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Updates from March, 2009

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  The Power Of Business Books In Your Life!

  Partner 12:00 am on March 26, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  This is the dawning of a new age of education where going to college is quickly becoming the slow and inefficient way to learn. Don’t get me wrong school has its place and for the most part it works, however what happens when you want to get an education but don’t have all the time in the world to go to classes? What if your not after a degree but just want to learn what you need to know to run a successful business? This is where the intrigue comes in- Business Books.

  Many people have started to realize that business books are actually written quite well and many authors have written them both in an easy entertaining manner that is also void of the “padding” of information that you just don’t need, and in a way that gives you a more detailed “cliff-notes” type segment of many of the most powerful industries in business today.

  The right books and in the right areas of interest can become a college class of its own. Reading the right set of books that are well written and highly informative can give you an enormous advantage in life, and reading unlike the college classes counterpart allows you to learn on your terms in your own time/schedule.

  If you must have the classroom environment with a guru you can go online and find plenty of them, often including the very authors of the books you’ve come to love and learn from. These days authors are often found in forums and even chat rooms if your lucky. The beauty of business books both modern and classic versions, is there are many new ways to read them. There are even services that take full sized business books and convert them into books that remove the fluff, unnecessary, or even entertaining sections that you don’t need, allowing you to read said book without losing any of the vital information in a fraction of the time it would take to rummage through the whole book!

  With business books in this shortened fashion you can get more read in the same time. Regardless, however, of if you choose to read the business books that are shortened or the full version, the fact remains the same, information is potential power, a power the books give you is awareness, knowledge and useful tools to create, control, and more efficiently navigate your world- but once you aquire this “potential” power it is up to you to USE IT, which is truly what makes it no longer potential but actual power.

  Get reviews and tips on choosing which business books you need to read right now.

   

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  Retaining Customers Is Essential To Success Of A Bank

  Partner 12:00 am on March 25, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Customers are the lifeblood of any bank, of course, and they are the ones who provide the investment assets that keep a financial institution in business and growing strong. Banks or credit unions that do not pay as much attention to customer service by making their patrons feel valued will simply not survive in the long run: here are some customer retention tips.

  – New customers: Like any business, financial institutions face a lot of competition when it comes to attracting new patrons. Many people who are new to a neighborhood may spend a considerable amount of time shopping around in a specific area looking for a bank that is just the right fit for their needs.

  In order to stand out from the crowd, offer attractive interest rates or special offers to newcomers. When they sit down with an advisor, find out what kind of financial products they are most interested in, and then sell them on why your institution will be more advantageous to them over others.

  Friendliness and solicitousness are essential, and good employee training will help everyone on your sales force develop the attributes that will allow them to sincerely make new customers feel at home and a part of a winning team. Take care to make sure that all their personal data is correct, give them the name and phone number of a special contact person that can help them get started with online banking and will answer their questions quickly.

  – Existing customers: The last thing a bank wants to do is to lose a patron to another financial institution. Once this happens, the customer has psychologically moved on, and winning him back is extremely difficult. It is a much wiser strategy to have policies and stop-gap measures in place to help teetering patrons feel a part of the team again.

  For example, there are probably a whole set of customers who have fallen through the cracks without much notice. It’s not that they are necessarily overtly unhappy with the bank’s service, it’s just that they are not making very good use of the products they have there.

  An idle bank credit card is a sign that they are getting a better deal using a different one, and the bank is losing interest on all that unpaid interest. An institution should proactively work at energizing these types of customers with specific initiatives. Otherwise, they will eventually be lost forever.

  Nothing can replace a continuing commitment to providing excellent customer service every time a patron sets a foot in the door or a wheel in the drive up window. Take care with bringing new customers into the fold, work hard at retaining indifferent ones, and make sure everyone leaves happy.

  If you work for a financial institution and are looking for high quality bank bags to help you provide excellent and secure service, contact the experts at Guntex Industries, Inc (guntexind.com). Art Gib is a freelance writer.

