Do your clients rave your the best?
The rat race – most of us are a part of it. People are constantly striving for the new ‘edge’ in business – that certain something that will make them stand out a little bit more than their competitor. Many small businesses put so much money into marketing in hopes of obtaining their next big sale, and then end up really upset when their efforts fall short. But is it all worth it? Are we getting any wiser, or making our jobs any easier?
Let’s face it: business is competitive – but the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t have to be exhausting. There are two big factors that I feel make or break a business; “raving fan service” and being the best.
A common thread that most people can attest to is that we all lead crazy, busy lives. People are constantly on the go. There is your work life, personal time, spiritual time, family life, and socializing. It can be overwhelming to fit it all in! But here is the trend that most companies fail to realize – people want to be taken care of. Everything nowadays has a very “retro” feel to it. Cars, clothing and even appliances are looking very similar to what they used to. Even television shows we all watched are becoming blockbuster films. Why? Because it reminds people of a time when they used to be taken care of – a time of “Sunday night” dinners with the family, where you have roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and warm pie for dessert. A time, where things seemed more relaxed and the “ol’ fashion values” seemed to be more prevalent. So let me ask you, does your business create that pampered feeling for your customer? What do you do that is above and beyond people’s expectations? Services you offer aren’t enough – your customers expect that – it’s what they pay you for. Your clientele needs to rave about what you do! I highly recommend the book, “Raving Fan Service” by Ken Blanchard. It’s an easy read on how to have your clients rave about what you do. This is so important because it will generate referrals for you and have people in your town talking about – you! This will assist your community in viewing you as the best – which brings me to my next point.
Let’s play out a scenario for just a moment: Who is the most important person in your life right now? Imagine that this person had a serious disease (heaven forbid!) and there were only two doctors in the world that knew what to do with it. The first, in Switzerland costs over one hundred thousand dollars for the operation – and has a flawless track record. The other, nearby to you is much cheaper but…the track record isn’t the best; this doctor has lost a few people. Now let me ask you this; how fast would you be on that plane to Switzerland? Read more
Say It with These T-shirts
Need to have unique t-shirt that able to show your best interest? Well for this case, I think there’ll be only Wearyourbeer.com is the place that able to help you. This site is specializing in providing some unique t-shirt designs you can choose based on your special interest, such as cartoon characters, beer brands, and many more. This lots better to shop your t-shirt here than in your local market, since that the site has wider optional designs for the music lovers.
This site has many options of CBGB T-shirts for those underground rock fans. You may also take a look at some sample designs of Green Day T-shirts, with their unique icon of their album, American Idiot. For the Grunge lovers, you may also look for some samples of Nirvana T-shirts available here. Simply put the grunge band legend Curt Cobain as your T-shirt logo, and show to the world that he is your favorite.
It is always good to walk around the downtown with your favorite bands logo in your T-shirt. You will have a chance of meeting people with the same interest along the way. And what can be happened next? You will have more new friends with same interest.
Radical Innovation: The Prodigal Mandate
“Radical Innovation” refers to high risk, high uncertainty projects which hold the potential to both influence the marketplace and bring high returns to firms. It’s a kind of “promised land” of differentiation, growth and wealth for businesses and nations. Radical innovation is different from gradual innovation, in which small, incremental changes are made to activities in order to create more value with less waste. The focus of this article is how firms can realize radical, or breakthrough, innovation, which is the more difficult type to foster.
A 2007 McKinsey Global Survey revealed that 70 percent of corporate leaders call innovation one of their top three priorities. They believe that breakthrough (or radical) innovation will have the greatest affect on corporate performance. The report shows that these leaders agree — “innovation is the best strategic decision for sustainable competitive advantage.” Yet these same leaders report that strategies for igniting innovation in their companies elude them. Too many barriers exist. Why?
Smart Marketing For Small Business
Any marketing done well is smart marketing, right? Wrong! Even a great-looking campaign can fail. Here’s a simple method you can use to quickly determine the efficacy of your marketing program.
You may have heard of SMART objectives before. The experts who design corporate objective-setting criteria use SMART, an easy-to-remember acronym for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Results-oriented, and Time-bound. If all of those criteria are part of a person’s performance objectives, they’re in good shape.
With a little modification, the same acronym can be used to test the effectiveness of your marketing programs. In this case it stands for Strategic, Mindshare-grabbing, Action-oriented, Results-focused and Tuned.
S - Strategic
Before we start spreading the word about our product or service key strategic analysis needs to occur. That may sound tedious but without it we won’t be clear on what to say.
Get to know your customers and your competition well. This will help you determine how to position your product or service. Your goal should be to secure the top spot in a prospect’s mind when it comes to your type of product offering. (Next month I’ll be discussing ways to make this happen.)
