7 Essential Qualities for Customer Relationship Personnel
There is no doubt that the CRM executives need to be responsive, reliable and respectful to help provide customer satisfaction. This according to the Harvard Business Review leads to retention, related sales and referrals for the company. To get to these benefits the company needs to train the CRM staff in specific areas.
Interpersonal Skills
Ability to deal with people politely and empathy towards them are traits desirable in all human beings, but in the case of Customer Relationship Management executives this could well be the gospel truth. If your staff is unable to establish good interpersonal relationships with your customers you are not going to get their business.
Communication
While most of the duties of a customer care executive can be conducted through automated software there are other undertakings which cannot be. For these activities the customer may use the phone or walk in physically to the company premises. If the customer has taken so much trouble to come in to the company he will have a sizable problem to solve. That is where communication skills of the CRM staff will be put to the test.
Handling Stress
No one likes to deal with rude people who want to bite your head off but customer relationship can often involve just that. It can be highly stressful trying to calm down irate customers on a daily basis. There is no excuse for rude behavior on the part of the company staff even if the customer is being discourteous.
Active Listening
One of the reasons why customers don’t feel comfortable dealing with the company on the phone is the number of recorded messages that they need to filter through. When you have a problem to report you do not want to spend five minutes shuttling through different voice recorded menus. That is why it is important for the CRM staff to listen to the customer and respond intelligently to the problem that they hear.
Team Work
This one should be obvious but sometimes a single link in the chain kept out of the loop can cause more damage than imagined. If you are dealing with a customer, have all his relevant details at hand and fed into a centralized system. This will ensure that the customer is never left in the lurch just because you forgot to brief a team mate about what needs to be done.
Problem Solving and Complaints Handling
This is quite literally the crux of the matter. All the chatter that the customer generates is related to his problem. The way the CRM staff functions to solve the problem right from the time the first complaint is registered with them can make a huge difference to the reputation of the company.
Product and Organization Knowledge
A CRM executive cannot solve the problems of the customers who come to him unless he has an innate understanding of the product that the company is selling and a general know-how of the organization. For this reason proper training of the executive in terms of what the company sells and how is essential to his productivity.
About the Author: Sarika Periwal writes for karmacrm.com, a CRM for small businesses and individuals. It is a web based CRM software that can help you streamline all your sales leads and contact data and thus increase customer retention and repeat sales.
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Bad Service Blues: A Global Perspective [INFOGRAPHIC]
Recently the management consulting firm Accenture performed a global study that focused on shifts in consumer and brand relationships around the world based on the perception of customer service. What can service providers glean from these assessments and how can they move the customer experience in a positive direction?
Ditching Brands Because of Their Terrible Service
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Infographic: Bad Service Blues: A Global Perspective
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Choosing a Virtual Receptionist Service: 5 Tips for Dazzling Call Answering
As growing businesses make the transition from small to medium-sized, many are finding that hiring a virtual receptionist service not only helps free up time for other projects, but it adds a whole new level of professionalism and customer service. A virtual receptionist is an off-site company that fields all of your phone calls and directs them to the appropriate channel.
Depending on the virtual receptionist service you choose, your call answering may be highly customizable. Some virtual receptionist services are even able to sound like they are in your office, just like an in-house receptionist. To get the most bang for your buck, consider these five preferences when setting up service:
1. Start with a great greeting
Typically, you’re able to personalize what your virtual receptionists will say when greeting callers. Try beginning with “Thank you for calling” or “Good Morning/Afternoon” and follow with your company name. Sprinkle in a “How may I help you?” or “How may I direct your call?” for good measure. The whole greeting should set a welcoming tone for the call: “Thank you for calling ABC Company. How may I help you?”
Bonus: If “Good Morning” sounds good to you, confirm with your service that no matter what time zone the virtual receptionists are in, they will answer with your time zone in mind.
2. Request helpful information from callers
Virtual receptionists can often gather certain information when taking a message or before transferring a call to you. Would knowing what company someone’s calling from or what the call is regarding make your life easier?
3. Pick your messaging preference
Each individual in the company may also be able to customize his or her own messaging procedure. Would you prefer written messages or voicemails? Or would you like the virtual receptionist to offer a choice between the two?
For example, salespeople may prefer to have the receptionist take down a short intake form from their callers (first and last name, how they heard about you, an email address, what services they’re interested in, etc.). That way, they’re able to make an informed return call, and the potential client has a chance to engage with the company.
4. Distinguish between types of calls
Just as you can set specifications for what information to collect before a call is transferred or when a message is taken, virtual receptionist services can also personalize call instructions based on the type of call. For instance, the virtual receptionist may only try your desk line for current clients but try your cell as well for new clients.
