Increase Customers Happiness

Published in Customer Retention. 4,417 Comments Tags: , , , .

Customer happiness is an important step to a successful business. Follow these following tips to increase customers overall happiness which will eventually lead to higher profits.

Customer happiness is a very important aspect to business. It takes months to find a reliable customer yet only takes seconds to lose one. It is vital to keep customers happy as it will keep them coming back over and over again. Repeat customers are the best type of customers.

Number 1)

Distribute Samples of Products
If you come across a new product, consider giving out samples to your best clients. Current customers are great to market new products towards. It will increase their interest in your company also. Ask for their feedback, you can ensure honesty from your existing customers.

Number 2)

Offer Competition
Don’t stay to the same old. You want to stand out from the competition, offer something unique. Why do you want your customer to choose you over another competitor? Have all of this mapped out, and figure out your strong points.

Number 3)

Ask customers for feedback
Knowing what your customers want is important. Figuring this out will definitely increase their overall happiness. Getting opinions will help improve your service and products for the better, especially when launching something new.

Number 4)

Stay in Touch
Make sure you keep track of customer contact information. Send them regular updates on your company via email. A newsletter is a great way of keeping your customers informed and increasing their awareness of your business. You want to do whatever you can to increase their interest in your company.

Number 5)

Acknowledge Your Customers
You must increase customer satisfaction by making them feel important. This will definitely keep them coming back for more business.

Number 6)

Get to know your Customers
Even the little small details about them or their personal life. Greet them by their name when you can. Know them as individuals, not just another client. The more you know about them, the greater chance you have to hold on to them in the future. They will feel at home with your business and increase business for you.

Number 7)

Remember to Follow up
Customers prefer being contacted with information rather than inquiring for it. Be sure to follow up, even with your long term clients. Following up could increase their awareness of your products and push them into more business. Also remember to be timely with following up, it can make the difference between a happy customer and a unsatisfied one.

Number 8)

Reward Long Term Customers
A great strategy to increase the chance of a return customer is to offer them reasoning to come back. This could be special offers, coupons, discounts and many other options to choose from. This will keep customers happy and show how much interest you have in their needs. Customer satisfaction will also show an increase as they will feel valued and special.

Number 9)

Do Whatever You Can
Going the extra mile will always make a customer extra happy. Solve any problems your customers may run into and give a little extra to show them you care.

More on Time Management

Published in Time Management. 208 Comments Tags: , , .

As mentioned in a previous post, time management is crucial for any business. Maximizing the use of every second is very important. To do this, you have to make good decisions about what can be done, and in how much time. When you put your mind to focus on these facts, you will be amazed at what can be done. Here are a few more tips and pointers to help point you in the right direction for success.

Number 1)

Learn to be Patient

Understand and come to terms with the fact that you cannot accomplish everything you wish to do at once. Remember to stay patient, and only then can you truly be rewarded.

Number 2)

Learn to Relax

Being able to stay focused is vital to actually accomplish deeds. Relax your mind from time to time, being in an overwhelmed state will only make situations worse.

Number 3)

Learn to Trust Instincts

Figure out what decisions need to made and when. Always keeps your gut decisions in mind, trust your instinct! Your body works hard behind the scenes, though you may feel very stressed- maybe your brain has already done the thinking for you and come up with the right decision. Don’t over think things.

Number 4)

Learn to Organize

Stay organized. Successful people make lists. Whether it be to-do-lists, shopping lists, laundry lists and so on- lists help you figure out what to get done, and ensure you wont be missing anything. Focus yourself and prioritize.

Number 5)

Learn to Plan Ahead

Get a planner, and work out your day ahead of time. Block out each hour and do what you need to do. This step is very crucial as it can be considered a foundation of time management- it is essentially, by definition, what time management really is.

This all sounds simple as you read it, but running proper execution may not be simple. Don’t give in. Keep on trying and eventually you will see improvement. Do not procrastinate, do what you need to now, the worst thing you can do is waste time, as time is something you will not get back.

Tips for Better Time Management

Published in Time Management. 2,344 Comments Tags: , , .

Do you find yourself not being completely organized, and believe that you could be more productive for your company? Or maybe you are putting in effort and aren’t getting results due to poor management.

