Ugly Mug Marketing 2014 Vision
Posted by Wayne in Business Growth, Visioning
Do you wish you could know exactly what the future holds for your business? Believe it or not, there is actually a process that will help you figure out exactly what the future will look like. That process is called the visioning process. At Ugly Mug Marketing, we believe in practicing what we teach, which is why we invested the time required to create a detailed vision for our company. Following is our 2014 Vision. If you have questions about creating a vision for you organization leave a comment below.
“Capital isn’t scarce; vision is.” Sam Walton
The Ugly Mug Marketing Mission
We enable entrepreneurs to reach their full potential through:
Services that empower,
Guidance that inspires,
And education that enlightens.
We provide this “ugly” experience through
innovative, sometimes rebellious, methods.
Who Is Ugly Mug Marketing
We are rebels! We challenge convention and business norms. We take the road less traveled. As a result of our rebelliousness we get noticed. When the entire business culture is heading one direction, you will more often than not find us moving the opposite direction.
We are known as much for how we do it, as for what we do. We experiment and share. Good, bad, or indifferent, we share it all.
We are learners. We are teachers. We are visionaries. We are passionate. We empower entrepreneurs and small business owners to make more profit. We provide tools, resources, and encouragement to help them reach their goals. We have learned to get out of the way.
We have integrity. We don’t teach it, or preach it, if we don’t first live it.
What We Look Like
“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.” Buckminster Fuller
Ugly Mug Marketing is made up of a small team of passionate and professional people. Our staff has three core jobs:
- WOWing our clients (seriously!)
- Having contagious energy
- Becoming experts in their area of interest.
We don’t fit any particular business mold when it comes to the products and services we provide. If we only had a list of set products and services, we would be tempted to offer these to our clients even when it may not be in their best interests.
Maybe the best way to describe Ugly Mug Marketing is as a Sherpa.
Our clients tell us what peak they want to summit, and then we provide them with a map, tools, resources, and guidance they need to reach their summit.
It’s this trusted guidance that we are becoming known for.
We still provide a few core services: websites, search engine optimization, and graphic design. However, our revenue from these services is becoming a smaller portion of what we do.
The education, inspiration, and guidance portion of our business continues to grow rapidly. These products and services include: books, courses, webinars, coaching, consulting, boot camps, and mastermind groups. Revenue from these areas is now approaching our revenue from the website side of our business.
If we were compared to a person, it would be Richard Branson:
- Rebellious
- Confident
- Passionate
- Results Oriented
If we were compared to a company, it would be Zappos:
- Like Zappos: We provide “ordinary” solutions, but in an extraordinary way – with extraordinary results.
Our approach to business and making a healthy profit has attracted the attention of outsiders. They come to us curious to discover what we’re doing, and more importantly, how we’re doing it.
Our Team
Our people are learners. Our people are leaders. Our people are givers. Our people are curious. Our people are passionate. Our team members regularly go the extra mile to provide exceptional service. So much so, that extra-mile service is the norm.
Everyone on our team is passionate about learning, trying, and sharing what they have learned. Ugly Mug Marketing, as an entity, takes our team seriously. Once team members identify their areas of interest, Ugly Mug Marketing regularly purchases materials and sends them to conferences based on their areas of interest.
Our team takes their time seriously. When they are at work, they are focused and determined. Ugly Mug Marketing regularly studies better time management tools and strategies to help our team make the most of their time.
25% Flex-Time – Our team spends 25% of their time working on the project of their choice. Every month they pitch ideas to the leadership. An idea is selected, and then they devote a set time each day to their project.
Who & How We Serve
Ugly Mug Marketing serves forward-thinking entrepreneurs who understand they are capable of more. More customers. More clarity. More profit. More time off. More impact on the peoples’ lives they touch.
We also work with entrepreneurs who long for less. Less stress. Less confusion. Less time at the office. Less uncertainty.
