10 Customer Service Tips To Build Loyal Customers

It costs about 3 times more to find a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer. But what does that mean? For most businesses, your best investment can and should be in keeping your existing customers happy, rather than always chasing new customers.

Many businesses I work with have functioning client acquisition strategies, but have nothing put in place to keep their existing customers satisfied. Here are 10 tips to build loyal customers (and most cost nothing to put in place).

1. Say thank you. Customers have chosen to invest time and money with you. Being grateful for their investment and saying thank you is one of the simplest and easiest ways to build customer relations. This can range from a simple verbal thank you, to a handwritten note on an invoice or a postcard, through to a bunch of flowers or corporate gift. Whatever you choose to do to say thank you - do it from the heart and think about what you are doing.

2. Learn names. The most magical word a person can hear is their own name. Learn the names of your clients and use them in conversation.

3. Under promise and over deliver. Many businesses get caught in the bind of promising too much to try and attract a customer and then not being able to deliver on their promises. This leaves the customer feeling less than happy with your service. Life gets in the middle of things at times, so it is better to factor this into your business up front. If a job is scheduled to take 3 days, allow for 4 just in case. Give that little bit of extra service.

4. Little things mean a lot. With your customers, little gestures and touches make a difference. If you are delivering a piece of furniture - wipe it over for the customer when you deliver it into their home. When visiting a client and the garbage bin people have just been, wheel the bin in for them. Always leave a property/vehicle cleaner than you found it. If your business has kids as clients, put stickers or colourful stamps on your mail. It is the little touches that make the difference.

5. Keep in touch. If you only contact your customers once a year (and that contact is an invoice), expect little customer loyalty in return. Find ways to keep in touch with your customers. Your "A" clients - the ones you love to work with, pay on time and generate the most income, should hear from you at a minimum every 1-2 months.

Again it doesn't have to be big - an email hoping things are going well for them, a quick phone call, a bag of biscuits dropped in while you were passing or a copy of a newspaper clipping they may be interested in all do the job. All customers should hear from you regularly. Find a way to automate things as much as possible for you - a newsletter or an autoresponder email can make your life easier, while still reminding people that you are thinking of them.

6. Remember significant events. If your client is getting married, having a birthday or other special event, or are celebrating a holiday such as Christmas - all of these are opportunities to drop a line to say "thinking of you".

Some businesses I know have a concertina file for each month of the year. At the start of the year they buy a stack of birthday cards and fill them in, wishing their client a happy birthday. Where the stamp goes they pencil in the date of the birthday. They fill in the name of client, but leave the address blank to check just before it is mailed. At the start of each month they simply pull out all the cards for the month, check the addresses and then post out the cards.

7. Solve problems first time. Complaints are an opportunity to show how can you respond and fix problems. In my experience complaints only ever go bad if the person is ignored, not listened to, not treated with respect or palmed off.

With any complaints, listen carefully without interruptions. Work out whether or not losing a customer is worth you being right if you feel the customer is in the wrong. Solve the problem or review your procedures so the problem does not recur. Tell the customer what you will do/have done and most importantly - apologise (and mean it).

8. Communicate. Lots of problems come from businesses that don't communicate with their customers. If your delivery is delayed - contact your client and tell them. If you are going to be early - contact the client and tell them. Keep your customers informed of progress and any problems that may be occurring.

9. Respond to emails, faxes and calls. If a customer contacts you, aim to respond within 24 hours. Even just a quick email to acknowledge their contact is better than deathly silence.

10. Smile and be friendly. Genuinely caring about your customers and their well being shines through. You can teach skills - you can't teach attitude as easily. Always look for the happy employee who genuinely cares about your customers and their needs. They will become your greatest asset your company has.

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1 Surefire Way To Fail In The LED Screens Industry

Yesterday I had an aperitive with one of our Customers and of course we were talking about LED screens. He is a talented entrepreneur who worked several years for big multinationals such as Coca-Cola and Nestle' and then started to distribute our LED products worldwide.

While talking, he told me the story of one of his Clients. This gentleman contacted him because he wanted to install a LED screen to sell advertising spaces. He had a place where to install the LED display and wanted to invest some money to start the business. He saw the LED wall, liked it, bought it and installed it. Everything went smoothly and the day the screen was installed, he was satisfied and couldn't wait to start making money.

