The Frontline Makes Your Bottom Line
It happens all the time: A full-page ad is placed in a major monthly publication. The ad touts the service excellence of their product. Catchy phrases. Great promises. Major dollars are spent to create an implied image in the mind of the consumer. And it can vanish in a heartbeat if promises made are not promises kept-if the derived image cancels out the implied image!
Perhaps this has been your experience: You have been standing in line at the bank looking at a sign hanging on the wall that says “Our Customers Are Our #1 Priority” while the customer in front of you is yelled at by a teller for not having the proper forms needed for the transaction. Or perhaps you’ve had the interaction with a clerk who rolls her eyes when you ask one too many questions about the product. The point is: we will all talk about the derived image-not the glossy ad. Couple this “talk” with chat on the Internet and you’ve exponentially reached thousands.
Why should you care what your customers are saying?
* It costs 6 to 8 times more to get a new customer than to keep an old one.
* There is a 12% higher profit margin with your existing customers.
* Companies that keep their existing customers enjoy a 9% higher growth rate than ones who don’t.
* When each customer leaves they tell at least ten people they know and with e-mail and Internet they may potentially tell thousands or millions. Just look at the power of City Search and Yelp! to make or break a company.
It doesn’t take much to make a negative impression. Here are some of the most common customer complaints: unprofessional staff; disinterested staff; bad attitudes matched with a sense of boredom; more enthusiasm for chatting with co-workers than with the customer and a lack of an ability to solve problems.
Your employees have probably had customer service training but perhaps you are still seeing customers leave. Why is this you ask? It’s because leadership didn’t take the time to find out how the customer service “rules” affect the actual customer. Here are ten tips to take your customer service from drab to fab:
1. The single most important thing you can do to increase customer satisfaction is to treat your employees well. One disgruntled employee can easily alienate dozens of customers. Find out what is wrong and fix it.
2. Keep employees in the loop so that they are in the know and FEEL like valued insiders. With the power of the Internet your employees can find out corporate news before you do. Don’t let this happen to your company. Talk to employees often and in-person.
3. Teach employees to think of themselves as business consultants rather than employees. Empower them to make customer-pleasing decisions without having to call a supervisor.
4. Ask employees to change their viewpoint. Have them look at all customers as multi-million dollar businesses and treat them accordingly.
5. Embrace new ideas and reward innovation. Seek and act on advice from your frontline because most of the time they are the only contact a customer has with your company.
6. Recognize and reward each other. Think in 360 directions. A manager needs praise from a subordinate a much as from her boss. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition for helping each other resolve customer issues.
7. Constantly seek innovation. Ask everyone to study the competition and find out what they do that makes them better. The frontline will see what a higher-level manager will not.
8. Seek and act on customer feedback. Don’t bother with customer surveys. Assign an employee or employees to scour the Internet for both positive and negative conversations about your company.
9. Make your current customers feel important. Offer them price cuts or coupons, make every transaction with them pleasant, communicate transparently and have a live person answer your phones, thanking the customer for his business .
10. Seek and reward referrals from current customers. One local chiropractor provides a free adjustment to any patient who refers someone else. She gets dozens of referrals every week and her practice thrives even during economic turmoil.
Don’t just pay lip service to improving customer service. Good customer service is the linchpin to survival at any time but especially during difficult times. Start by treating your employees well, keeping them in the loop, and releasing them to do what it takes to send each customer away happy.
© 2009, McDargh Communications. Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.
Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter. Executive Excellence ranks her among the top 100 thought-leaders in leadership development. Looking for help with work and life challenges? Visit http://www.eileenmcdargh.com/shop.html today!
Congratulations-It’s a Business! by Leah Grant
Imagine having a newborn dropped off on your doorstep wrapped only in a blanket with a note attached that reads, “Take care of me.”
For the sake of argument say you wanted a baby so this is like a windfall. You bring the child in the house and it only takes a couple of moments to realize that you have no diapers and no formula, so out you go (or you send your husband) to buy the necessary items.
When he returns, you change and feed the infant and begin rocking her to sleep, but once she drifts off you are at a loss as to where to put her. You don’t have a crib, a playpen or even a stroller.
You and your husband start making a list of the items you are going to require in the coming days to properly care for this little life. The list grows longer and longer. The cost of the items quickly exceeds your budget. You start wondering if you can keep this baby.
While this story may seem crazy, this is how many people start their businesses. They want a business, so one day they make some business cards and say, “Here I am world, hire me.”