Time management is very important for anyone, especially when starting a business. You’re usually dealing with a lot at once when first starting out and its best to be organized and have a plan set to move forward. These tips will help you increase productivity and stay relaxed in your work

Number 1)

Figure out where you’re wasting time
Start tracking your daily activities. Some of us aren’t even aware about the time we waste each and every day, we could be using this time to be productive and increase profits. It could be simple things from net surfing, emails, and personal calls. Mapping out your current schedule is a great way to get started in the right direction

Number 2)

Map out your goals
Remember the actual purpose here. It is to effectively change your behavior in a positive way for your company. By eliminating time-wasters, think about how much time will be saved over weeks, months, and years. How much extra work would be able to be made? Start with little things, for example telling yourself you will not waste time with personal calls during business hours anymore. Eventually you will realize the benefit of this saved time and put more effort in.

Number 3)

Time Management isn’t 100% Accurate
Just because you made a plan, following that plan with every single detail is unlikely. Sure there are 24 hours in a day and you can map out every hour of your day, you can never account for unpredictability. There are too many variables in business to be 100% in your planning.

Number 4)

Keep on track with your goals and plans
Following up on one of the previous tips, the objective is to actually make progress. Over time, look back and try and compare your new schedule/behaviors with your old ones and calculate the progress made. If you aren’t making any progress, re-think your plan and try again.

Number 5)

Use tools to help you
There are various programs available to assist you in time-management- or if you don’t want to go the technological approach, something as simple as an agenda or calendar to write in would help. Knowing the ins and outs of your schedule will help you in saving time and being more efficient with your time. They are out there for you to use, so make use of them.

I will post another five tips on this topic in the next few days to come, we severely overlook time management in our lives. This factor alone can make or break a new company. Being on top of it will surely increase your success for your business.

Top 5 Entrepreneur Starter Mistakes

Published in Getting Started. 15,152 Comments

New entrepreneurs usually run into the same common mistakes, how can you make sure you don’t run into them? Here is our top 5 list to help you smooth out the process of starting a business:

Number 1)

Losing Ambition

Usually businesses start by going full-out and putting in 100% effort. This effort starts to slowly slide for most entrepreneurs though. Business success relies on holding on to the initial ambition. Manage your time appropriately, don’t stress yourself out though- use your time effectively.
Your company may be part-time; in this case you want to make sure your time is spent making progress. Your company should always be moving forward. Do not lose momentum when things are in a down, it is normal for every business. Just remember to keep on giving it your all and things will get back on track.

Number 2)

Preparation for Longevity

Surviving in the business world is real important. Holding on and not falling is vital in order to learn more about your market and learning from your mistakes. Learning about your cash flow sometimes needs to be done in real-time- pre-planning doesn’t always turn out 100% accurate.
Be prepared to do whatever it takes to survive and hang in there. When things get rough, it isn’t always the end. Keep that in mind and get through these hard times till the business can fully support itself financially.

Number 3)

Lack of Money

Usually businesses shut down due to the owner running out of money. Maintaining your cash flow is vital to starting up a business. For example, you may be getting customers and essentially making a profit but if your customers are taking too long to pay you- you may lack the financial status to continue. Money is key in a startup venture, be prepared for it.

Number 4)

Doing it Alone

Usually entrepreneurs set out on their own, thinking they can achieve all tasks without any help. Even though you may be able to- you can achieve success much easier with the help of others. No one is perfect and is expertise in every area, for example; you may have amazing motives and ideas, but lack communication skills to get the idea out there- You would need the help of someone else to fulfill you visions. Succeeding is much lower by forcing yourself to do things alone. You will be able to achieve your goals much smoother by assigning tasks to those who expertise in that area and enjoy what they do.

Number 5)

Wrong Motives

Have you ever stopped to just think why you are running your business? Doing it just for the money isn’t the right mindset to have. If you truly love your business you would have different motives. Other famous entrepreneurs all built their businesses doing what they loved, you should too.
Don’t get me wrong, money is important, building for maximum profit is essential. What we need to remember is profit will take awhile to come, so if you don’t like what you’re doing- chances are you will not have enough in you to keep you going. You can only do something that you don’t actually love for so long before you decide to give up.

How to Find Customers

Published in Getting Started and Marketing. 3,313 Comments Tags: , , .

In the process of setting up our new businesses, we all hit a wall where we ponder what the next step is. Once we have all of our procedures in place, and our company is ready to go, where do we go to actually obtain customers? There are so many techniques out there that it can be sometimes overwhelming and lead to procrastination.