You’ll need to know the who, what, where, when (or how often) of your marketing program. Who, specifically, are you targeting with your marketing? Your approach to them will be largely driven by what they read, where they shop, and what they buy.
What will you be positioning in your program? What benefits does it provide? What makes it uniquely better than your competitors’?
Recession Proof Your Business – How to Avoid Business Failure & Increase Sales in a Lagging Economy
When you’re a small business owner
there’s no “Golden Parachute”, no Massive Severance Package or Stock Options to cash in on and there are definitely no bailouts. The success or failure of your small business is all on your shoulders!
Here’s Are 5 Things to Do If You Want Your Business to Fail During a Recession
1. Don’t Do Anything
2. Don’t Do Enough
3. Don’t Encourage Referrals From Other Clients
4. Don’t Create a “WOW” Experience
5. Don’t Take Massive Action Now
Now, if you want to build your small business, there’s good news.
You don’t have to sit back and become a victim of the times. Right now there are businesses and market segments that are making record profits. US Steel just posted record profits for the second quarter after losing huge orders from the auto industry.
Answering Service for Home Based Businesses
A home based business is exactly that, a business that is primarily run out of an individuals’ home. Businesses that operate this way either answer their own telephones or let calls go to voicemail when they are unavailable. Many times, it is difficult to run a successful business and manage incoming calls at the same time. Also, if you are not available, letting phone calls go to voicemail can hurt your business by callers not leaving messages. If a home based businesses cannot handle incoming calls, it will lose revenue.
Inbound communication is vital to any business. It can foster strength in your brand as well as generate revenue by beginning new relationships with customers. And, it is vital that callers speak to a live operator. Many times, if your callers reach an answering machine or voicemail, they will not leave a message and may consider your service unreliable. If they don’t leave a message, you are losing business. If they deem your business unreliable in emergency situations, you are losing business. An answering service offers a live voice to answer your calls when you are unavailable. A live voice will capture more leads then a machine.
Advantages of Investing in a Franchised Business
1. Tried and True
When you invest in an already created business model, you can have confidence the business will be successful if you work hard and follow the franchisor’s instructions. Franchised businesses typically have a proven track record of success and can support nationwide expansion.
2. Trusted Brand
Another big advantage of owning your own franchise business is that you are investing in an already recognizable brand. Unlike other small business owners who have to build recognition and a reputation, your business is likely to already be nationally known and recognized.
3. Higher Success Rate
Less than 5% of franchised businesses fail every year in the U.S. This is drastically lower than the percent of regular small business ventures that fail. For this reason alone, purchasing a franchised business is one of the most secure investments you can make.
Building Partnerships: Identifies Partnership Needs
Analyzes the organization and own area to identify key relationships that should be initiated or improved to further the attainment of own area’s goals.
Competition today means getting to the finish line first with better products and services. What is good enough today most likely won’t be good enough tomorrow. Even if you’re meeting your objectives, don’t get complacent.
You could probably find small ways to improve your team’s operating procedures, but chances are your work area isn’t responsible for the total process. Whether you are producing a product, rendering a service, completing a project, or implementing an improvement idea, people outside your work area are going to be involved in what’s going on. Partnerships force you to consider how your work area and organization fit into the larger business process. They broaden your outlook and help you see how to make a major leap forward.
An organization is like a link in a value chain that connects the seller of raw materials or ideas to the end-user of finished products and services. An organization receives products or services from suppliers, adds its unique value, and then provides enhanced products or services to its customers. The customers add their unique value and supply even more enhanced products and services to customers one step closer to the end-user.
Moms Working at Home Tips
oms working at home face the stress of taking care of their family as well as having to worry about bringing in a second income and generally work on a contractual or freelance basis.Women working at home are a new kind of business woman that do in fact have it all.
Moms Working from home is not just for women. There are many men who are working from home as well. (WAHM) is an acronym that stands for Work At Home Mom.
Mothers working at home work hard in order to bring the much-needed income in a home environment where they are able to take care of the home and ensure that they miss very little of their childrens growing up years.
Moms are the new wave that will make the change that our society needs. They no longer have to struggle to get a job or be rejected because they have children.
Is Your Godfather an Angel
The traditional stereotype of the innovator is that of an eccentric, slightly unworldly Absent Minded Professor, so caught up in the beauty he finds in his work that he neglects everything else around him.
Although we are taught to be cautious about stereotypes, because there are always exceptions, the stereotype endures because there are still enough people who appear to fit it perfectly.
So while there are inventors who are also hard-headed businessmen – Edison being the most famous example – there are also many whose obsession with inventing itself closes their minds to the business applications of what they invent.