SHOW RECAP:

Thanks for joining us for another great episode of Makin’ It. Let us know what you think of the show in the comments section!

First up, we talk customer service and crisis management. In the internet age, crisis management is not a matter of if you need it, but when (just ask Olivia Pope). So when John Q. Public shows up on your company’s social media, pitchfork in hand, what’s your plan? Do you have a plan? If you don’t, you should…no matter the size of your company.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
-Warren Buffet

Recently the airline JetBlue found itself in the midst of a public relations crisis. Their network went down and customers took their frustrations to the web. This is a company known for its customer service, especially on social media. But in this instance, perhaps JetBlue didn’t handle things as well as they could have. We debate pre-emptive vs. reactive responses and share an example of a company who turned a disaster into a win.

How do you handle your social media crises? Leave us your best tips in the comments. We may share them on the air!

Next up, we continue our customer focused discussion with young entrepreneur Ryan Memmelaar whose company, ClearSaleing, developed metrics for measuring online ad effectiveness. The cardinal sin of many small businesses is to hyper focus on the product without considering the customer’s needs. Ryan shares how he and his partners changed their business model to focus on the customer – a move that grew the company to the point that it was sold to GSI/e-Bay for millions.

Ryan’s company was at the forefront of marketing analytics, one of the hottest aspects of the digital advertising age. Here are some resources for analytics tools and information on how to quantify your analytics data.

We also spend some time talking with Ryan about exit strategies, business valuation and translating vision into cash flow. He shares some valuable lessons learned as well as some things he would do differently the next time around.

If you’re thinking about selling your business, how important do you think it is to be able to walk away (or at least threaten to walk away)? Let us know in the comments.

Tommy and Ryan also bond over their vacation packing habits. Anyone else hit the road with two laptops? We want to hear from you. Maybe we’ll start a club…

To keep up with Ryan, follow him on Twitter @rmemmelaar and check out his latest business venture, Full Speed Fitness.

In our Makin’ It or Breakin’ It segment, we talk horizontal versus vertical leadership. Which works best in your organization? Do you run your company from the top down, like the military? Or is your organization flat? Let us know what works and doesn’t work for you (and why) in the comments section.

Tommy discusses the concept of VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) in this week’s show. Learn more about it here and here.

Thanks for tuning in to Makin’ It. Let us know what you think of the show and if you have questions about your business, send us an email at info@makinitnow.com or leave us a comment below. We love to hear from our listeners and we read comments on the air. We just might choose yours for next week’s show (so don’t forget to tune in!).

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Be sure to tune in every week to the Makin It radio show on your local station or listen to past shows anytime.

Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs:

>>Tips on creating a crisis management plan can be found here and here

>>Strategies for keeping your business customer focused

>>Types of exit strategies to consider and how to choose the right one for your business

>>Advice from the Small Business Administration on creating exit strategy plans

>>Information on different types of business valuations can be found here and here

>>Order your FREE downloadable version of Tommy’s new book, “The Way of the Rich” which shares other rags to riches stories like Zhou Qunfei’s

>>Visit our Facebook and Instagram pages and follow us on Twitter.

>>Be sure to tune in every week to the Makin It radio show on your local station or listen to past shows anytime.