After a couple of months, our distributor got a call from this gentleman, complaining because the business was not taking off and he wasn't getting the return on investment he was expecting. Of course our distributor was surprised to hear that and he started to wonder whether the location was bad or something like that, but it turned out the location was good.

A bit worried, he made a few questions to understand why this gentleman was not making money, so he asked "How do you promote your screen to your Customers?" and the gentleman answered "I run an ad on the LED screen that says: Free Advertising Space. Call 011-954-1015." He replied with a smile on his face: "Well, I think you should do a little bit more than that!"

What's the morale of this story? LED screens are a great media tool and a business with great returns. But as any business, you must work hard to make it successful, you can't just sit down and wait for your telephone to ring!

Some people think that by installing the LED screen, the money will start flowing in their pockets just by doing nothing. Well, this is a big mistake because running a LED screen advertising company is a very profitable business, BUT you still need to work hard to succeed and continue prosper overtime. As in any other business.

Over the years I realized that installing the LED screen is just the first step of a business journey that can be very rewarding and profitable if you run it consciously, but could also be very challenging if you don't know exactly what to do and how to do it.

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1-2-3 Office Furniture Tips and Advice

If you have decided to open up a new office then you may want to think about purchasing the best office furniture to suit yours and your companies needs. Purchasing office furniture is quite a hard task, as you will have to consider the people you are buying it for. Sometimes you may get into hard times just thinking about what to buy yourself, let alone that of your colleagues. I believe that if you know what you are looking for, then the task becomes much a simpler process. You should get to know the people that you are working with and carefully pick up there likes and dislike, this way you cannot go wrong.

A few simple facts to keep into mind when purchasing office furniture is comfort levels, as you and your staff will be using these for most of the day, infact for most of the week you will want to obtain furniture that can give you and your employees that little bit of extra comfort. Basically you will have to shop around and find furniture that is not too comfortable, but that is also not too uncomfortable, because both have there downsides. If you get furniture that is too comfortable it may put the employees off of working as they will be too relaxed, and if you get it not so comfortable they will probably start complaining.

A new range that has hit the market at a tremendous rate are the ergonomic furniture parts, these are not only comfortable but will also help in reducing injuries and strains among yourself and your staff. You can get a wide variety of different ergonomic equipment which include but are not limited to keyboards, a mouse and all other parts of computer accessories, as-well as chairs and desks.

All of this being said it may sound quite costly but you should always remember that the price can be quite deceiving on some items, as you may find it elsewhere if you shop around at a much lower reduced rate. So to sum up you should get the most suitable furniture for the environment you are in, not too comfortable and not too uncomfortable but always remember to take style and vision into account. Especially if you have an open plan office because you will need to look like a professional company if you are getting clients visiting on a regular basis.

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1 2 3 Easy Steps to Creating Your Own Internet Business For Free

Internet is the largest source of money and employment today. You too can make money on the internet, and getting set up only takes a few minutes. Being around the internet for many years it has always puzzled me why others aren't turning to the internet for an easy way to make money from home. At very little cost if any, you can start your own internet money making machine that'll generate a lifetime of income. And if you read on I'll show you how to do just that in 3 Easy Steps

Can you imagine yourself making money on the internet? I can, and I'll teach you a few basic things that will have you up and running in no time! There are thousands if not millions around the world who are already doing just that. It's really no big secret to making money on the internet, but many would have you think differently because they want to sell you the information for a price. But if you spent some time on the internet you'll discover that "BIG SECRET" doesn't have to cost you a dime. As a matter of fact that information is spread out all over the internet and it's FREE!

Now for those of you who have heard this before but never could find the information for free, well then you have just now found the right article that will show you a few of those so called secrets. And it won't cost you a dime, a quarter, or even a buck to have your own money making machine. No more worries about it costing you a fortune to get started. Just follow the few simple steps below and in no time you'll be an internet Business owner who'll soon be on your way to making money!

Step One: Go to 22gee.com to set up your free hosting account. Or type in Free Hosting into your favorite search engine and search for a free hosting provider.

