Fix your customer service…before it breaks your bottom line

(This is a guest post by copywriter Tyjuana Wilson. Tyjuana Wilson is “The Communications Department” for small business owners throughout the world. Too busy to write compelling content for your website, blog or social network platform? Contact Ty for a quote. No obligation. (704) 750-1699 or info@tyjuana-wilson.com)

fix it

We all can give at least one example of poor customer service stemming from a customer-merchant interaction. From the waitperson that didn’t get your order right, to the phone representative who, ironically, kept you on hold for too long. The first-hand accounts are sometimes enough to make one angry all over again.

Sadly, those in charge are often unaware of any customer service issues.  At least, not until it’s too late: frustration has lead to refunds, service cancellations and even lawsuits. Thanks to social media it only takes minutes to learn of a bad experience from a business, where customer service problems could have easily been eliminated with the right systems in place.

“It’s best to nip these kinds of incidents in the bud,” advises Michele Masterfano, Huffington Post contributor and Clinical Assistant Professor, for DrexelUniversity. “A solid response to a complaint can turn a devastating viral story into perhaps a minor event to manage and may even allow the company to have a good story circulating”
(source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-masterfano/customer-service-meets-so_b_3429428.html).

Are there cracks in your customer service? Learn how to mend them before your profit margin is destroyed.

How does the public see your business? One simple question will give you an idea on what others think of your business: “How likely would you be to recommend this company to a friend?”  This question usually calls for an answer in the form of a score between one and 10, with 10 being the equivalent to awesome.  Surveymonkey.com is also a great resource for those who want to ask their customers more questions.

Put someone in charge. What used to be a private conversation between business owners and customers has become a media nightmare thanks to Twitter, Facebook and a host of other social media platforms. Who has the time to address every single profanity-filled post or terrifying Tweet? A third-party consultant would be great for collecting these online opinions – and findings from the survey question mentioned above – and presenting the unbiased results to you.

Take action.  Now that you have received feedback from customers and a hired professional, it is time to do something. In a slowly-recovering economy nobody wants to think about reprimands or firings, but this is exactly what needs to happen if your employee is found to be at fault.  Likewise, a happy employee leads to a happy workplace; make sure those who work for you are being treated fairly and pay attention to their working conditions. Also, remember to celebrate milestones, from a birthday to the birth of an employee’s child. Don’t give anyone a reason to become disgruntled (at least, not on your watch).

Are you listening to your customers, before they talk to your competitor? Share what you’ve learned in the comments.

 

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Make Your Own Luck

There are people who believe there is no such thing as luck. There are others who’d say that most things in life are a matter of chance. Between St. Patrick’s Day “luck of the Irish” and NCAA March Madness grids, a lot of folks had luck on their minds this month.

Whether you believe in “luck” or not, there are things you can do to take advantage of the random occurrences that life throws at everybody.

Be prepared to make the most of chance opportunities. Unexpected things happen to every business owner from time to time. You might discover that class you’ve wanted to take or a new software program you want is on sale. Or maybe you suddenly find out that a business owner you admire is looking for someone to partner with them on a project. Learn to keep an eye out for these situations, and be ready to grab them when they come up.

Pay attention to your intuition. Some might call it instincts, hunches or lucky guesses but everyone has had a time when they got that “gut feeling” about something. We all take in vast amounts of information about the world and the people around us. Some of that data is definite and concrete; facts that are obvious like seeing what someone is wearing or hearing the words they say. Other impressions are subtle or even subconscious, such as when a person’s tone and body language lead you to believe that what they really mean is different than what they actually said. Learning to recognize and trust those feelings can often help you avoid trouble.

Expect good things to happen and learn to see the bright side. This is usually, of course, much easier to say than it is to do. But it really does make a difference when you can manage it. Instead of saying that something won’t work, try telling yourself that it can happen. Learn to look for the “what if…” in situations that seem doubtful at first. You just might come up with a great “lucky” idea.

Get the results you need. There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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It’s All About Love!

Love is big business. At no time is that more evident than around Valentine’s day. This time of year you’ll see the signs everywhere. Candy makers, flower shops and jewelry store ads all try to convince you that buying these products is the best way to show your love.

Do you use Valentine’s Day (or other holidays) to market your business? You might think love and romance are only for certain types of businesses. Finding and using romantic images is easy and obvious for wedding planners, florists or jewelers.

But what about regular, un-glamorous everyday operations? Believe it or not, there are ways that any business can add romance. And it’s not by flirting with customers or doing inappropriate things.

Romance In Business

Romantic flirting is all about getting someone’s attention and making them feel special so they’ll give you their number, spend time together or say yes to the date. It’s fun and playful and it’s about two people making a connection.

But isn’t that also what you want for your business? You “woo” your target market to capture their attention so that you can form a relationship, and eventually make the sale.

