the cheapest salesforce around

Want to market your business or services in the cheapest way possible? Urge your customers or clients to refer others to you. To make that particularly easy, if they're comfortable with it, give them a stack of business cards of yours to hand out. Nothing implicitly boosts your business than having satisfied clientele recommend you to others, so make it as easy as you can for them.


Jeff

Bring 'Em Back!

I recently wrote a column on the importance of repeat customers--a topic of fairly conspicuous importance, but one that some small business owners may find difficulty in implementing. Here are some of the salient issues that experts in the field were kind enough to pass along:

1. To build repeat customers, be consistent. On the surface, a solid base of repeat customers might seem little more than a matter of providing excellent service or products. True, but excellence cannot be a hit or miss proposition--—repeat customers return because their experience is consistently solid.

2. Hire the right people. Since they're the ones on the front lines, their demeanor and interaction with clientele can cement relationships that bring customers back for more.

3. Know your customers in and out. It's hard to build repeat business if you don't know what your customers value. Tune into buying patterns, contact information and other material that lets you know what your customers genuinely value

4. Keep it personal. By definition, a repeat customer is someone you get to know. Nurture that by keeping your relationship as personal as possible—for instance, get to know customers by name.

5. Stay in contact. Clients and customers are more likely to come back if you stay in their heads. Encourage repeat business by staying in touch with your customers, be it through a bl
blog, newsletter or some other vehicle that affords ongoing communication.

Jeff

Don't settle for average

I've been working on a project lately involving credit cards. One of the cruxes of the piece is the going "average" for credit cards--in the neighborhood of 17 percent or so. It's true--and one hell of a hefty interest collar if you're forced to carry a balance.

But, the truth is, you don't have to settle for a card at that level. There are any number of websites--Bankrate.com, creditcards.com, among them--where cards much, much lower than that going average are available.

So, don't settle for the deal that comes in the mail or the one your bank happens to be pushing. A little legwork can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in the interest. It's worth the trip.

Jeff

Here's a real athletic supporter

Remember when I said I ws going to point oiut great ad campaigns? Here's a link to one, as appearing in the Chicago marathon:

http://100percentinjuryrate.blogspot.com/2007/10/tuesday-links-of-testicular-fortitude.html

Love to see the cup...

Jeff

The holiday season--already

Well, it's the holidays once more--but not the ones you expect.

With Halloween right around the corner--and Thanksgiving not long thereafter--opportunity presents itself for businesses of all sorts, provided they know what to do to leverage these "minor" holidays to their advantage.

I wrote a column on this a couple years back. Have a look at:

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/holiday_marketing/7_tips_for_halloween_and_thanksgiving_sales.mspx

Jeff

You're Fired!

Saw an interesting debate on a discussion board the other day--whether a company has the right to "fire" a client or customer who's difficult to deal with or somehow or another makes unreasonable demands.

Click one vote in the yea column.

As someone who's been self employed for better than 20 years, that's been one of the biggest pluses to my work regimen--if someone with whom I'm working isn't working out in my eyes (for whatever reason) I can terminate the relationship. Better that than continuing to gut out something you dread.

The same freedom should be available to everyone. Granted, there are some clients who are simply too valuable (read: paycheck is much too large) to cast adrift. But, in most cases, people from every side of a business relationship should be held responsible for their actions and demeanor--no matter if they're cutting the checks or receiving them.

Client or customer who's being a major league PITA? Cut 'em loose--life's too short.

Jeff