Great Service, Good Business, or Just Annoying? You Make the Call
Around this time of year I start doing a lot of online ordering of custom printed merchandise for spring events my business manages. This means I am searching numerous supplier websites trying to find the right items, at the right prices, from companies I know can deliver on time.
It also means I see first hand how some small business (and larger businesses for that matter) integrate their online stores, customer service, and product delivery.
One merchant I deal with has a procedure that I can’t figure out if I like or not…
A Little Background
This supplier I’ve been dealing with for a couple years now. They have a quality product, for a good price, and they deliver on time…overall I am very satisfied using them for some of my branded merchandise needs.
But, they have me flummoxed when it comes to one of there practices.
On their site I will choose the items I want printed, make numerous choices on the printing options, and finally see a final product and cost for my order once I’ve added the items into the shopping cart. Until my items go into the cart I don’t fully know what my costs are (there’s the item costs, setup fees based on printing options, and miscellaneous charges for extra services).
So I get everything into the cart, look at my costs, and then decide if I want to purchase as is or make some changes to the order to get back on budget. Sometimes I make changes and complete the order, other times I go a completely different route altogether and abandon the cart to start another search on their site.
My Question for You
Which leads me to my question for you all. Every time a cart is abandoned they follow up with a phone call to me to inquire about why I abandoned the cart (they have my info on file since I order from them regularly). They usually say “we notice you were looking at custom printed pink flamingos but did not complete your order, can we help you finalize it?”
Okay, I get it – shopping cart abandonment is a real thorn in online retailers sides, but really, a phone call every time I leave a cart – even if during the same session on their site I place an order?
I’ve suggested that if I could see total costs before placing items into a cart I wouldn’t be abandoning the cart as often, but I don’t think there is much energy around changing that since then they wouldn’t be able to see uncompleted orders.
This must work on some level or they wouldn’t commit the resources to make the calls all the time, but it has me wanting not to check things out on their site because I don’t want the phone calls if I change my mind.
The whole thing has me confused. Is this the best way to go about dealing with abandoned carts? Is it good service, or just annoying? I don’t know…so I need your help figuring it out.
You Make the Call
So which is it….great service, good business, or just annoying? Let me know in the comments below.
Photo Credit: Divine in the Daily
4 Life Saving Tips for Small Business Marketing
Marketing for any small business is incredibly time consuming, and if you’re only one person or a small army of hardcore marketers, you want to make sure you’re optimizing around acquiring new customers and re-selling to current customers.
Focus on the RIGHT numbers
While marketing can be a volume game, it’s easy to measure the wrong metrics and to aim for the wrong goals. We came across that problem when we were shooting for high volume traffic, but it wasn’t converting as we expected. The Key Performance Indicator should have been sales, not traffic.
Spend money to get money back
Sure, goodwill is a good idea. Advertising is good for branding purposes too. But will these things help you reach your goals, which mean more revenue and more profit? Will goodwill turn into an amazing piece of press for your company that in turn will lead to sales? Will that branding campaign cause more people who were initially hesitant to purchase at one point, to actually pay for your product or service at another time? You have to have justification for your initiatives, as well as proper metrics to measure the effectiveness of the programs; otherwise you’re just wasting time doing things that might not be working or things that do not work as effectively as other things.
Double down on what’s working
It’s important to know what is affecting the bottom line and focus more of your efforts on what will help you reach your business’ goals. Cut out the fat and stop doing things that aren’t as effective as other things you can do or things that aren’t effective at all.
Test, Test, Test!
If what you’re doing works well enough for you, then that’s great, but if you want to take your business to the next level, test out ways to make what you’re doing even more effective. Try out new things with CRM like offering different sales and promotions, rearranging your website and its contents for readability and usability, or just testing a few things with your email marketing.
About the Author: Danny Wong is the Lead Evangelist for Blank Label, a provider of men’s custom dress shirts. He specializes in Small Business Marketing and Search Engine Optimization.
Want to be our next guest author? Click here for details.
