You are what you charge for. And if you're competing solely on the basis of price, then you've been commoditized, offering little or no true differentiation. What would your customers really value? Better yet, for what would they pay a premium? Experiences!

In 1999, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore offered this idea as a new way to think about connecting with customers and securing their loyalty. As a result, their book The Experience Economy is a classic, embraced by readers and companies worldwide.

Fast forward to today. The world has changed in many ways since then; the way to a customer's heart has not. Make no mistake, goods and services are just no longer enough ...

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We all make decisions - small, medium, large, extra large - every day. And I believe that our success is the sum total of all our decisions. Seth Godin recently published a blog focused on reconsidering decisions. Read on and see if you make these mistakes ...

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Joe Pine is the co author of The Experience Economy, updated version 2011. Goods and services are no longer enough - the theme of this book - continues to this day to be relevant in our economy today. Check out this short video and learn why.

Recently I have experienced a wave of blogs, news articles, pundits, entrepreneurs and business executives saying that business plans are not necessary for smaller faster growing companies--a waste of time! They justify this viewpoint by pointing out that planning 1) takes too much time and resources, 2) costs too much, 3) has a small payoff, and 4) resulting strategies are short-lived. Are business plans really dead? Do you really need one?

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What are you measuring to assess how your customers perceive your business? We all are experiencing a significant transformation in customer behavior today, and want to understand how they view our respective businesses.

The Net Promoter Score methodology was developed as an effective and powerful way to measure customer satisfaction and is based around asking customers a single question that is predictive of both repurchase and referral.

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Check out this 2 minute overview of the Business Model Canvas, a tool for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. This method from the bestselling management book Business Model Generation is applied in leading organizations and start-ups worldwide.

NO. A simple word, but hard to say and act upon. Yet it is a key to our focus and ultimately to our success. Steve Jobs advised his many followers "Say no to a thousand things." What are you saying "no" to?

No, we don't take clients like that.
No, that's not part of what we offer.
No, that market is too hard for us to service properly.
No, I won't bend on this principle.
No, I'm sorry, I won't be able to have lunch with you.
No, that's not good enough. Will you please do it again?
No, I'm not willing to lose my focus, and no, I'm not willing to compromise.

Are you saying NO many, many more times than you are saying yes? Here is how.

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Guest Posting by Dave Power, Power Strategy Inc.
What can we learn about innovation and growth from the most successful growth companies? Global competition and a weak economy have made growth more challenging than ever. Yet some organizations such as Apple, Amazon, and Starbucks seem to defy the laws of economic gravity. The most successful growth companies adopt at least four best practices ...

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