What is the right time to get started with Endless Customers?

You have visited our Lunch & Learn or read Marcus Sheridan's book and are enthusiastic about Endless Customers (formerly They Ask, You Answer). You can totally see how this method could work for your business.

But now that you're back in the office, doubt strikes. Is this really the right time to start? There are so many other things to do. Shouldn't you get those in order first?

Recognizable? You're certainly not the only one who thinks this way.

At Buzzlytics, we regularly talk to companies that want to wait with Endless Customers because they think they need to have everything in perfect order first. But that mindset can actually stop your business from growing and getting results faster.

In this article, we’ll explore both avoidable and unavoidable reasons for postponing Endless Customers and the potential consequences of delaying it. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to make an informed decision: Is now the right time, or would it be better to wait a little longer?

When we talk to companies, they come up with all sorts of reasons why they can't (won't?) start with Endless Customers yet.

Below I list some common reasons and explain whether they are actually good reasons to wait (spoiler: usually not).

One of the reasons I hear most often is that the basics are not yet in place. "What do you mean by the basics?", I then ask. Often my conversation partner then replies that the website is chaos or that he needs a CRM first.

This is not necessary.

The big advantage of Endless Customers is that you can get started quickly and see the first results. This can often be done with a few optimizations to your website. The rest can be done later.

Getting a new website created takes months, but an article published today can be used by sales in the sales process as early as tomorrow.

An article published today can be used by sales in the sales process as early as tomorrow.

Another common reason is that the team is still too small to hire a marketer. Companies then state that they cannot do so until they have twenty-five employees.

But a content manager who writes articles that generate leads and sales can be of tremendous value right from the start.

You don't have to have a team of X number of people or a certain minimum turnover for that first.

Our team consists of less than ten FTE and we also have our own content manager.

Are you unsure about the business case for your company? We are happy to help you decide whether or not it is a good idea to start with Endless Customers now. Schedule an appointment with one of our consultants.

A content manager who writes articles that generate leads and sales can be of tremendous value from the start.

Furthermore, internal resistance often plays a role.

We often see that business owners and marketing managers are very excited after attending a lunch & learn or reading the book.

But once back in the office, they begin to see bears on the road as soon as they sense resistance within their team.

This is quite normal.

In fact: it is rare for an entire team to get excited about Endless Customers right away. And if it does happen, it is because the CEO has discovered Endless Customers himself.

I myself, in my role as CMO at a SaaS company, also ran into resistance from my CEO. In the end, however, I managed to implement Endless Customers with great success.

Often the resistance has to do with the fact that the others on your team have not attended the lunch & learn and/or have not read the book. As a result, they miss the context and information that you do.

Are you also facing internal resistance? An Endless Customers workshop can often help to get everyone in your company on the same page.

Something else I often hear companies say is that they don't have the right people yet. "We need to hire a content manager first," they'll say.

But if you hire a content manager before you start with Endless Customers, chances are you're bringing on board someone with their own ideas and their own vision, which doesn't align with the vision of Endless Customers.

I have unfortunately seen this happen more than once to clients.

New content managers want to put their own stamp on their role and obviously don't come in with: "I need coaching and training."

But in our experience, they usually need it in order to write content that meets Endless Customers' high quality standards. Experienced content managers often struggle with that and shoot into resistance. And that can get in the way of a successful implementation of Endless Customers.

Therefore, it is important that you first make the decision that you are going to implement Endless Customers within your company and only then post a job posting for a content manager explaining that you are working with Endless Customers.

The job posting below is from a client of ours. The text makes it very clear that the content manager to be hired will be working with the Endless Customers method. Content managers who want to work with another method now know that they don't have to apply.

I've spoken to dozens of content managers over the past few years and helped companies hire the right content manager. I'm happy to share that experience and knowledge with you in the marketing and sales program. That way, you'll avoid many of the mistakes I've made and you'll probably be able to hire a content manager with the right attributes faster.

Make the decision to start with Endless Customers first and only then hire a content manager.

Sometimes companies are in the middle of a repositioning or acquisition process, so it's not the right time to get started with Endless Customers.

We agree, but a repositioning is a very opportune moment to start StoryBrand. After all, your new positioning also needs to be translated into a clear message. Once you've done that, you can still start working with Endless Customers. A StoryBrand implementation can also be part of your marketing and sales program.

So companies are very resourceful in coming up with reasons why they shouldn't start with Endless Customers yet. In reality, few of these reasons are insurmountable, except for the ones below.

Implementing Endless Customers isn't cheap. You have to deal with the cost of the marketing and sales program, the cost of a content manager, and the cost of HubSpotand other tools.

If you have absolutely no financial resources, it stops.

But often more turns out to be possible than companies think. For example, we also work with startups that are not yet generating enough revenue to cover the costs of a marketing and sales program. They see it as an investment that will pay for itself in the long run.

We will then create a plan with them to see how many customers they need to bring in within a certain time frame in order for Endless Customers to be cost-effective and what content they need to close those deals.

What is important is that there is sufficient funding to give us time to properly establish Endless Customers. The long-term impact of Endless Customers is very big, but it requires investment in the beginning.

Would you like to start with Endless Customers but don't see how you can make the business case? We'd love to help you with a plan too. Schedule a consultation with one of our consultants and we'll discuss your situation with you.

The long-term impact of Endless Customers is very big, but it requires investment in the beginning.

Is management, marketing and sales not getting enthusiastic about Endless Customers despite an Endless Customers workshop? Or is your CEO not open to a workshop at all? Then it will be very difficult to get Endless Customers off the ground.

Management support is one of the most important factors determining whether Endless Customers will be a success within a company. If management doesn't believe in it already, how should employees believe in it?

Whatever your reason for delaying Endless Customers, it's good to be aware that waiting can have consequences.

We see more and more Dutch companies in various industries embracing Endless Customers. For example, we are already working with a company that sells solar panels and air conditioners, a company in prefab chimneys, a packaging trader and a company that coaches CEOs.

We are of course very happy about that, but it does mean that we can no longer help direct competitors of our customers.

The longer you wait, the more likely your competitor will have beat you to it. We will then no longer be able to help you become the trusted advisor in your market.

The longer you wait, the more likely your competitor will have beat you to it.

Want to gain an edge over your competition with a framework that has already proven itself for hundreds of companies worldwide and will benefit you for years to come?

Think carefully about whether you have really good reasons to wait a little longer or whether it is time to take the plunge after all.

If you only remember one thing from this article, let it be this: it is not necessary to have everything in perfect order internally to get started with Endless Customers.

The great thing about Endless Customers is precisely that you can start today to reap the rewards of your hard work tomorrow.

As Marcus Sheridan writes in Endless Customers, "My first action was simple: I sat down at my kitchen table late one night and brainstormed all the questions I had received over the past nine years about plastic pool installation."

It can be that simple.

You don't need a new website first.

You don't need a CRM first.

You don't have to build a team first.

All you have to do is embrace the philosophy behind Endless Customers. The rest will come after that.

Are you ready? Then schedule a consultation with one of our Endless Customers consultants today.