Photo Credit: jsmjr
What to Look for in Online Collaboration Tools for Small Business
Small businesses are more mobile today than ever. No longer are we tied to physical locations, or limited by technology in communicating with partners all around the world.
This is extremely exciting on one hand – great freedom for the business owner, larger reach, and an opportunity to work with the best and the brightest from literally around the world.
On the other hand this freedom offers up a real challenge when it comes to collaboration.
Assembling Virtual Work Teams
What is the best way to put together a work team that may not be centrally located to where you do business? How do we build teams, and transfer necessary information across work groups?
These are questions I think many small businesses owners are asking themselves. And the good news is that many online collaboration tools are now available to help facilitate the new way in which we do business.
What to Look for In Online Collaboration Tools
There are many choices, and numerous advantages in using an online collaboration tool. Here are the five main things you need to look for when deciding which provider is right for you.
#1 Security
Got to put this at the top of the list. If you are going to be putting a lot of your work, confidential or proprietary information, onto the web in order to collaborate you need to be sure the provider you choose is secure. Do they auto backup data? Do you have the option for enhanced security on your pages (https)? Don’t let a breech in their security become a breech in yours.
Do your homework – Online Security Safeguarding Your Business (via3.com white paper)
#2 Flexible and Reasonably Priced User and Storage Options
You want an online collaboration solution that offers enough storage for all the documents and files you expect to be sharing across your work teams.
Also you want to be sure you can add user accounts as your work teams grow. Most providers will offer graduated pricing based on the storage you need and the number of users. Look around until you find one that looks like it will allow you to grow as your business grows without any hidden upgrade fees, or sky high pricing.
#3 A Robust Suite of Tools
The basis of online collaboration is to collaborate, right? You’ll want to be sure your provider offers a suite of collaboration tools to fit your needs.
The basics should include:
- Tasks management
- Contact management
- File sharing and storage
- Private messaging
- Chat
- To do lists
- Message boards
- Email integration
- Calendars
The sky is the limit when it comes to features, you’ll also find that some providers offer:
- Blogging
- Polls
- Photo sharing
- RSS feeds
- Wikis
- Social media tools
Pick the one that offers the right selection of tools you’ll actually use. All the bells and whistles sound nice, but if you’re not going to use them you could be paying more for these features just to have them sit there.
#4 Simplicity of Design and Function
Using online collaboration should make your life easier, not more stressful. Look for a simple to use tool that encourages users to, well, use it! If it is too hard to understand, too cumbersome to work with, and more trouble than the end result, you’re going to have a hard time rallying the troops to make the switch to online work groups.
#5 Offers a No Obligation Free Trial
You really don’t know what you’ll be getting from any provider until you are in there using the software day in and day out. Do not sign up for something until you’vehad a chance to test drive the product and make sure it works for you and your business. Most will offer at least a 2 week trial so you can get the feel for how the system works before committing.
What are the Choices?
The choices are vast, and you will need to do your research. Early this year Business Pundit put out a great article, The 10 Best Collaborative Web Tools for Business , which should help you in your search.
They list their top 10 providers, as well as pros and cons of each, and a comprehensive overview of the software and service. OfficeMedium (latest sponsor of this blog) was rated as the #1 choice.
If online collaboration is something you’ve considered we recommend you head over there and check them out, see if what they offer is right for you.
Final Thoughts
The world is getting smaller, and we small businesses owners are able to do business in places we could only dream of a few short years ago. Online collaboration could mean a greater reach, with more efficiency to the small business. If you’re considering getting your teams together virtually, do your homework on the options out there and try out some of the solutions that look like they could work for you.
Photo Credit: lumaxart
Conference Call Etiquette – How to Sound Professional in Your Pajamas
The following is a guest post from Amanda Mitchell a freelance writer who specializes in getting the most of technology for small businesses. You can reach Amanda at mitchell_amanda (at) ymail.com
You’ve started a small business and quit your day job. Good for you! But just because you’re working from home now doesn’t mean you won’t be interacting with others on a daily basis. If you run a service-based business, you need to communicate with your clients. While e-mail and instant messaging can be useful to convey quick messages, the time may come when you need to have a real conversation with your clients. If you’re in New York and they’re in California, meeting at the office is out of the question. This is where conference calls come in.