The key to seeing a customer increase is marketing. Marketing should never stop for your company, it should be a constant ongoing campaign. There is no ‘finish line’ to marketing. You must explore and experiment with ever possibly way to get your business out there. Without any marketing, you won’t get any customers because they wouldn’t even know your business existed. Especially in early stages of your business, marketing will take up a lot of your effort, but the effort definitely pays off. This particular stage can determine whether or not you have the determination to succeed.
So how do you go about marketing for your company? The list never ends, to summarize a few options:

Viral or Word of Mouth:

Simply put, the most effective way of advertising. Though there is no sure set procedure for this method, today’s online scene makes the process much easier due to social networking and bookmarking sites. These sites are packed with potential customers, all it takes is a bit of effort on your part and some commitment on staying up to date with the latest trends like Twitter.

Text/Print Ads:

Printing costs have become extremely cheap, you can now get thousands of business cards, flyers or whatever your media may be for mere dollars. This method will always be a very useful resource on getting your word out there. Though remember to respect rules on soliciting, whether it be door to door, handing flyers out on the street, posting ads in your city- Always double check regulations first.

Telemarketing:

Simple system, it’s surprisingly not as expensive as you think. Though some would find this process a bit ‘annoying’ to the end-user, fact is that it has shown to be an effective method of advertising when looking for customers.

Market Research:

Before going out to find customers, sometimes is a very smart idea to do a bit of researching first. You might want to figure out what your demographics are, which audience you want to target, your primary benefits and what not. There’s no point in wasting marketing efforts if you’re targeting a group that is unlikely to give you business.

As I said before, these are only a few options to get started on finding customers. Be creative, the most important part of it all is knowing that you’re creating awareness- whether it be on a small or big scale, anything is a start which will help your company grow to become successful.

Increase Customer Service & Satisfaction

Published in Customer Retention. 472 Comments Tags: , , .

Establishing worthy customer service is an important process that may take some time to build up. Your company has to be stay focused on client wants and needs. This means every department, not just your customer service representatives. You don’t want to leave a gap in this system as it may ultimately drive customers away. Keeping on a positive face for your customer shows the quality and message of your service or product. These points are key when trying to close a deal with the customer.

Here are a few tips and suggestions to increase your customers’ satisfaction and overall customer service of your company:

Number 1)

Change Your Perspective

Sometimes you have to stop to think from the consumer standpoint. Especially if dealing with greater amounts of money, the customer is making an important decision for their business. They want to be reassured they are making the right decision. Don’t come on too strong, but at the same time show that you care. The customer’s perspective is important, being able to recreate it in your mind is an extremely useful skill as it will increase your customer potential with ease.

Number 2)

Take Your Time to Explain

Sure you may know your industry inch by inch and are able to answer questions with simple answers, but take into consideration this isn’t always the case with the customer. Go into details and make sure they are on the same page as you. Have fact sheets ready, and any other useful information that you could share with them. Customers that have a firm understanding regarding a situation are less hesitant to follow through with a deal.

Number 3)

Response Time

One of the biggest complaints customers have is wait time. Whether it be a general inquiry or a quote request, making sure you give a quick and timely response is vital. Chances are the customer has inquired at multiple companies in your industry, being the first to respond greatly increases your chances of gaining business with this new customer.

Number 4)

Surveys and Analysis

Being able to track results can go a long way. You’ll have ease of pinpointing your flaws and work to improve them. All it takes is effort to push your company towards a happier customer. Using surveys you can also find out what your customers actually want. As of right now we assume what is best for them, sometimes giving them a say in your business can benefit you extremely. After all, without them you wouldn’t be making any money at all.

Number 5)

Customer Connection

Some times we don’t look at our customers as we do any other normal every-day friend. Showing interest in their business, their services and products will build a stronger relationship between yourself and the customer. Having this strong relationship is a great asset as it may lead to future business from the client. The more contact you have with the customer, the better your customer service will seem and ultimately you will have a more satisfied customer.

Of course there are many, many other techniques to improve customer service, but almost all of them apply to the same principal. Treat the customer well, and expect great results.

Seven Quick Tips to Increase Sales

Published in Marketing. 139 Comments Tags: , , .

Finding it hard to find customers? There are so many potential clients out there, and there is always one out there in need of your products and/or services. By using these quick tips you are guaranteed to increase sales and find it much easier to find those potential customers.

Number 1)

Expand Business

Increase your market and move on to a bigger plans. This will give you a bigger potential customer pool which ultimately means more business. Sure there might be expansion costs, but that’s not always the case. Try offering your services online, or through other advertisers. There doesn’t always have to be a face to face meeting, many business deals are now done completely via telecommunication, whether it be on the phone, emails or multiple other methods.

