Customer service can make or break a business, particularly a web-based business, which naturally has a much harder time connecting with customers than a bricks and mortar one. Treat your customers right… or lose them forever.

The internet marketing concept of “over deliver” was introduced by a Canadian physician who is now a prominent internet marketer named Ken Evoy. He believes a successful internet marketers philosophy should include “offering the absolute best tools and information available on the market in the most accessible format and at the most affordable price.”

But what does it mean to over deliver?

In a nutshell, over deliver means to surprise your customers with much more than what they were expecting. For example, if you say, “We’ll respond to your inquiries within 24 hours,” but you actually make it a practice to respond within 6 hours, that’s over delivering. Or, if you tell your customers about 3 bonuses that go with the product you’re selling, but you surprise them the day after purchase with 2 more “unannounced” bonuses, that’s over delivering too.

Once way is to build content-rich websites as a method of over delivering. You build hundreds of pages of free content for your visitors and this over delivery of useful advice helps put them in a receptive mindset so they’ll listen to your product recommendations.

If you do a search on the Web for the term “over deliver”, you’ll find it paired almost exclusively with another term… under promise. I guess the concept there is that if you’re careful not to promise too much, then when you deliver more than you said, you look good to the customer.

But doesn’t that strike you as a tad bit dishonest? It’s almost like the idea is to deliberately minimize what you’re offering, just so you can impress the customer later. It might work… for a while.

The key is sincerity. The reason under promising will not work in the end is because you are not being level with the customer. They can sense that there is something you are not telling them. However, when they see that you have gone the extra mile, and that you are being honest about it, this creates positive energy. A happy customer means better business.

The point of over-delivery is to show the customer that they are worth it. There is a fine line between over-delivery and under promising, but it should not be crossed by any means.

Who Is Ken Evoy? Discover The Truth About Ken Evoy, Sitesell And Site Build It. Click here find out more.

http://www.meta-formula.com/ken-evoy.html

[tags]ken evoy, internet marketing, sbi, site build it, internet marketer[/tags]

It is at least 5 times easier to win a new contract from an existing client than to go out and find a new one! That is not to say that we should not be extending our client base. Obviously this is essential for ongoing company growth and to ensure a healthy sales pipeline.

However, if you are producing good quality work, you should find that 70% to 80% of your turnover comes either directly from current or past clients, or from referrals and recommendations from clients you’ve worked for. You need to spend a lot of time developing relationships with these key people because they can become your best marketing tool.

One of the top marketing blunders of the construction industry is ignorance of this fact: current and past clients are like gold dust to your business. Your existing client base also forms potential sales revenue for ‘back-end’ products and services.

Here are a few ways of achieving these goals:

1. Run a CPD Event (Continuous Professional Development)for your current client base and consultant team - architects, quantitiy surveyors, private and public sector project managers etc. All construction professionals need ongoing training and you can provide this as a service by booking a decent venue and keynote speaker on a subject of interest like, Sustainable Construction, Health & Safety, Green Issues, Waste Management, Planning Laws…

2. Run a Networking Event. Same principle as above, but provide a nice meal and give plenty of opportunity for your clients and consultants to meet and talk. Very popular.

3. Go the extra mile. Offer a ‘Pre-Construction Service’. Many potential clients are looking for a more comprehensive service these days. Offer freeeee advice and support at the conception of their project and you will win them for good!

4. Keep the relationships going furing the lifecycle of the project and offer and repairs and maintenance service afterwards.

5. Present a framed picture of the completed project at a special project completion ceremony. Invite the local press.

6. Run a ‘topping out’ ceremony - that halfway point in the project when the roof is on and marked by a plaque or similar. Welcome local dignataries. Think Big!

7. The ‘wine and dine’ strategy can work, but can prove to be very expensive and may not be cost effective. I have found a better way is to invite the client and consultant team for a ‘feedback’ lunch at the end of the project. That way, any potential problems can be sorted out and future work negotiated in an informal atmosphere.

8. Developing a client base is great for the construction industry because this encourages the possibility of negotiating contracts rather than getting into the dubious world of competitive tendering.

