There are few arenas where small businesses have the upper hand over their larger counterparts. One area where they shine is in building and managing customer relationships. The friendly neighborhood restaurateur, or local shopkeeper, hold special places in the hearts of local customers. However, much like anything else, more and more customer relationships are becoming […]
Three Ways to Increase Ecommerce Customer Engagement
Guest Article Since its inception, online shopping has been steadily gaining market share. Analysts credit a better overall online shopping experience and savvy promotions for the steady increase in sales for ecommerce sites. While the upswing in online shopping is good news for ecommerce merchants, it’s also true that competition levels are increasing, both from […]
How Small Businesses Can Increase Their Level of Service
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with @MichelFalcon – Michel Falcon is a customer and employee experience coach and professionally represented keynote speaker. He works with organizations who aspire to […]
How to Build a Business Relationship
Now, too often, people think building a business relationship is how you get the business, but I’m here to you that the sale is really the beginning of the relationship. Anyone will buy something once, but in order to stay in business, you need repeat business. I recently had a situation with one of my […]
How to Shorten the Sales Cycle in Your Small Business
In business, sales never come as fast as you want or need them to. You must learn how to weed out unqualified leads, have confidence and remove your fear of selling for good. But, to do this you must have a sales process. The key lesson I learned is the gap between getting a prospect […]
7 Ways to Attract Customers to Your Small Business
When it comes to doing business these days, the deal is – no one wants to be sold to. You must give consistently to eventually get business, especially if you are a professional service business. Here are my 7 ways to attract customers to a small business It’s all about service. You must first try […]
6 Things Oprah Winfrey Taught Us About Business
Oprah Winfrey is my hero. I never thought about being an entrepreneur until she got on my radar when I was in college in the early 90’s. It was around that time that she opened Harpo Studios in Chicago, making her the third woman in the American entertainment industry (after Mary Pickford and Lucille Ball) […]
How to Give Amazing Customer Service Every Time
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Shep Hyken @Hyken. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling author who […]
How to Retain Clients in Unique Ways in Your Small Business
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Ed Jerdonek, @ejerdonek, CEO of Luckett & Farley, the oldest architectural firm in the nation. This innovative, award-winning company is based in […]
How Can You Avoid Customer Service Mistakes in Your Small Business?
Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Yaniv Masjedi, @nextiva. Yaniv is a serial entrepreneur and vice president of marketing at Nextiva a leading provider of cloud-based, […]