Number 2)

Advertising

There are many methods of advertising, having a variety of different sources is great as you are hitting many demographics at once. Also take time to invest in successful ads, ads that are targeted towards the correct audience of customers and make your product or service shine. Successfully achieve this and watch your customer base rapidly increase.

Number 3)

Monitor Marketing

Many people overlook keeping logs and track of their current marketing ploys. Try to keep a detailed analytics report of your business. It might be an extra headache, but it will definitely assist in tweaking your marketing campaigns for greater customer success.

Number 4)

Web Presence

In our current generation, web presence is vital to even be considered in competition. Especially with all these social sites, such as Twitter, generating staggeringly huge communities, getting word out there on these services and staying up to date is extremely helpful. This market is getting stronger and stronger each day; you definitely do not want to miss out on the endless possibilities left for you on the web.

Number 5)

E-Commerce

As previously mentioned, the web accounts for a large audience of potential customers. More and more people are turning to online purchases over going out and buying something in-person. The ease of the whole system is an amazing sell-off point. Your company should definitely incorporate this into their site. Payment gateways are relatively simple to setup. This will definitely increase your chances of getting customers you would of never knew existed.

Number 6)

Stay Updated

The last thing you want to do is fall behind in your customer marketing opportunities. Be sure to stay on top of the latest news and trends to achieve maximum results. Just to throw one example out there; the Apple iPhone. This device became an ultimate advertising ploy, almost every large, or up-to-date company has an application tailored to their services/products for customers to download on to their device. This is due to, once again, a huge potential customer pool.

Number 7)

Pricing

Last but not least, pricing is something you do not want to overlook. In order to survive, you need to stay competitive. Though this doesn’t always mean undercutting everyone at every chance you get. Be reasonable. There needs to be balance of quality vs. price, customers are willing to pay Company Y a few extra dollars if they are assured greater quality than Company X. Keep this in mind when you are figuring out your end-user price.

Employers Advice on Hiring

Published in Employment. 14,675 Comments Tags: , , , .

Hiring an employee for your business is always a scarce task; you want to make sure you’re getting the right person to do the job for you. It’s hard to actually determine this 100% of the time beforehand, therefore trial and run tests are executed to see their capabilities and performance. Have you ever wondered what you aren’t seeing though? Much too often, companies don’t even recognize the disloyalty of their employees. A recent study has shown that almost one in three employees are actually “truly loyal” –whatever that might mean.

Are you, as an employer, fully aware of what goes on when you aren’t around? It’s shocking to find out how much time in the workplace is actually wasted by hired employees. On average, about 0.92 hours per day is wasted per employee. That may not seem like a huge number but that one hour per day times 365, times 500 employees is 182,500 hours per year. This many hours being paid at minimum wage reaches about 1.75 million dollars in wasted money! These statistics are shocking. What can you do to avoid this? Truthfully, I believe it’s unavoidable, sure there are tactics to reduce it; and then there are over-board methods of supervision on top of that. But is it the right decision?

We all know happy employees are the ones that go far. You need to be enjoying your work and work environment to truly give it your best. Is this ‘unspoken spare time’ what gives the employee their satisfaction of coming to work each day? This situation can be taken a look at from both perspectives. While we may not come to a strong conclusion, there is definitely a line. It is up to you where to place that line, and what to set your tolerance level at. At the end of the day you really need to determine if the job was done, then examine the level of detail put into it. Analytical judgment plays a key role here. It is your job as an employer to obtain these skills and be careful when picking someone to hire. You can’t always rely on trial and error while hiring, sometimes it pays off to examine situations and put protocol into place to make business smoother.

Six Great Ways to Keep Your Customers

Published in Customer Retention. 381 Comments Tags: , , .

Having trouble holding onto your customers? Holding on to a customer is a great objective to conquer as they can lead to follow up jobs, leaving you with greater profit potentials. Here are six tips to assist you in holding on to your customers.

Number 1)

Handle Customer Complaints

You should address customer complaints & problems quickly and generously. I know sometimes you feel the urge to just stick it to the customer, but don’t! Instead try a more positive approach and analyze what caused the complaint to begin with. Misunderstandings, mistakes and problems are not unusual for a business to come by. Use all your resources to fix the problem, move on and increase their happiness.

