Loading

Grow Smart Business


teaserInfographic
Close

Search Articles

Most liked posts



Recent Articles

Popular Tags

accounting and taxes blogging blogs Branding Business Development business travel Capital Access Compliance Customer Service ecommerce Email marketing entrepreneur entrepreneurship Facebook Generational Marketing GrowSmartBiz Conference Grow Smart Business lead generation LinkedIn Marketing michael dougherty mobile marketing networking online marketing Raising Capital Resources retail sales sales process SBSI Search Marketing seo small business small business accounting small business hiring small business loans small business marketing small business resources small business technology Small Business Trends social media Technology Twitter Web Design Workforce

Categories

Posts Tagged ‘Customer Service’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

How to Spot Trends in Your Business and Turn Them Into Profits

January 4th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

The New Year is here–the time of year when “best of” and “hot trend” lists proliferate. As you look back over all those lists of what was hot in 2012, take a moment to think about what was hot in your own business last year—and what it might mean for next year.

Here are four key questions to ask yourself:

  1. What did your customers buy more of and less of in 2012? Use your sales records and other data to see what products and services were hot sellers last year and which ones were less so. See what trends you can spot. Are customers buying more do-it-yourself items, or are they upscaling to costlier ones? Try to project into the future and how these changes might affect your business going forward.
  2. Who were your best customers in 2012? Was that a change from prior years? Maybe most of your customers used to be college students and now your customer base is skewing younger. Or your customers used to be midsized businesses and now you’ve got a few Fortune 500 clients. What do these trends mean for the future? How can you better serve the new market? What new products, services or sales channels would appeal to them?
  3. How were most of your sales made in 2012? If you typically sell most of your products in-store, did that hold true in 2012 or did you find more customers buying online? Did wholesale accounts grow while retail sales declined? Did customers who previously bought your service on a month-to-month basis sign up for annual subscriptions? Again, consider what this trend might mean in the coming year. How can you sell more through the sales channels that are growing? Should you pull back on the less profitable channels or eliminate them altogether?
  4. Who were your best salespeople in 2012? What did they do that your other salespeople didn’t? Assess your star performers’ actions and habits, and develop best practices you can use to train the rest of your sales team. Consider whether sales quotas need to be reset or whether some poor performers need to be let go (there are plenty of hungry salespeople out there right now). Finally, reassess how you distribute client and customer lists. Can you set your top salespeople loose on the prospects, sales channels and products you’ve identified as growth areas?

Image by Flickr user Images_of_Money (Creative Commons)

 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Business Development, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales Process, Sales Teams, Small Business, small business | 2 Comments »

How Is Your Small Business Celebrating This Year?

November 29th, 2012 ::

By Karen Axelton

Does your small business have plans to celebrate the holidays? As the economy shows signs of improvement, the recently released 2012 American Express OPEN Small Business Holiday Monitor finds small business owners are feeling more festive than they did in 2011. Here’s how other entrepreneurs will be celebrating this year.

More entrepreneurs are giving their employees bonuses (35 percent, compared to 29 percent in 2011). Of those, 25 percent report plans to give out larger bonuses this year than they did last year, with the average bonus being 9 percent. Employers say the number-one reason for giving out bonuses is to acknowledge good work.

Employers will also be celebrating in style, with 40 percent of small business owners reporting that they plan to host a holiday party (up from 35 percent last year). Entrepreneurs say they will spend an average of $959 on their celebration, down a little from $1,029 last year.

But employees aren’t the only ones who will be benefiting from small business owners’ generosity this year. Over half of small business owners (57 percent) say they plan to give a contribution to charity this holiday season. About one-third will give money, one-quarter will make an in-kind donation, and about one-quarter will donate their time.

Giving thank-you gifts is also an important part of the holidays. More than half (51 percent) of small business owners plan to give gifts to clients and customers this year, up from 43 percent last year. On average, entrepreneurs say they plan to spend $958, a steady increase from $827 last year and $740 in 2010.

Maybe one reason for the festive plans is that a good number small businesses overall are feeling fairly optimistic, despite the tentative economy. Some 36 percent of small business owners overall, and 41 percent of small retailers, report that they expect “strong” holiday sales this season, while 19 percent of small business owners and 13 percent of small retailers expect their sales to hold steady compared to last year.

How will you celebrate the holidays with your clients, customers and employees this year?

