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Shock a potential customer by doing something unexpected.
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Shock a potential customer by doing something unexpected.
Sandra from 100.5 the Peak fm surprised me with a big box of chocolates just for calling in and requesting some Honey and the Money. Random Acts of Kindness Day 2 - Share your toys – even if all you have is information
Random Acts of Kindess Day 1 -
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Share your toys – even if all you have is information
Real estate love for Barry Pockay who gave refreshingly honest advice about making a move in Vancouver’s real estate market.
Random Act of Client Kindness Day 1 Do something you normally charge for absolutely free
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photo credit: Grzegorz Łobiński
We’re posting random acts of client kindness all week and suggesting that everyone try to do at least one random act a day to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 8-14).
Do something you normally charge for absolutely free –no strings attached.
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photo credit: Margaret Anne Clarke
I can admit it. I have attempted Do It Yourself design. Sure, it feels good – being creative, visually expressing exactly what is lurking in my mind. But is spending the better part of a day or night hunched over a brochure design trying to figure out a cool design feature really worth my own time?
If it takes me 3-6 hours to design a brochure that takes a designer 2 hours to do have I really saved? I may have saved the bill out of those 3 hours at $50/hr, but I lost 6 hours that I could have done something I specialize in.
I have heard small business owners lament that large design firms can be pricey for simple things like brochure layouts, business card designs or even a website design. And, I’ve been told that freelancers can be unreliable with deadlines, amongst other things (Please know, I’m not trying to pick on graphic designer’s here, it was actually the urging of my own resident designer that I wrote this post).
Having interviewed and hired many firms and freelancers, I’ve experienced some of these laments too. Here are some of the things I take into account when working with designers:
Does the designer display these characteristics?
My must do’s of hiring:
When working together:
And I suppose it goes without saying that a lot of design can’t be based on price alone. The quality of work, their understanding of your company’s needs and their communication style should all be factored into your decision.
Of course, you can hire Polished Promotions (*sigh, shameless plug I know) to manage the process if you don’t have the time or if you don’t particularly like providing feedback and working through revisions. Feel free to connect with me for assistance or even just to pass along a referral.
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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and researching on how to improve client relationships. And what I’ve noticed is a decline in big business-kindness (what happened to greeting someone within 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds – greeting someone at all) and a significant shift in small business kindness (like baking biscotti and hand delivering it to over 50 clients for Christmas – a la Accentuate Home Design Group)
Yesterday, while spending some social time with one of my client’s, at the movies, she asked, “What kind of gestures can I make to acknowledge and appreciate my clients, without breaking the bank?”
Here was my response (I knew it would be easier in writing so I emailed her this list):
The moral of the story is we can create an EXPERIENCE for our clients. It can be as simple as genuinely listening to their needs and feedback and genuinely acknowledging them as great customers.
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photo credit: brykmantra
Do you feel like you could be busier in your business? But you don’t want to invest in pricy marketing strategies like you may have done in previous years?
Staying in touch can sometimes be the most difficult and yet most rewarding marketing strategy there is. (I’m often shocked by how many people read my newsletter that I haven’t spoken to for over a year! Subscribe by emailing me here).
Get back in touch with networking alliances, old clients and potential clients with these cost effective (aka virtually free) strategies.
With all of these ideas, if there’s potential business opportunities you will be in a great position to be asked for help as you will have built up a rapport and trust without directly needing to sell.
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photo credit: Dave Duarte
I recently had a conversation with a business acquaintance where I started sharing information about the strategies I deploy when writing. It wasn’t until he said, “Wow, I should be paying you for this information,” that I realized I wasn’t expecting to receive anything in return for my advice.
This got me thinking about sharing. Whether online or in person both business models offer opportunities to share information, ideas, technology, products and services. And these can be shared freely or with strings attached.
Now I know, most of us in business are driven by the bottom line. But I’ve noticed lately that there are two broadly defined groups of companies: one that is looking inward, holding on to all it has, looking for the next quick sale and the other that is looking outward, letting idea sharing flow, seeing their customers as long term investments.
The first group has its reason for not sharing. When you share you leave yourself open and vulnerable to be taken advantage of. Your competition knows what you’re about. Giving for free takes away from revenues earning potential.
And the second group has its reason for sharing. When you share you leave yourself open and vulnerable to form a relationship. Your competition knows they have to work that much harder to be better than you are. Giving for free keeps clients returning, adding long term revenue to your bottom line.
I’d like to urge each business to share one wise thought or give a product or service every day to one existing and one potential client. Then watch what it does for your company’s popularity and for your own morale.
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It’s finally hitting us all. There are fewer jobs and less dollars circulating through the economy. But it’s not all doom and gloom. People are still spending. Businesses are still in business but have started looking for most saving-friendly ways of getting their message out there.
Why not try getting back to basics and nurturing existing client relationships?
Think of your customers the way you think of your significant other. It’s the little things that count. Work on personalizing your relationships by addressing people by name. If you don’t know their name – ask for it. Or implement a customer profile software system. Collect their information.
Start a GOOD loyalty program that gives value. If you’re a small business you can outshine the big corporations by giving more. Instead of points – give real dollars back. Make your program easy –without a lot of strings attached. (This is a whole other topic that we’ll blog about soon.)
Start a referral program. Either entice your loyal customers with a reward or simply acknowledge their referral/testimonial - a personal phone call or thank you card will likely go a long way.
Be spontaneous! A chocolate cafe that I hold client meetings at (called Mink) will sometimes bring over a scrumptious bite of chocolate to accompany our mochas. It’s unexpected, it’s memorable and I continue to choose their coffee shop over any of the big guys. (And look, here I am plugging them!) Look for ways to elicit this response in your own business.
Be kind. Volunteer and participate in your community. It will be both personally and professionally rewarding. You’ll meet new people, strengthen existing relationships all while helping out. And hey, you can advertise what you’re doing to lend a hand.
Go above and beyond (cliché, but true!). Show your customers that you truly care about them and your business by over-delivering and wowing them!
And the cost for doing all of these programs? Likely less than the cost of losing just one of your loyal customers.
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If there’s one thing online marketers have been doing right for some time – its building their email database.
But how do you do it like a pro when you’re a small business? Good question!
Here’s some steps to get your walking in the right direction:
1. Find your reason for database building: email newsletter campaign, free promotion coupon, ebook, online article. Whatever your reason (or multiple reasons) make sure you’ve mapped out a plan.
2. Subscribe to, or create a customized, automatic response system that will allow you to easily collect email addresses from your blog and website. The headache of manually entering emails may end up driving you nuts and take you away from other aspects of your business.
3. Your landing pages and every page on your blog/website should have an opt in option. (note to self, must set mine up)
4. Integrate your in person networking and marketing by adding business card information into your subscription pool. Keep in touch often (with ease!).
5. Stay consistent with your offerings. For example, if you send out a promotion with your monthly newsletter – ensure you consistently offer something of value which will keep your database subscribed and happy.
*Your web programmer should be able to do all of these steps for you – if not, connect with the marketing girl and we’ll sort you out.
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