I was watching Ocean’s 11 for the umpteenth time this past weekend. I love the scene near the end where Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is talking to Benedict (Andy Garcia) about being robbed. Danny says “I know a guy… Anybody pulls any job in the Western US, he knows about it…“.
And Benedict replies somberly “You know a guy“.

That got me thinking… A few weeks back I wrote about Is Your Company Known For Something. To succeed, you have to be known. This little scene from Ocean’s 11 drove this home for me.

Be *That* Guy

You want your company to be like the guy Danny Ocean refers to.  Danny’s “source” was an expert in his field (in this case robberies), and was the go-to person when you needed information about a “job”.

It’s not enough to just be known or recognized. To truly succeed, you need to be the guru in your niche. Whether it’s a product or service that you offer, you want your customers to refer to you like Danny Ocean did.

We strive for this every day. That is, we want our customers to think of us as the go-to solution for their web hosting and ecommerce needs. We want to be seen as the experts, and we work hard to achieve and maintain this status.

How to be “that guy”

Besides the obvious of providing a great product or service, and having top-notch customer service and support, there are a few things you can do for your company to be seen as the expert in your field:

• Create a great blog
  It’s not enough to just have a blog that you update periodically. You have to continually fill it with great content. Use your blog to provide helpful tips, industry insight, help your customers get the most out of your products or services. Blogs are a powerful tool in establishing your company as a “thought leader” in your niche.

• Create how-to videos
  Videos are quite powerful when it comes to influencing your customers. Well written copy on your website is good, but you can really “bring it home” with useful videos to compliment your website. If you sell woodworking products, videos showing how to use a router, a saw, how to build a bird house, etc… are great items to help your customers get the most out of what you sell.

• Get involved in Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
  Not involved as in “I tweet and push new wall posts about our company every day”. Involved as in answering questions about your industry, finding useful articles and information and letting others know about them, and genuinely engaging in conversations with customers and potential customers. This kind of “buzz” can really help your brand awareness in your “neck of the woods”.

• Help out on forums, blogs, etc…
  Find out where your customers ask questions and hang out. Become a useful contributor on these sites, answer questions, provide solutions. Whether it’s a forum or commenting on a blog, if you’re seen as a resource or helpful person/company, you’ll be at the top of the list when these potential customers are in need of a product or service you provide.

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So what are you waiting for? Start building your “robbery” credentials! 

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