Image by Flickr user caitlinator (Creative Commons)

 

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Customer Service, Small Business, small business, Workforce | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: FiveStars (Loyalty Program)

November 1st, 2012 ::

FiveStars

It is six to seven times more costly to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one, according to consulting firm Bain & Company. That’s why it’s so important to reward your current customers for their business–and why loyalty programs are so popular. But while small business owners love loyalty programs, they don’t always love managing them. FiveStars has introduced a customizable loyalty program that’s integrated with point-of-sale systems. It enables small business owners to reward customers based on actual spending, and it offers automated social media components that help merchants create buzz around their businesses.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Customer Service, Marketing, Small Business, small business | 2 Comments »

Your BtoB Customers Are Going Mobile—Don’t Get Left Behind

October 29th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

If you’re like me, you’ve been reading a lot lately about how consumers are increasingly using mobile devices like smartphones and tablets to shop, buy and do just about everything else. But while most attention to the mobility trend focuses on consumers, business-to-business companies aren’t left out in the cold. In fact, if your company sells business-to-business, a new study by CDW pinpoints just how important it is for you to “go mobile.”

The Mobility Edge:  CDW’s 2012 Small Business Mobility Report polled business owners and found a growing number are using mobile devices to handle everyday business tasks—and this trend is only picking up speed. Here’s a closer look at what CDW found and how it might affect your BtoB sales.

First, computers are becoming obsolete in some industries. By “computers,” of course, I mean desktops and laptops. About 36 percent of IT managers in the survey said some of their companies’ employees have completely replaced desktops or laptops with a tablet or smartphone. An additional 20 percent predict this will happen at their companies within the next two years. Construction and foodservice were the two industries in which this was most likely to happen.

Speaking of industries, the survey found that construction, foodservice, manufacturing, professional services and retail were the five industries in which the innovative use of mobile devices had the most potential to transform business. Here’s how these industries are using mobile:

  1. Retail: 67 percent were using mobile to enable consumers to buy products; 50 percent used it to help consumers access information about products. There’s room for opportunity, with just 16 percent having a mobile app.
  2. Professional services: The top uses for mobile devices and apps were enabling communication with customers, accessing information about the company, allowing customers to execute a service. There’s room for growth: Just 29 percent used mobile apps to automate processes.
  3. Construction: These companies primarily use mobile to help consumers access information about their companies, and to improve communication between the main office and employees in the field. Room for growth: About one-fourth used mobile to help customers execute a service that used to be more complex.
  4. Foodservice: Half of these companies reported some employees had already replaced computers with mobile devices, and an additional one-fourth expected this to happen in the next two years. Room for growth: With this the single industry most rapidly adopting mobile, there are still many ways mobile can improve the customer experience.
  5. Manufacturing: These companies primarily use mobile to improve communication with customers and among employees. Mobile enables them to be more responsive, providing quotes quickly and collaborating with team members.

What does this data mean to you? First, if your customers are in these five industries, you, too, need to be adopting mobile so you don’t get left behind or viewed as a “dinosaur” who doesn’t understand the way they work. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and that you communicate with these customers in the way they want to be reached. Second, think about ways you could provide mobile products or services (such as apps) to serve their mobility needs. Finally, consider how they might use mobile in their businesses going forward, and what new opportunities that could open up for you to better serve them.

A particular growth area is tablets. With smartphones almost saturating the marketplace already (81 percent of respondents say they use them daily for work), tablets have the most room for growth. Just 25 percent currently use tablets on a daily basis, but tablet use is projected to grow by 117 percent in two years.

Image by Flickr user Aatomotion (Creative Commons)

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Customer Service, Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology | No Comments »

How to Capture Holiday Sales by Offering Layaway

October 10th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Remember layaway programs? If you’re a Baby Boomer like me, you probably remember your parents paying for purchases like the family’s winter coats, a new dining room set or other major purchase “on layaway.” Here’s how it works: The customer essentially puts a product “on hold” with a retailer, then pays a certain amount per month until the entire cost is covered, at which point he or she picks up the item.

With the wide advent of credit cards, layaway pretty much died out since it was no longer necessary. But ever since the Great Recession, layaway programs have been having a resurgence–which makes sense, since they first sprang up in the Great Depression, as this JWT Anxiety Index on the topic explains.

According to JWT, Sears and Kmart first started the layaway ball rolling back in holiday 2009, and retailers like Best Buy and Toys R Us have since joined the game. What’s more, layaway isn’t just for brick and mortar retailers—ecommerce companies are getting into the game, too.

How can your retail or ecommerce business benefit from layaway? Using layaway can help you make sales you might not otherwise make, eliminate credit card fees since customers aren’t using the cards to buy, and increase customer loyalty and spending. All pluses, right?