Step Two: Go to 101dollarearningtips and choose your favorite affiliate program. Find and sign up to quality affiliate programs.

Step Three: Launch your free site or buy space form webdomainspace.com Create a website using FrontPage website building tools. Web site can be about anything

That about wraps that up. And it really only takes a minutes to get this set up and to start making some serious money! Give it a try, but do keep in mind that you reap only what you sow In other words you will have to make an effort at in order to make money. You just can't build it and expect visitors to show up.

By spending just an hour a day leaving short messages and comments in forums and on blogs will drive traffic back to your web site in no time. If visitors don't like what your site is about, or they are just ready to leave your site, then nine out of ten times they'll leave by way of one of your affiliate links. You can make fast money on the internet with affiliate links!

Take it just one step further by writing short articles and posting them on article sites. This will drive even more traffic your way! Search engines love Article Sites!

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Without A Home Business Plan You Are Setting Yourself Up For Failure

There are hundreds of thousands of people that get on the internet and have hopes of becoming the next internet marketing millionaire. Unfortunately, many people suffer a rude awakening when they are unprepared and not willing to put forth the necessary work. The internet is constantly evolving and changing by the day, but it is still absolutely vital that you have a home business plan to help you get your business going.

If you try to get a business going without a home business plan, you will be giving the advantage to those competitors of yours that do have plans. Your internet business will be missing out on organization and direction. Without a plan, you will be lost and winging it as the many obstacles occur.

Within your home business plan there are a number of things you want to include. The plan can and should consist of goals you want to achieve, when you want to achieve them by, where you want your business to go and how you intend on taking it there. There are thousands of other websites and businesses on the internet that have the same intentions as you. So how are you going to separate your business from theirs?

Besides the fact that having an internet business plan will give you direction, it can also assist you in facing unexpected obstacles. The internet is constantly throwing unexpected and unexplainable things at entrepreneurs, and having a plan can help you deal with them best. While things will not go your way every time, you can always rely on your plan and look back on it.

Because you know that things will not go exactly as you intended them to, you can expect your home business plan to change over time. As the internet continuously modernizes and changes according to its searchers, you have to adjust with it. Therefore, you will have to change your plan in time. However, the gist of your plan and the goals you originally set can remain the same.

Despite knowing that your plan will change over time, it is still vital that you have a plan of some sort. It is dangerous territory starting an internet business without knowing how you will market it, who your target audience is and how you intend on reaching them. The biggest advantage to having a plan is plotting out who our target audience is. Once you find them you can change your plan accordingly to the needs of your target audience.

Just in case I haven't hammered it into your heads enough throughout the article, I'll say it one more time; it is absolutely vital that you have a home business plan. Plan everything from your goals to how you will market your business to what your target audience is. In the end, having an internet business plan will better prepare you for any type of adversity you may face.

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The Choice between Yes and Yes: A Psychological Revelation

Three year old Kara was throwing a tantrum. She didn't want to go to bed, of that she was certain.

"Do you want to brush with the red or blue toothpaste?" her dad asked gently.

"Blue," she says, glad to be given the opportunity to make a decision.

Ten minutes later, Kara was well tucked up, wondering when she'd agreed to go to bed in the first place.

You laugh at the story, don't you?

The method used to get Kara into bed seems a bit like trickery. And who am I to say that it's not? Yet I want you to pay
attention to one thing. Kara was glad to be given a choice between yes and yes.


Your clients are not much different

Clients come to you every single day asking you to give them a choice. A choice between yes and yes. Instead all you're giving them is a choice between yes and no.

Mah friend, your bank account will see far better days if only you'd step back, and use the immense power of the choice between yes and yes.

Of course, you don't have to believe that this choice factor works. You don't have to believe your sales will go up. All you have to see is proof. So in the article below I'll demonstrate the psychological factor of choice.How it can work for you and how it can turn against you and bite you in the you-know-where.



It all started on one stupid loss-making November's day...

We were doing fine with the sales on our website when we made one change. I'm going to demonstrate the change in the article below so it would help for you to have the page opena
so you can see what I'm talking about.

