Category: entrepreneur

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ADVERTISE WITH CIRCULARS

DISTRIBUTE 81/2 X 11″ CIRCULARS

Co-op Mailing (short for co-operative) means that two or more businesses
share in the cost and distribution of a direct mail campaign. It’s kind of
like having you and another non-competing business split the cost of
printing, assembling and mailing an advertising flyer to a shared (same)
marketbase.

Co-op dealing is very beneficial (and usually safe) for everyone involved.
One example of co-op dealing in mail order is to send your 8 1/2×11 camera-
ready circular to a co-op printer and they’ll print your ad on one side,
their ad on the back side and ship them back to you for a low cost of around
$10 per 1,000. You get your printing almost free and the other dealer gets
his or her flyers mailed on the back of yours free.

But what do you do with them when they are mailed back to you? If you’re new
to mail order it’s doubtful you have a mailing list to distribute them to.
Plus, postage costs alone would run you about $290.00 first-class. At this
rate it would have been cheaper to send the camera-ready to a tabloid or
adsheet publisher rather than by a co-op. But don’t despair.

Simply have the printer ship your copies to a co-op circular mailer instead
of sending them to you. A couple good circular mailers we recommend are BMG
Services, PO Box 429, Johnson KS 67855 (your cost is only 1c for 8 1/2×11
pre-printed circular) or Thorn Gifts, 1807 Stillwater #5, St Paul MN 55119
(your cost is only 5c for each 8 1/2×11 pre-printed circular.) Why the
difference in price? BMG mails by bulk rate and Thorn mails by first-class.
Either method is effective and sure beats paying 29c each.

In addition, you benefit from the mailing list of the circular mailer. If
this particular mailer sells a mailing list, having them do a 1,000 or 5,000
“test” mailing for you would be a way to test their names. You should get a
few responses from a mailing of this size but it all depends on “what” you
are offering and the “price” you are offering it for. It’s very difficult to
sell any item for more than $50 on a 8 1/2×11″ circular. For items costing
more than $50, you need to use the two-step approach. In other words, use
the 8 1/2×11″ circular to generate inquiries and follow-up with the complete
sales materials that constitute the higher price the customer may decide to
pay.

Another idea is that you could contact a dealer with products and services
not conflicting with your own and ask them to co-op mail for you. In this
deal, you would pay for the 2-sided printing (with the mailer’s ad on back
of yours) and he/she would mail them for you free of charge. It works!

Another way to co-op deal in mail order is by co-op advertising. High
Mountain Advertiser and Popular Advertiser are both long running co-op
publications. You place your ad the first time through a dealer and all
future ads are 50% less. Then you have the option of mailing pre-printed
copies with your name in the publisher’s block as an authorized dealer.
When other people order advertising, they will send their orders to you.
You keep 50% of the money and send the rest (along with the order) back to
the publisher. This way, you can have your 8 1/2×11 circulars printed and
mailed in a publication at a 50% savings.

Coal Publishing, 27 South 4th Avenue, Highland Park NJ 08904 also offers
co-op advertising in their “Small Business Keeps America Growing” tabloid.
For the low cost of $35 per tabloid-size page, you can have your 8 1/2×11″
circular along with four 2-inch ads printed and mailed to a whopping 5,000
circulation. All you are responsible for is the mailing of 200 of them.
Any beginner can handle mailing 50 per week to a mailing list or to their
own customers. Besides, no one can offer you a 5,000 honest circulation for
this price. This is a real money-saver!

If you market the direct mail method, it’s a good idea to send a good
circular you plan to keep around for awhile to a mail order printer and
have 1,000 printed on 1 side. Then, you can use the back of 100 or so for
testing purposes of other circulars. Run down to the copy shop and run the
circulars through the copier by printing on the back side. Only run 100 or
less and send them to the best names you can find. If they pull orders, you
may have a winner and can have 1,000 printed. Nothing is more annoying than
being stuck with 1,000 circulars with something you want to mail on one side
and something outdated on the back.

NOTICE: Rates and prices shown here were current at the time of writing.
Call for quotes.
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Reduce Costs –Anchor More Sales Part 2

Last week we looked at ways to reduce costs
in our business. As promised, here is Part 2 about how to Anchor More Sales.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed of business people who strive for the conventional goals and attain them via unconventional means. That oftentimes means not having a lot of hard cash to invest in the traditional marketing methods for attaining customers. There are ways though, to make your business a customer magnet that will bring you “sales”.

One of the first things you must know when starting off are the characteristics of your prospects and customers. Just as a wagon needs four wheels to move forward, your business needs four wheels too. They are a marketing plan (whether you have the budget for it or not), a marketing calendar (so you can work the plan as you acquire capital), a competitive advantage (very, very important), and customer research.

