Is Bad Customer Service Killing Your Business?

With the economy in an uproar, customer service should be one of the top priorities a business has today. Sadly, a lot of businesses ignore good customer service at their peril. Your customer has almost unlimited options for the products or services that you sell. If they have a bad experience with your company, in any way, they will go away forever. There is no excuse for bad service.

Studies have indicated that it is ten times harder to get new customers than to retain old ones. Therefore, once your customer has a relationship with you, it is imperative that you treat them like the buds of spring because they are the ones that are actually paying your bills. What will turn your business around could be as easy as just acknowledgment of your customer and their needs. A simple 'hello, how are you' and really meaning it goes a long way in this day and age.

In my readings, I came across a story about how a young man with Down Syndrome working as a grocery bagger turned around a local supermarket's business. This is not rocket science, it doesn't require an expensive advertising campaign, all it takes is the genuine concern for the customer. See the 'Johnny the Bagger' story on the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOZPlt3Ha0Y

If you are running a business, you are going to need to do the following three things, and do them well if you want your customers to keep coming back. First, the business needs to obsess about customer's needs and not just product features. Always think of it from the customer's point of view. It is not about the fancy bells and whistles your product has, but what problems they solve for the customer.

Second, you need to reinforce the brand of your business with every interaction with your customer, not just in advertising and communications. A single good or bad experience could influence a customer a lot more than a lifetime of traditional advertising and marketing.

Third, treat your customer's experience with you company as a core competence, as well as a passion and not just a function of your business. Give them more than they anticipate.

For more tips on customer service, please review the following links:

www.keithmonaghan.com/2009/07/31/marketing-in-tough-times-improving-customer-service/

http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/23/rightnow-customer-service-technology-cio-network-olson.html

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/12/customer-experience-loyalty-cmo-network-bruce-temkin.html

Surviving The Great Recession

Some people call it the 'Great Recession', while others call it a 'Mini-Depression'. Either way, running a business right now isn't as fun as it used to be. If you are going to stay open until better economic times arrive, you must 'Recession Proof' your business.

If you are going to survive, you are going to have to go back to basics. The biggest basic pointers are: Keeping track of every penny and spending them very wisely; becoming a crazy person about excellent customer service; don't stop marketing; now is a great time to find and employ superior employees.

Please see the links below for a number of ways that you can keep your business afloat by using strategies that you may have not thought about.

http://www.morebusiness.com/8-ways-recession-proof-business

http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-10-Tips-To-Recession-Proof-Your-Business&id=4967758

What the Banks are Looking for Today

In this economic downturn, one of the biggest problems that we face is lack of liquidity or the availability of cash to deal with survival, growth and other operating expense issues of running a business. Deserved or not, lately banks have gotten a bad reputation. Some banks, because of their poor lending habits in the past, are simply not able to lend. However, there are many banks that are still lending.

In this new environment, banks that are able to lend have increased the loan requirements to such an extent that many businesses are unable to borrow money like they have in the past. This is generally due to the banking regulators requiring more stringent lending requirements. This manifests itself in higher credit score requirements, different collateralization requirements and higher down payments in order to get a loan, resulting in fewer loans.

The banks, these days, are cash flow lenders. This means that one of the biggest criteria in their decision is if they think the business can pay back the loan with ongoing cash generated by the business. Additionally, they are going to check the business owner's and business' credit history, they are going to want collateralization in case payments cannot be made. They are also going to want an equity injection (down payment). Any problems with the above and the bank cannot and will not loan a business money.

Banks are not investors. Banks are in the business to buy and sell money profitably. They have a responsibility to preserve the capital of the depositors and do not want to take excessive risks with potentially bad loans. It is in their interest to say no to loans that have a chance of going bad.

What does a business owner do if these increased lending requirements have made it difficult to find money? There are other alternatives. These alternatives require a change in attitude and thinking. In this changing economy if you are to survive, you have to 'think outside of the box'.

For a free, confidential analysis of your situation and a discussion of your alternatives, contact Rand Riedrich at the University of Georgia's Northwest Area Small Business Development Center at rriedrich@georgiasbdc.org or (706-272-2700)

Things to Avoid When Selling Your Business

You have run your business for a number of years and it is now time to sell. There are a lot of potholes you need to avoid when selling your business.


Asking Too Much Money with No Reasonable Rationale for the Price

Typically, the business has been the seller's life for years and the seller thinks it is a diamond in the rough. However, the price boils down to the the business valued as an investment. The business is simply a machine that makes money. The more money that it makes now, (not into the future, that is the buyer's responsibility), the more it is worth to another party.

