Great Products, Great Service and Great People = A Great Business
Are you interested in having a Great Business? Sure you are and it is not a hard as you think. In fact consider if you will what the customer really wants. They want a friend to sell them a great product and give them terrific service. But as consumers and customers how often do we really get that?
Well not so often and when someone or some company gives that to us whether it is a small business or Large Corporation, well we tend to remember it don’t we? Even better we go tell all of our friends and add a “Buzz” or create fresh new word of mouth advertising for that company.
Consider yourself one of their many new salesmen and the better the products, service and people at that company are the more “Free” salesmen out promoting them. And let’s face it; testimonials from happy customers are in fact the best advertising any marketing consultant could ever come up with no matter how many marketing books he wrote, even if he wrote 3-marketing books; the fact is you cannot trump Great Products, Great Service and Great People in the market place.
No competitor or advertising specialist or even self-proclaimed marketing consultant can beat that. You see customers know when your employees have a fake smile and they know when they genuinely care. So when you have great employees, well they will know it and feel it.
People are not stupid when it comes to who is a friend and who is foe. As far as great products and great service, well you better have that or your competition will slaughter you. Consider all this in 2006.
Home Sweet Home Page
“Your home page is the world’s introduction to you and your company. Make it COUNT!” - Heidi Richards
Think of your home page as the cover of your brochure. It features exciting information about your company, but like a brochure it must be opened to reveal the rest of the message. It is connected to other pages in a way that allows other visitors to your site to move from one page to another by clicking on the highlighted text or images.
Getting your home page up and running on the Internet requires design, operations, and the update of your information. Many Internet Service Providers offer home page construction for free, often with a standard format in their “host” package. This is an inexpensive way to get up and running more quickly on the Internet. In the beginning, it might be an option for your site.
The options of design, operations, and update depend entirely on how much maintenance your site would require and how much information you want the surfer/customer to have. It could be as simple as listing your location, hours of operation, and the types of products and services you provide. Or as elaborate as picture graphics, movement, and even sound.
Design It yourself. This no-frills approach is inexpensive. The many new and easy-to-use software applications available make it affordable to get started. Provided you feel comfortable with this do-it-yourself approach, and feel comfortable learning a new program you can create your own home page. There are, however, some disadvantages. There is no guarantee of quality for the finished product, and it requires a lot of time and energy.
Microsoft offers a free package that allows Word users to build a Web site from their word processing software package. Check out their web site for Internet Assistant for Word (http://www.mircrosoft.com). Adobe has a package called PageMill 2.0, using click-and-drag commands that create web pages. Less than $100, it has the basics needed to create a site. Just call 800-833-6687. Corel offers a Web Graphic Suite of products. More expensive, but you can get more features. Corel’s number is 800-772-6735.
New packages become available frequently. Check out the computer software catalogs and local stores for what’s out there.
Hiring a Designer. Companies specializing in Web site design are abundant. And new companies are springing up all the time. Of course, it can cost up to $500.00 to develop a modest site. And about $30.00 per hour for updating the site. You will still need the Internet Service Provider to host your site.
Updating your site. The more often your site is updated, the more successful it will tend to be. Active sites are updated weekly, maybe even more frequently. If you want your Web site to be more than a billboard, it could require several hours per week to keep the site current. It all depends on the types of products and services you provide.
Make sure your Web Site is “linked” to other similar industry sites, and professional associations.
Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business © 2005 - Heidi Richards
Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is the owner of Eden Florist & Gift Baskets - http://www.edenflorist.com and the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International http://www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) - an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at http://www.HeidiRichards.com or heidi@wecai.org
Listen to Suggestions
If you are up to your ears in a stressful situation, it becomes difficult to think clearly. Sometimes, it is best to walk away from a problem, and think about it, rather than try to solve it with an instant solution.
My grandfather used to say: “Even the court jester can teach us something useful.” This saying goes much deeper in meaning and applies to many things - from a Yoga class, to not taking life too seriously, and to the unfortunate way customer feedback is commonly handled by the business world.
As a customer of any service or product - how do you feel when your Email is ignored, your voice mail message is never answered, and you don’t get any feedback or concern, at all, from customer service? We all feel the same - nobody likes to be ignored. The shame of all this is that customer service is getting worse on a global scale.
Knowing this, we should take the time to listen when someone has taken the time to give us a constructive suggestion. When you do acknowledge a suggestion and consider, implement, or try it, you could possibly create a bond for life.
