Business Blog | Lilamitre-arte.com

As a customer, I know what it’s like to be on the customers side of the counter. You want to turn over your hard earned money for goods or services. You are then confronted with attitude, rudeness and utter disregard for just how hard you have worked for your dollar. Either the service is slow and the quality of the goods are poor, or worse the company you are patronizing rigidly enforces poor policies for handling customer issues.

As a business owner I realize the cost of poor service. Poor service decreases impulse purchases, leads to a reduction in repeat business, causes lack of referrals and negatively impacts customer relationships. When you are trying to build a business in a competitive market each of these are critical to your success. In an environment where customers have a dozen or more purchase options it is imperative that great care be taken to build your business.

How are you doing at building your business with customer service? Consider how you would handle the following customer interactions:

(1) A customer purchased a $10 item and now wants to return it. Your policy is no refunds. This a customer who has shopped your establishment many times. Do you return the item or enforce the policy? If you must, gently remind the customer of your policy, but you should absolutely refund or exchange the product to the customers satisfaction.

(2) When customers enter you business are they greeted warmly or ignored? At the very least do you make eye contact and smile? A warm and hearty “Hello” will fit almost any environment. Do this with each customer. A smile would be the icing on the cake.
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Fast and easy retrieval of you information is critical to your business success. And your documents, both on hard drive and paper, are the lifeblood of your organization. So it makes sense to preserve them for any eventuality. But should you try to do it yourself of find a professional firm to do it for you? Read on to find out.

Document Storage: Why You Should Outsource

Fast and easy retrieval of you information is critical to your business success. And your documents, both on hard drive and paper, are the lifeblood of your organization. So it makes sense to preserve them for any eventuality.

But whether your documents are on paper or in electronic form, your data can still be at the mercy of natural or man-made disaster or hard-drive failure. Such loss could cripple your business so it’s essential to have an effective back-up system in place. So how to do it?

Transferring you paper documents and hard-disk data to optical media is the first step. This allows easy retrieval of any information you need. With an efficient indexing system, just pop the disc into the drive and voila. No need to search through dusty storerooms and cart out heavy boxes.

Once you’ve decided to go ahead and backup your critical data, you have to decide whether to do it yourself or outsource to a professional company.

It really depends on the volume of documents you have to work with. But considering the importance of your company information, it makes sense to bring in a professional firm for the following reasons.

Firstly, they’re up-to-date on the latest and most effective methods of data storage. For example, perhaps you’ve already backed up some of your hard disk data to standard Cd’s. After all, they last forever, right? Unfortunately not. Some statistics on the shelf life of recorded Cd’s might shock you. Unless you take great care, standard CD/DVDs can degrade to the point of being unreadable in as little to 2-5 years. Professional data storage firm will be knowledgeable of the latest media such as the latest Kodak Gold discs which offer effective lifespan of 80-300 years.
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Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their businesses by adding new customers. In today’s competitive world of business, it is more important than ever to aim for more transactions with existing customers by using the power of customer follow-up and attention to good service.

These second ten tips will help you in turning your existing customers into walking billboards for your business and loyal customers for a lifetime. While we aren’t advocating that you do all ten, choosing your favorite five and making sure they become a part of your marketing efforts will pay off handsomely.

1. Conduct surveys one time per month in order to find out what your clients want and need. Your ability to deliver solutions to current problems will position you as a coach who is solution oriented and who is willing to be flexible to deliver what it is that the client most wants and needs. An online survey tool such as www.zoomerang.com is a fantastic tool for providing online surveys to your current customers and clients.

2. Support your clients by attending their events and by sending them referrals. Are your clients leading a workshop or a teleclass? Are they holding a special “grand opening” or announcing a new product or service? Will your client be playing the piano for a special event or helping with a charity auction? Find out what special events are in the future for your client and attend those events with enthusiasm. This one perk will let your clients know that you are committed to them through and through. In addition, become a walking billboard for your clients, telling others about their products or services, and send them referrals on a regular basis. The building of a strong relationship and strategic alliance begins with you, so let your support be known by “showing up” and “talking your client up to others.” If you cannot attend the event, contact the client on the day of their big event, wishing them well and letting them know how much you wish you could attend.

3. Set aside a 3 hour block of time each week strictly for the purpose of being “on call” for your clients. During this 3-hour block of time, you will be providing “spot coaching” for clients who want to call in for questions, a quick dose of motivation, or to get support in the area of problem solving. Limit each call to 15 minutes so that everyone who wants to talk with you will have a chance to do so.

4. Host a “Client Only” Call one time per month. As you begin to coach more and more of your ideal clients, you will begin to notice “common problems” shared by your clients. Watch closely for these common problems, and use your knowledge to build a “Client Only” call one time per month. The Client Only call will provide your clients with information and value around a particular topic which is on their minds such as how to increase profits, how to get more customers, or how to deal with negative thought patterns which block success. The Client Only Call will also support your clients in extending his or her network, which is a wonderful value add.
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Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their businesses by adding new customers. In today’s competitive world of business, it is more important than ever to aim for more transactions with existing customers by using the power of customer follow-up and attention to good service.

These first ten tips will help you in turning your existing customers into walking billboards for your business and loyal customers for a lifetime. While we aren’t advocating that you do all of them, choosing your favorite five and making sure they become a part of your marketing efforts will pay off handsomely.

1. Call your clients every Monday morning just to say “Good Morning,” and to check in on how things are going. This extra ounce of attention will keep you forefront in the minds of your clients, and they will greatly appreciate your extended care and concern.

2. Keep a list of birthdays, special days of celebration, and upcoming special events in the life of your clients and their families. On these special days, send a card or small gift to let your clients know you are thinking of them. On the same note, keep a detailed list of hobbies, interests, favorite foods, preferred music, and the like. As you travel or are out and about, and you see a small token which you know your client would appreciate, buy the item, and ship it with a note that says “I thought of you when I saw this! Enjoy!” One of the most desirable “client perks” is tickets to a favorite sporting event or concert. Many companies purchase packages of sporting event tickets strictly for the purpose of entertaining champion clients and for building a long lasting relationship with the individual.

3. Be “Newsy” and a Trend Setter. One of the best ways to develop loyal clients is to become a trendsetter, continue your own education and training, and to become a forward thinker. By attending training events and reading cutting edge magazines such as Dwell, Futurist Magazine, FAST Company, Gourmet, Architectural Digest, and even Cosmopolitan Magazine, you will be able to follow trends which are current, allowing your clients to receive the newest and best information available on a variety of topics from business to fashion to design to travel to new foods on the market.

4. Attend conferences for your clients. For clients who are too busy to attend a conference, you can offer to attend a conference in their place. The best approach is to choose a conference that will benefit both you and your clients, and you pick up the tab (you will be able to deduct your cost as a business expense, so keep records and receipts for all expenses). While attending the event, collect a “goody bag” for each of your clients, that will include samples from the conference exhibit and any written materials, which you feel may be of benefit to your clients. When you return from the event, host a one-hour conference call or teleclass to update your clients on the latest/greatest in their industry.

5. Feature your clients or referral partners on your website or in your newsletter as your honored man or woman of the month/week. Contact your clients or people you often refer others to one month prior to publication, and invite them to be interviewed as your “guest expert” for the month/week. Record the interview, transcribe the interview, and post the recorded interview and transcription, along the client’s photograph, biography, and contact information on your website or in your newsletter. The enhanced visibility will speak volumes to your clients about your support for their lives, and will show others that you are committed to the personal and professional improvement of others.
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