Every time you write a blog post for your online home business, you create a piece of content on the web aimed at building customer relationships. Think of yourself as the loopy part of hook and loop tape. Offer a soft, grabby connector for your customer’s searching hooky part.

How to Be Fuzzy, Soft and Engaging

1. Focus on them, not your product. If someone signs up for free information from you, your first message should be all about thanking them. Don’t hit them upside the head with a Buy This Now message. That’s like proposing marriage over a first coffee together.
2. Let them get to know you. Are your photo and name on your blog? People are hard-wired to connect with faces. Provide some of your story on your About Me page. Why? An About Me page is the most read page of a blog—because they want to know who you are! Reveal a little of yourself in your posts so they can identify with you. We all like like-minded people.
3. Over-deliver. After giving good information your customer can use today to start solving their problem, invite their participation with you somehow. Ask for their opinion, provide a poll question they can answer, or tell them to push a button for a video that further illustrates a point you made.

How to Be Sticky, Hooky and Engaging

You already started when you asked them to participate with you.

1. Train them to take action each time you connect with them. Give them something to click or do in every email or a blog post, and make it rewarding for them. They’ll stay on your site a bit longer. When prospects take action, they become participants who then become customers.
2. Introduce an unexpected viewpoint. Challenge accepted norms by looking at an old problem from a different angle. It can wake them up a bit, give them an insight they never thought of before.
3. Offer your information in other formats. Most customers read. Others retain information best when they hear it spoken aloud. Sometimes video better conveys how to do a new or confusing technique.
4. Wave your freak flag. Let them see how you’re different from your competition, what makes your offer unique. Every business needs a unique selling point, even lemonade stands. Don’t hide yours or be plain vanilla while building customer relationships.

Remember, you run your online business for greater income and fun. You can stick even more customers to you when you boost online visibility

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Wehrle
http://EzineArticles.com/?Building-Business-Relationships—Make-Customers-Stick-Like-Velcro&id=4452329

I finally found a reason why my wife should do all the laundry:

I can no longer distinguish between my wife’s and my daughter’s clothes.

If it is pink, red, or girly in any way, there’s a high likelihood that I will sort it into the wrong pile. This results in a kind smile from my wife. It’s the same smile she gives to babies and puppies that are cute but helpless. It also results in a head-cocked, eye-rolling, “how-dumb-are-you?” look from my daughter. She’s eight. Going on sixteen.

In my defense, my daughter is taller than nearly every other eight-year-old on the planet. Some of her clothes say “12″ or even “14″ inside, which I always assumed should somewhat correspond to the age – not the attitude – of the wearer.

My wife is a few years older than eight, and her clothes have a whole different numbering system (another mystery to solve at another time). But, honestly, side by side, it’s sometimes really, really hard to tell them apart. Ok, so my wife doesn’t have a t-shirt that says “I (heart) Justin Bieber”, but she and my daughter do have some matching pajamas that look the same size to me. Gotta read the labels to know which is which. I really wish I understood those numbering systems better.

I am quite lucky. My wife actually does do the majority of the laundry. She actually kind of enjoys it. It’s one of the few old-school gender roles that we honor in our house. She does the laundry. I mow the lawn and kill all the spiders.

So when I do fluff and fold a basket or two, I now have to pay extra attention. Because somewhere along the way, my daughter grew. It was so much easier when she was little. Pink + tiny = daughter’s pile. Now I have to check the label on almost everything, except that Justin Bieber t-shirt.

In other words, things change. People change. Customers change. Their needs shift, grow, and change constantly. When we have a few, distinct customers, it’s relatively easy to tell them apart and provide them customized products or personal service. As our customer base grows, and our customer’s needs change, we have to pay closer attention.

What does that take? Before you run out and buy a new CRM software package or hire a bunch of new salespeople, stop for a minute and just think about your customers (or your staff, or your family, or your community organization). Ask yourself these questions:

1. How have our customers changed since we first met them?
2. What do they need from us now?
3. Will they have any new needs in the foreseeable future?
4. What are the simplest and most direct ways we can meet these needs?

These questions don’t require a two-day retreat in the woods to figure out. You could come up with some great answers in a sixty minute staff meeting or your personal reflection time.

While this may be the first time you’ve thought about these questions (like this is the first time I’ve thought about my laundry dilemma), it definitely shouldn’t be the last. These are questions that we should be asking ourselves at least once each year, or even each quarter.

I doubt I’ll ever completely escape laundry duty, so I’m going to have to pay even more attention as time goes by. The way my daughter is growing , she will someday be the same size as my wife, maybe as early as next week.

Article Source:  Customer Satisfaction

It seems natural customer loyalty would follow good service. If you get what you want and you are treated right, why would you not return to a business? But sometimes it’s useful to have more than an intuitive argument. So I have done a bit of research and I have found two statistics that tell me there is a clear link connecting customer service and customer loyalty.

They also suggest some substantial benefits from improving customer service.