We serve these entrepreneurs by consistently living our mission:
We enable entrepreneurs to reach their full potential through:
Services that empower,
Guidance that inspires,
And education that enlightens.
We provide this “ugly” experience through
innovative, sometimes rebellious, methods.
Revelations & Illuminations
Often entrepreneurs come to Ugly Mug Marketing with a good idea of where they want to go, and which summit they wish to reach, but they are uncertain of how to get there. We work with them to reveal a clear, defined path to help them reach their destination.
During the process of developing their roadmap, we illuminate the strengths they should capitalize on, and the weaknesses to beware of. Their strengths have been in front of them all along, but yet rarely fully realized or utilized.
Treating People Differently
At Ugly Mug Marketing we treat people differently! We have our clients divided into three sections:
- A-Clients: these are our best clients. They refer regularly. They have spent at least $10,000 with us in the past 12 months, or have the potential to easily spend this much with us.
- B-Clients: these are our “next-best” clients. They refer occasionally. They have spent at least $3,000 with us in the past 12 months, or have the potential to spend this much with us.
- C-Clients: this is where all other clients fall. They have spent money with us in the past, but it may have been more than 12 months ago.
The Ascension Ladder
When most entrepreneurs come to Ugly Mug Marketing for help in reaching their goals, they are not at the A-Client Level. We have a clear ascension ladder in place, and we help entrepreneurs climb the ladder.
Helping them ascend the ladder tremendously benefits the entrepreneur, their business, their employees, and the community around them. The higher up the ladder, the more benefits we provide to the entrepreneur. We make sure that the entrepreneurs on the lower rungs of the ladder see all the additional benefits those higher up the ladder are receiving.
What We Do – Internally
The Lab
We often describe Ugly Mug Marketing as a laboratory. Not just any laboratory, but as a laboratory with an amazing Public Relations team (like Thomas Edison). Here’s why:
We regularly experiment. We test new marketing ideas. We test new forms of media. We test copywriting ideas. We test campaigns. We test everything.
We innovate. Often the solutions we bring to our clients are rarely what they expect. We search out what is working regardless of the industry, and then we figure out how we can implement it successfully in our client’s organization.
We regularly have successes. But like any business venturing down a new path, we have failures. And regardless of the outcome, we teach the public what we learned.
Systematic Approach to Business
Our business is remarkable because of the people that make up Ugly Mug Marketing. However, our systems ensure that we maintain a high level of remarkability. We have systems for everything from marketing, customer service, financials, employee training, learning, and giving.
What We Do In Exchange For Money
We don’t fit any particular business mold when it comes to the products and services we provide. Here are core products and services that we most often provide:
Websites – Providing entrepreneurs the tools and resources they need to reach the online world.
- Custom websites – We accept no more than 4 custom websites per month. These sell on average for close to $4,000. Over the past 12 months we have built 48 custom websites.
- Template websites – We accept no more than 5 template websites per month. These sell for $997 plus a minimum of $97 per month. Over the past 12 months we have launched 40 template websites. And we have developed a strong template library.
SEO Services – Helping entrepreneurs attract and connect with clients through the world wide web.
- Packages – We offer a half-dozen different SEO packages. These packages start at $200 per month and go up to $2,500 per month. We currently have 20 SEO clients.
Books & Courses – Providing actionable resources to help entrepreneurs reach their goals.
- Website, Now What – This book and course was actively promoted during the 1st quarter of 2013.
- Barf! Customer Relations – This book and course was written and developed during the 1st quarter of 2013, and actively promoted during the second quarter.
- Vision, Mission, Success – This book and course was written and developed during the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2013, and actively promoted during the 3rd quarter.
- Fire Yourself – This book was rewritten, and the course was developed, during the 2nd and 3rd quarter of 2013, and actively promoted during the 4th quarter.
- Goals and Productivity – This book and course was actively written and developed during the 4th quarter of 2013, and will be actively promoted this first quarter of 2014.
