True, it is cliché: the phrase “the customer is always right” is usually met with some amount of cynicism or at least an eye roll. Or, when asking businesses what customers think about a certain topic, their answer is “We know what our customers want.”
But we’ve encountered more than a few businesses—small and large […]
Archive for April, 2007
So you closed the deal and you’re thrilled. For many, that’s the time to take a moment to take a breath and enjoy the success. You’ve established a solid foundation of valuable customer relationships.
Or so it seems.
What about how your customer is feeling? Whether it’s their money or the money of the company they […]
Question: Do you have the business insurance you need?
There’s no way around it—you personally cannot control or eliminate every potential risk that threatens your livelihood, particularly when operating a small business. Business insurance can provide the protection against these risks.
However, insuring your business is not as simple as insuring your car. Because your business […]
With the arrival of the Internet, many marketing experts predicted the end of direct mail. They said its obsolescence would be a direct result of the availability of the information on the Internet. They posited that e-mail would replace all communication—both commercial and personal—once handled by “hard copy” forms.
But marketers have seen for themselves how wrong many of those experts were. Just as television didn’t do away with radio, the cyber revolution hasn’t eliminated direct mail. In fact, the Internet and e-mail actually made direct mail more effective.
Direct mail has myriad benefits. On a basic level, direct mail offers customers and prospects a chance to learn about your business. It opens up the conversation. More specifically, it can promote interest in a new product or service offering, drive traffic to your store or Web site and/or increase brand recognition.
Most important, it works. And it will be around for a long time to come. The critical part will be determining whether or not direct mail is a profitable and worthwhile effort for your small business.
Procrastination can sneak up on us when we least expect it. Certainly, we’ve all been in situations where we’ve raced against the clock to finish tasks, only to find we could have done a more thorough and complete job – with more successful outcomes – if we had planned and prioritized better.
But never fear […]
We’ve all heard the saying, “Bigger is better.” Or is it?
In relation to companies, big has mattered. Big companies are associated with wealthy Fortune 500 conglomerates where value can be added due to large numbers of employees making functions more efficient. Such economies of scale made sense for growth’s sake. Small startups were traditionally […]
We’ve all been in situations where we’ve been nervous before a presentation. In fact, speaking in front of others is often times peoples’ biggest fear. It’s a natural fear, but often one that can impede our progress in client presentations, speeches or overall daily communication.
However, help is out there. Toastmasters International (TI) (www.toastmasters.org) is […]
Want to improve the relationship between you and your customers? While working on improving the way your customers do business with you, you might consider improving your own value proposition.
Your value proposition is a statement designed to summarize the reason a potential customer should buy your particular product or service. This statement should be […]
At first glance, working from home sounds fabulous. And for the most part, it is – you have proximity to all the creature comforts that make your life what it is. The incessant interruptions from colleagues and meetings that can often derail your work groove are suddenly gone…and you’re relieved.
But for many, running a […]
We’ve heard it before – networking is a fundamental element of building a business. What’s a business without suppliers, customers and overall, a community of support? Large or small, businesses need to pay close attention to creating a world of reliable and valuable contacts.
For small businesses, in particular, there are resources dedicated to cultivating effective networks. […]