The first is a well-known number. It comes to us from the American Society of Quality Control (as best I can determine). According to an oft-cited study, 68 percent of customers who never return to a business choose to not come back because of they were treated.

In other words, poor service is the reason 68 percent of customers choose to take their business elsewhere.

That’s a striking number. It means that two out of every three customers are leaving because our employees do not treat them well. It had nothing to do with price, product quality, location, convenience, or other factors. It has everything to do with how willing and able employees are to serve their customers.

The other statistic I found is just as interesting. It’s from a study reported by Arthur Middleton Hughes. He talks about a company that grouped a selection of customers in two groups. One received the same service they always had. The other received a new, higher level of service. The increased level of service cost about $83 per customer. After six months, the customers who received better service spent 57 percent more than their peers who had the same old service. The revenue increase came to over $4,000 per customer.

Wow!

Both these are compelling, to say the least. One says we can keep a lot more customers coming back simply by treating them better. The other says they’ll likely spend more money with us if we offer them a higher level of service.

Hmmm. More customers coming back and spending more when they do come back. Not a bad idea.

If you combine these numbers, you have the potential for big revenue gains as a direct result of customer service improvement. But no matter what the actual numbers are, there is a strong case for improving customer service as a way to improve loyalty, retention, revenue, and profits.

This article was written by:

Kevin Stirtz – who has written 629 posts on AmazingServiceGuy.com.

Kevin Stirtz is the Amazing Service Guy, a speaker and trainer who helps organizations of all kinds deliver Amazing Customer Service. His recent book: “More Loyal Customers” has won 5 star reviews at Amazon.com. Kevin lives in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul). More at: author’s website.

Know the company policy – Some companies prohibit gift giving; some have dollar limits on the gift item; while other don’t have limits at all. Check on this particular detail so that you will know how much you have to spend on a particular item to avoid your gift being sent back to you.

First impression lasts – Packaging is important. This will give the first impression to the receiver. A good packaging will send a message to the recipient that he or she is important to you. A poor packaging on the other hand will tell the recipient that the item inside is not that important, or worse, the recipient may think that he is not important. So regardless of the price of the gift inside the package, it is inevitable that a corporate gift is packed appropriately.

Handwritten cards is much appreciated – Yes, it is easier to buy a Hallmark card and put your signature on it together with your gift, but it will leave a more lasting effect if you prefer having your message handwritten. This would mean that you personally made the massage to the person and not use a ready-made one.

Deliver the gift personally – If your gift does not require a crane or more than one person to carry, make it a point to personally deliver the gift to the intended party. This will create a better and lasting impression of you once he opened the gift.

Know the cultural differences – For Germans, red roses mean romantic intentions. For Chinese, a white gift wrapping symbolizes death. For Japanese, a gift in sets of 4 means death. These are some of the cultural differences or symbolism that you need to take note of when considering giving a corporate gift to someone of another culture. You may have a clean intention but it is safe to follow and respect who they are and what they believe in.

Know the recipient’s wants – Knowing what kind of corporate gift to buy is very challenging and is often very risky. Sometimes, if you have no idea on what to give, you often end up giving the wrong kind of gift. This will ruin you as well as your company image. To lessen the difficulty and reduce the risk, know the person who will receive the gift what his wants, his hobbies, interest, etc. What is the best way to do it? Make a call and ask him such information.

Go for quality – The corporate gift often reflects to your company’s image. It is hard to build up reputation and good image, do not ruin it by giving something of a low quality. Choose a corporate gift that is of high quality but does not destroy your budget.

Check IRS deductions – The IRS Publication 463 is something you should know of since business gifts in America are tax deductible (as much as $25/person in a tax year). This excludes shipping the gift and packaging. Other rules may apply to other types of business structure.

With the items above in mind, the giving of corporate gifts will be a gratifying one for you and a welcome surprise to the recipient!

I am sitting in my local coffee shop (a big brand, not Sbux) and wondering what I want to blog about. I am the only customer sitting in here on a Saturday afternoon, so perhaps the employees forgot about me.  What disturbs me is the LOUD conversation I am hearing behind the counter.

“Wow, can you believe three limos of high school students pulled up the other night after their dance and we had to make a whole bunch of lattes, iced teas, and frozen drinks? It took forever to close!”

“Some huge PTA group came in the other day at 8:30 pm and promised they would help put the chairs back when they were done. They finally left at 9 pm, and the place was a mess.  We didn’t get out of there for ages that night. How rude.”

“Julie was in here and was so drunk, we closed the doors early and put chairs in front of them so no one would come in.”

I am very tempted to stand up and say, “Hey, guys and gals, I write a blog on the customer experience, and I am not too impressed right now!”

I don’t think they realize that every word they are saying reflects on the business. They don’t seem to want to put in a little extra effort to service large orders late at night because it inconveniences them. They don’t seem to be glad that I am here at all; they are too busy with their own “social hour” behind the counter.

You’re On Stage

You can spend a lot of money building up your brand and creating a cool logo. You can market the latest coffee drinks and specials to all your local customers. You can build a fabulous customer loyalty program to reward your best customers.  However, if your employees are not doing their part to support the business, it is all a waste of money.