5. Ask about FYI messages
Your virtual receptionist service may be able to send you an email every time a caller is connected to voicemail or declines to leave a message. That way, you’ll know that they called whether or not a message is taken, and you can impress clients with a proactive offer of help!
With advanced software and savvy virtual receptionists on your side, there are lots of different ways to set up your phone answering. By customizing your call answering, you’ll be able to enhance your business’s image while increasing your productivity. There’s a great big virtual receptionist world out there – don’t be afraid to ask for what you want!
About the Author: Elizabeth Robinson writes for Ruby Receptionists, a live virtual receptionist service that provides call answering for businesses nationwide.
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Are You Flying High with Good Customer Service?
It was the first leg on a recent return home flight from Kansas City to San Diego that my ears perked up while sitting in seat 19B on a well-known airline. Read more
Get the Right CRM Software for your Business
There are a number of free online CRM packages available in the market today. If you are looking forward to taking your business to the next level it will make sense to invest some time and effort into a business contact management software. That does not mean that free software will solve all your problems. Read more
3 Ways to Develop Quality Customer Service
Providing quality customer service should be a top priority for any business or service provider. Through open communication with staff members and by introducing and adopting a well designed training program, business owners or company managers will be in an ideal position to achieve this outcome.
Develop Customer Relationships
Nowadays, many business owners are aware that developing good customer relationships encourages customer loyalty and return business and is therefore a valuable attribute for enhancing the name, brand and reputation of their business. In simple terms, excellent customer service can be routinely applied by employees in any business or company if they are courteous, respectful, considerate, pleasant, helpful, reliable, efficient, friendly, responsive and punctual to name just a few. After all, one of the main objectives of most businesses and service providers is to deliver quality customer service, so if a customer leaves a business satisfied with the level of service provided, then the overall objective has been achieved.
Workplace Culture
Delivering customer service is a daily occurrence for many big and small enterprises, however to ensure consistency, a high standard of providing good customer service needs to be maintained and in time become second nature for employees during their interactions with customers or clients. It is also recognized that new employees who begin work in a workplace that has a culture of providing friendly helpful service will generally make an effort to maintain the same high standard. By maintaining a high standard of providing quality customer service is therefore the key because the reputation and overall success of a business can be tarnished very quickly by employees who either develop or have an overall poor customer service mindset.
Staff Training Program
Introducing a staff training program with professionally developed workplace modules that are designed to educate and train new employees (and if required current employees) is a scheme that could be introduced into any work environment. Such a strategy would then ensure all employees have the skills and know-how to effectively provide quality customer service. However, because service providers and many workplaces have different routines, functions and requirements when dealing with customers, such a program would need to be carefully designed and structured to suit the designated work environment.
About the Author: Brandon Walker is the creator of customer service skills, a website designed to provide helpful, informative advice to small and large business owners on how they can deliver exceptional customer service to their clients. You can read more of his customer service articles at his website: http://customerserviceskills.org.uk
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How to Find the Right Call Center Software
The call center can be the nerve center of a customer service program. It is involved in handling all customer calls including complaints, orders and other communication from the customer to the business.
It is of the utmost importance that every due diligence is taken to make sure that the client is left feeling satisfied with the experience of communicating with your customer service department. In most cases, this will start with having the right call center software.
The secret to a good inbound call center is making sure that all calls are connected smoothly and to the right people. This can be accomplished by having the right software for your business. In order to make sure that you are getting the software that you need for your business, it is important to go through a few steps. You will have to first determine what your needs are. Next you will need to look at the different kinds of software and what they have to offer you. Last you will have to worry about implementation of the software into your business. If done correctly, the new software will mean an increase in guest satisfaction with every call.
Analyzing Your Needs
Before you can do anything with call center software, you will have to analyze exactly what it is your call center needs. Take a look at how many agents you have working in your telephone answering service. You will also need to pay attention to the manner in which your company is contacted. Even the volume of connections being made each day will weigh heavily in making a decision about which software is right for your company. Make sure to choose the one which will make it easy for all of your agents to make the right connections with your customers.
Considering the Software
Any time you use call center software, the idea is to make it possible to route calls to agents faster and to make sure that your phone systems are able to be integrated into the system. While most software these days is made to be used with a VoIP service, it is important to make sure that the software you are considering will integrate with your system. You should also consider whether you want for the software to be in your location or if you would rather have your call center routed from a hosted location to avoid the hassle of computer crashes or server mishaps.
Implementing the New Software
Once you have chosen your new software, it is time to use it. Perhaps it is a good idea to have a few of your top agents use the software before you purchase it. Most companies will offer a free live demo or a trial period for your call center. If you intend on using either one of these, ask ahead. While many companies do offer them, you do not want to find out too late that the software you are considering does not allow you to test it out first.