Be careful, though. Working from home can cause some people to get a little too comfortable. You might be sitting at a desk, working on a computer, but if your professional dress code entails flannel pajamas and fuzzy slippers, it can be very easy to forget you’re dealing with professionals who are expecting you to be professional too. A few simple tips will help you prepare for your conference calls, and keep your professional reputation intact.
Get dressed
There’s nothing wrong with working in pajamas, sweats, or even a muumuu, if that’s your thing. Part of the reason you wanted to work from home was that you knew you could be just as productive while you were comfortable as you were when you had to dress up in constrictive business attire. Maybe even more productive, right? But interacting with others via e-mail, instant message, or social media is very different from actually talking to them.
If it helps you maintain a professional demeanor during the conference call, get out of the pajamas and into some real clothes, even if it’s just jeans. It will remind you that it’s not an ordinary day where it’s just you, your computer, and your Twitter friends, and will help you stay focused.
Get the kids out of the room
A lot of people start businesses from home to spend more time with their kids, or simply to avoid paying nearly what they earn at a regular job on the daycare they’ll need while they’re at work. Setting up shop at home makes all the sense in the world, until you have to get on the phone with your clients and your kid is having a meltdown.
A crying child is not good background noise, and may cause your clients to wonder whether you’ll be able to get their project done while facing the demands of home. Your kids are important, but so is your business, and your clients deserve your full attention during a phone call. If your kids are school age, schedule the conference call during school hours. If they’re not, wait until nap time. If this doesn’t work for your client’s schedule, especially if they’re in a different time zone, ask a friend or family member to come over and keep the kids busy while you take the call.
Don’t eat
It may sound like common sense, but if you have to schedule a conference call during what would normally be your lunch time because it’s when your client is available, you may think there’s nothing wrong with having a sandwich while you talk. They can’t see you, right? No, but they can hear you, and the sound of chewing or lip smacking is not going to endear you to anyone. The last thing you want is a mouth full of tuna salad right when the client asks you to explain your project time line so they can approve your budget.
Sure, some meetings are held over meals, but this is a conference call. There are no visual cues or body language to enhance your communication, and it’s even worse if you’re the only one eating. All they have to go on is your voice, so don’t obscure it with food. This also goes for chewing gum, or hard candy. No, and no. Have a glass of water nearby, sure, but no eating. Period.
Turn off the TV
Some people need the ambient noise of the television, the radio, or their iTunes library to keep them on task. It may not distract you, but it will definitely distract whoever is on the other end of the line. They need to be able to clearly hear what you’re saying. Not to mention, hearing Oprah in the background may make them wonder whether you’re actually getting any work done.
Keep things quiet, behave professionally, and your clients don’t ever have to know you work in your pajamas.
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Photo Credit: Mike “Dakinewavamon” Kline
Who Won the HP iPaq Glisten?
It has been a fun week collecting entries to win our HP iPaq Glisten smart phone. This feature rich phone looks awesome, and now it’s time to give it away to one lucky reader!
To Recap
To quickly recap how our contest worked, in order to be entered each contestant had to:
1. Leave a comment on the contest post so that we know you found out about the giveaway through this article, and tell us how this phone will help improve your busy life, and/or make your more efficient. You needed to leave us your Twitter user name for part 2…
2. Follow @HP_PC on Twitter, and send the following tweet to your followers:
I just entered to win a new HP iPaq Glisten from @HP_PC and @Smallbizbee, here’s how you can enter to win too http://tiny.cc/Q3wTf
The above got you one (1) entry into the contest. You had to do both to get the one (1) entry
Then, if you wanted extra credit you could post about the contest on your website or blog, and once you let me know you made the post we gave you three (3) more entries.
The maximum number of entries from any one person was four (4).
And the Winner Is
The list of entrants was loaded into Random.org, randomized, and the person at the top of the list is our winner.
Congratulations
Our winner is Kasey Armstrong, who said that the Glisten will help simply life as a student an make things a lot easier.