Custumer satisfaction leads to customer retention leads to repeat business!

Steve Flashman is a Marketing Consultant with a unique edge! He is a public speaker published author, recording artist, media broadcaster and communications expert.
Making Construction Work

[tags]construction,marketing,customer retention,business development[/tags]

Office training is often overlooked by management and business leaders, who more often than not spend more resources on the sales and production departments that that of the administrative, and sometimes customer liaison staff. Although this may not always be the case, it does in fact happen as the leadership of the company often deems the sales force to be more important than the administrative and office staff, as the sales people bring in the bacon so to speak.

Unfortunately within this oversight the value of office training is overlooked, and the resultant effect may actually end up in the loss of current or existing customers, due to the inadequacies of the office staff who have actually not received sufficient office training to handle their respective positions. One really has to consider how hard it is to get that client in the first place, and then losing them due to negligence or an unnecessary mistake or mismanagement is really just unfortunate.

Office training can start with basic issues such as telephone and office etiquette, as well as that of conflict handling, which is one of the most value added skills that any person can have. The ability to handle, and resolve conflicts with customers can make the difference between retaining or losing that account, and although there will be times when a customer really does not want to be helped you may still lose the account, but your record will indicate more retention of these accounts than losses, which is what you and your company are in all likelihood striving for.

Technological aspects will affect the office training process too, and in the event of being a manager or leader within your company, you should in fact remain abreast with all the current and potential future changes that are specific to your company and field of specialization, as these changes can impact upon the overall productivity and success of the business unit whether it be on an administrative side or that of the whole business. Any newcomers to the business should undergo specific office training pertaining to that business to allow them to perform at their expected levels.

By taking a proactive stance in your own development within the office environment, you are well within your rights to conduct your own training and development, provided of course it does not impact upon your work schedule too much. This proactive approach to office training will put you in a position to be able to progress to the next level within your organization or perhaps even move onto to greener pastures.

Office training is not only valid to the company, but the individual too, whereby he or she can adopt an learning attitude to progress themselves within the desired career field, as well as within the organization itself.

Office Training provides value to both the individual and the business concerned. Visit Training Lynk for more resources and information at http://www.traininglynk.com/

[tags]office training, training, customer service training, management training[/tags]

If you want to develop a long term relationship with a client that will lead to repeat business, Partnering opportunities and Joint Ventures, you need to develop a wide platform on which to base your sales contacts.

1. You must make sure you have vision and believe in your company if you are going to be convincing in your marketing efforts. If you are looking to secure tender packages from a potential client without the vision to create a long term sales pipeline, you are simply in the numbers game and unlikely to develop a healthy client base.

2. Offer step by step strategies that offer solutions to your clients. Your potential clients are in business to build a better future but many of them will not have a thought through strategy for achieving their goals. Imagine what would happen if you were instrumental in helping them to realise some of their potential. Sound a bit far fetched? Not at all!

3. Assess the viability of your client’s status. It is in your best interests to ascertain this, especially if you intend developing a marketing strategy that embraces relationship building.

4. Be infectious in the way you sell the vision! It is possible at a very early stage of speaking with people, to open various options, suggestions and recommendations that would be attractive to your potential client and would enable them to see beyond the horizon of the immediate business relationship to a wider and more long term finance strategy that could prove lucrative to all parties concerned. Most developers, housing associations and entrepreneurial business people, have ambitions which exceed their current budgets. It’s OK to dream!

5. It may seem a little presumptuous, but small to medium size companies may well struggle in their push to make healthy profits and meet business plan targets. With a little incremental planning you may be able to help them achieve most of what they want over time. I’m not suggesting formal advice on financial planning, but I am suggesting that we get into the position where we can talk frankly with them about their budget and help them make the right trade-off decisions. This can more easily be accomplished in a negotiated contract position, where interaction between contractor and client on these issues is more acceptable.

6. Strive to earn the trust of your client at every hurdle. You must get past the suspicion that you are trying to push as much product as quickly as possible. If you can’t find out what their budgets are, let them know what the lifecycle costs of various approaches are and let them steer.