Of course romancing a customer isn’t quite the same since you have a different goal and use different methods.

Loving The Customer

Romancing your customers is really just another way of saying that you should strive to always give top-notch customer service. This is the one thing that any business owner can do. It doesn’t matter what your product is, it doesn’t matter how big or small your company is, and you don’t need a big budget increase to make it happen.

Simply think of the way you’d like to be treated when shopping or conducting business, and treat your own customers that way. Do this when things are going well, and especially when something goes wrong.

There are many ways to make someone feel special. Tell me some of your favorites.

Get the results you need. There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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Who Are You Talking To?

Who are your customers, and what’s their problem?

This is the very first question that has to be answered when it comes to planning and marketing your business. It’s also the last question. And many of the ones in between.

Many business owners believe, and behave as if the product or service is the most important thing. While it is certainly true that you need the knowledge to produce your offering, it is even more important that you know and understand the people who will be using it.

It doesn’t matter if you call this your target market, your ideal client profile or your niche. What matters is that you listen to these people and learn from them.

Be specific. In addition to gender and age range, you’ll want to know things such as where they get information, what are their fears and problems, and what they want and need.

There are many reasons to be as detailed as possible, and you’ve probably heard a few of them before:

  • Knowing your niche makes it easier to separate your business from the competition.
  • Define the benefits you offer. When you know who your audience is you can talk about things that are important to them instead of things that don’t really matter.
  • Knowing your target also allows you to create persuasive marketing and promotions that appeal directly and specifically to the people who most need what you offer.

Once you know these things about your market, it will become very easy to identify and explain what you do, how you do it, and what they get out of it.

There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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What’s New, What’s Next?

There’s an old saying which claims that if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten. If you think about this then you have to ask yourself if you’re satisfied with what you have, or do you want something different?

Some people would say that they are satisfied with their lives. Many would say they aren’t, but that’s ok; knowing what you don’t want is a good starting place.

A lot of business owners would answer that they do like what they have; they just want more of it. That’s a good place to be. Why? Because it means you already know some of the things you can do to get more of what you want.

Doing What You Know

One problem that many solo business owners have is inconsistent results. Sales will be good for a period of time, then there will be a while when there’s little or no work.

It may seem that these switches happen randomly. And there’s no doubt that economic conditions, business trends and other outside factors can and do affect the bottom line to an extent.

But many times your results are due to things you’ve done, either recently or possibly a long time ago. That’s the thing with social media and most other forms of free or low cost marketing; it can take a while to see the results and too many folks stop because it doesn’t happen right away.

Consistency is key. If you’re doing the right thing, you’ve got to keep at it. Do it when business is slow to speed things up. Do it when business is good to avoid the slow times.

Doing Something New

Of course, sometimes business might be slow because you aren’t doing the right things. Or maybe you’re doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, the same way they’re doing it.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use proven techniques just because most other businesses are using them; it’s just that you’ve got to be a bit different if you want to get noticed. Read over your business plan and think about your USP. As the expression goes, think out of the box.

If you want something different, you must dare to be different. Find something unusual that you can connect to your business and make it your trademark. Check out this blog post for a couple of examples.

Get the results you need. There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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Giving Thanks

We usually think of Thanksgiving as a “personal” holiday; a time to enjoy good food with family and friends and reflect on all the good things we’ve enjoyed throughout the year. For entrepreneurs, the opportunity to run your own business is undoubtedly on that list.

While you’re thankful for your business, this is also a good time to grow and strengthen the connections you’ve made. Gratitude can help grow your business.

Almost all of the major belief systems express this in one way or another: To get more of what you want you must first show gratitude for what you have.

How does your business show your gratitude? I’d love to hear your ideas.

One way to show gratitude is to donate. During the holiday season you’ll see a lot of this, but there are some businesses that make it part of their company mission and philosophy and do it all year. Pick a worthy cause that you care about and pledge to give a certain percentage of the sales on a particular day (or week). Or you could choose a certain product or service for some period of time.

Another way is to give a boost to your customers, suppliers and advisors. Write a review, rating or recommendation for another business. Create a series of blog posts, tweets or status updates praising a partner. Provide links or referrals to trusted entrepreneurs you know.

Something that we sometimes forget in day to day details of running a business is the simple act of saying thank you to clients and associates. It makes people feel appreciated when you take the time to acknowledge them.

Because it is so often lacking, simple courtesy can go a long way in today’s business climate. And it doesn’t take a lot to make someone feel special. Remembering names and special occasions make people feel special. All it takes is a sincere note or card.

On this Thanksgiving, I want each of you to know that I appreciate your taking the time to read and respond to these newsletters. That makes me feel special!

Get the results you need. There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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The Right Words Are Key

SEO is about getting your site to rank high for certain keywords and phrases, so the words you choose make all the difference. None of the tips and tactics you’re learning will make a bit of difference if you aren’t using the right search terms.