As with the child, it doesn’t take long for them to realize that they need some essentials to do the bare minimum for their business’ survival, so they rush out and take care of those things.
Once those pressing needs are handled other things surface. As the list of items they either need to buy or need to do grows, it becomes apparent that the business requires more care and feeding than initially thought. When the cost of everything is calculated it’s likely more than they anticipated.
At this point, doubt around whether they should have started the business in the first place and whether they can make it successful if they keep going creep in smothering the initial passion for the idea.
But it doesn’t have to play out like this.
Think about when you got pregnant or decided to adopt. If everything went as planned, you had at least nine months to plan, prepare and line-up everything you would need for the nurturing and care of your new baby.
In those nine months, you focused on getting ready. You did everything from create a space, to buy items, to engage family and friends in contributing, to read books to gain parenting knowledge, and to choose the professionals you would rely on to assist you. If you were anything like most parents I know, you spent hours and hours mulling over names and envisioning how it would be when the baby came.
This is the mindset I recommend you adopt when starting a business.
For many momprenuers your business is both a way to make money and a way for you to contribute. Make sure that you take the time to properly gestate your business concept by taking the time to prepare. Depending on the type of business, your family’s current situation and the amount of time and resources you have to commit, preparing to give birth to your new business can take from one month to two years.
Remember that premature babies require more attention and often costly care to nurture to health. A business opened prematurely will also require more of your attention to fix and can drain your bank account and resources quickly. (© 2009, Leah Grant Enterprises LLC)
Contributor and New Business Mentor Leah Grant publishes Startup Success, a weekly ezine. If you’re starting a new business or are in the early phases of entrepreneurship, visit http://www.leahgrant.com. In her Special Report: 15 Absolutely Important Things You Must Do Before Starting Your Business, she shares the things you need to do to prepare for your newest child: your business.
Billing Boss
Billing Boss is a free and easy-to-use online invoicing tool for small businesses and WAHMs. It’s very simple to use taking me less than 10 minutes to setup an account and create a sample invoice. I like simple and I like free!
Even the tour they offer is short and sweet. This really is a simple online tool that handles invoicing. Here’s what you can do with it:
- Replace your manual invoicing process and create invoices online using your Internet browser.
- Send invoices to your customers online.
- Stay on top of your cash flow by knowing who owes you money, how much, and by when.
- Keep your customer list online for quick reference.
- Track taxes collected from invoices.
- Grant access to your data to your bookkeeper or accountant.
If you have an accountant or bookeeper they can:
- Directly access your invoice and payment information online in order to prepare your books.
- Get an accountant’s view of your data with information such as taxes collected and total invoices sent.
Your invoices can be sent via email or as PDF files attached to emails and if you’re dealing with a dinosaur you can always print the invoice and mail the old fashioned way.
The only thing it doesn’t do for you is sell your products or services giving you a reason to invoice a customer! : )
If you try it out please let me know what you think of it and if applicable how it compares to whatever you currently use.
Learn more at: Billing Boss
The Power of Welcome Home by Eileen McDargh
Welcome home! These two small words carry potent possibilities for creating a connection that evokes loyalty and teamwork. Yet, one seldom thinks of “welcome home” in the context of work. In fact, it is only through recent incidents that I have become acutely aware of the power this gesture holds.
Scene ONE: a world away in the remote regions of the western Himalayas.
Our team had been warned of the dangers in crossing the white water rivers fed by glacier melt. The crossing would be on foot and had to be done as early as possible in the day-before the sun would begin to melt the ice pack and the rivers rise within minutes. Our team of locals had gotten us up before dawn-sending us briskly on our way after a hot breakfast. They stayed behind to pack up gear, tent, and load the mules. We made it across the frigid water by forming a human chain. Our team was too late. They had to spend the night on a rock pile, in below freezing temperatures, and cross at 5:30 am the next day.
My husband and I were up early that morning with the head guide. Suddenly, we heard a shout and in the distance saw the figures of our team coming down the slope. We cheered, waved, hollered and wrapped them in an embrace with the words, “Welcome Home.” We stood around beaming at each other. For the rest of the trek, this team seemed even more helpful, solicitous and full of extra effort for those of us who welcomed them home.
I frankly had not made the connection until another incident happened.
Scene TWO: a combination assisted living and memory care facility in Southern California.