It’s not too late to get your layaway program going for the holidays. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

  1. Create a policy. You need to create a layaway contract that spells out terms and conditions, including what happens to the product if the customer doesn’t pay, when payments are due, and any fees involved.  Visit the Bureau of Consumer Protection website for guidelines on what type of information should be included in your layaway policy.
  2. Keep costs low. Stores typically charge a fee for layaway, but more and more major retailers are waiving their fees. If you don’t want to eliminate the fee altogether, consider refunding it when the purchase is completed. That way, you know you’ve made the big sale and can afford to lose smaller fee.
  3. Implement online tools. Forget about tracking customers’ layaway purchases by hand—now there’s software to help streamline the system. eLayaway and LayawayPro are two layaway management programs to consider; both can help you track layaway customers, manage payments and more, and work for ecommerce, too.

One more thing to do? Don’t wait—holiday shopping season is almost here!

Image by Flickr user julesxt (Creative Commons)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Business Development, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business | 2 Comments »

How to Deal With a Negative Review on Yelp!

September 19th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

If your small business is a restaurant, retailer, salon or bar—the type of business that relies on local customers and word-of-mouth—you’ve probably had some experience with review and ratings site Yelp!. How much weight do Yelp! reviews carry with consumers? A study by University of California, Berkeley, economists, reported on Mashable.com, found that an improvement of just half a star in a restaurant’s Yelp! ratings can increase business by nearly 20 percent during peak dining hours.

If you haven’t already listed your business on Yelp!, I hope this inspires you to do so. But is fear of negative reviews holding you back? After all, if half a star of improvement can boost business 20 percent, half a star of declining ratings could cut into your business, couldn’t it?

Negative reviews are a reality, on Yelp! or any other ratings and review site. It’s how you deal with them that matters. Here are some tips to help you get a grip—and keep your customers coming back.

First, remain calm. It’s human nature to get defensive when reading a bad review—especially if you feel it’s undeserved or if the reviewer seems to be a little unhinged. However, bashing the reviewer won’t get you anywhere—and in fact, will probably backfire by making you look bad to the other customers and prospective customers reading the exchange.

Talk to your employees about the review to see if you can figure out what happened and if the customer has cause for complaint. You can respond to reviews publicly or privately. Start by posting a brief, public response thanking the person for his or her comments (so other users can see you aren’t ignoring the review). Then respond to the reviewer privately to offer solutions or get more information about the situation.

Often, customers who are upset simply want to be heard and acknowledged, and in most cases, starting a personal dialogue with the person will be enough to defuse the issue. If you find you’re in an escalating situation with an irrational customer who keeps posting about your business, however, the best strategy is to disengage and trust that other readers will draw their own conclusions about the legitimacy of the complaints. You don’t want to get dragged into an online screaming match.

Consider negative Yelp! reviews as a learning opportunity to discover problems with your business and find solutions. No business can please everyone, so if you’ve done all you can to address an issue, it’s time to back off.

Image by Flickr user William Brawley (Creative Commons)

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Branding, Customer Service, Marketing, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Gripevine.com (Customer Complaint Resolution)

September 14th, 2012 ::

Gripevine.com

An unhappy customer can be your business’s undoing in a matter of minutes—the amount of time it takes him or her to spread the word through social media. Gripevine.com can help you turn that negative customer reaction around by providing an online social media platform for consumer complaint resolution. Gripevine takes consumers’ complaints and sends them directly to your business through an interactive dashboard platform so you can handle problems immediately and eliminate the calls and email runaround that ends up making customers even angrier. Take care of the complaint as fast as possible and you may not only keep that customer, but attract new ones with your swift handling of the situation.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Customer Service, Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology | No Comments »

How Small Business Owners Are Using Mobile Tools

July 23rd, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Summer is here—but as any small business owner knows, summer vacation isn’t always an option when you run a busy business. In fact, the latest Manta SMB Wellness Index conducted by online small business community Manta found almost half of small business owners don’t have time to take a vacation this summer. Nearly 60 percent say they’re working harder this year than last.  And 70 percent aren’t planning to hire any new employees this summer, meaning it’s harder than ever for small business owners to get away.

Those fortunate small business owners who can take time off this summer are able to do so partly because of mobile technology that lets them stay in touch with the office. Seventy percent of small business owners Manta surveyed say they plan to check email/work documents from their mobile device during their vacation. But that’s not a bad thing: 60 percent say their mobile devices and business applications help them enjoy their vacation more.

Mobile apps are part of small business owners’ lives even when they’re not on vacation. Twenty-five percent of small business owners say they access business-related apps on their mobile device two to three times a day. Sixty-eight percent say they use their mobile device at work even while they’re in front of their computer. Of those, more than half are checking personal emails or texts on their phone; 17 percent say their email comes in faster on their device than on their computer; and over 10 percent confess they’re just “addicted” to checking their phone.

Even so, Manta found most small business owners would rather communicate with customers or partners in more traditional ways. More than 50 percent of small business owners say they usually communicate with customers, vendors and partners by phone or in person.