The first step is to determine the subject of your website, and of each page. This will give you your basic keywords. You may also want to include a few common synonyms.

Once you have a list of keywords and phrases it’s time to do some research and refining. You want to find out two things for each keyword: how popular the term is with searchers, and how many websites you are competing with.

Start by doing a search for the term. The results page will tell you how many pages contain the term in any order or position.

You’ll also want to determine how often your specific keywords appear:

  • as an exact match – by using quotation marks around your “keyword phrase”
  • in a page title – by putting allintitle:keyword in the search box
  • in a URL – by putting allinurl:keyword in the search box

This will give you an idea of the competition for your selected keywords and phrases.

What Are They Searching For?

The next step is to do some “popularity” research. The idea is to find out what people are looking for, because it does you no good to rank high for a term nobody uses.

A good place to begin is Google Trends. There you can find out what terms people are searching for. And with the advanced features in insights for search, you can further refine your research by location, season, etc.

Finally, you have to make sure your keywords are used properly on your website. If you haven’t yet built your site (or if you’re planning a “website refresh“) you’ll want to decide on the right keywords – or make sure your web developer does. If your site is already up and running, you’ll still want to periodically check on the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.

Get the results you need. There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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Search Engine Optimization-Simple Things You Should Know

Search engine optimization, or SEO, tends to be one of the most misunderstood – and misrepresented – subjects in the world of online marketing. What it means is making your website look better to search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., so that your site will be listed whenever people type in a particular subject to look for.

The optimization part is about the various methods used to get your site closer to the top of the list for a particular word (keyword) or phrase. The theory is fairly simple.

How it’s done is another matter. There is so much contradictory and inaccurate information out there that it can be difficult to separate fact from myth from opinion.

There are two related reasons for this confusion.

First, the programs and algorhythms that search engines use to determine placement are kept secret by design. The search engine companies don’t want anyone to know exactly how they determine the rankings. That is also the explanation behind the second reason; they periodically change those methods and generally don’t publicize what the changes are or when they occur.

This is why I don’t completely trust anyone who claims to be an “SEO expert” or who says that they can guarantee a top spot. The fact is that the only true experts are the people who work for the search engine companies.

There are only two ways to guarantee a first page listing:

One is to choose a keyword or phrase that has little or no competition. For example, they may say they can make sure you are at the top of the page for www.yourdomain.com. But what would be the point of paying someone for that? Unless you’ve done something terribly wrong you’ll already get the top spot for your own complete url. And that doesn’t help you grow, because the only people who find you that way are folks who already know about you.

The other is by paying for them. There is a lot of debate about whether paid listings hurt or help your organic (unpaid) ranking and about which is better for business, but I don’t think it really matters.

What does matter is getting the results you need to reach your goals. In the next few issues we’ll discuss some of the ways you can achieve those results.

There are resources available if you need help. Contact me today and we’ll find them.

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Dare To Do Something Different

Dare to be different. Think out of the box. My latest newsletter was all about doing new things. You can read it here, and don’t forget to sign up for your subscription.

Good advice when you’re struggling to bring in more business.

Find something unusual that you can connect to your business and make it your trademark. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just something memorable that you can connect to your core business. Something that will make people laugh, or think, or something that just makes folks say “hmmmm”.

Whatever you choose to use, it just has to be something that will make folks remember you.

Here are a few examples I’ve seen here and there on the net:

  • A commedienne named Rosalind who signs her written jokes and online posts <Rated *R>
  • A programmer who always talks about his love for Pop-Tarts
  • A computer technician (and fellow Trekkie) who mimics Scottie
  • A gift basket seller who dresses in costumes to fit the theme of her baskets

It doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be uniquely you!

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Re-sizing Digital Photos

Here is a quick answer to a problem many of my clients have:

Most digital camera pictures start out very large, both in dimensions and in file size. You can fix this easily with any image editor. The basic Windows program is called “Paint” and it does a nice job of resizing.

Click your “start” button then look under “programs”, then “accessories”. When you open the program click “file”, then “open”. You will get a box to search your computer for the picture you want. Select the image then click “open”.

Next, click “image” then select “stretch/skew”.  At the top of that box you will see choices for horizontal and vertical, both with percentages beside them. I usually start out with 75 or 80%, but if the picture is really huge (for example over 1200 pixels wide) you can use 50%.

Make sure you put the same figure in both boxes or else the picture will get distorted. If it’s still too big you can do the process again. And if you mess up you can click “edit” then “undo”.

When you finish, click “file” then either “save” to overwrite the file and keep the same name and location, or “save as” to give it a new name and/or location. Make sure photographs are saved in “jpeg” format. This is the box right under the name of the image in the save screen.

Simple, huh?

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