Mom, age 93, had fallen and broken her hip. Now, two months’ from the time an ambulance sped her away to the closest hospital, I wheeled her back through the front door. Her mind and body had taken a terrible assault coupled with embolisms and a decreasing ability to emotionally or mentally cope. She would not be going back to her upstairs studio but rather into the rooms behind the locked door.
As soon as we entered, the receptionist jumped up to give Mom a big hug and said “welcome home.” Other care managers came up and knelt down and hugged her. When we walked down the hall toward the locked doors, residents who had known Mom were sitting in the activities room. They shouted to her and applauded. As I pushed her down the hall to her new room, more care managers came up to us Lastly, at the door of her new room were balloons and a big sign, “Welcome Home, Mary.” I cried.
Any lingering doubt about the wisdom of this move vanished. Despite the fact Mom can’t remember them and alternates in moods that range from pleasant to belligerent, this team of caregivers continues to serve with compassion and care. They come from different parts of the facility to tell me they are so glad our whole family has come home.
Funny. The first day I left her, the security guard at my building hollered out “welcome home.” I swear I had never heard that.
Welcome Home Insights for Leaders
(1) How do you make employees feel as if they are welcomed home? One surgeon was overheard telling a custodian, “Hey, Frank. Glad to see you this morning. I never worry about the cleanliness of this hospital when I see you here.” Don’t you think the employee felt as if he was, “welcomed home”? I do.
(2) Do you notice when employees are absent-whether for illness, travel, or even vacation? And when they come back, do you welcome them home? Sounds trite, but I am beginning to think it is the small things that help us feel valued.
(3) As the economy turns around, you might very well want to bring back employees who have been laid off. How will you welcome them home?
(4) What about your customers or clients? How do you welcome them home? One bank teller not only didn’t welcome a long-time customer “home” but insisted that he could not validate a parking ticket unless the customer made a transaction. The customer was so angry, he made a transaction: closed an account that had several thousand dollars in it.
Welcome Home Insights for Employees
(1) There are some people who bring joy by entering a room and others by leaving. Which one are you? If we had not cared for the staff at Mom’s residence and if she had not been kind, trust me-they would not have welcomed her home.
(2) Watch out for negativity, mean-spirited comments, and “all-about-me” behavior. Behavior like this, even if one is a solid performer by way of numbers, will not generate a “welcome home” feeling. In one law firm, the top rainmaker was fired because the managing partners determined that his behavior so undermined the office that they were better off without him.
(3) Always leave well. Should you leave for another company, another career or even retirement-make sure you leave speaking only well of your employer. Who knows-you might want to return someday.
Remember: home is not given but made. What will you do to make your work a place in which people feel welcomed home?
Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter. Executive Excellence ranks her among the top 100 thought-leaders in leadership development. For more articles, products and services that help you deal with uncertain times visit http://www.eileenmcdargh.com
The Scoop On Article Submission Sites
I’ve submitted articles to numerous sites in the past and I still get traffic from them so I know there is more benefit than might be apparent at the time you’re agonizing over writing the article. Think long term! The article below is worth a look if you’re a decent writer and have something of interest to say. If you’re interested in submitting an article that moms are interested in please consider our sister site: Mom Articles: www.momarticles.com
By Bonnie Jo Davis
Individual article submission sites are websites, blogs, forums and e-zines that accept article submissions. Each site seeks articles on a particular topic or a narrow range of topics. Accepting articles directly saves the publisher from having to search newsgroups or directories for fresh content. Each site has its own set of guidelines that authors must read and understand before they can submit their article.
Some of the primary benefits of submitting articles to individual submission sites include:
- Direct Delivery – Articles go directly to the publisher who is interested in their particular topic, saving publishers hours searching for the perfect article.
- Improved Response – Because authors screen submission sites before submitting their articles, they have a better idea of what a publisher wants.
- Editorial Suggestions – Some publishers offer valuable feedback on articles to help you improve submissions.
- Expedited Publishing – Direct submissions, if on topic and compliant with guidelines, often are published much faster through individual submission sites than through other channels.
- Strategic Relationships – Authors can and should create a relationship with each individual site’s publisher, letting him or her know that they can provide original articles or a customized version.
- Return Link – A reputable website that publishes an article will provide its author with a one-way active link to his website. If this is not provided the author has the option to have the article removed from the site.
- Direct Control – If an article isn’t published according to its author’s wishes, he’ll know how to contact the publisher directly for corrections.
- Submission Tracking – Article marketers rarely know who has reprinted their article. Submitting articles directly to an individual site enables them to track their submissions easily.