The price of your business business is not what you owe, what you think the possible profitability will be in the distant future, or how much money you need for a comfortable retirement. The price is what the open market says it is worth today.

Not Seeing the Business Through the Eyes of the Buyer

Although it is tempting to look at one's own business in only the most favorable light, it is very important to recognize the deficiencies of the business, and address them, in order to alleviate any buyer concerns.

Insisting on an All Cash Deal

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that banks have been very reluctant to lend to small businesses lately. In the current environment, if the business is to sell at all, the seller will probably have to finance a portion of the deal.

Giving Up Running the Business After the Business is Put Up For Sale

During the sales process, you need to run your business as if you were never going to sell it. It may take months to sell and in the meantime if you fall asleep at the wheel, your business could end up in the ditch. This inattention could result in a lower price or keep your business from selling at all.

Waiting Too Long to Sell

Too may owners wait until the last minute to decide to sell their business. Owners wait until the business is down, or they are completely burned out, or their partnership has soured completely. The time to sell is BEFORE emergencies happen - when the business is still good. The old adage is: a business owner should think about and plan the eventual sale immediately after the business is started or purchased.

Seller Not Pre-qualifying a Potential Buyer

Dealing with 'tire kickers' who have no ability to purchase your business is a complete waste of your time. It is a good idea to know the general financial position of the potential buyer before you show them your books and enter into negotiations.

Failure to Sign a Confidentiality Agreement with the Potential Buyer

You will be opening up your books to a buyer and you don't want to have them spreading confidential information about your business all over town. This breach of confidential information could cause some of the following: your customers finding out and go somewhere else; problems with your suppliers; and key employees getting nervous and taking a job with your competitor. All of these factors could lower the price you receive for your business or keep it from selling at all.

How to Hire a Web Designer

All right, admit it. You are not 17 years old. You may have a working knowledge of the web and have a gut feel of what your web site should look like. However, you have no clue about how to get it to the way you envision it. Does this sound like you?

If you are of a certain age, it may be down right daunting. Who do you choose to design your site: your 17 year old nephew that can do it for a couple hundred bucks; a friend that does it as a way making extra money on the side, when he can get around to it; or a team of true professionals? The correct answer is, It depends! Like any of your marketing endeavors, it boils down to who you target market is and how much you have to spend.

Like using a CPA or an attorney, this activity may be one of those things you may have to leave to the professionals. There are software packages available that allow you to do it yourself. However, the end results are generally pretty amateurish.

Your website is going to be your salesman to the world. What image do you want to send to your current and potential customers? If you want to present a professional images showing competence and implying that you are worth every dime you are going to charge, it needs to be done professionally.

Hopefully, the following links will give you some insight as to what to ask when choosing a web designer.

http://css.dzone.com/news/9-signs-you-shouldnt-hire-web-

http://www.greenbirdmedia.com/how-hire-web-designer

http://www.hooverwebdesign.com/articles/how-to-hire-a-web-designer.html

http://www.cpmmug.com/general/should-you-hire-a-web-designer-or-a-web-developer-for-your-website/

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Want to Know What Your Customers Think? Use Your Ears!

If you are like me, you are constantly bombarded by surveys of various sorts, particularly the electronic kind. At first, when this type of technology became available, they were quite handy.


However, a lot of these surveys have been overdone. They are losing their power because people are ignoring them out of 'survey fatigue.'


Some of the best marketing information you will ever get is procured by simply asking your customers "what do you like about this?' or "what don't you like about that?" Pay attention to what your customers say. These people and their preferences are keeping you in business.


For more information on how surveys should be taken and how to go through the clutter of this survey epidemic, please see the following link from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/08/customers-data-software-technology-business-intelligence-survey.html?feed=rss_home

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Cash Is King

When you are out of cash, you are out of business. It doesn't matter if your profits are great if you cannot convert those profits into cash. We regularly see businesses making a very good profit on paper go bankrupt because they do not have the cash to pay their bills.

If you can't pay your power bill or payroll today, it doesn't matter how profitable your business is or will be in the future. Unless you have the cash, you are out of business!

You must be proactive. It is your money, after all. Know how much is owed to you and don't be afraid to go after it.

The following are a couple of articles on cash flow management that you may find interesting:

http://www.inc.com/resources/finance/articles/20050601/cashcrisis.html

http://www.inc.com/resources/finance/articles/20040901/10rules.html
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