About the Author: Resource Nation provides free tools, tips, and purchasing advice for business owners and entrepreneurs in over 100 business categories ranging from inbound call centers to credit card processing. Whether it’s connecting businesses with local and national pre-screened vendors, or offering easy service comparisons on a telephone answering service, Resource Nation empowers business decision makers by providing the information they need to make smart choices.
Photo Credit: Natinoal Buyers
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Small Business Security: More Options Available through Wi-Fi Surveillance Cameras
Security is a big issue no matter what kind of business you are in. Whether it means keeping out thieves or keeping employees honest, it always seems as if someone needs to be keeping an eye on things.
The problem is it is not always possible to have a manager watching over the business. Often the time when you need the security the most is at night when everyone is gone. Without enough money to hire a security guard, many businesses owners feel their hands are tied.
The good news is the new technology offered in video surveillance offers businesses the ability to watch over their property at all times. The new technology which is being used includes the use of a Wi-Fi camera. The camera itself hooks up through the wireless internet service in the office to allow remote access either by the business owner at home or in an office within the business. It is possible to do both.
When choosing to install these cameras as a part of surveillance systems, there are a few things to keep in mind. Paying attention to these things will help you to create a system which will offer superior security.
Lighting Capabilities
Many of the new Wi-Fi surveillance cameras available are not very good at providing good pictures in bright or low light. In bright light, the picture can tend to be washed out while in dark light, the screen can be almost completely black. As a result, the majority of people currently using these kinds of surveillance cameras have been using them indoors. Pay attention to the lighting capabilities of the camera before making a decision as to where you will put it.
Directional and Zooming
There are cameras on the market which offer the ability to move positions as well as the ability to zoom in. Before making a purchase, keep in mind how important it is to you to be able to do such things as zoom in and have multiple camera angles. The Toshiba IK-WB11A has the ability to regularly patrol up to ten different positions and zoom in up to five times the standard position.
Motion Sensor
Even with the capability to record and view at all times, you might not want to use that much power. This is why many prefer to have a camera with motion sensor capabilities. The system can be set up to include everything from sending the captured pictures through email or through FTP. The camera is activated when motion in the building is detected. After viewing the pictures taken by the camera, it is possible to decide whether you need to look at the direct feed or not.
Paying attention to the needs you have as a business will allow you to offer better protection for your business and your facility. Having the best cameras will make it possible to pay attention to your business without having to be on hand at all hours of the day. This way you can have a business and a life too.
About the Author: Resource Nation provides free tools, tips, and purchasing advice for business owners and entrepreneurs in over 100 business categories ranging from video surveillance to credit card processing. Whether it’s connecting businesses with local and national pre-screened vendors, or offering easy service comparisons on surveillance systems, Resource Nation empowers business decision makers by providing the information they need to make smart choices.
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What Role Does Leadership Play in a Small Business?
Some leaders are born; others assume responsibility and take to it like a duck to water when it is thrust upon them; and yet others work towards earning leadership through their efforts.
Large corporate organizations are built around leadership – they thrive under the vision and able guidance of one or more leaders. However, when it comes to a small business, there’s not much structure or clear definition to the roles that its employees play.
Very often, one person is in complete charge, and all employees work across the company doing whatever needs to be done. So in such a situation, how does leadership come into play?
Autonomous Control
Some small businesses are autonomies – the owner is in complete control and any decision has to be taken only after explicit approval from its single-entity owner. In such organizations, success or failure depends on how effective the leadership is – if the leader has a clear vision and if he/she treats their employees well and is able to gain their trust and loyalty, then the business does well.
Family Owned
An offshoot of this is the family-owned business where there are a few partners who have equal rights – however, only one person emerges as the leader and it is he/she who actually calls the shots.
Success here depends on how well the partners get together and how minimal the strife between them is. If there are internal wars between them, then the leadership is not effective and employees start taking sides based on the partner they favor.
In such situations, unless one person is able to emerge the clear leader and assume control, the company suffers terribly.
Clear Hierarchy
Small businesses that have structure and a clear hierarchy as far as the pecking order is concerned do the best in terms of sustaining existing operations and building new ones that generate profit. Each person’s role is clearly defined, and even though it’s a small business with a single or small group of owners and a small band of employees, responsibilities are clearly crafted out and understood by those who are supposed to carry them out.
The leadership is so good that employees work with the minimal supervision, they know what to do when things go wrong, and they feel a kinship to the company rather than thinking of it as just a place where they work. This is the kind of leadership all small businesses must aspire for, whether they have a single owner or a small group of owners. If they can achieve such a setup, then there’s nothing to worry about.
About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Carrie Oakley, who writes on the topic of online colleges . Carrie welcomes your comments at her email id: carrie.oakley1983(AT)gmail(DOT)com.
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4 Tips on Building Quick Friendly Support
If you are running some business, which is aimed at provision of different services and involves direct communication between you or your staff and your customers, you need to do all your best in order to look the most polite, the most friendly and the most professional service provider in the niche.