7. Provide the client with options that solve their problems. By doing this, you will build a strong foundation for business growth and client retention. Remember, you are always there for your client. And your client is always there for you.

8. Look beyond the sale. We often never progress beyond the chase for the next lucrative tender package. Look beyond it, to the bigger picture. We need the vision to build trusting relationships with the decision makers, business builders, entrepreneurs and industry professionals that will enable us to build an infrastructure for mutual growth and profitability.

9. Identify and capitalize on the essence that makes your company vital and different from the competition. There are many ways this can happen and in this manual you will find numerous examples of how this can be done. Your company personality and character can also be developed in a positive way, as the emphasis is projected beyond the sale.

Steve Flashman is a Marketing Consultant with a unique edge! He is a public speaker published author, recording artist, media broadcaster and communications expert.
Making Construction Work

[tags]construction,marketing,customer retention,building,business[/tags]

At the heart of your office is an administration hub. Make sure it is well resourced. There is nothing more likely to crush staff morale and thus affect business than an unhappy working environment.

It’s not difficult to build confidence amongst your staff which will lead to them being great ambassadors for your company. If they can take ‘ownership’ of their workplace and believe in the products and services you are selling, your marketing strategy will be enhanced no end by ‘natural’ promotional growth triggered by your own staff.

Of course, communication is one of the keys to good staff relations and if they have a say in the way their working environment is set up, you will get the best out fo them. This will definitely affect the company’s bottom line profits margins.

Here are a few suggestions of essential building blocks which will make a world of difference to the way your company operates.

1.You need an efficient computer database system that is networked to give easy access to all personnel dealing with sales, marketing and business development. This should include the estimating department. Information should include client management and department structure showing names, titles, and relationships and a record of all contacts made. This ensures that everyone is reading off the same page and can see at a glance at what stage each project proposal has reached. There are a variety of databases available on the open market, some of which are specifically tailored for the construction industry. Most computers these days come with a database system already installed as part of a software package. You need time to learn the programe but once mastered you can build your own database for a fraction of the price of the ‘off the shelf’ systems. Depends how far your budget stretches!

2. Management at the highest level of your company should have a public face and they should be available internally to create a catalyst that will envision and motivate staff. Accompanying hands on participation in the running of the office and client relations strategy alleviate the ’siege mentality’ that can cripple the smooth running of your company, especially when staff feel that they have no voice.

3.If you haven’t got one yet, get a refrigerator! It’ll do wonders for staff morale when they know they can bring food and drink and keep it fresh. Some offices do not have air conditioning. It’s worth considering if you are working in a warm climate. Around 3.00pm is not a good time for most office staff! To prevent drowsiness and low work output, keep them cool!

4. Make sure you have a good photo copier at hand. It’s surprising how cost effective and time saving a piece of equipment like this can be. Printing costs can be horrendous. So having a better quality color copier can save a lot of money in the long term. Even better if you have your own inhouse designers. It’s not difficult to put together high quality promotional material these days with the amount of creative software out there.

5. Have some form of display board system, so that everyone can see the proposals and contracts that are in the pipeline, those that have been won and the projects now on site. Especially good if you have a reception area where potential clients wait. Remember, first impressions count.

6. Have regular team meetings which will be a motivational time to encourage your staff and workforce to deliver for the company. Reward them appropriately.

Steve Flashman is a Marketing Consultant with a unique edge! He is a public speaker published author, recording artist, media broadcaster and communications expert.
Making Construction Work

[tags]business,construction,customer retention,marketing[/tags]

Let’s be honest - urine stains look awful, and urine odors smell even worse.

Unhygienic and smelly toilets can put a dampener on even the best of dining experiences.

Imagine this: You’re dining at a restaurant and you have just devoured the most exquisite-tasting meal. After a while you excuse yourself to your party and walk towards the restaurant’s restrooms to use the facilities.

Upon entering you’re hit with a smelly odor so foul that it almost knocks you over!

