What is a Joint Venture and How Can It Work for My Business?

Joint Venture Business

When I first heard about Joint Ventures, I was thinking in terms of big business such as a merger between two large companies.  There have been so many in the last few years.  Recent mergers or acquisitions like Yahoo and Xobit (inbox spelled backwards) or IBM and Outblaze are two examples of companies that want a share of the Social Media realm and email services geared to Social Media.

So, at first, I wasn’t sure whether Joint Ventures would even apply to my tiny business and whether I should consider it.

Joint Ventures are not beneficial for just big business.  Whatever size your business, partnerships with other businesses looks more and more inviting in challenging economic times as a means of acquiring new clients for both parties involved, and sometimes multiple parties.

Since my business is Virtual Assistance, I have heard of many joint venture partnerships amongst many VA’s who specialize in different fields – they have often evolved into multi-VA businesses.  Each individual VA – such as an Internet Marketer, a Copywriter, a Website Developer, an SEO specialist and a Social Media Marketing VA  joining together can each bring their special talents to the table to provide clients with a fantastic service in optimizing a website to reach it’s full potential on the internet.

I encountered someone a short time ago who operates a business group in the trades.  Individual men, each owning their own business – a plumber, a drywaller, a roofer, a painter, an electrician, a carpenter, etc. all worked under one roof as a “group” to provide services to their clients.

Another example might be a Business Coach who partners with a Sales Expert and a Website Developer to present a webinar/seminar or event even though they operate individual businesses.

And often experts come together in multi-speaker events taking place on-line or locally with all kinds of themes such as preparing for the sale of a house or property or environmental issues.

If you think about your business, who would you be interested in collaborating with that could benefit your business, their business and the clients?

One place to look for possibilities would be JV Village, a NING social group.  They can be found at:  http://jvvillage.ning.com/.  As well, if you belong to any Social Media networks like Facebook or LinkedIn, many groups can be found with similar businesses or opportunities for alliances.  One of my clients, who belonged to many groups, posted a discussion, looking for Joint Venture opportunities.  He received 40+ replies in 24 hours.  Not all of them were a good fit for him but it provided him many new opportunites to grow his business.  And there are local networking groups like BNI or your local Chamber of Commerce to explore as well.

Do you have an example of a Joint Venture opportunity which has been beneficial to your business?   I’d appreciate any feedback.

Diane L. Coville

ALTERNATIVE OFFICE ASSISTANCE

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

 

 

 

Tip of the Week: REFERRALS

As I progress through my client work, predominately Social Media Marketing at this point, as well as continuing with my VA Classroom course, I come across more amazing information every day through my research and connections.  There is an ever changing world out there that can be accessed through the internet and lots of resources to learn and grow.  I found one very ambitious and innovative site recently that I want to share.

In light of the economy and what can be done to boost it through small business, an event has been created online and hosted by many large profile organizations such as the BNI and Microsoft Small Business. I think this is an excellent way to promote small business as we all know that small business grows mainly through referrals.

This is the url:  http://www.makeareferralweek.com/

They are shooting for 1000 referrals from March 9th to 13th but I think that with sufficient publicity, this target can be not only met but exceeded substantially if we all participate.

And if that isn’t a good enough incentive, check out the email that is sent when you sign up and scroll down to see the additional benefits of signing up.

Rather than listen to all the doom and gloom issued by the media about the economy and the businesses that are failing or downsizing, there are so many positive strategies we can adopt to keep our businesses thriving and growing and this “challenge” is a very positive way to make that happen.

How do you feel about this challenge?  Does it encourage you to participate?  What other ideas do you have to encourage small businesses?  As well, what should government do to promote small business?

 

Diane L. Coville

ALTERNATIVE OFFICE ASSISTANCE

www.alternativeofficeassistance.com