How to Provide Great Customer Service on Telephone

August 13, 2015

Telephone
When it comes to business, telephone calls still take priority as the communication method of choice. Although web enquiries, emails, social media and live web chats all have their place in the modern world of communication, the majority of today’s customers still prefer to speak to a member of staff over the telephone in order to resolve any queries, questions or complaints that they may have. With this in mind, we have put together a list of tips for answering telephone calls professionally. Read on to find out more.

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Filed Under: Customers Tagged With: ,

10 Email Subject Lines that Grab Customers’ Attention

March 10, 2015

Email
Email marketing is a powerful tactic for many small business owners to promote their products and improve sales. Emails can be created and distributed without incurring much cost. It can even be customized for a group of customers to ensure you target the right group. The problem is customers are bombarded with emails like never before. They have limited time and attention span to open, let alone read the email. So how do you grab their attention and make them open the email? The key is what you put in the subject line. Boring subject lines that put readers to sleep will never make it to the content. Use the 10 tips below to create attention grabbing subject lines that will compel the reader to open the email.

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How to Create Marketing Portfolio that Attracts Attention

January 25, 2015

Marketing
As a business person, job seeker, or entrepreneur one of your biggest concerns is how to gain attention of potential clients. It is what determines your success. In this piece, we are going to look at ways you can produce portfolios/marketing materials that can show off your skills, products and services, and help you create an impression that lasts. The tips we have covered here can equally be used if you are looking for a job; interviewing to land a full-time creative role for example.

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Benefits of Effective Telephone Services for Small Businesses

January 15, 2015

Telephone Services
Clear and effective communication is important in personal as well professional life. Without the ability to communicate we are physically limited as human beings to carry out even the most basic tasks. The same logic applies to your business, if you can’t communicate properly with others you will be unable to provide a proper service to clients and customers and ultimately your business will fail.

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How to Create Impressive Business Cards that Command Attention

November 19, 2014

Business Card
Oh, the age old business card! It looks so small and innocuous, isn’t it? And yet, this little piece of paper can change the outcome of just about any business meeting. Handing over a business card is an introduction to you, your company and products or services it offers. It is said that first impression is everything in any meeting, and the business card is what makes a first statement about your business to potential client, customer or vendor. So how do ensure the business card that represents your company is as impressive as the business itself? Here are some alternate ideas for business cards made out of non-traditional materials.

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How Video Production can Help Business Owners Showcase Products

September 23, 2014

Video Production
Any business that sells products needs to find the best way advertise their goods, as this is how you communicate to your audience and explain why they should choose you over the competition. It is difficult do this through text and images. Often these adverts will unfortunately go unnoticed. Instead, it is much better to produce a video featuring the products. This is the most engaging form of media, and it is also one which lends itself well to advertising. With a video you have the ability to construct a narrative through audio and visual elements, and this also enables businesses to show their product in action too. If your company sells laptops for example, then a well produced video that shows the laptop working will be much more beneficial than a photo of the laptop next to a wall of text.

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5 Management Mistakes that Kill Employee Motivation

May 10, 2014

The topic of how to boost employee motivation is one that has been covered exhaustively in many a blog post. However, what you may not realize is that it’s just as important to take steps to protect existing employee motivation.
Employee Motivation
When you go back to school online to earn your BS in Organizational Management, you’ll learn that many employees are already quite motivated. In fact, most employees are excited about their careers and come into their jobs brimming with the desire to do their best work. What these employees need most is to avoid being de-motivated by poor management practices, like the ones below.

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What can Anthony Weiner Teach Small Businesses about PR

August 6, 2013

What can Anthony Weiner teach small businesses about PR
In May 2011, then Congressman Anthony Weiner announced that he was resigning from the New York City Council. The congressman was an intense individual to work for. He kept long hours, worked staff hard, and was accused of being verbally abusive. Weiner made a mistake, something that we’ve all done at some point or another. He sent a public tweet that he meant to keep private. What was bothersome about that tweet was its sexually explicit content.

The congressman resigned and sought counseling on the matter. In May of 2013, he revealed via YouTube that he was looking to run a seat of New York City’s mayor. Barely two months had gone by when old habits crept back into the public eye. Congressman Weiner was at it again. The scandal has not caused the former congressman to drop out, yet. As we wait for word on his efforts to continue, a reflective look at his legacy can shed some valuable light on businesses under pressure.

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Small Biz Owners – Do not Use Limited Resources as Excuse to be Unprofessional

May 24, 2013

Small Biz Owners - do not use limited resources as excuse to be unprofessional
There are lot of limitations on small business, many of which are resulting from lack of resources and size. Retail business owners can only carry certain products due to limited budget and order minimums, service businesses can only serve limited number of clients due to lack of resources and they cannot bid on certain jobs due to lack of equipment and manpower. However, you need to be careful about not using limited resources as excuse for presenting yourself in unprofessional manner to your customers.

In professional transactions, business image is as important as the products or services you provide. Granted you don’t need to wear fancy suits in all situations, but they may be required when you are presenting your clients in the courtroom as their lawyer. Similarly, you do not need graphic laden, interactive website for your business to attract customers in all situations. If majority of customers are expecting a certain image and you are not projecting that image it is going to be difficult for your business to succeed.

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Customer Service Lessons from my Poor Olive Garden Experience

June 19, 2012


I am always on the lookout for lessons to be learned from my own experience as a customer. I believe small business owners can learn a lot about management and customer service by putting themselves in the shoes of customers. I was presented with such an opportunity when we visited Olive Garden restaurant in Auburn Hills, Michigan over the weekend. This was a special treat from my daughters on Father’s Day.
While I have always liked Olive Garden’s delicious food particularly the soups and salad my experience on this day left a lot to be desired from such a reputable national restaurant. Here is what happened:
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