Do Business Well

Yet today most companies organize their inbound and outbound functions separately. To avoid this, the engaged organization must organize all its marketing, customer service, and support functions into one department. This way, customers visiting the company’s website or receiving email see a single company and a single brand.

There are two primary reasons why it makes sense to combine customer service support and marketing into one department. First, organizing different functions under the same department lets you align their goals and measures of success. When the goal is to build and nurture lasting relationships by engaging customers in an ongoing dialogue, it makes intuitive sense that the inbound and outbound parts of that dialogue come from the same place. Continue Reading »

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Step 5: Implement your marketing programme

Now that you are ready to implement your marketing programme, remember that consistent promotional activity in a tight range of selected media is better than inconsistent efforts in numerous media. A rifle shot approach where you dominate one medium works better than a shotgun approach trying to cover all media. This is another mistake that many would-be entrepreneurs make - they try be all things to all people in all places. Continue Reading »

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A term that is used increasingly in connection with sales is customer service. What is customer service? In a nutshell, it is providing the customer with products and services that match up to or exceed her expectations. It means offering products of a high standard of quality. It means caring about the customer, treating her well and going the extra mile in one’s efforts to provide complete satisfaction.

There is a good reason for placing emphasis on service. Leading companies worldwide are service providers. The fastest growing companies provide their customers with the greatest satisfaction and pleasure from their purchase. Not only from the product, but from the way in which the negotiations leading up to a sale are conducted. Continue Reading »

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It’s great to identify the benefits you can offer a growing andreceptive market, but you have to keep in mind that you won’tbe operating in a vacuum There’s almost certainly competition for the market you’ve targeted. If there isn’t, don’t necessarily take that as a good sign. It may mean that the market isn’t as receptive to your product or service as you think.

Entrepreneurs often take the competition too lightly. They assume that their own product or service is so much better than the competition’s that there’s no way customers won’t make the obvious choice. The truth is that there are reasons that the competition is there and doing well, and you may not understand all those reasons. Continue Reading »

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No franchisee can hope to succeed in a franchised business unless the underlying franchise opportunity is inherently sound. And although this is a prerequisite, it is not enough. No franchise offer should be seen as a passport to business success that comes complete with built-in guarantees. The best a franchise can ever be is a blueprint that has been tried and tested by the franchisor and has been proven to work.

Whilst the blueprint must be followed by the franchisee, it will be his investment, his hard work and his dedication to the business that will ultimately determine the success of his business. Prospective franchisees should also ask themselves the following questions:

• Am I suited to self-employment? It is important to remember that a franchisee is not a glorified manager. He has to take control and accept responsibility for every facet of operations. The proverbial buck will stop with him and mistakes will generally be for his account.

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