Ted Adler
on

I founded Union Street Media in 1999 from my dorm room at Middlebury College. We are now a 30+ person growing web development shop in Burlington, VT. Our clients are in a broad range of industries with a particular focus on websites for realtors. Outside of the working world, I am a Board Member of Vermont Public Radio, Spectrum Youth Services, the Vermont Business Roundtable and the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation. I was the Vermont Chapter President of the Middlebury College Alumni Association from 2001 through January 2007, and on the Executive Board of the MCAA during that time as well.

92% and “Why” It Matters

I am a big fan of Simon Sinek’s TED talk on how great leaders inspire action. If you haven’t heard of Simon, he’s an author best known for his concepts of leadership and how they can inspire cooperation, trust and change. While watching his presentation, something he said stood out to me:

“Every single organization on the planet knows what they do, 100%. Some know how they do it – whether you call it your differentiating value proposition or your proprietary process – but very few organizations know why they do what they do”

The main idea I took from Simon: act from the inside out. As a leader, you should always aim to inspire those around you; in the end, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

If loyalty represents a connection of belief, then I am proud to tell you that for the last few years Union Street Media’s client retention rate has consistently stayed above 92%. Of those who left, it included former clients who sold their business, retired, or were unhappy with our service. We’re happy to say that the vast majority of the clients we lost fell into the first two categories and not the last one.

Why does this number matter? To me, it represents that even in an industry that is filled with equally qualified competitors, we have found a way to set our business apart. It is one thing to bring in new clients, it is a completely different thing to be able to retain them year after year.

We’ve chosen to stand out through exceptional customer service. We have built a passionate team, filled with employees that are always willing to go above and beyond for our clients. We really care about the outcome of our work and believe that, even post-launch, a website is never finished.

One of my themes around the office is “retention through attention.” We proactively reach out to our clients on a regular basis to keep them informed of the trends we see and how the changes might impact their business. Through this, we have formed many great partnerships that have lasted for the long run – we’re there for them and, in turn, they are there for us.

That’s why I feel it is only right to take the time to say thank you to all of our clients – past, present and future. You are the reason why we do what we do.