Some things described there may sound familiar to you, but I believe that many will find this article and the tips below useful. Here they are:
Separate the Departments
I bet you would be confused if a serious company had only one mailbox in order to sort out all the queries. Believe me they would be confused as well. Thus, instead of providing just a common info@yourdomain.com mailbox, it is always advisable to share several email addresses of different departments, let’s say sales@ billing@ and support@yourdomain.com. This will let you filter all support requests, while your customers will feel confident about the staff they are addressing to.
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If you also provide online support – via chats or phone, you should distinguish the departments, too. Of course, the customers can be put through some live coordinator, which may resolve some issues personally or transfer the call/chat to the correspondent representative, but I don’t think that “Thank you for you call (Welcome to our chat support), please hold” is the right start of the conversation. Especially when the customer is experiencing an urgent issue. Many people do find it irritating, when their conversations are being constantly transferred or put on hold. Thus, it is recommended to create several extensions under your VOIP server and configure your online chatting software with department selection option.
Limit the Support Options
The company representative should know all the rules and regulations of support terms, they provide. Especially if there are a lot of staff members with different training level. This is very important since some may help with a wider range of issues which are not actually supported, while some fail, causing the customers’ frustration like “Wait, I remember a different guy helping me out the other day! How come you don’t support it?” Such situations should be escaped. Thus, the first rule about this is “Nothing personal – just business.” This may be your favorite customer and it’s alright, but if your company doesn’t support let’s say step-by-step phone co-ordination of router installation and adjustment – then you should politely ask this customer to consult the manual supplied along with the device.
Keep Your Emotions
When talking about customers’ frustration, we can’t hide the fact we may get irritated, too. We are all human and it is natural. However, you should never let your emotions go. First of all, you are the professional, who should stay calm in any situation. Secondly, you are a representative of the company and your attitude does not have anything to do with the others and shouldn’t spoil the good name of the company. Finally, when the customer blames you or the company – do not ever take anything personally – and do not forget that you have a right to quit the conversation in case the customer uses bad language. This is very important since communication policies are required to be introduced. Such policies do not only save your nerves, but also protect the company in case illegal charges from the customer’s end emerge.
Drive Your Support to Social Media
Good customer service is the service which can be exposed to the public with no blushing. Apart from using social media on promotion purposes, the company can also use its social network profiles to discuss the quality of support and the peculiarities of service. Testimonials, suggestion boxes and polls are the very points to address to when escalating some conflicts that may grow from chat conversation or correspondence with management to flaming on forums and in social networks.
Thus, using social media you will get active support. If the fault was not on the company’s end. Such manner works well for both services improvement and promotion. On one hand your current customers will be able to share their views and ideas, while on the other hand those of your followers, who do not yet have any service with you will get a more complete clear picture of what is happening behind the screens.
To Summarize
Being competitive is not only providing the best service or product, it is also providing the best support. Many think that when the client meets the seller their relations begin and end as soon as the purchase is made. Well, if it is not a square market – it is wrong. The business-to-client relations start only when the product or service is purchased, since once a person becomes someone’s customer, the vendor takes the responsibility for the offered product or service. Thus, those relations need to exist in a friendly non-conflict way. Sure, all this requires mutual understanding, which may sometimes lack on any side, but if we take a few steps to get ourselves better organized – we will see that we can be faster and avoid many unpleasant phenomena.
Author’s Bio: Arkadij “Archie” Shkolnik, PR Manager of SiteValley.com web hosting company, the provider of affordable and reliable Linux hosting for personal and small business web sites. Current administrator and author of the corporate blog – svhostingblog.com. Follow Archie on Twitter: @archiescol
Photo Credit: Tim Green aka atoach
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2 Emerging Social Media Platforms You Should be Using RIGHT NOW
In the brave new world of Social Media for Small Business there are the big, well known and highly lauded vehicles for promotion (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, Yelp, LinkedIn) that almost every business has heard of, if not tried.
And then there are the new entrees into the scene, which get a lot of buzz in certain industries but which have not yet reached mainstream awareness. The obvious barrier to embracing these tactics as an “early adopter” is that your target audience may not have jumped on board either which will delay the potential benefits of directing your energy into these strategies.
However there are a multitude of advantages to being among the first in your area/industry to embrace these new platforms and a potentially greater payoff in the long run then directing your efforts to competing in the over saturated Social Media spheres.
These newer tactics are not as widely used, and therefore not as competitive, as the older social media platforms. There is plentiful room for growth on these platforms, potential for untapped markets and above all else an advantage to having more time to getting a toehold in the space before others flood the market.
These two tactics are heavily favored to succeed (both by investors and by predictive trending based on early adoption). By being the first to embrace them your business has a distinct advantage in capitalizing on the potential business expansion opportunities.