The age of the “lone-wolf business owner” is over, gone with the wind and the innocence. Today there is a world of businesses that would love to help you in return for you helping them. Enlisting their aid is paramount, paying them cold hard cash is unnecessary. This is where you can put some of the bartering skills we spoke of last week into practice. You’ll find just how you can help another business owner and he/she can help you after you get going. I only bring it up here so that you don’t forget to use this resource.

One of the most important things for you to do to achieve your business goals is to stay in touch with the people on your customer list. If you don’t have one yet – then start building one, even if you don’t know them personally yet. Do this by mailing announcement postcards to the surrounding neighborhood of your business. Announce the Grand Opening if yours is a brick and mortar shop, offering a small gift for the 25th or 50th customer on opening day. If yours is a business without a walk-in shop send the same announcement about the opening of your business and offer tear-off coupon for them to fill out (with their name & address) for the opportunity to win something in a drawing scheduled for 6 days after your mail date. There is the beginning of your “customer data base” for all future advertising.

You must find your “niche” or “position” as they call it on Madison Avenue. Your niche is what you stand for, what makes you different, and the first thing you want your prospective customers to think of when they hear your company’s name. Put it down on paper and make everything that you do from this point on accomplish what you’ve written.

Next to do is a “benefits list”. What benefits does your customer derive from doing business with you rather than your competitor? What makes your business or services special?

After those, then you must determine what “quality” you offer. Quality in this sense is not what you put into your business, rather it is what customers get out of it. You may use the highest grade tin in the tin whistles that you’re selling, but the customer doesn’t care about that. What the customer cares about, is if that tin whistle is going to stay in one piece when his 6-year old plays with it for 6 months. Look at “quality” as setting you apart from the competition – BUT from the customers POV (point of view).

Once these lists are down on paper, look them over and honestly evaluate if your competitors offer the same benefits as you. If they do, then differentiate yourself and stress a competitive advantage. Then develop your “elevator” pitch. If you only had 10 seconds to tell somebody what you did for a living that would make them want to know more – that’s your “elevator” pitch.

Once you’re doing business, keep track of your “A” customers. All customers are not created equal. Some buy more, refer more, are easier to deal with, and keep coming back. Treat your “B” list customers like Royalty, but your “A” list like Family.

Keep track of your success stories, because everything that you’ve done right becomes another weapon in your marketing arsenal. When you do have the capital to invest in some marketing, it’s always reassuring to new clients to read about the success of others doing business with you. This will also elevate your credibility with new clients.

Of course it goes without saying that “service” is the secret to every businesses success. The only definition of “service” that makes sense these days is that it’s anything the customer wants it to be. It’s not what you’ve always done in the past; it’s what keeps the customer happy and returning.

Guarantees are very important in any type of business, and people expect it. The longer the guarantee, the more enticing it will be and yet fewer people will ever ask for refunds.

Follow-up is so important, that I can hardly find a way to make it stand out. Nearly 70% of business that is LOST is due not to poor service or shoddy quality, but because of apathy after the sale. Once you serve a customer don’t just forget about them, have a way of adding them to your customer data base. Get their pertinent information – name, address, phone number, what you did for them, etc. Find a way, be it postcard mail, fliers, whatever – but send them something every 4 weeks. If they’re not seeing your name regularly, when they need what you offer they won’t remember you. You might sell tires and we know there’s only a certain number of tires you can expect a customer to buy in a year, but when they have unexpected tire damage or the time to replace tires rolls around why will they come back to you? Is it because they got your postcard last week and it reminded them they needed replacements. They may have gotten a second car, and since they got your mail it reminded them to get tires from you. Remember, whatever you’re selling, they can go to your competitor unless you give them a reason to come to you!

Networking is a great tool for you to use. I mean networking not with your peers, but rather with your prospective clients. Join the group and ask questions, listen to answers, take notes, and contact who you met. Gauge your success by the cards you GOT, not gave. Offer those you contact a free consultation, and don’t give a sales-pitch during that time. Anyone can resist a sales presentation, but it’s hard to resist a free consultation that will help them solve whatever problem they have. Many times your service is the answer for their problem but save the sales pitch until the next call. By the same token, if during the consultation you find you can’t help them but one of your fellow entrepreneurs can – be honest and refer them to him/her. (This not only shows your prospect that you really are interested in being of service, but it also gives you an unwritten IOU from one of your peers.)
You’d be surprised how many clients will refer a friend or family member to you, just because they felt you were honest enough to tell them you couldn’t help them.

Your customer list is worth its weight in platinum, especially if it’s bulging with information and it’s free to compile and insane not to. With these tactics, it’s a foregone conclusion that more sales will not only naturally follow, but will be anchored down safe from competition.

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Youre A Salesperson in Your Life!

Strange as it may seem, our life is made up of a series of sales presentations. Sales may not be your gig, but if youre the boss youre making presentations everyday. Be it a pitch to your Board, announcing a policy change to employees, selling an idea to your spouse, or just trying to win others over to your point of view you need to punch up your people skills for winning pitches.