“While mobile technology is enabling small business owners to stay connected no matter where they are, SMBs set themselves apart by adding that personal touch to their relationships with customers and partners,” says Manta CEO Pamela Springer.

Image by Flickr user virtualphotographystudio (Creative Commons)

Tags: , ,
Posted in Customer Service, Small Business, small business, Technology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Want to Increase Sales? Target Your Current Customers

July 6th, 2012 ::

Customer service

Social Media Examiner recently published an interview with Becky Carroll, author of The Hidden Power Of Your Customers, a book about growing your business by tapping into your current customers.

Yes, your current customers.  As small business owners, we often focus on acquiring customers.  The easiest sale, however, is to the ones we already acquired.  Think about it: you have already spent time and money acquiring them, they know you, they know your products and business, and they can generate new sales for you via word of mouth.

In her book, Carroll suggests employing a ROCK strategy to reach your current customers:

R – relevant marketing
O – orchestrated customer experience
C – customer-focused culture
K – killer customer service

While a customer-focused culture doesn’t need explanation, let’s look at the other 3 terms.  Relevant marketing means tailoring your marketing messages so they are relevant to your existing customers.  While you might hook new customers by offering them a discount, free consultation or sample, your current customers would be more likely interested in buying a complimentary service or add-on product.

An orchestrated customer experience means making every touch point, whether it’s directly with you, online, an ad, or walking into your store, meaningful.  You want to constantly make a positive impression to build brand loyalty.  If you have a bricks and mortar location, how is it laid out, what does it look like, how clean is it, what does it smell like?  When the customer uses your product or service, how is their experience?

Killer customer service mean providing such great customer service that your customers want to shout (in a positive way, of course!) from the rooftops.  If you treat them well, they will be happy to be customer advocates for you.

For any business, typically 80% of your business come from 20% of your customers.  Your advocates are about 5-10% of your customers, and by advocates, Carroll refers to your best customers, who can become a great source of referrals for you.  Figuring out who they are is not that hard.

Every day advocates are the people who sell your product or service based on compliments they receive.  “I love your website, who designed it for you?”  Mentions in tweets or blogs are also examples of every day advocacy.

Your best advocates are hand raisers.  A hand raiser is a customer who is always on your Facebook page leaving comments; the person who takes time out of their day to fill out a survey; the people talking about your product or service online and to friends; and the people shopping in your store all the time.

Of course, one company who really pays attention to their customers is Zappos. Another great example is FreshBooks, which focuses on social media to take care of customers.  Here’s on example: If a FreshBooks executive is traveling, they will send a message to all local customers and invite them to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  There is no pitching, just building a community and network.  FreshBooks customers love this concept, and they tweet and post status updates on Facebook about their experience.

***

Have you used any particular strategies to effectively target your current customers?  Leave a comment below!

Image courtesy of dkidiscussion.blogspot.com

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing | 2 Comments »

How Not to Drive Your Customers Crazy

June 22nd, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

What are the top customer service complaints consumers have about retail stores? Overwhelmingly, rudeness was the biggest turn-off for shoppers in a survey of more than 6,000 consumers done for STORES by Prosper Technologies. (In STORES’ last survey on the topic five years ago, understaffed stores and uninformed employees tied for the number-one customer service complaint.)

What are other things that drive customers crazy?

  • Not being able to find help
  • Long lines and slow checkout
  • Confusing or misleading store policies regarding returns or coupons
  • Employees who aren’t familiar with products or can’t answer questions

While customers were more tolerant of poor service at warehouse or discount stores, close to one-fourth reported that specialty apparel stores had the worst customer service in terms of rude or unfriendly employees.

How can you ensure your retail store isn’t driving customers crazy with poor service?

Hire for attitude. It’s easier to teach a nice person how to work in your store than it is to teach someone how to be nice. Look for employees with a friendly, flexible and helpful approach.

Be aware of generational differences. Different generations have different expectations about service. While Gen X and Gen Y shoppers may be willing to turn to their mobile phone for information and advice about a product if they can’t get it from a store employee, Baby Boomers and seniors will want more hands-on help.

Focus on women. Women in the survey were less tolerant of poor service than men, so be sure your employees are aware that women are likely to have higher standards and expectations.

Keep employees up-to-date. Your staff needs to be knowledgeable about what you sell in order to compete with the lure of online shopping, where customers can get endless information about the products they’re considering.

Clarify expectations. Let retail employees know what you expect from them in terms of customer service. Things that seem obvious to you may not be that clear to young employees who have grown up in a digital world and have less experience in face-to-face interactions.

Image by Flickr user guillebot (Creative Commons)

Tags: , ,
Posted in Customer Service, Small Business, small business, Workforce | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »