Recently, I had the unique opportunity to fly down to Miami and meet with a billionaire. Yes, billionaire with a “B”. I am involved with a peer group of other technology service providers just like ComTech around the country. Through the group, ComTech donated to St. Jude and in exchange had the opportunity to talk with Marcus Lemonis about a variety of topics and what he sees for 2022. You may have heard of Marcus Lemonis from his show “The Profit” on CNBC. He is also the owner of Camping World and many other very successful businesses. I felt compelled to share some of what I learned during that private meeting.
First of all, Marcus is a genuine down-to-earth guy. If you have watched “The Profit”, his attitude is the same on the show as it is in person – humble. I was very fortunate to sit down in a room with him, along with others and discuss business for a few hours. We covered a large variety of topics and there were some gold nuggets I wanted to share with you.
1. Every business owner should treat clients as stakeholders (not shareholders) in our companies.
Too many times clients are treated as merely customers and just ringing up another transaction. He (Marcus) further explained, their well-being and profitability ultimately determine your company’s longevity and profitability. Treating clients as your company’s lifeblood is a totally different perspective and makes all the difference in loyalty, repeat sales, word of mouth, referrals, etc. This should be common sense, but many companies seem to forget that and just want to take, take, take from their clients. At ComTech, we love showing how much we appreciate our clients by offering free educational events, seminars, efficiency enhancement tools, complimentary services, training videos, sharing email content like this one and much more. The appreciation we have for our clients aligns well with what Marcus said and I believe that’s why our clients choose to continue working with us for many years. We love seeing our clients succeed and enjoy playing a part by using technology as leverage. So how can you do this? It’s simple. Just take care of your clients and they will take care of you. Your business is different than mine, but if you see your clients as relationships and not just transactions, your business and theirs will succeed.
2. Compliance is coming to more and more industries.
The Healthcare and Financial industry are probably the top two regulated sectors. But compliance is going to extend into many other areas as well, and sooner than you might think. So what should you do now? Here is an example: A parts manufacturer should be looking at how human resources data is being processed and stored so there are no HIPAA or privacy violations. If your company accepts credit or debit cards, then you already fall under PCI compliance regulations. If you store any personal data or financial data, getting your “ducks in a row” sooner than later will make it all easier in the end. Meaning, analyze how this sensitive information is handled initially when it is received to where it is stored and who can access it. A benefit to evaluating your systems now, is that you might identify problems or security issues and prevent something bad from happening in the future. If you need any assistance with HIPAA, PCI or CMMC (federal government security compliance) then please just let us know. We have experts ready to assist in all these areas.
- If you would like to talk about treating your customers more like clients, we are happy to talk with you. This mindset shift must be intentional and genuine. It will make a huge difference in both your business and theirs.
- If you would like to discuss compliance in your industry and how it could affect you, we are also happy to do so. Most people dismiss compliance until they have to. The sooner you take it seriously before you are forced to, the better off you are.
Contact us today to see how we can help increase the relationships you have with your clients as well as how compliance is handled within your business.