The odor is human urine, and all of a sudden - like a click of the fingers - it has destroyed your dining experience.

“Bad toilets will deter customers from returning, no matter how good the cuisine, how helpful the waiter, or how great the ambiance. If your washroom leaves them feeling lousy, they’re unlikely to come back”, says Peter Webster, the managing director of Initial Hygiene.

A recent study, released by odor sterilization specialists Cintas, showed that 95% of customers would not return to a restaurant if they had a bad experience with the restaurant’s toilet facilities.

Who could blame them?

In a time when we expect to get value for what we pay for, customers do not expect to walk into a restroom that’s dirty, unpleasant, and uncomfortable, and - you guessed it - smelling of urine.

Gaby Huddart, editor of the leading restaurant guide magazine, Square Meal, says that visiting a restaurant toilet was an experience in itself.

“I’ve heard that the washroom reflects the state of the kitchen and that can be a very unpleasant thought”, Huddart mentions.

Far from just being unpleasant, bad odors, especially urine odors, actually change customer’s perceptions. “Quite frankly, if it doesn’t smell clean, it doesn’t feel clean”, Webster adds.

The bottom-line is this: The state of a restaurant’s restrooms reflects the restaurant, the owner’s standards, and what the owner thinks is acceptable.

Considering restaurants have been hit hard by the financial downturn - nearly a third more dining outlets went bankrupt in 2008 in the UK alone - can restaurant owners really afford keeping restrooms reeking of urine?

Now restaurant owners have no excuse to let the sorry state of affairs of their restrooms continue as bio-technology offers a fast, practical and environmentally friendly solution to address the problem of urine odors and stains for good.

Bio-enzymatic urine removers we can now permanently remove the urine stains and odors; not just cover them up and hope to mask the odor.

They work due to a combination of carefully selected enzymes and bacteria that just love eating the uric acid crystals in addition to removing the urea and urochrome components of urine. In fact urine crystals are their favorite food!

So don’t flush your restaurant down the toilet - use a 21st century solution to fix an age old problem and keep those customers coming back.

UrineFREE is a leading urine remover sold in Australia, New Zealand and other countries. For more information on urine removal see UrineFREE’s Australian website or Q&A pages. Unmodified republishing of the article is permitted, provided that the article is credited to http://www.urinefree.com.au

[tags]pubs, clubs, restaurants, restaurant, dining, urine odours, hospitality industry[/tags]

Many organisations talk about providing good or even great customer service, yet for many this is often just pure rhetoric or ‘marketing speak’ to lure the customer into a false sense of security. We’ve all experienced those types of businesses and seen the copy on their website that reads: “100% Customer Delight Guaranteed!” But as many customer service managers will know it takes more than a few slick words to truly deliver outstanding customer service.

1. Be Ready
It’s important that your customer services team is ready answer and deal with every possible enquiry, ranging from the simple: “How do I return a faulty product” to “You’ve double billed me for my purchase, I’m not happy!” In order for that to happen they need to be equipped with right skills and knowledge. It’s a bit of ‘no-brainer’ but many companies under estimate the importance of running regular training sessions for their customer service professionals. It’s also a good idea to run through common challenging scenarios using role playing techniques. Good quality training manuals and e-learning material can also make a big difference in helping your team stay on top of their game.

2. Be Reliable
Reliability is key to providing outstanding customer service. It’s no good if a customer makes contact with you one week and receives a warm welcome and great customer care, but then phones up again a week later to experience the complete opposite. You need to be consistent and delivering high levels of consistently good customer service will lead to more happy customers and high customer retention levels.

3. Be Responsible
Companies that deliver outstanding customer care have a common theme running through them. Individuals within their customer services team take responsibility for their actions. They take ownership of a particular problem they may be faced with and look to solve that problem for the customer. Too many companies are content with letting the customer be ‘passed from pillar to post’ - i.e. no one individual takes responsibility for ensuring the customer is handled with care and treated with respect. However, if your call centre is set-up so that the customer does not get to deal with the same individual each time they call, then make sure that up-to-date customer records are stored on your system so that the next person to handle the call can ‘get up to speed’ quickly. There is nothing more frustrating for the customer than having to repeat their story over and over again.

