Tip of the Week: 5 Tips to Tweeking Your Business in the Fall

You may wonder as year end is looming in a few short months, how you can improve your business to reach your goals for 2009.  Here are a few tips you may want to consider:

1.  Review the prospects you have obtained in 2009.  How many converted to actual sales?  How many did not convert?  Revisit these prospective clients.  You could do this by sending an email or making a telephone call.  You may approach this with an enquiry as to how their business is doing, mention your previous communication with them whether it was a quote, a consultation, or a proposal and whether they completed the project or task.  Ask for any feedback they can provide.  OR, you may also send a targeted email to them with a “coupon” offering a free item or service or a discounted rate you are offering for a limited time.

2.  Revisit the clients you have had so far this year.  Those would be the clients you actually provided a product or service to whom you have had no further contact with.  If you neglected to do a customer satisfaction follow-up with them, do it now.  Ask for feedback.  If applicable, enquire about further services you may have discussed with them at the time.  At the least, ask how satisfied they were with your product or service  and whether they have any problems at this time that you might be able to help them with.  This is also an opportunity to tell them you are offering a discount for a limited time.

3.  Check back on your Business Plan or Strategies for this year.  How many To Do’s have you accomplished?  How many have changed since January for whatever reason and have you moved forward with them?  How many have just gone by the wayside because of a lack of time or funds?   Make adjustments such as ticking off the accomplishments, adjusting the changes to other items and how and when you will complete them and for the outstanding items, can you move them to the List for 2010 or do you still have time to set up a schedule to implement them?

4.  Revisit various Profiles or Accounts you have set up, eg. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, Ezine Articles, Blogger sites.  Have you updated them to reflect any changes in your business – contact information, added services or products, your new brand image, any changes you have made since January 2009?  If, like many people, you have joined groups or opened accounts and never used or participated in them, now would be a good time to trim down those that are no longer important or you don’t have the time to pursue.  As well, there may be others that you want to pursue but haven’t taken the time.  Now would be that time to investigate whether they will benefit you and your business.

5.  The Fall is also the perfect time to contemplate how you are going to strategize for the coming year.  What ideas and plans do you have for 2010?  Do you want to add a product or service, does that entail any training or research on your part?  Make a plan.

 

Diane L. Coville

ALTERNATIVE OFFICE ASSISTANCE

http://www.alternativeofficeassistance.com

Tip of the Week: Reputation Management

What is Reputation Management?

When conducting an on-line business or even if your business is a “store front” operation, eg. Restaurant, Retail Store, etc. you need to keep informed of what customers are saying about you… There is one way to find out and that is revisiting customers and asking for feedback. However, there is another important element that you need to know. What are they saying about you on-line? If you have an on-line business it is important but there is lots of communication over the internet about other business as well. Whether the feedback is good or not, it spreads quickly by word of mouth but on-line it can spread at the speed of light!

Example of Bad Reputation Management
There was a Company (the name is unimportant at the moment) producing bicycle locks that was growing at an incredible rate because their product was new, innovative and very efficient. They were leading in the industry. However, one customer had an issue with the product and decided to speak their mind on the internet. The Company was not monitoring feedback on the internet at that time. They did notice that their sales were suddenly dropping significantly. When they discovered that their unsatisfied customer had posted enough on the Internet that many people took notice and word of mouth spread at an incredible rate, it was almost too late to repair the damage to their reputation.

How to Deal with Issues
I had an issue with Skype which I use for a lot of my client communication. I had prepaid for a 1 year unlimited long distance plan to the US and Canada. Three months into the plan, they wouldn’t put through my calls, saying that I had to pay for them. I went to the Skype website but nowhere could I find any way to communicate with them except by posting a customer service trouble ticket. Two days passed and I heard no reply, not even a notification that they had received the trouble ticket. I went on Twitter and searched Skype and I “followed” them. Then I posted a few comments about their terrible customer service. I received many “Direct Messages” back from other upset customers. And then I heard from Skype directly on Twitter asking me to clarify my issue. Within less than 24 hours my account was corrected to reflect my prepaid plan. Who knows how much longer it would have taken for them to contact me to deal with my issue?

The Company that sold bicycle locks were not monitoring their reputation but Skype obviously was.