- Negotiate Terms – Because authors create a strategic relationship with their publisher, they can negotiate the terms of future submissions.
As with article directories, editorial guidelines often are provided for authors, which requires them to submit only their own original work or work that they paid a writer to create; offer only articles that include proper grammar, spelling and punctuation; allow their articles to be published anywhere on the submission site, and possibly on partner sites; and agree that an article can be edited. They also might be told that the link in their byline is the only payment they will receive.
You should submit articles to individual article submission sites only when they can comply with the rules, and not waste their or the publisher’s time by ignoring those rules.
There are so many specific article submission sites that it’s overwhelming to consider them all. To build a list and find topic-appropriate sites, go to Google.com and search “topic + articles” or “topic + article submission.” Either of these terms, combined with a particular topic, should net plenty potential submission sites.
Article contributed by:
Bonnie Jo Davis is an article marketing expert and prolific writer who created Article Submission Sites to teach others how to profit from the Internet marketing strategy. Visit http://www.articlesubmissionsites.com for a free copy of “Writing for Publicity” and her Article Submission Summary Sheet.
Five Reasons NOW Is the Perfect Time to Start Your Business
The article below was contributed by Leah Grant. I hope you find it motivational and useful!
Top Five Reasons Why Now Is The Perfect Time To Start A Business
Turn on the TV and all you’ll hear is how the stock market still hasn’t fully recovered and how unemployment is still rising, so you might think I’m out of my mind to suggest that now is the perfect time to start a business. But I stand by my statement.
If we look at history, more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than any other time in US history and during our last recession in the early 90s many companies still thriving today were born, like Clif Bar.
There are numerous reasons why starting a business now is advantageous, but these are the top five.
Free Blog Directories to Grow Traffic
If you have a blog that’s worth the cyberspace it’s occupying then you should increase traffic to it by listing it on some of the better free blog directories. Then, if your budget can handle it and you are serious about your blogging, you should look at the blog directories below that charge a review fee as well.
First, the best free blog directories: (the very best are in bold)
- Blog Search
- Blogarama
- Blog Catalog
- Blog Explosion
- Blog Flux
- blogged
- Bloggernity
- BlogHop
- BlogHub
- Bloglines
- Blog Listing
- Blog Rankings
- Blog Top List
- Globe of Blogs
- iBlog Business
- MyBlog2U
- MyBlogLog
- Technorati
- We Blog Alot
A few quality paid blog directories:
Happy blogging! Please send a message with the good ones I missed.
Business Plans Can Be Helpful
Business plans may be overkill in certain situations where your plan is to build a small business to supplement your family income. But, if you find yourself wanting to take it to the next step a business plan can help to raise funds from family, friends, banks, or angel investors. More importantly, the process of putting together a business plan truly helps clear out the cobwebs and fantasies by forcing you to piece together a sensible plan for how you’re going to succeed in your business despite the many obstacles, which you’ll have to contemplate while writing your plan AND include in your plan.
Is Working from Home Really Possible?
Submitted by: Barbara Murtaugh
I never thought of myself as a stay-at-home mom. I liked the direction my career was going and always thought that I would work outside the home, even after my children were born. And that’s exactly what happened . . . until my son Sean was 3 years old. That’s when little sister Melissa joined her big brother Sean.
After the birth of Melissa, my husband and I decided that with the stress of both of us working full time, never spending any time with our children, and the rising cost of daycare, it was time for me to come home. The question was, “Is working from home really a viable option?” Would it be possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom to my children, and have an income from a job that I enjoy and that is beneficial to our family, both personally and financially?
On-Demand Hiring Will Continue to Flourish
If the names Guru.com and Elance.com are unfamiliar to you then listen up. These are two of many sites that connect businesses in need of help with businesses that provide the type of help needed. Of course, many of these businesses are one-person companies like some of us. Called “on-demand hiring” by some, this method of hiring and paying for help only when needed was made viable with the rise of the internet. Finding qualified help is as easy as buying a book on Amazon.com now.
Two sites I recommend you visit whether you’re on the buy-side or the sell-side are Guru.com and Elance.com. 
They’ve both been operating for years and have enough critical mass (i.e. a lot of people buying and selling) to make it worthwhile to join. If you’ve been looking for extra income without the hassle of a “job” then visit these sites and explore the various types of skill sets that are marketable by the hour on these sites. Everything from administrative assistance, typing, or writing to strategic consulting, business plan writing, and telemarketing is being sought and offered.