4. Be Reassuring
Customers need to feel confident that you are going to put their interests at the centre of everything you do. If a customer has had a bad experience with your company, then you will need to restore their confidence and relieve anxiety. If you don’t then they’ll probably walk away, and will often do so without providing you with any feedback. But you need physically to demonstrate that you are going to do what you are promising - so doing simple things like following up a phone conversation with an email summarising your conversation and what your next steps will be can make a big difference in building back up the customer’s confidence in your company.

5. Be Rewarding
Don’t take your customers for granted. Reward your customers for their loyalty, that way they’ll feel like you do actually care about them and value their business. The reward can be something simple like a 15% discount voucher sent with a ‘thank-you’ letter. The thing is if you’re customer sees that you’re thinking and caring about them then they’re more likely to think positively about your business and refer you to friends and colleagues. It’s also important that you ‘reward’ your customers for any mistakes that might have made. If their order got damaged during shipping, apologise and offer to send out a new one straight away using ‘express delivery’ before you get the damaged one back. If you show that you trust your customers then they’ll respect that and they’ll feel more valued. I know it’s a cliche but in the customer service game, it really does help if ‘you go the extra mile!’

Paul Jordan is Relationship Marketing
Manager for Jobs in Customer Service - a niche job
board for customer service
jobs, contact and call centre vacancies.
http://www.jobsincustomerservice.co.uk

[tags]customer service[/tags]

While it is true that consumers do not have to shop online it is equally true that many consumers like the convenience of online shopping and would continue to make it a part of their shopping experience.

If you, as an online business, can provide a quality product at a competitive price you have waged a significant battle in a much larger war.

An online business cannot conclude that simply because a consumer sought out their products and made a purchase that they can be reasonably assured this customer will return.

You spend a great deal of time and resources on front-end marketing, but surprisingly many online businesses are missing out on a key element of consumer retention - Customer Service.

This function in an online environment is different than brick and mortar counterparts simply because you are dealing with someone you will likely never see. However, the reason customer service is so important to online business is that it is an extension of your marketing activities.

If you were to break marriage down into the most basic marketing efforts you find that many men and women pour enormous amounts of time and resources into finding a spouse, yet once the ‘I do’ has been said, sadly for many, the marketing exchange is over. This should not be the case in marriage and it should not be the case in online marketing.

The same effort you put into gaining a customer is the same effort you need to put into keeping that customer happy and willing to return to your ecommerce site.

One of the ways to advance quality customer service is a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. This will help answer common questions before and after the sale. You should also make sure your customer can access contact information quickly from any location on your website. Make sure to answer all correspondence in a timely manner.

Comprehensive instructions are another means of quality online customer service. If your customer has a hard time completing a transaction, finding products or feeling as though they have missed some key element in the process it may signal a decrease in their personal trust factor, which equals fewer online sales.

Customers aren’t especially happy to conclude they have been subjected to a classic ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ scenario. No one likes to feel the only value they have is in the money they spend with a company.

You serve individuals with lives that are important. You convey a distinct lack of care when you treat customer service with casual disregard.

Make A Website in minutes with the Website Builder at HighPowerSites.com. Start a HOME BUSINESS and Sell Ebooks at BooksWealth.com.

[tags]business, online business, internet business, ecommerce, entrepreneur, customer service[/tags]

For businesses that are looking to accept credit card payments online, security is always an issue. You want to be able to reassure your clients that their important financial numbers are not going to be misused, but if you have the numbers stored on a computer, they are vulnerable to a hacker attack. The solution? A payment gateway company.

What It Is
These companies provide a method of verifying credit cards in real time by sending the information immediately to a bank. There is no information stored anywhere since it is simply transferred. If the card is not reported stolen or wanted for fraud, then the transaction will be continued.

There are numerous benefits to using this technology. For one, no stored credit information means that the client’s payments are as secure as they can be, something the business can promote when encouraging sales. Many people are wary of paying online and the assurance of secure processing tends to help them make a decision to buy.

