Customer Formulas

  • About

  • Pick A Fight

  • Better By Subtraction

  • Get Distance

  • Share A Coke

  • Snail Mail

  • 10-Stars

  • Hotline

  • Supersize it

  • Eli Banana

  • Secrets Get Shared

  • Tiny Tools

  • 30-for-30

  • The Audit

  • Table for 10

  • Kentucky Fried Crocs

  • The Award Goes To

  • Adding Zeros

  • Service Jam

  • Maximum Effort

  • PoP Shift

  • Smiles For Miles

  • Without Permission

  • It's Official

  • Win Win

  • Welcome To The Stage

  • Piggybacking

  • GTA

  • Kon Marie Me

  • Certfied

  • Ink, Not Printers

  • Cash Only

  • Your Name Here

  • Most Inspired

  • Bet Small

What
Simple tools to unstick your small business growth.

Who
Hi, I'm Spencer. Over the last decade I've helped business leaders around the world think wrong and win the market. My toolbox is now yours.

Gratis
You are welcome to freely use, share, and adapt the content here by following the license under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0.

Start Here
is organized by category: Make, Market, Model, Money, Marketing.To pick a relevant formula, you need to start with the category where you are stuck on assumptions or something limiting your growth.

  • Make : you have a proven and differentiated product.

  • Market : have market-fit; clear customer + large enough to sustain growth

  • Model : model-fit to deliver your product at scale (op capacity + delivery)

  • Money : pricing-fit that can sustain growth

  • Marketing : you have a cost-effective way to win and retain customers.

Caution
Do not jump to Marketing . You will waste time and money if you have not addressed gaps in the preceding categories. Prioritize where you start by following the category order. You may find that using a tool in one category has an impact on another category. For example, a Money tool may inspire creating a new offer (Make).Let Go
The tools here are designed to pull you into an unexpected frame of thinking to inspire unexpected ideas. This works best when you let go of looking smart. Here are two tips:
1. Stack tools so you are forced to generate many new ideas quickly.
2. Invite outside perspective (peers, mentors, instructors) to help reveal blind spots and biases.Take Action
When tools lead to new inspiration, use the Bet Small exercise to create an experiment to test ideas quickly with low risk.

How might you put greater distance between you and the competition?Get real about what makes you different. Avoid meaningless fluff like great service, high quality, or time in business that competitors can easily claim.

Category : MAKE

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Step 1. Them < > You
Use the center column of differentiation dimensions to ask how you differ from the competition. If the dimension is not relevant, cross it out. If relevant, then illustrate the difference through distance from left-to-right by adding X’s on the dotted line. The further the distance, the stronger the differentiation.Then, write down how you differ on this dimension. For example, you may have a wide distance on price because the competition is cheap and you are significantly higher priced -- perhaps as a luxury. Write 'cheap' and ‘luxury’ next to the respective X's

Step 2. Practical Principles
Customers pick you and stick with you because you are meaningfully different. So let's turn your differentiation into decision-making guidance as practical principles.For example, a differentiator at Customer Formulas is our process -- we are

What if you could stand out by what you stand against?Instead of avoiding confrontation, make it part of your brand identity by picking a fight that your ideal customers will appreciate.

Category : MAKE

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Step 1. Against
Start with the ‘Against’ column to name the industry or consumer trends, practices, behaviors, frustrations, or general mediocrity that you wish to stand in contrast to. A well completed column will be crowded with inputs.

Step 2. For
Use the ‘For’ column to write down the the opposing position of your 'Against' inputs. Don’t be afraid to take a position that will alienate people. In order to pick a fight, you must pick sides.

Step 3. Name The Enemy
What do you feel most strongly about in this list? What might your customers feel most strongly about? Pick your most polarizing pairing to name the enemy you will fight.By naming your enemy, you can bring the fight into you product positioning and marketing. How might you change how you talk about your offer? What new marketing does this inspire?

What if you could get more from less?All business owners carry assumptions into their product offering that may hold back the business potential. This exercise confronts those assumptions by removing your

Category : MAKE

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Step 1. Now
Start with what you do now. Write down the scope of your product offerings and features in the column labeled ‘Now’. Then, write down aspects of your product delivery — such as operating hours, staff, and locations.

Step 2. One / None
Consider how your business might change if you reduce each 'Now' input to 'One or None'.For example, if you are in food service with a menu of many options, what might your business look like with only one option? Or no menu at all?Use the 'One / None' column to write down how you might reimagine your business. What creative new opportunities emerge to serve more customers, make more revenue per customer, or reduce costs?You may feel stuck with challenging each input in the Now column. For best results with imagining the benefits of subtraction, invite your peers to aid you. Then, lean into the most intriguing ideas.

What Next
What emerging idea are you most intrigued by? Why? In what ways might this new offer serve more customers? Or different customers? Or earn more per customer? Use the Bet Small exercise to help you craft a low-risk experiment to test you most impactful idea.

What if ...
.....

Category : MAKE

When to Use
You

Download the PDF

Step 1. Now
Start with what you do now. Write down the scope of your product offerings and features in the column labeled ‘Now’. Then, write down aspects of your product delivery — such as operating hours, staff, and locations.

Step 2. For
Use the ‘For’ column to write down the the opposing position of your 'Against' inputs. Don’t be afraid to take a position that will alienate people. In order to pick a fight, you must pick sides.

Step 3. Name The Enemy
What do you feel most strongly about in this list? What might your customers feel most strongly about? Pick your most polarizing pairing to name the enemy you will fight.By naming your enemy, you can unapologetically position your product and customer experience in a way that competitors will struggle to copy.

Part 1. Get Clear 1/2 (virtual)
We start with foundations for growth by assessing your product and market strengths, insights, and obstacles. Together we’ll get clear on your priorities, differentiation, and value for who matters most.

Part 4. Bet Small (in-person)
We'll align on your strongest opportunities while our video team produces a short video to put your business in front of our extended network.

You will leave with...
✓ A breakout growth strategy and practical execution plan
✓ How to bet small to beat risk and move fast
✓ A capital plan best fit to your business plan
✓ Feedback and insights from owners who've been in your shoes
✓ A video introducing your biz to the Energize Colorado network