Kasey, we’ll be contacting you via email to arrange shipment of your new HP iPaq Glisten.
A Big Thanks
A big thanks to HP and HP_PC for making this giveaway happen. And also a big thanks to everyone who entered.
Until next time…
Outsourcing and the Small Business
In this guest post Brenda Harris shares her thoughts on the pros and cons of outsourcing for the small business owner.
It’s an issue that is kicking up a storm today because of the high rate of unemployment – President Obama has on his agenda the issue of moving jobs back to the USA from India, China and other countries where they’ve been outsourced to take advantage of low costs and a capable workforce.
It’s the larger corporations that are now in the line of fire – they’re being called tax evaders who have moved much of their operations overseas so that they’re able to make huge profits. But if you take a closer look at this phenomenon called outsourcing, you’ll find that almost all businesses are guilty of it at some time or the other.
Outsourcing is Out There
For example, banks outsource debt collection to private agencies or individuals who buy the loans from them at a slightly lower rate. Telecommunication and other service-oriented companies outsource their customer service and troubleshooting operations to smaller organizations. And even the U.S. Defense Department is guilty of outsourcing auxiliary military duties to contractors in Afghanistan so that US military personnel are free to take care of “core” tasks.
Outsource Something, Not Everything
So even if you’re a small company, there’s no guarantee that you’re never going to outsource any of your operations. In fact, if you’re a small business, it makes sense to outsource, especially those tasks that are routine and not tied explicitly to the operations of your company. Most small organizations outsource their annual audit and tax preparation or their technical programming/coding process. This is because they don’t have customized needs for these operations, so they’re bound to get them cheaper from companies who are dedicated to tax preparation and offering technological solutions for fields like customer service, business intelligence, data mining and so on.
Be Selective
One aspect that most companies forget to take into consideration when they outsource is to check the difficulty of the integrating the result of the task they are delegating to other organizations with the entirety of their own operations. The task itself may not be that hard, but when the finished product is in, it may have compatibility issues with the rest of the operations of the organization.
As a simple example, if you outsource your customer service and later find that the company who takes care of this aspect for you is at the receiving end of a host of negative criticism, it is your organization that loses face and repute, not the one that you outsourced your customer service operations to.
Final Word
In general, it is not wise to outsource critical or sensitive operations – those that are essential to the existence and survival of a company, and those that require the highest level of security. Also, if you don’t manage your outsourced operations and ensure that they are compatible with your in-house operations and that quality is at the highest level, all the cost benefits that you gain through outsourcing tend to be lost in the resultant confusion.
This guest post is contributed by Brenda Harris, who writes on the topic of executive mba programs . She can be reached at her email id: brenda.harris91@gmail.com .
Want to be our next guest author? You can! Click here for details.
Photo Credit: foundphotoslj
How To Build A Good Website That Keeps Your Customers Fully Satisfied
In this guest post Lena Morrish and Dima Nikolayenko share their tips to building a website that keeps your customers satisfied, and coming back for more!
It is fairly common knowledge that there is wider acceptance of the online mode of shopping today, than ever before.
More and more customers who never considered the online mode for making routine (as well as exotic!) purchases are starting to discover the absolute convenience of being able to carry out their shopping from the comfort of their homes or offices, make payments online, and have the merchandise delivered to where they would like it to – totally hassle free!
Online Shopping Challenges
That said, all online business store owners – small or big, need to make sure that their customers remain happy with their efforts and keep coming back to them often. This is particularly true in the face of significant competition online.
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One of the major challenges that online stores face in particular is the lack of personalization and the human touch or element, which is often extremely important to many shoppers – they like to touch and feel the products that they are looking to buy. Another agonizing experience for online shoppers is the lack of instant nirvana or gratification – they actually have to wait out for the item that they have bought to arrive through the mail.
Advantages are Numerous
Yet, online stores proffer numerous advantages which actually outweigh the disadvantages by a huge margin. Customers can get exactly what they want, however exotic the item may be, something which a lot of offline, brick-and-mortar stores are loath to stock up on. Also, they never need to leave where they are, and can order, pay and expect delivery of the item they have shopped, from the comfort of their home or office.
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Online stores are great for the sellers as well – no major inventory to stock up on, neither any costs of sales personnel to incur. The only major costs are the marketing costs and ensuring that customers actually visit as well as buy things from the store.
Not to Burst Your Bubble, But…
But that is where the catch is – the costs, or at least the efforts for marketing and promotion are reasonably significant. This is particularly true since barriers to entry for all other prospective sellers are reasonably low, and there is immense competition.
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Also, while you may be able to sell to the whole world, anyone in the entire world could be selling those items too, as against having a shop in a particular neighborhood, where, by and large, you are competing with shops only in the vicinity.
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So, how to build a good website that keeps your customers fully satisfied?
Find the Right Tools
This is where website building tools really come in handy; they guide you on ensuring that your efforts are channelized in the right direction so that you end up getting maximum bang for your buck (particularly when the bucks we are referring to here are essentially metaphorical, denoting the efforts that you put in more than the money).
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For instance, keyword research tools can save you a huge amount of time and effort by providing you with just the right keywords that users are likely to key in when searching for what you have on offer. Similarly, there are tools such as those for email marketing and promotion, affiliate marketing tools, web design and hosting tools and so on, which can together go a long way in ensuring that your efforts pay off to the maximum.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it would be wise to try out each tool one after another and see which one works best for you; you can then accordingly channelize your efforts and focus on those tools that work the best. The approach maybe is slow to begin with, but ultimately it bears maximum fruits.
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Lena Morrish and Dima Nikolayenko, internet publishers, can show you how to start up an internet business and use appropriate tools such as website building tools, keyword research tool, follow up autoresponder etc. to make your customers happier and create their desire to keep returning to your website.
Want to be our next guest author? You can! Click here for details.
Photo Credit: katerha
6 Tips on Getting Traffic to Your New Blog
We know a blog can be a great tool for businesses. If you’ve finally got your blog off the ground, the next step is to get some traffic to it. This guest post by Andrew Rondeau of Webuildyourblog.com offers up 6 tips to getting the traffic flowing in.
There’s a popular saying in business, that the hardest part of anything is simply showing up. While it holds true throughout many aspects of corporate culture and success, it’s certainly not true for the blogging world. If the blogosphere’s got anything, it’s millions of people who’ve shown up, some uninvited. Showing up simply isn’t enough to become a blogging success anymore.
You’ve got to generate traffic and promote yourself.
You’ve got to create timeless posts that circulate throughout social bookmarking services for years to come.
You’ve got to take an active presence in getting your blog out there.
It’s no longer about simply writing; promoting is the biggest part of blogging today.
Here are six tips for getting traffic to your new blog.
#1: Don’t just write for cash
It’s tempting to write solely for Adsense revenue, but doing so is a bit of a failed metric for success. There are ultimately two different kinds of blog content, made-for-revenue and organic. When you focus on revenue-generating content, you end up destroying your long-term financial potential. Focus on generating readers, not just cash, and start looking at monetizing your blog later on.
#2: Guest posts are great for generating traffic
There are always going to be bloggers out there with more traffic than you, regardless of what niche you write on or how often you write. There are millions of blogs around, and the spread of traffic between them all is truly stunning. Don’t think that you can get it all to yourself — cooperate and collaborate with other bloggers and expand your reach. Contact a big blogger about guest posting on their blog, and you could see some serious traffic come over to yours.
#3: Social bookmarking loves images
Got a post that could succeed on Digg or Reddit? Make sure you’ve included images in the post’s body copy. Most social bookmarking services seem to favor articles that have images and dynamic media included in the page, so ensure you’ve got something interesting for people to look at, as well as something interesting to read. Make sure you add tags to your images.
#4: Don’t sell out to promoters
Promotional posts are great, so long as they’re intelligently targeted and used sparingly. However, subscribers hate unnecessary promotional content, and using too much of it is a great way to see your readership dramatically decline. Focus on generating traffic, and leave promotional or sponsored posts out until you’ve reached a sustainable subscriber level.