If you look at this page at
http://www.psychotactics.com/hiddenlink.php
you'll find that you get the choice to buy two packages. One is the copy of the Brain Audit and the other choice is a copy of the
Brain Audit + the Brain Audit Rip.

Till the middle of November, we had both the offers up. Then one ego-driven morning we decided to pull the plug on one choice.


We gave customers the choice between a yes and um..NO!

Almost within 24 hours, our sales started going south for no reason at all. We ignored this sickening slack for about a week. Then we looked back at what was working. And we put back the choice between yes and yes.

The customer was back in choice-ville and the sales soared.


But here's the curious part

Among the two packages, one has a much higher price. Yet over 97.5% of customers, when given the choice between the two packages, chose the higher priced package.


The customer is no dumbo

No siree. The customer knows exactly what she wants. And when given the choice between yes and yes, she takes a decision to buy that which creates most value for her. Of course, if there's an enticement to buy, as was in this case, then
there's a far greater likelihood of her buying the more expensive product.


The customer is no dumbo...but I sure am

Think about it. If your revenue shot up. If customers were buying higher-priced products what would you logically do? Wouldn't you take the same concept and use it everywhere you could?

You'd think a smart person would do that, wouldn't you? (Which is why I qualified myself at the start of this paragraph). But no! As we speak, the only product that has a choice of YES and YES is the page I've already mentioned above.


Don't stop at one point. Take the concept through it's paces

If you're in consulting, look at the choice between yes and yes. Are you giving the customer a choice between package A and package B. Or do you offer just one package? If you're selling products, the concept of yes and yes choice stays put.

And once you've found that the concept works, puh-lease don't
do the dumbo bit. Audit every possible thing you sell. And put in a yes and yes factor. Not only will this bring you higher quantity of sales, but also an a much better price on every product/consulting assignment you do.


I said yes and yes...NOT yes and yes and yes and yes

You, me, we all crave for choice. But give us too much and we go a little waka-waka in our brains. Because choice is based on rejection. To choose the strawberry flavour ice-cream, you must mentally refuse all the other flavours.

(Read article on: The Curse of Choice)
http://www.psychotactics.com/artchoice.htm

If you give a client too much to choose from, they will end up rolling their eyes, doing a RAM check and shut down their brains before you have time to do anything at all.

Keep your options simple. Keep the choice between yes and yes.

So that even a three-year old has no trouble choosing!

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6 Tips To Having Success With Affiliate Marketing..

Affiliate marketing is a difficult area of business on the internet because not everyone knows how to approach it correctly. Many people think that putting a link to the other business's website on their home business website is enough. In reality, you have to treat every program you are promoting as your own if you truly want to have success at affiliate marketing. Here are 6 tips to help you find success with affiliate marketing.

1. Pre-requisites
Without telling you, many affiliate marketing programs have pre-requisites that you must meet prior to earning any money. It is vital that you take the time to find out if the company you want to promote requires you do something prior to earning commission. If they do, is it worth the wait or can you find a better company to promote?

2. Interest
If you're working for yourself and have a home business website, find an affiliate program that you have interest in. The main reason so many people quit their 9 to 5 job to work on the internet is so they can work for themselves and do what they want to do. You will be much more inclined to work harder and promote the program better if you have an interest in it.

3. Relation to your website
There are literally thousands of affiliate marketing programs that you can sign up under and promote on your website. Because of this, take the time to find the best programs that are related to the topic of your website. There is no sense in putting an affiliate link to a gardening product if you have an electronics website. The best way to have success with affiliate marketing is by offering your visitors what they are looking for.

4. 40% residual income
As mentioned, there is a plethora of affiliate programs to choose for your home business. Because of this, find a program that is related to your website and offers a residual income of 40%. If you're going to be promoting other people's businesses on your website, you might as well earn quality money for doing it.

5. Statistics
Every affiliate marketing program should have a place for you to view your statistics and see how you are doing. Not only should it be accessible, but you need to be able to find current statistics 24 hours a day. The internet never sleeps, so why should your affiliate program statistics be any different?

6. Complaints
The best way to see how each company truly works and how much success other people have had with it is to find out about complaints. You can find this information out by posting in forums and asking for advice and any useful background information that people may be willing to share.

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