   
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  Retaining More Clients: 10 Steps to Good Client Relations

  Partner 12:00 am on March 25, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  In tough economic times, it’s more important than ever to ensure good client renewal rates as new business can become harder to find and close. So I thought I’d share my top ten tips on how to create and maintain good client relations, which in turn can help you renew more existing contracts.

  10. Be on time! I can’t tell you how many marketing firms I’ve partnered with in the past that actually show up LATE for meetings – consistently! Be on time. Be on time for calls, meetings, everything. Being late all of the time tells others that your time is more important than theirs- and you NEVER want to send that message to a client. Clients are typically understanding if there are unique, one-time situations (traffic, etc.), but call ahead if you know you’ll be late! It’s OK for the client to be late, but not the vendor- EVER.

  9. Be a “solutions provider,” not just another vendor. What is your client’s main goal? Likely to sell more products/services. So help your client by be a solutions provider not just another vendor. If your client is looking for a web designer, do you have one you be comfortable recommending? If you see a PR opportunity that might fit your client, do you pass it on to him/her? The little solutions you help provide show your client you WANT them to succeed- not just with your efforts but overall.

  8. The customer may not always be right, but tread lightly here. In our world, the customer can’t always be right. There are times when a fact, for instance, about how algorithms work outweighs a client’s desire for the truth to be different. (Example: AJAX is not indexable. You have to have a workaround. That’s just the way it is!) Be sure that while you speak to your client as the “expert” that he/she has hired that you don’t make the client feel that his/her concern is unimportant. You’re both working towards the same goal, so be sure to structure your conversation in that way and be a “solutions provider.”

  7. Get contracts up front- don’t begin work without having one. Seems like you’d be doing a nice thing to start work without the contract finalized, right? Wrong. Without a document stating everyone’s expectations and responsibilities, the waters can get murky quickly. What expectations does the client have? That you’ll do SEO AND PPC for this price while you’re planning on just SEO? It’s important to get everyone on the same page from the beginning so that there are no questions about the direction you’re taking, right from the start. It keeps everyone happy in the end.

  6. Schedule recurring calls (weekly, monthly, etc.). The recurring client call allows the client to express his/her feelings about how the project is going and to interject information you may not know- such as an upcoming event, announcement, etc. that may also help your work. Be sure to touch base with clients regularly. I find that a scheduled call at least monthly allows clients time to get their thoughts together and is accepted as a regular calendar item.

  5. Visit in person when you can. Nothing beats face to face interaction. It allows you to guage your client’s body language. Does the client’s body language say one thing while they are saying something entirely different?

  4. Send a small gift. One thing you should always be doing with clients is showing them how thankful you are for their business. A small gift at the holidays, on a client’s birthday, etc. is a great way to show your appreciation.

  3. Write Thank You notes. More than a gift, however, a HANDWRITTEN thank you note is even better. It tells the client that you took the time to make it personal. I’m from the South, and I flat out expect thank you notes – from interviewees, vendors, etc. People really appreciate the time and thought, so take the time!

  2. Keep it personal. If you’re not using Facebook to help your business, why not? I love Facebook for connecting with clients because it helps me get to know them better as PEOPLE. I can learn their likes, dislikes, birthday, etc. things that wouldn’t normally come up in a business meeting or call. And then I can treat them accordingly- send a birthday card or some special treat they would enjoy. I personally think it’s one of the greatest values of Facebook for business.

  1. If you’re upset, sleep on it. There are always times that clients frustrate us. But instead of firing off an angry email, sleep on it. I found this works well not just for my personal life, but also my business. You need to work with clients with a level-headed approach- let yourself cool off before responding. Don’t lose a client if you don’t have to!

  Janet Driscoll Miller is the CEO and Lead Search Strategist of Search Mojo a full service search engine marketing firm. Her company offers both Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services and Pay Per Click (PPC) Management services to help clients improve search engine rankings.