Great customer service happens every minute, even when no one seems to be looking. At Disneyland, they call their employees Cast Members (CMs) and tell them they are “on stage” whenever they go into any area where their customers (guests) can see or hear them.  A customer’s perception is a critical part of whether their experience is positive or negative.  Every employee contributes to that perception, every minute, regardless of whether they are behind the counter, a rep on the phone, or a member of the cleaning staff.  On that last item, even the janitorial staff at Disney participates in one of the park’s most popular activities, Pin Trading; check out this post from a Disney discussion forum:

At WDW (Walt Disney World) even the janitor CMs had pin lanyards on. The best places we found for pins was at Crystal Palace and Cosmic Ray’s. The manager at Cosmic Ray’s actually got on his radio and requested that all CMs that had lanyards and were available to please come over so a young man could trade with them. Talk about some pixie dust!

Customers Rock! take: Treat your employees like gold, and they will take care of your customers. Hire customer service employees who are people with a passion for serving others.  And remind them all that anytime they are potentially visible or within earshot of customers, they are still “on stage”!

Article Source:  http://amazingserviceguy.com/2709/in-customer-service-you-are-always-on-stage/

One of the biggest mistakes a business can make is investing the majority of marketing efforts in attracting new customers and forgetting about past customers. Your current and past clients are the foundation of your business because without them, your business would not exist. It also costs far more to acquire a new client than it costs to generate business from an existing client.

Showing appreciation for your clients can set you apart from your competitors, increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire sales and even build relationships that last a lifetime. Reaching out to your clients is also an opportunity to remind them that your business exists. Effective marketing relies on repeat exposure and showing appreciation is an affordable and effective way to keep your marketing wheels in motion.

One note of caution: some companies and industries have strict guidelines about accepting gifts. This is especially true of media professionals and government workers. Gifts can be construed as bribes so when in doubt, ask your clients if such policies exist or stick to sending items with no monetary value.

Following are client appreciation strategies that can help you cultivate client retention.

1. Greeting Cards

The Guinness Book of World Records lists Joe Girard, a car salesman from Detroit, as the world’s best salesman. Girard earned the honor by selling 18 cars in a single day. One of his secrets to success is sending 12 cards per year to every single customer and prospect. There are dozens of major and minor holidays throughout the year and each provides a great reason to send a card.

2. Personal Notes

Thoughtful and unexpected thank you notes can be sent after client appointments, following a purchase or whenever a client has done anything deserving some appreciation. While sending an e-mail may be quick and easy, you will make a better impression by sending a note in the mail.

3. Invitations

Though it is important to recognize all of your clients, it is just as important to pay extra attention to your top clients. Spending time together outside of the office gives you a chance to cultivate the relationship by getting to know each other better (in the sales world, this is called “face time”). Consider inviting your top contacts to lunch, dinner, sporting events, charity functions or other events where you can spend time together.

4. Small Gifts

Flowers, books, a mug full of candy and other token items can make thoughtful gifts for clients. These can be sent on special occasions such as birthdays, holidays or anniversaries, or can be sent for no reason other than to show your gratitude.

5. Food

Everyone loves food. Consider sending cupcakes from your local bakery, providing a catered lunch at your client’s office or dropping off a tray of cookies.

6. Gift Cards

Sending gift cards for items or places your clients will enjoy can have an added benefit: they will think of you when it comes time to redeem the gift! Options include coffee shops, restaurants, movies, bookstores, office supplies or anything else your clients would appreciate. For even more mileage, consider partnering with another business and send each other’s gift cards.

7. Referral Rewards

The highest compliment you can receive is a referral to your business. This gesture deserves recognition in the form of a thank you note, discount on services or small gift card. Always acknowledge when a customer sends business your way.

8. Reverse Referrals

If your clients are business owners, look for ways to refer business to them. This is an unexpected gesture that is sure to set you apart.

9. Customer Appreciation Days

Designate one or more days each year to celebrate your clients. You could offer a customer-only secret promotional sale, give away lunch if you have a physical location or provide a special bonus to those on your mailing list.

10. The Gift of Information

Ebooks, reports, workbooks, videos and other types of information products can make great gifts. For example, compile a list of useful tips that your customers will appreciate and either deliver it via e-mail in a PDF document or publish it in booklet format to mail or hand out.

11. Host Events

Host a party or an open house at your office or a restaurant. If your clients are geographically dispersed, you can hold a virtual event by inviting them to participate in complimentary online seminars.

12. Life Events

If you know that your client is getting married, having a baby, being promoted or enjoying another major life event, send an acknowledgement–even if it is a simple card. Your gesture will not be forgotten.

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several business and marketing books including FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO INFOPRENEUR: MAKE MONEY WITH BOOKS, E-BOOKS AND INFORMATION PRODUCTS. Discover hundreds of resources for entrepreneurs at http://www.BusinessInfoGuide.com

For author and speaker details visit http://www.StephanieChandler.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Chandler