Platform: Social Q&A
Sites: Quora, Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn Questions , OnStartups Q&A, Focus, Matchpoint, Facebook Questions, Aardvark
Social Q&A is relatively new to the Social Media Market. Quora launched with much fanfare this summer following in the heels of high profile social search acquisitions by big names like Apple, Google and Yahoo. Social search and crowdsourcing information and Q&A is here to stay. Yahoo Answers, one of the oldest and therefore more pervasive of the Q&A models, consistently shows up in search queries and no doubt these other sites will also start to pop up as they grow in notoriety and popularity.
In fact, several hours after answering my first question on Quora we experienced immediate results in the form of site visits and conversions. Although not everyone can expect immediate turn around, there is no doubt that these communities are by their very nature active and seeking, and that demonstrating your expertise can give you a toehold in your field and give your business exposure in a highly directed way.
If you sell custom made bicycles and someone is researching a purchase and comes across a thoughtful (and well ranked answer) how much more likely will that potential customer be to seek you out when it comes time to purchase?
The reason to embrace this tactic right now is simple, to get there and answer questions before other people do. If you look at older sites like Yahoo Answers or LinkedIn, some questions have tens (even hundreds!) of answers. Being first, and at the top, increases the likelihood your response will actually get read and have an impact, much like keyword and search ranking ensures that your website will get visited. In fact some of the sites close questions after a period of time, which means if you don’t answer a question while it’s open, you may never get to answer it.
Platform: Geolocation
Sites: Facebook Places, Loopt, Foursquare, Gowalla
Before the launch of Facebook Places, only 7% of Americans were even aware that Geolocation services exists (according to Mashable). After the launch of Facebook Places, the burgeoning field of geolocation has been exposed to Facebook’s community of 500 million active users, according to Facebook’s own statistics. Each user has an average of 130 friends, 50% of whom log on to Facebook in any given day.
Facebook Places is therefore a huge windfall for the geolocation market. Not only did they dramatically increase the awareness of the “check in”, they also opened up the technology to people who don’t have smartphones (while it may seem that everybody has a smartphone, the actual statistics reveal that only about 30% of mobile users are using their browser!). With the introduction of Facebook Places, even if you can’t check-in you can see and comment on other people’s check ins.
The result is an widespread awareness of geolocation which coincides with market predictions that indicate that by the year 2013 1 billion people will have smartphones. This means that adopting and cultivating your geolocation strategy now will give you a distinct advantage of operating in a less competitive space, much like the early Yelp users and facebook fan page adopters before the novelty of the technology wore off and people began to feel over solicited.
Another motivator is that unlike Facebook Places (which requires you to upload documents that demonstrate proof of ownership of your business) the other geolocation services do not have such rigorous protections in place at this time, which means someone else could claim your business.
These two tactics both possess inherent advantages for early adopters. Why wait? Check out these new social media platforms and explore how they can enrich your existing social media strategy!
About the Author: Dena Stern is the Community Resources and Marketing Manager at WorkingPoint, a financial accounting tool for Small Businesses. She is responsible for community outreach and is a frequent contributor on the subject of technology trends, social media and marketing on the WorkingPoint Blog.
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4 Ways Small Businesses Can Creatively Cut Technology Costs
Out with the old and in with the new. The philosophy we often apply to spring-cleaning works just as well for starting or maintaining a successful small business.
More often than not, small businesses come to a point when its time to leave behind old business practices to stay on par with budget. And chances are, your small business needs to get creative at finding ways to cut back monthly operation costs.
So reconsider practices you thought you needed, and take a closer look at what is necessary for the business’ success. Make room for new best practices that can reduce costs, without reducing your ability to work successfully or service your customers properly.
Out: Leasing office space
In: Virtual offices
There is something thrilling about having an actual office to go to; nothing says “legitimate” like an office. But if you’re trying to conserve cash, pass on leasing office space in favor of some thrifty alternatives.
Have everyone work virtually from home. There’s no cost for the space, and you can use online services to store and share documents, creating a de facto network for the organization. You’ll also save on many of the things you don’t think of at first, such as office furniture and decorating expenses.
If you feel you need an office that’s separate from your home, see if you can sublet space from another company in your area. With all the downsizing that’s occurred recently, especially in service-oriented businesses, many companies could be paying for empty space.
You can also look into common office space – the type where several organizations share certain resources, such as a common lobby, conference rooms and admin support – while occupying different offices.
Out: Business phone systems
In: Smart phones and virtual phone services
Smart phones are rapidly replacing land lines among consumers. In fact, a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 25 percent of U.S. households are cell phone-only homes. And now the technology exists to move business phones in the same direction.
Virtual phone services for small business allow businesses to overlay an entire business phone system on top of any working phone number – including a mobile number.
