Business Advice Daily » Customer Loyalty

17 Business Advice Basics

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:44:43 +0000

Business advice can be like trees in a forest; there’s so many it’s hard to know which ones are important. But consider this: advice you hear repeatedly is probably important, so keep listening, learning and evolving your business by taking cues from other’s. This list of business advice includes some basics and just may help you get through tough times.

1 Have a Plan: And use it. A good rule off thumb is to plan out a whole year in advance: When are you going to offer specials? How much do you hope to clear by certain dates? When do you want to hire? Whatever it is try, follow the habits of many successful people and write it down.

2 Change Your Plan: That’s right, the plan you wrote down six months ago should be used as a guide to measure whether your ideas and predictions worked or not. Change things not working by re-doubling your efforts or perhaps using new strategies.

3 Always Ask Questions and re-evaluate what you’re doing. Don’t sit back while your competition finds new ways to out-compete with you. Scour the Internet for ideas to improve your business; join local business associations and compare notes, trends and strategies with other business people around you. Ask your clients how you’re doing.

4 Always Try to Improve. If you think your business is perfect, you’re making a mistake. At least try new things once in a while to see if your marketing, or your website, office procedures, etc. could be made to work better for you. A deal site (like BizSaves) might make it cheaper to find and try new ideas

5 Trust Your Customers and listen and look for trends in buying or repeat purchases. Abandoned shopping carts, returned items, no referral business or a host of other things are people trying to tell you something. Be aware and change.

6 Be Kind to Strangers: OK, the customer is not always right, but it behooves you to take the high road and never be angry or mean to anyone; you never know who might hear about your outburst.

7 Love Your Clients: Speaking of strangers; remember they are the reason for you being in business; they make your business happen. Cherish them secretly; be gracious publicly, and always try to make their experience with you so rewarding they’ll tell all their friends.

8 Love your Vendors: More people without whom your business would not work. Someday you may need a favor or a special delivery; never overlook the importance of good relations with the vendors you count on.

9 Love Your Employees: OK, promise, this is the last “Love” one. Most employees work harder, stay more committed and produce more with praise and constructive criticism. Sure sometimes you have to straighten someone out and even fire them, but coaxing people to excellence is almost always more effective than threatening them or yelling.

10 Connect With Your Competition: This may sound strange, but reaching out with a phone call or note to a new competitor is a good way to measure the threat they pose and if they have some secret weapon. At the least it will let them know you’re watching them, and you’re confident enough to not be afraid of them.

11 Support Your Community: It never hurts to hug back the community which has given your business a chance. Sponsor a holiday food drive; give a free lecture about your field at the local library; join the local Lions club or business organization. Be visible.

12 Talk Up Your Business: Always have business cards; at gatherings give friendly advice in your field, use email signatures that have links, etc. Don’t overlook the contact that might refer your next big client.

13 Know When to Stop. Don’t talk people to death: you want to quickly inform and tease them about your business, not drone on. It’s always better to leave them wanting more; not wishing you would go away.

14 Volunteer a Class: Teaching a class about running your own small business could be of real use to the community. It can also help cement you into the local landscape.

15 Use Your SBA. Your local Small Business Administration office is full of seasoned business people in your area that are a wealth of helpful information, contacts and resources. Contact them and participate.

16 Stay Positive. Sometimes easier said then done, but studies have shown that optimistic people tend to handle conflict better and make wiser decisions (as well as live longer). If you’re naturally a gloomy person, at least don’t let your clients see it. A smile actually makes you feel better. Any problem can be solved.

17 Don’t Do Everything. Unless you’re a solo violinist, learn to trust people and benefit from their strengths, especially to compliment your weaknesses. Seek out a great accountant, or carpenter or marketing expert to guide you. You can’t be the best at everything. Focus on your core business.

What’s your best advice?

Mark Hess is a marketer specializing in helping small businesses find and use modern, growth enhancing marketing, products and services. His company, BizSaves.com offers the best of the web.

Customer Loyalty Programs Work-Here’s Why

admin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:52:53 +0000

Do you currently have a customer loyalty program in place? Odds are, it’s increased your profit margin, if it’s a good program.Customer loyalty programs not only create repeat customers, they generate new word-of-mouth & social media referral customers. So if you haven’t implemented a customer loyalty program yet, here’s a look at how, what and why your should do so.

Customer Loyalty Programs Basics

One of the most obvious customer loyalty programs is giving discounts on future purchases. These are great, but developing a loyal customer base is seldom just about money. Customers who are always seeking the cheapest deal will go to whomever is offering the best bargain at the moment. So prior to jumping onto the customer loyalty program bandwagon, there are many factors to consider.What motivates customers to purchase your goods/services repeatedly is quite subjective. There are as many motivators as there are unique personalities. You’ll need to develop a strategy with your customer loyalty programs which suits a variety of customers.

The potential referral base loyal customers may send your way is huge, so getting to know them pretty well is important. The stronger they feel their connection is to you, the more likely they are to refer friends and family to you. Let’s examine some of the ways you can strengthen your contact via customer loyalty programs.

Keep good Information history on loyal customers. Many people cite the reason they return to the same provider/supplier is indeed based upon quality/value of service, but also because it avoid starting fresh with a new provider. Translation: no repeat hassle of filling out paperwork and documentation from Square One, all over again.

While building your knowledge base about your customers, as their ranks increase it’s easy to lose track of what you spoke with certain ones about the last time you interacted, or what their kids’ names are, etc..But such details are part of what helps demonstrate that you know your customers far better than your competition. When they perceive that personal connection as well as great services and products, that establishes loyalty..

Take a few notes to help you keep track of some key facts. When you show them you’re interested in them personally, their trust in you and loyalty toward your business grows. Once they see that you go the extra mile and care about them as a person, not just the dollar signs their business represents, they’ll be back. Keeping track of special occasions such as their birthday in your database, then sending them a special offer for that day is an excellent show of personal interest.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Using customer satisfaction surveys provides great insight into your customers’ preferences, as well as expanding your personal knowledge about them. So use such surveys to ask key questions to elicit feedback about your products/services, but don’t forget to throw in a few personally oriented questions as well.

If you discover many customers are most interested in saving money, then your customer loyalty program should naturally be dollar-related.
If they are more motivated by personal attention, you’ll want to gear your program more toward that direction.

Tailoring Your Customer Loyalty Programs to Reach Your Goals
Make sure your customer loyalty programs are not more expensive than they’re worth. In other words, the bottom line of such programs is to increase your profitability. Any time you bend over backward too far in order to keep a customer, it’s normally not worth it in the long run.

Devise customer loyalty programs which don’t cost more than you gain by holding onto particular customers. You can do this by coming up with some low-cost strategies which keep them engaged, and periodically throw in a few that are higher cost for the higher income end of your customer spectrum. For example, you could offer a free product or service after so many purchases more regularly than you could hold a contest that gives away airfare to some desirable destination, right? But mixing it up periodically will help you maintain the interest and business of all income ranges

Never forget that you’re offering an extremely valuable service or product. You should never feel the need to “bribe” your customers to interact with you or use your services in the future. If you do, you’re encouraging the type of relationship that always ends up the same – the customer goes to whomever is offering the biggest bribe/incentive in the moment, so the loyalty factor is nonexistent. When YOU value what you have to offer, your customers follow suit.

Showing appreciation of customers continued support through well-designed loyalty programs lets them know you value them. Rewarding them secures their repeat business, and helps them feel they’re receiving something in return for their continued loyalty.