How do I monitor my Companys’ reputation on-line?
There are several ways. You can Google your Company name as well as your personal name (if you are a small business with sole ownership). Set up a Google Alert.  Google will send you emails every day of the “search terms” or “keywords” that you have provided. As well, there is Google Reader. And there is Google Blog Search. What if your customer regularly blogs and has mentioned their issue in their blog? You can also do a search in Twitter to see if anyone is talking about you or your business. There are also sites where unhappy customers can post complaints whether they are valid or not. Sometimes they are false but the word gets out all the same.

Some of these sites include Epinions, ConsumerSearch, Ripoff Report, Consumer Review, Planet Feedback, Complaints Board and Start With Trust. All these companies have websites and can be posted on.

Whether your business is large or small, Reputation Management can make or break your company’s success.  It is imperative that you have a strategy in place:

           TRACK   >    REPORT     >   ENGAGE    >    EVALUATE

And don’t forget…while you are checking out the feedback on your Company, you can use the same methods to keep abreast of what is happening with your competitors and your industry!

Do you have a Reputation Management Plan of Action set up?

Diane L. Coville
ALTERNATIVE OFFICE ASSISTANCE

http://www.alternativeofficeassistance.com

Tip of the Week: Do you provide good Customer Service?

Do you provide good Customer Service?

Customer service has been around for a long time and the term has been over-used and neglected.  Customer Service has also been defined in different ways.

What does Customer Service mean to you as a consumer?

• “after sales” support?
• efficient communication between you and the seller?
• being valued as a customer?
• offered special deals and added value to your purchase?
• a seller who will “negotiate” a resolution when you have a problem?
• provide “self-service” such as an Internet site where you can get help?

A definition of  Customer Service is a series of procedures designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction or has met the customer’s expectations – before, during and after the sale.  Customer Service should be an integral part of a company’s value proposition.

Why is Customer Service so important?

I’m sure you have heard this before.  Obtaining new customers is much more labour intensive and expensive than keeping existing customers and the referrals you are likely to get from them.  There is a general consensus among consumers that the level of customer service today has decreased.  But some companies believe that providing a high level of customer service (or “customer love”) is the only way to grow your business in these times.

7 Rules for Good Customer Service

1.  Answer your phone (and email):

If you can’t answer it, have an answering service such as voicemail.  And very important is to answer all messages within a reasonable period of time (24 hours).  Responding to customers is paramount to displaying your respect of the customer’s needs and time.

2.  Don’t make promises you can’t keep:

If you are asked for a quote, a delivery date, a guarantee, a response or anything else, give some thought to what you are promising and deliver on time.  Making the effort to form a good customer relationship is the basis of a happy and satisfied customer experience.

3.  Listen to your customers:

In order to provide customer satisfaction, take the time to listen and understand your customers requests, how to fulfill their needs or solve their problems.

4.  Deal with complaints:

No-one likes to deal with them and there is the saying that “you can’t please everyone” but you can certainly make the effort to understand the issue, clarify the needs and negotiate a resolution that will address their concerns.

5.   Be helpful, even if there is no immediate benefit from making the effort:

Example – a friend had a broken necklace chain and went to a jewellry store/repair shop, where the owner looked at it but stated that it could not be repaired, but he had a similar chain laying there that he could give her as a replacement – free!  Was she ever impressed!  And she is now looking for a new watch.  Guess where she is going to go first….and how many people she will tell about the service she received – she told me!

6.  Train your staff (if you have employees)

Train them that Customer Service is a top priority to any customer they serve.  Make it clear as to what your idea of Customer Service entails and give them enough insight to be able to make the correct decisions to provide customer satisfaction in your absence.  If they are unable to resolve the issue at that time, encourage them to suggest that they will pass on the concern to the owner (you) and that you will get back to the customer at a specific time when you return.

7.  Take the extra step:

If a customer approaches you about something they specifically are looking for, don’t just point them in the direction – clarify their needs, offer products or suggestions to help them meet that need and ask them if they need more information or services or products which will be of benefit to them.  Offer them a coupon for a future purchase.  Invite them to contact you at a future time, if they need any more assistance.  It does not have to be a significant offering, but it will still be appreciated.

 

If you take the time to follow the above steps, you will become known for your excellent Customer Service.  Over time, it will bring repeat customers and referrals that will successfully grow your business!

 

If you can suggest more tips, please feel free to comment.

 

 

Diane L. Coville

ALTERNATIVE OFFICE ASSISTANCE

www.alternativeofficeassistance.com