When you sign up for a virtual phone service you are assigned a phone number (which will become your “business” number). Usually you can choose between a toll-free or local phone number. The service provides business-oriented features such as a virtual receptionist to greet callers and direct them to the right people, the ability to assign extensions to different people in the company (even if those people don’t work in the same building), enhanced voicemail, smart call forwarding and more.
Each of the extensions can be linked to your employees’ own mobile and/or home phones, saving on the cost of phone equipment. Anyone on the system can initiate a conference call, and in some cases bring in as many people as they want. All of this functionality comes for a monthly fee that’s often less than the price of one land line – and with no added cost for equipment or technicians to run it.
Out: New computers
In: Used or refurbished PCs and laptops
OK so this one’s more “out with the new and in with the old,” but it’s an idea that can save your small business money up-front. While everyone loves a bright, shiny new PC, most small business owners really don’t need all that processing power. Take a look at what you want the computer to do. If you’re planning to use it with basic office applications such as word processors and spreadsheets, send and receive email, and surf the Internet, a used or refurbished PC will likely work just fine.
You can purchase used or refurbished computers online at a significant discount. Many of these computers are units that have come off-lease from large corporations, so you know they should have the core capabilities and speed you need.
If you need to share files or resources with one or more co-workers, you can build simple file and print sharing networks with used wireless routers or low-cost devices available at local retailers. Or you can use an online file storage service that allows you to access files from any computer, anywhere you can get an Internet connection.
Out: One-task wonders
In: Multi-purpose tools
Look around your office or through the applications on your computer. How many things do you own that have only one function? Can that function be performed by something else?
A fax machine is a good example of a piece of office equipment that is only capable of performing one task. All it does is send and receive faxes. Yet there it sits, costing you money for a dedicated phone line, paper, toner, even the power to keep it running and ready to receive an incoming fax.
You can eliminate almost all of those additional costs by moving to an Internet fax service that allows you to send and receive faxes on your PC or smart phone. Not only will this keep a little more green in your wallet, it also adds convenience since you can send and receive faxes anywhere you can get an Internet connection.
When it comes down to the software you are using to run your small business, consider a pay-as-you or Web-based service model – also known as the “cloud.” With this model you pay a small monthly fee rather than buying the software up-front, and you still gain access to feature-laden applications that are normally found only in expensive packages.
For example, for roughly $10 per month you can access services that help you design, manage, send and track promotional emails to your customer and prospect lists. With these services you can build high-value email campaigns that look like they were created by high-priced professionals, but were actually created by you.
Cutting costs doesn’t have to mean compromising on quality or usefulness. In fact, the ideas above will actually help you work faster, better and more efficiently.
Take a look around your office and see how a little “out with the old, in with the new” thinking can help you work smarter – and keep more cash in your coffers.
About the Author: Steve Adams is the vice president of marketing for Protus, a provider of communications tools for small-to-medium-businesses and enterprise organizations, including the MyFax internet fax service; my1voice, a virtual phone service; and Campaigner, an e-mail marketing service. He can be reached at sadams@protus.com.
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Why Leadership and Team Building Exercises Should not be Ignored by Small Businesses
What the Large Companies Do
Large corporations for many years have invested heavily in leadership and team building programs, including seminars, debates, outdoor activities and sports. Some take the more ‘military’ route and utilise stressful and challenging situations in order to assess and improve their workforce.
The majority of these activities have shown to be so effective and beneficial that the percentage of human resources budgets dedicated to them has increased steadily for several decades among almost all larger businesses.
Why Small Businesses Often Do Not
As a small business, employing a small number of people, there are many reasons why carrying out these type of programs might seem to be unnecessary or extravagant. Firstly, they appear to take a lot of time and money to organise, and without adequately trained personnel to design a program and monitor the results, the benefits may not be as much as anticipated.
Small businesses also tend to have a much more personal relationship between all the staff, and between management of the company. As a result, ‘team building’ can appear less necessary than in a larger workforce. The majority of small business types are usually less concerned with staff assessment on a formal basis, either because the managers believe they know their staff well enough, or because the structure does not allow for the same promotion opportunities that larger pyramid structured firms may have.
Why They Should
It is simply not true that small businesses would not benefit. All successful businesses, regardless of size need to evaluate staff on a regular basis, small businesses more so in most cases as it is rarely done formally.
Only with the sort of increased knowledge of your employees that can be gained from these programs, can their skills and talents be properly utilised. An increased understanding of the dynamics within a small firm, even one of only three or four people can make marked differences to productivity, job satisfaction and in many cases innovation or just ‘giving a damn’.
How They Can
One of the main reasons stated by CEOs and managers of small companies not to carry these activities out is money, but it only takes a small amount of research and imagination to come up with low cost options that can be equally worthwhile and fun.
For example, one of the more obvious options is a session of paintball or laser tag – ideal with small teams and if you are short of numbers, friends and family can be involved. The majority of sports can serve the same purpose cheaply, although care has to be taken not to exclude physically less able employees. If you can get hold of some rope, some planks, a couple of barrels and a scaffold pole or two, it is simple to design small leadership puzzles for a group to carry out. Safety can be a concern, but sensible planning and keeping it simple will reduce any risks. A basic treasure hunt, or a business ideas competition can work usefully – as a CEO or manager you should be able to come up with a myriad of ideas that will serve the purpose cheaply and effectively.
The Benefits of Fun
Above all, a small business staff can carry out these kind of activities without the pressure of ‘promotion evaluation’ that is found among large corporation staff members, so they can have fun while carrying out whatever you decide to try.
No experienced manager can dispute the benefits of a workforce having fun together as a group, as this carries over into the workplace. This makes the work environment much more pleasant and productive, plus, you get to know your team better and they get to see your better side!
About the Author: Patsy works for Go-Gulf.com, a Kuwait based web design company that provide web design solution in Middle East.
Photo Credit: http://www.lumaxart.com/
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How to Select the Ideal Entrepreneurial Program
Choosing an entrepreneurial program is an important decision which can have a significant impact on wether or not an entrepreneur is successful.
With a large number of entrepreneur programs to choose from it can be difficult to make the ideal selection. Shown below are some important aspects to consider when selecting among the large number of entrepreneurship programs:
Location
Some experts recommend that individuals seeking a career in technology select a school located in a major tech entrepreneurial center such as Silicon Valley or the Boston region where venture capital deals are made all the time. For technology entrepreneurs, some experts suggest a second-tier school located in a major tech market is preferable to a prestigious school located in the Midwest.
Reputation and Track Record
A school’s ranking and having a national reputation of academic excellence are often important factors to potential employers. They can also be important factors to venture capitalists.
Questions: What is the percentage of graduates of a particular entrepreneurship program that begin their own business? One expert estimates that up to 20 percent of people majoring in entrepreneurship begin a business immediately after they graduate. Who are the successful entrepreneurs who graduated from the program?
On-Campus Resources
It’s important to select a school that provides active opportunities for students to meet investors. On-campus small business development centers and entrepreneurial centers can also be useful.
The school’s affiliations with businesses and business related organizations can also be helpful to students during an externship and in their careers. A school’s affiliation with national and international student organizations including Students in Free Enterprise may be a desirable factor for some students.
Curriculum
In some programs, students as individuals or as part of a team have the opportunity to operate their own company during a majority of the program. A significant trend is the tech-transfer model in which entrepreneurship is taught across the curriculum.
At some institutions faculty members and graduate students from medical and engineering schools team up with MBA students to take innovative ideas and commercialize them.
Questions: What areas of concentration are available? Does the school have entrepreneurship clubs? Does the school have mentorship programs?
Flexibility
Online classes allow students to work at their own pace from home. They can take classes while building their business. Many school offer accelerated programs. Prospective students should make sure the online program they are considering offers all the important parts of on-campus programs.
Training
Externships provide valuable experience and networking opportunities.
Questions: Does the program provide a variety of externships? Do students have to find their own externships? Are they paid or unpaid externships?
Prerequisite Work
Some entrepreneur programs focus on entrepreneurial studies throughout the program, whereas other programs require an extensive amount of prerequisite work including business classes and general studies classes.
Faculty
Quality programs are taught by instructors that have been successful entrepreneurs.
Questions: What percentage of faculty members are entrepreneurs? How does the percentage compare to top ranked schools? Do some of the instructors have experience at developing Internet businesses?
Top Rated Entrepreneurial Undergraduate Programs
Some of the top rated entrepreneurial undergraduate degree programs are provided by the following schools:
- Babson College
- University of Houston
- Baylor University
- Temple University
- Drexel University
- University of Dayton
- DePaul University
- City University of New York – Baruch College
- University of Southern California
- University of Pennsylvania
- Indiana University – Bloomington
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Syracuse University
- University of Arizona
- Miami University
- University of Texas Austin
- Ball State University
- University of Oklahoma
- Northeastern University
- University of Alabama
Top Rated Entrepreneurial Graduate Programs
Some of the top rated entrepreneurship graduate degree programs are provided by the following schools:
- Babson College
- Stanford University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Cornell University
- DePaul University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
- Howard University
- University of Pennsylvania
About the Author: Brian Jenkins writes articles on management for Braintrack.com, including this article on General Management Careers.
Photo Credit: epak
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Learn From This Customer Service Epic Fail
How many times have you heard that customer service is a cornerstone to a successful business? It is a fairly simple concept, yet so many companies fail to deliver even a reasonably decent customer service experience. Following is my latest experience of a customer service epic fail.