Here is a little story about how listening can pay off. Years ago, I was working at a health club and had a dilemma. I had a personal training client with a weight control problem, but I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. She was exercising, eating the right things, following a new healthy diet, taking Yoga classes, and had made a 30 day turn around in lifestyle, with no results to measure.
I brainstormed with the health club owner with no real success, but we were interrupted by someone who said that I should have my client log everything she eats and drinks.
Well, I took the suggestion and ran with it. I discovered my client was drinking three Cokes a day. She didn’t equate Coke with sugar grams, and didn’t think it was important enough to mention.
After that, she lost five pounds a month, on average, for the next twelve months. That’s an optimum 60 pound weight loss in a year. This particular client kept the weight off.
The person who made that suggestion is still a dear friend to this day. Needless to say, I have every personal training client log their meals, and drinks - just to be certain.
In summary, it doesn’t take a “rocket scientist” to listen to customer feedback, or a colleague’s suggestions; but all of us, no matter how important we think we are, must be willing to sit back and listen to constructive advice. This will be the difference between managers of businesses that flourish and those that fail in the twenty-first century.
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
Customer Service - A Lost Art?
Is customer service a lost art? Before you answer that question, take a moment and think about the last few times you have gone shopping or out to dinner. Okay, now that you have really thought about it, is your answer any different?
Why is it that when we actually DO receive excellent customer service that it makes such an impression on us that we usually choose to go back? Why - because the occurrences are so few and far between!!!
As a home business owner, it is imperative to my business that customer service is ALWAYS a top priority. Remember the saying: “If you don’t take care of your customer, somebody else will”. I’m sure you have read or heard it somewhere before…..and how true it is.
Here are a few ways to improve customer service at your business:
- SMILE - Sounds too simple, right? As a customer, would you prefer to be serviced by a smiling face, or a scowl that would befit a guard dog?
- LISTEN - Always be slow to speak and quick to listen. Let customers express themselves without you trying to do it for them. Nobody likes being interrupted.
- DON’T BE TOO PUSHY - Yeah, I know - the bottom line is sales, right?
There is a fine line between suggesting products/services and pushing them down a customer’s throat. If you are too pushy, your customer will probably walk away and take their business elsewhere.
- PHONE ETTIQUETTE - Whether you are answering or initiating a call, always remember who the customer is. Be polite. Try “Yes sir/ma’am” instead of “yeah” and “nope”. If you don’t have an answer for your customer - offer to do some research to find what they are inquiring about.
- THANK YOU - ALWAYS thank your customers. Even if you could not help them or they decided not to purchase from you. Leave them with a positive impression of your business before they leave.
- TRAINING - Train your employees. Don’t let an untrained employee ruin your track record of excellent customer service. Train your employees on-the-job for as long as necessary to teach them good customer service.
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise”
Luke 6:31
In conclusion: Customer service may be THE most important aspect of your business plan. I know of many people who are willing to pay a little more for a product or service in order receive excellent customer care. Price, advertising, and location are all vital to a business—- but whatever you do, don’t overlook the all-important “Good Customer Service”.
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Craig Binkley - husband, father and
home business owner assisting in the
restoration of the “traditional” family
through home business ownership.
http://www.bornagainbargains.com
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Grow Your Business with Affiliate Marketing
To generate additional business income, consider
expanding your business through affiliate marketing.
Here are three ways of boosting your business income
with affiliate programs.
1. Earn Commissions
By joining and promoting suitable affiliate programs,
you can expand the number of related products and
services that you can offer your customers. The
company offering the affiliate program pays you
commissions on products and services they sell as a
result of your referrals.
Good affiliate programs will offer excellent products,
website, credit card processing, commissions, sales
aids and support. Your main function will be to direct
your existing customers and others to the company`s
website.
2. Earn Income from the Efforts of Others
In many affiliate programs, you can earn commissions
on the referrals of other people that you sign up as
affiliate marketers. So, now you are not only earning
income from your own sales but also from the effort
of others.
3. Start Your Own Affiliate Program
By starting and promoting your own affiliate program,
you can obtain a worldwide sales force for your own
products and services. The beauty of this arrangement
is that you only pay for performance. Your sales
agents are only paid a commission when they make a
sale of your products and services.
By applying these suggestions, you, too, can grow your
business through affiliate marketing.
For more information about affiliate marketing, visit
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/affiliate.html
RESOURCE BOX:
J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc.,
http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping
clients to earn maximum business profits for over
twenty-five years.
For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas,
visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/
