Several years ago, a book by bestselling author Ken Blanchard
claimed the best way to business success was through creating
raving fans. Nothing proves that theory more today than the
phenomenal success of eBay.
As regular readers of this magazine know, we at
Entrepreneur are big eBay proponents. For the past two
years, I have been involved with eBay Live!-eBay's annual
meeting-where last year more than 10,000 eBayers converged to learn
how to improve their eBay businesses; network with fellow members
of the eBay community (that is what the eBay corporation and eBay
sellers consider themselves-one big, happy community); and swap and
trade pins, cards and other soon-to-be collectibles.
I've attended eBay University and been a judge for several
of their contests. And I just returned from a trip to Washington,
DC, where the company staged a "United States of eBay"
event-sending their buyers and sellers out to meet their
congressional representatives and discuss issues important to the
eBay community. We've written a lot about how you can make
money by starting an eBay business or by adding an eBay component
to your existing company, as well as how you can save money by
shopping eBay for many of your business's needs. This fall, we
will be publishing a magazine, a guide to eBay business, in
conjunction with eBay.
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I'm sharing all this with you because there's a lot that
all entrepreneurs can learn from eBay's achievements. Meg
Whitman, eBay's president and CEO, recently told me one of the
keys to eBay's success: the "power of many." This
"many" is "the community of users who have
built" eBay. The company thrives, Whitman says, because of the
"unique partnership between eBay and its community of
users."
EBay is well aware that its success depends on its 45 million
active users. All members of the community are equally valued-Sears
and IBM get no better deals or incentives than the Missouri eBayer
who sells tractors or the couple from Colorado who were able to
launch a successful cheese-making business by taking advantage of
the steep discounts on equipment found on eBay.
That community-building translates to almost idol worship.
I've seen Whitman at several eBay events, and she is always
mobbed by her "constituents." She walks into a room, and
they rush her as if she were a rock star. It helps that, despite
running a $2.17 billion business, Whitman is incredibly
approachable. But it also stems from her being in touch, both with
the needs of her employees and with the demands of eBay buyers and
sellers.
All entrepreneurs have a constituency. But too many of you are
so busy running your businesses that you don't take the time or
make the effort to find out what they want, what they need or what
they're thinking. Most business owners serve two fronts, your
employees and your customers. As the economy improves, your staff
is beginning to look elsewhere for employment. What are you doing
to make them stick around? Whitman believes, "Within some
boundaries of reason, accommodating people's individual needs
is an important thing." Remember, it's not always money
that talks. Employees often seek the intangible benefits that
won't actually cost you much but can gain you plenty.
What about your customers and clients? When's the last time
you had a conversation with them? I'm not talking about a
meeting where you try to sell them something. Instead, try just
talking with them about their challenges, frustrations and goals.
What do you do that helps them? Is there more you can do for
them?
Another secret to eBay's success is, according to Whitman,
"focus." Whitman says this may seem counterintuitive-so
many entrepreneurs think that to be successful, they need to serve
numerous market segments. But Whitman believes businesses "can
be bigger by being more focused. Figure out who your customer is
and how [you] can best serve that customer's needs."
Whitman believes, as I do, that there are still many niches in the
market that are underserved. As Whitman puts it, "People think
niche is small. Sometimes niche equals big."