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I am fairly mechanically inclined and enjoy working on our vehicles. It was coming time to change the oil on our new car, so off I went to the Internet to find the oil filter wrench that I can’t get locally.
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The tool I was looking for was not that easy to find online so my choices of where to order it from were fairly limited, but there were choices. Having never ordered this type of item online before left me with having to roll the dice in choosing which online merchant I was going to deal with.
A Promising Start
I found one very promising online store that sells nothing but tools and lays claim all over their website about how good their customer service is. I mean, they lay it on thick with statements like “unbeatable service”, “commitment to our customers and superior service” and “your business is truly appreciated.” Not to mention their claims that 98% of the orders are received within 2-5 days because they have a massive inventory that is replenished several times a week.
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I thought I was in business. After all, if my experience was half as good as what was implied on the merchant’s website, I was going to be one happy camper. I quickly submitted the order and shortly thereafter received the order confirmation email. A day later, I received two more emails – one indicating the order was processing and the second indicating how the order was shipping. That is where the problem started.
The Unbeatable Service Starts To Crumble
The shipping email I received indicated that the part I ordered ships directly from the importer or manufacturer. Hold on a minute! What about having the great inventory and shipping quickly? Suddenly my order is being drop shipped? I quickly went to the merchant’s website to start an online chat because the website indicates that I can try the online chat for instant help. I waited and waited and waited. Finally, I received a message in the chat window stating it might be a good idea to fire off an email because there were no agents available. Guess I wasn’t going to get any instant service that day!
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I fired off an email with my order number asking about where the order was shipping from and if I could get tracking information. A couple of hours later, I received a two sentence response indicating it was shipping from the US importer and they would get back to me regarding tracking information. The email had no salutation. No signature. No “thank you for your order”. No nothing in the way of making me feel truly appreciated, even though their website says I am.
Things Start To Go Downhill Fast
I am a fairly patient person and I don’t get excited about many things. I figured I would wait a day or so and see if I hear back from the merchant regarding my tracking information. One business day passes, then it is the weekend. Come Monday morning I pick up the phone, as I still have no tracking information. As it turns out, I can’t even get ahold of anybody via the phone because when you are making an order inquiry, you have to leave a voicemail and they will get back to you via email. So I hop on the “instant help” online chat and wait and wait and wait (again) until the chat window times out and tells me nobody is available. ARGH! Really?
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Off I go to fire off yet another email to beg for the information that should already have been supplied to me from the get-go. The response comes fairly quickly, but with not much more than a UPS tracking number. Again, no warm and fuzzies to let me know how much my business is appreciated. I guess I have to take their word for it since their website claims I am appreciated. Just not feeling much love at this point. Definitely missing the small town service they claim to give, unless small towns have suddenly gone cold.
Lessons To Be Taken Away
Listen, if you claim to give unbeatable service and truly appreciate my business, then at least try to give the impression you care. Communicate with me. Let me know on the product description that the item is drop shipped so I can set realistic expectations and not expect to see my order in the 2-5 day time frame you claim on your website. Greet me in our email conversation and sign your name at the end of your response. Tell me how much you appreciate my business, because your website claims you do. Give me the level of customer service your website claims you give so I don’t have to write about your epic customer service fail.
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A previous article about 3 Examples of Awful Customer Experience states that “Companies that excel in communicating often excel in service as well.” See, I am not making this stuff up! The key to a happy customer is communication. Give me plenty of ways to get in touch with your company (and actually answer the phone, or chat, if you are going to provide these communication methods) and treat me like a valued customer. Be personable and grateful in your emails and don’t make me keep asking you for information.
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There is no excuse for a small business to provide a poor customer experience, especially when they plaster their website with all sorts of self-praise about how good of a job they do. I can almost excuse a large corporation for giving a poor customer experience, because an individual employee at a large company is just collecting a paycheck and has no vested interest in making the customer happy. Whereas, a small business depends on repeat customers to survive – something I won’t be for this company that treated me poorly.
Make Your Customers Happy So They Come Back
Unless you happen to be operating in a niche with zero competition, you have to fight tooth and nail for every customer. Believe me when I say that a superior customer experience will greatly increase the chance that you will have repeat customers, which you need in order to survive. After all, it is much cheaper to retain existing customers than it is to get new customers. So make sure to live up to the customer service expectations that your company sets.
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What should this company I had the less than stellar experience with have done? It is simple – do what they say they do on their website, which is give unbeatable service. Instead, all I got was an experience that I will remember for all the wrong reasons.
About The Author: Marshall Davis runs Business Service Reviews, a website that reviews products and services for the small business owner and entrepreneur to help them be competitive. Read his reviews of small business services to find products and services to help you better run your company. Heck, you will even find virtual phone system reviews to help you better communicate with your customers. Hint, hint.
Photo Credit: Alex E. Proimos
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