Number 2)

Build from Weaknesses

Learn from mistakes made in the past and implement procedures to avoid them from happening again. Customers will perhaps forgive a mistake made once or twice, but if you wish to keep them, try not to repeat them as they may believe you are a dishonest company. Stay on top of this and do whatever it takes to improve.

Number 3)

Customer Awareness

Always remember that the customer is the most important aspect of your business. It is your priority to keep them satisfied.

Number 4)

That Extra Push

Customers appreciate little deeds done here and there. Try to stay in the habit of following through with these, for example; writing thank-you notes, remember birthdays or any other special needs your customer may request. This extra effort will definitely pay off as you see an increasing interest in your company by them.

Number 5)

Stay Organized

When customers ask questions, it’s always best to be able to provide them with an answer- if not immediately, as quickly as possible. Try to keep a reference sheet available to answer commonly asked questions. Always remember that keeping your customers waiting is not a good idea, as they may resort to looking for another company.

Number 6)

Customer Service

Stay focused on customer service, always keep in mind that without your customers- you have no profits. It is much easier to keep an existing customer than to find a new one. Try your hardest to hold on to them as they may return to you for more business.

Six Getting Started Tips for your Business

Published in Getting Started. 16,436 Comments Tags: , .

Six Getting Started Tips for your Business

Starting a business can be very overwhelming at times, here are six tips to get you headed in the right direction and to possibly help you avoid some common mistakes.

Number 1)

Think Big. Start Small.

Thinking efficiently during the initial phases can save you lots of money which is ultimately free profit. From living expenses to leisure expenses, every penny is critical to get you moving in the right direction. Don’t have any unneeded business space; if your business is manageable in a small den or home office, you might be better off doing so till you are able to expand comfortably.

There isn’t guaranteed success in starting a business, some are inevitably not going to work- which could be due to factors out of your control (ie. Economy, Local Market etc.) Keeping this in mind, in you find yourself in one of these worst case scenarios, the recovery will only be on a small scale; saving you from much larger burdens/debts.

Number 2)

Create a financial backing plan

Way too often people go into business with zero savings. They depend on loans from friends, family, and banks. They expect to start paying the loans back immediately with their initial profits. It is rare for businesses to obtain such profit margins so quick; it can take months or even years to turn a decent profit. These loans are essentially a liability and risk, often you’ll find yourself resorting to take out home equity loans or use credit cards to get by; putting your credit rating at risk.

It is much more beneficial to plan out a way to put aside money for your investments, to get you through the initial start up phase. As earlier stated, odds are your business will not be profitable for months or even years. This investment money will help keep things smooth with no risks involved.

Number 3)

Will you make a profit? – How? Figure it out

You may have a vision of success but are you able to state how exactly you will be turning a profit? You need to figure out your costs and expenses; rent, inventory, employees and the remaining items on a shockingly long list of costs. Only after figuring out these key factors, you’ll be able to have a adequate briefing on your profit potential.

Number 4)

Plan, plan, plan and plan!

Making a business plan is almost vital if you wish to succeed. It doesn’t have to be extremely detailed but knowing your path and having it mapped out in front of you will make the process to come much smoother. The key items to take keep track of are: a profit-and-loss forecast, break-even analysis and a cash flow projection. Keeping track of all these are simple feats that can be done with spreadsheets and simple number input, knowing this information gives a very helpful hand as it will set you off in the right direction instead of realizing it later on.

Another reason that the planning stage is important ties into point number 1, you’ll get a rough idea of what your start-up costs are and how much money will need to be saved. Making the numbers work on paper is very important before taking your idea firsthand into the real world.

Number 5)

Pay bills and taxes on time, be safe

Paying bills and taxes on time will ensure keeping your credit profile positive and intact. This adds to a company’s reputation, which is very important when searching for customers. It is definitely in your best interest to keep on track of this to avoid any additional, avoidable late payment charges. Also when dealing with distributors, paying on time will lead to building a stronger relationship which could ultimately benefit your company in the long run.

Number 6)

Use Contracts and Agreements

Many laws actually require you to put some contracts and agreements in writing if they: last longer than a year, involve the sale of goods or services worth $500 or more, transfer ownership of copyrights or real estate.

It’s always a wise choice to put almost everything in writing, even if it isn’t legally required. Oral agreements aren’t the most reliable as they are impossible to prove. You’ll want to keep all your rental, storage, contracting, service, purchase order and sales agreements worth more than a couple hundred dollars in writing form for record purposes and avoiding a liability. Get in the habit of issuing receipts for all transactions and deals- regardless of price.