your customer, and grow your revenues.  

More on how to make this idea work for you...... 

Do you have a process for capturing customer requests you didn't quote or couldn't supply?  Several CEBI companies do, and they're very successful in converting those into new products and service offerings.  

We many times focus so hard on selling what we have, we forget to pay attention to what we don't have.  What are customers asking for that we can't or don't respond to?  What could be easier than selling something else to a customer who already knows and likes you?  Yet many companies don't have good ways of tracking this unrealized business -- it isn't even considered "lost" -- we just ignore it because "we don't do that."

Here's what CEBI companies are doing to identify new and unmet customer needs.... 

One CEBI member recently made a profound observation from his experiences looking at hundreds of potential portfolio companies for investment by his private equity group.

He said: "Small businesses have an uncanny ability to operate right at or just above the breakeven line." I looked at him somewhat quizically, and he explained that "For some reason, people will do almost anything to keep from losing money. For some even stranger reason, they won't go ahead and do enough to actually make some real money." 

I'm regularly surprised at how hard some business owners work, without actually earning what they should for that effort.  Part of that problem is that they don't have good metrics on what "good" looks like in their industry, and also that their own financial instrumentation lacks both timeliness and accuracy.  

Late and mistaken financial metrics can cost you a lot of money. 

  Here are 3 ways to improve your company's financial instrumentation... 

CEBI Members received an Alert this past month about how large companies are using small-denomination gift cards (really small -- $15, $25 and $50 denominations) for their "spot" recognition programs.  

We've talked a lot about the different world view of GenX and GenY employees, and this is a way to meet that "right now" feedback/reward need of this age group.   

Since that Alert went out, we've had replies from CEBI member companies who are successfully using this strategy, and also a service provider who's in the business of designing and fulfilling these kinds of reward programs.  

More on spot recognition programs...

Reminder -- our Spring Summit is in Chicago, April 23-24.  April 22 is CEBI Bowling Nite at Eaglewood Resort.