Another advantage to the business is a large reduction in the number of stolen or fraudulent card numbers being used, which protects the business from monetary loss, as well. While it isn’t possible to completely eliminate the use of invalid card numbers, using a system like this will definitely keep the problems to a minimum.

How to Choose a Payment Gateway Company
Not all companies are the same. While all process the information in a similar manner, online businesses need to ensure that they are choosing the right payment gateway company for their business. It’s a good idea to check out several companies and read reviews if possible so you can get a better idea of what to expect from each one.

One of the most important areas to look at when choosing a payment company is which shopping carts they support. For companies that are just getting started, this isn’t a big problem because they can set up a shopping cart that can be easily integrated with the payment service of their choice. However, if the business already has a shopping cart and has set it up with their products, chances are, they will want to find a company that will work with the cart the business is already using.

It’s important to check the rates and fees, as well. Some companies charge a fixed rate per transaction, others will charge a percentage. Compare prices to be sure your business is getting the best deal for the number and type of payments that your company will be receiving. For example, if the majority of a business’ products are under $10, a fixed fee of $1 per transaction will be more than a percentage of 2.5% per transaction, but if the majority of the sales are over $50, the fixed fee is far more economical.

Payment gateway companies are not required in order to do business online, but they should certainly be considered. Choosing the right one is very important, since it can affect the future of your business.

North America’s leading online payment processor for debit and credit card processing. We offer merchant account and merchant services for VISA, MasterCard, American Express and INTERAC Direct Payment for businesses.

[tags]online payment,merchant account,merchant services,payment gateway[/tags]

Want to know about a great business opportunity? The travel business is under appreciated but when you think about it, there is so much money to be made in that industry. Just imagine the expense of going on a vacation, where does all that money go? Now, if you want a slice of that sweet pie, you should engage in wholesale travel. If you do, all you have to do is sell discounted travel packages. The easiest way to do it is through network marketing.

The beauty of network marketing is that you can actually establish a home based business using that business strategy. The truth is, all you will need to do is use the word of mouth technique and you can start earning those travel commissions soon enough.

How does it work?

Plane tickets are normally cheaper when you book them in advance compared to buying them from the airport. Now, this happens because airlines are confident that they will still be able to fill their seats. However, what happens when airlines realize that the plane may not be filled before takeoff? Now, when the plane is not filled, the airline shoulders the exact expense for things like fuel and salaries. In order to lessen that loss with one flight, they pad the prices of plane tickets bought by incidental passengers.

On the other hand, wholesale travel packages assure these airlines that the plane will be filled. When that happens, plane tickets become a lot cheaper when you book them in advance. And the difference between the advance tickets and wholesale travel tickets is where your travel commissions are going to come to from. That is a LOT of money!

How will it work for you?

As mentioned before, network marketing makes use of the word of mouth technique. In the business jargon, that is also called multilevel marketing or MLM. In MLM, you have a travel company that hires people to be distributors, That is what you and I are going to be. These distributors sell goods like plane tickets and other travel packages. When they make successful sales, they get commissions from them. So basically, you earn as much as you work.

This business opportunity is so simple and clear. If you do not get to sell any travel packages, you do not earn anything, you do not lose anything either! But if you sell a lot, you also earn a lot. That is the beauty of the travel business.

On the other hand, if you do not want to engage in the business, at least you know that you can save a lot of money through buying into wholesale travel packages. You can ask your travel agency about discounted travel packages. In that sense, you are also earning money by saving. So there really is no way you can get a raw deal from the travel business. Unless you still insist on being the incidental passenger who pays a lot more than the rest of the passengers on the plane. That is just sad!

Thousands are discovering the path to success with http://gleem.me/. Home-based travel business is very EASY to LEARN and EASY to EARN. You need no capital outlays and cost of doing this is literally zero. Visit and discover for yourself why this opportunity has got so many people excited!

[tags]travel business, discounted travel, wholesale travel, travel commissions, plane tickets, mlm[/tags]