Win With Customer Service
The secret to competitive success is to give customer service so far above the customers' expectations that it becomes legendary. This service must be driven by “customer needs and wants” and be tied to superior quality! Customer service is critical today more than ever because: Competition is increasing, customers expect more, superior service means repeat customers and superior service is profitable!The cost of customer service is minimal when the following is considered:1.) It costs five times more to go out and get a new customer than it does to maintain a present customer.2.) 91% of customers who complain will not buy again.3.) If a complaint is handled properly, within 48 hours, 82-95% of these customers will return. Why is customer service so poor in so many companies?Companies are inwardly focused, not customer focused. This means that companies tend to be product/service driven, not customer driven. Furthermore, companies see customer service as an extra and generally as the responsibility of only front-line personnel. Excellent customer service is not often measured, recognized or rewarded. In order to be successful, we must sell our goods and services at a profit and still satisfy our customers. If we satisfy our customer but fail to make a profit, we will soon be out of business. If we get the profit but fail to satisfy the customer, we will soon be out of customers. The secret of doing both lies in the word SERVICE. Service means doing something so va

Franchise Branding, Image and Drunk Driving
Franchisee has a lot to do about image. Many marketers would agree that image is the single most important part of branding. In the world of franchising and brand-name extension franchisors and franchising companies must pay attention to details to ensure that their brand-name stands tall in the eyes of the consumer and customer.There is probably no easier way to destroy a brand-name or image of a franchising company in a particular marketing region than to have a drunk driving accident with the company's name on it show up on the front page of the newspaper. It is for this reason and because I am appalled by drunk drivers that I decided to do what no other franchise or has ever done in the history of franchising; I specifically addressed the drunk driving issue in our company's franchise agreements. Below you'll find the clause that I inserted into each and every franchise agreement;3.24.2 Drunk DrivingFranchisee agrees not to drink and drive a mobile car wash truck or drive a vehicle while towing a mobile car wash unit of the Franchised Business on a public highway when Franchisee may be over the legal limit of toxicity. Franchisee also agrees not to drive their personal vehicle in the manner described above. Such violation of the law resulting in the conviction of a felony or misdemeanor is subject to termination of the Franchise Agreement.- - - - - - -Perhaps this might be something you wish to address in your franchising company and you would be well advised to consult with a franchising

Adopting a Business Process Approach to Management - 6 Critical Steps
1. Determine Who Are Your Customers and Stakeholders, and What Benefits Your Organisation Offers Them In our previous article we emphasised the customer/stakeholder focus of the business process approach to management. The first step is therefore clearly determining who those customers and stakeholders are. Who buys or uses your product or service offering? Who makes the buying decision? What exactly are they buying in terms of benefits? Who else is affected by your activities and what are their expectations?A small pharmaceutical manufacturer of multivitamins, antibiotics, syrups and OTC medicines for children, located in a large African city, was trying to answer these questions for their own organisation. They came up with the following.Customer/Stakeholder and Benefits Sought Wholesalers: Availability, reliable delivery, favourable payment terms, margins, marketing support Retailers: Availability, quality, clear product information, price Suppliers: Guaranteed business, prompt payment Hospitals and HMOs: Quality, price Doctors: Quality, efficacy, product information Consumers: Price, efficacy, pleasant taste Shareholders/bankers: ROI, growth Regulatory authority: Safety, quality, efficacy2.Determine the Value Chains that Deliver these Benefits The information obtained from the above step should be formed into benefit clusters. Next, trace those benefits back from your products and services through to the inputs. The identified

Merchandising Methods
When people hear the term merchandising, many think of window displays or perhaps the mass proliferation of Disney memorabilia. However, merchandising is a much broader concept, encompassing everything a company does to package and present its products or services. For some businesses, merchandising means creating visual displays that draw customers to a tangible product. For others, such as consulting or law firms, it is the presentations they conduct to show prospective clients what they have to offer. In either case, effective merchandising demonstrates expertise and style and gives both potential and existing customers the chance to see products or services in action. Traditional Techniques Many of the merchandising techniques retailers have traditionally used can be adapted for wholesalers, manufacturers and service companies to frame a product. Window displays are the first thing people notice about a company, other than the front of the building, and can be a very powerful advertising vehicle. In addition to spotlighting specific products, windows can reflect a specific atmosphere, ambiance and business philosophy. Props, an integral component of window displays, can create a theme, add impact, demonstrate usage and allow products to be displayed in a cohesive, well-blended manner. For example, a retailer who sells hand-woven sweaters and shawls might place an authentic weaver's loom in the middle of the sales area as a focal point. Likewise,

How To Write Effective Product Reviews
You may have found this article in an effort to write your own product reviews in order to create a home based business. There are a lot of products on the web that claim to be 'high income business opportunities' but obviously, not all are what they claim. This is where the reviewer comes in - to separate the fact from the fiction regarding 'make money at home' opportunities.The goals of your review should be to keep the reader interested, give a fair and honest review, and ultimately have the reader purchase the product based on your review. Your job as the reviewer is to answer some basic questions.What does the product do?For a review to be successful, it needs to give a good overview of the product you're talking about. Give enough detail to keep the reader's attention but don't give too much away or they may just use your review as their 'make money at home' idea without purchasing it through you! Remember - you're trying to get the reader to buy the product through your affiliate link based on your review and help your own home based business.How will the product benefit the reader?Another key to a good review is to tell the reader how this product will benefit them. Like myself, readers are skeptical of the claims that you may make about the product and, chances are, not that willing to part with their hard earned cash unless they are convinced that the product will benefit them in some way. Be careful to avoid bold statements that aren't true. It's sometimes tempting to e

New Advertising Technology - How Digital Signage Works
There is a new form of advertising growing with great speed in the current industry and it’s called the Digital Signage. This advertising form is rocking the digital advertising world with its great features which are awesome just like its name implies. In digital signing, the electronic data is handled and controlled from one administrative console running the digital signage software and is sent across to others terminals without having to change their physical location. In other words, the content and/or message that are going to be displayed on the sign are shown on every electronic screen. Now this screen can show the message in a scrolling message board or plasma or LCD display as it really doesn’t matter which ever display format has been used. All the control is with the administrative console which is nothing but a form of a computer or a digital device which handles all this work remotely.When digital signage was first launched, it was very expensive but as time has moved on, more and more people are becoming aware of this new advertising medium which brought the cost down in an affordable criteria leaving open air for rapid expansion into the advertising market. As a matter of fact, Wal-Mart was amongst the first to take full advantage of this great technology in promoting its products. Wal-Mart has made sure they have television sets located at specific and target locations which are displaying signs in a well controlled manner to get the public to buy more. The messages and videos are always changing to somethi