Marketing Consulting –Custom marketing services and campaigns provided to clients on a per project basis. All designed to bring them closer to their goals.
- Campaign Development – We develop custom marketing campaigns based on our clients’ desired outcomes.
Mastermind Groups, Coaching, Mentoring, & Boot Camps – In pursuit of helping our client reach their goals we have started developing ways to personally interact and impact their lives.
- Mastermind – This is a small group of about 10 A-Clients who are serious about developing their entrepreneurial skills. We meet quarterly as a group to learn from an outside expert – and we leave with actionable steps. Monthly we interact and measure progress.
- Coaching – We work directly with B-Clients to help them overcome and remove constraints and achieve their goals.
- Mentoring – We work directly with C-Clients, often helping them create better systems and processes in their organizations.
- Boot Camps – These events are designed to teach specific skills to groups of less than 100 people.
Measurements & Metrics – Staying on the right path (internal)
We focus on results. We daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually, measure and monitor to ensure we are focused on results that matter.
We have goals that are meaningful and measurable. We regularly check to ensure we are heading toward our goals. To help ensure we are heading in the right direction, we have a clear vision of what our future will look like.
From our vision we determine 5 core priorities to focus on each quarter. These 5 priorities are affectionately called our Ugly 5.
Each quarter we develop a theme that corresponds with our Ugly 5. If we accomplish our Ugly 5 for the quarter, we are rewarded.
Internal Metrics
25% Flex-Time – Each team member spends 25% of their day on their project.
The Ugly 5 – Each quarter we set our Ugly 5. And each quarter we achieve at least 3 of our Ugly 5.
4 Themes – Each quarter we have a themed campaign that correlates with our Ugly 5.
4 PR – We are featured in 1 publication each quarter. We actively look for opportunities to be featured in the press.
2 Hours – Each week team members devote two hours of their time to learning something new.
7.5 Energy – We are serious about developing an environment of contagious energy.
Give 4 – Each quarter we select a non-profit to donate our services to. This could be a logo, business card, or even a website
Client Metrics
80% Testimonials – 80% of our clients provide us with a testimonial once we have completed working with them. Any number less than this – something must be wrong.
Ugly News – Twice per quarter we send out an Ugly Mug Marketing Newsletter to all of our clients and prospects. These newsletters are used as a tool to teach what we’ve been learning. These are never used to directly sell.
A-Client Gifts – A-Clients get our undivided attention. We will drop whatever we are doing when they call or email. Their needs come before all other clients.
To show A-Clients how special they are, twice each quarter we send them a special gift. These gifts can be as simple as a copy of a book that has really helped us, or it could be something special we’ve designed just for them. The only criterion for the gift is that when the A-Client receives it, they feel special.
Lunch & Learns – To keep us committed to our learning goals and to demonstrate our passion for helping our clients listen, learn, take action, and earn more, we provide two webinar or teleseminars each quarter.
The Lunch & Learns cover a wide range of topics. The only common thread is that they all contain information to help us and our clients make more profit and strengthen our organizations.
Sales Metrics
New 4 – We only accept 4 new website clients each month (per team member), with an average ticket price approaching $4,000. The process to build a new website takes from 6 -8 weeks, meaning that each team member will be working with a maximum of 8 website clients at any given point and time. This gives them time to truly WOW each client.
5 Templates – We only accept 5 new template website clients each month. The average ticket price for a template website is $997, plus monthly fees starting at $97 per month. The monthly fee goes up based on the level of service they choose.
1 SEO – We are attracting 1 new SEO client each month, with an average ticket price of $500 per month. They keep us working on their SEO for approximately 6 months.
Hosting – Each month, two of our custom website clients decide to utilize our hosting services. ($50 per month)
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Interesting business model. I like the continued commitment to learning as well as the 25% flex time. Things like this help to ensure retention and job satisfaction which translates directly to client satisfaction. Very cool company.