#5: Experiment with different posting mediums
Video blogging is fun, and experimentation with it could generate more readers for your blog. Trying different post formats, topics, and styles is great for boosting traffic. When more people enjoy at least some aspect of your blog, more people talk about it, which means much more traffic.
#6: Use social media to compliment and sustain your blog
A Twitter account is great for promoting your top blog posts, generating buzz, and of course, increasing traffic. When you pair your blog up with social media services, you give yourself an avenue to drive traffic to your blog. A Facebook page might cost an hour of your time to set up, but it’s well worth the long-term promotional benefits.
What tips would you add? Share your views in the comments below.
Andrew Rondeau is the author of the free guide Income Blogging Guide. Click on the following link to grab your complimentary copy of Andrew’s Income Blogging Guide.
Want to be our next guest author? You can! Click here for details.
Win a HP iPAQ Glisten From Smallbizbee ($390 Value!)
If you’ve been looking for a smart phone, perfect for an on-the-go entrepreneur you’re gonna’ love what we have for you this time.
How would you like a brand new, HP iPaq Glisten valued at $390 for FREE just for being a loyal reader of this blog?
Sound like a good deal? Well it did to us too. Not familiar with the Glisten? Read on…
HP iPAQ Glisten
The HP iPAQ Glisten is a stylish, 3G smartphone designed for on-the-go professionals who need to stay connected to the people and information they care about.
This quad-band world phone, featuring Windows Mobile 6.5, easily moves between work and play with advanced mobile email capabilities, multiple connectivity options, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS functionality and rich multimedia features and applications.
AT&T’s 3G network is available in more than 350 major metropolitan areas. AT&T also offers 3G data roaming in more than 100 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.
The iPAQ Glisten features a full QWERTY keyboard for fast, easy and accurate messaging, including SMS/ MMS, instant messaging and e-mail.
A touch-enabled AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen delivers a crisp, clear display that easily allows you to navigate through menus, windows, and links at the touch of a finger.
Through HP’s partnership with AT&T and Microsoft, the iPAQ Glisten customers will have access to a wide variety of applications, music, ringtones, games, etc through the AT&T AppCenter and Windows Marketplace.
For more information visit: HP iPAQ Glisten
How to Enter
There are two easy steps you need follow in order to enter:
1. Leave a comment below so that we know you found out about the giveaway through this article. Tell us how this phone will help improve your busy life, and/or make your more efficient. Make sure you use the email address you want us to contact you at if you win.
Please leave your Twitter Screen name in your comment
2. Follow @HP_PC on Twitter, and send the following tweet to your followers:
I just entered to win a new HP iPaq Glisten from @HP_PC and @Smallbizbee, here’s how you can enter to win too http://tiny.cc/Q3wTf
Extra Credit
Doing the above gets you 1 (one) entry into the contest. For an additional 3 (three) entries simply write 1 (One) blog post about this contest, what you like most about the Glisten, and link back to smallbizbee.com. Send me an email when you publish your post so that I can make sure you get credit for all of your entries into the contest. You have to do #1 and #2 above before you can get extra credit.
Contest Details
- Contest ends Sunday Feb 21, 2010 at 11:59pm PST.
- Winner will be drawn at random using Random.org
- We will announce the winner on this site Mon Feb 22
- You must be following @HP_PC when we pick a winner on Monday in order to qualify.
- We will contact the winner via email to arrange shipment of your brand new HP iPaq Glisten – absolutely free – within 48 hours of announcing the winner.
Good Luck
Good luck to everyone who enters. If you have any questions please contact us!
Seven Things Your Brand Is Not – And One That It Is
What Your Brand Is Not
1. Your brand is not your logo
2. Your brand is not your personal identity
3. Your brand is not what you sell
4. Your brand is not what you say it is
5. Your brand is not your fancy offices
6. Your brand is not your company culture
7. Your brand is not your employees
What Your Brand Is
Your brand is the emotional and psychological relationships you have with your customers. Your brand is what your vendors think of you, what your employees see of you, and what your customers say about you - Essentially your brand is what they say it is, not what you say it is.
Questions?
Put’em in the comments below.