Human nature is such that people support solutions that they help create, so involve them by allowing your audience to participate with questions or ideas. It goes without saying that to not involve key people is risky, because messages can be misunderstood. Your plans may be derailed before they begin if sufficient buy-in is lacking. Use lots of open-ended questions in your presentation to draw out the silent type.

Preparation is a key to success. Prepare your listeners to whats coming during or before your presentation. Try these pre-meeting tactics:

Assign task-related pre-work. This could be pre-reading or study of a problem, and the preparations of possible solutions. An example could be, go and visit three kinds of accounts before the meeting.
Make pre-meeting contacts with those invited by email, phone, or in person. You might want to try an informal survey to get peoples position on the issues at hand.

Remember support on key or controversial matters can be established ahead of time by lobbying, if you know where to lobby.

Do your research! People who make it look easy and are effective presenters have a hidden arsenal. This is an arsenal of up-to-date, organized material that can be accessed quickly in ready-to-use form when needed. They have the stats to back up their ideas, and they have a mental arsenal of stories, examples, jokes, and ice-breakers to use when needed.

Your physical presentation could include tangible items relating to the issue such as recent articles clipped from newspapers or magazines, photographs, reports, and demonstration property. To become masterful in this art learn to maintain resources you can access for just the right thing at the right time.

The next thing you must do is to explain why? The single most powerful thing you can do to convince your audience of something is to provide a convincing reason why they should do what you suggest or believe what you say. People want and need a clear WIIFM whats in it for me? to be able to react positively to what you want them to do. Its extremely important that you deliver a vision of benefits. Hearing the why wont automatically generate a yes to your proposition, but itll open the door for receptivity to your idea.

Knowing and accepting the why satisfies a basic need that we all have to understand the purpose of our actions. Use the words because or so that in your presentation and then finish the phrase. When your subject matter is controversial or likely to generate emotions, it is essential that your whys be tested in advance. Ask some people you trust or that are on your team to play devils advocate to help you with your logic and arguments.

These are just the first four points for making successful presentations. There are eight of them in total, and well look at the other four in my column next week. For now, let me leave you with this thought.
Life is a sales job from beginning to end. From the moment that we discern how to get approval as children, winning friends at school, getting our first beau, getting our first (and subsequent) job, getting engaged and married, achieving our goals, and anything else you can think of in between were selling ourselves or our ideas all along the way. Who said you werent a salesperson?

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Your Business Checkup

Whether you’re thinking it’s Spring Cleaning Time or time for an annual checkup, your business needs to undergo a checkup each year. No matter how large or small your business is, you cannot gauge the effectiveness of any changes you’ve made without analyzing the benefits and bottom line.

Here are 10 questions to get you started:

• How do your year-to-date sales compare to the last couple of years? Don’t be satisfied if you managed to match them because if sales stayed the same then you’ve achieved zero growth. With inflation, this flat growth line is a warning sign for more trouble down the road.

• What percentage of your business is from repeat customers? This is important to know because if it’s too low, then it needs to be improved. The estimated cost of getting a new customer versus retaining an existing one can be as much as five to one in terms of dollars spent. Keeping customers is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new ones.

• How long has it been since you offered a new product or service? Loyal customers like to see you changing and progressing with the times. If you’re stuck for an idea, ask your customers what they need.

• Do you consider marketing and advertising expenses or investments? How you look at the money spent in these areas affects your willingness to spend money at all. Would you look at prescriptions as a waste of money? Marketing is really investing in you, your vision, and your company. The old adage that you must spend money to make money is true, but you must spend it wisely. Spend it on ads that are pulling responses and orders, and if they’re not maybe you need to change publications.

• Do you know what PR is and how to use it to positively position your business in the media? I’ll bet that at least one of your competitors does. Nearly every mention of a company or business in the newspapers and magazines is a direct result of publicity efforts. Being quoted or featured in an article speaks volumes to your clients and readers who are your potential prospects. A good PR consultant can do that for you and show you ways to extend the shelf life of that article beyond its publication.

• Are you listed in the yellow pages? If you only have a line listing, consider including a small ad in the yellow pages. If you can afford it, it will pay dividends throughout the year.

• Do you teat your regular customers better than your drop-ins? You should. If your customers don’t feel special when coming to you for products of services, why should they remain loyal to you? Have a customer appreciation day or a special invitation only sale for your regulars. Create a mailing list of your regulars. Send occasional post cards or greeting cards for special events or just to keep in touch. Learn to recognize them on sight and greet them by name when they visit you.

• How long has it been since you really talked to one of your customers? Just as you appreciate when your Doctor takes time to talk to you, your customers will appreciate you if you take an interest in their needs. If you have a service business, have lunch or coffee periodically with some regulars – even if they only contact you once or twice a year. The personal touch in an impersonal world will be remembered.

• How is your business doing compared to your competition? Every company, no matter what the size, has competition – even home-based businesses. Is their business growing or downsizing? Is their pricing or service better than yours? If so, what can you tell potential customers about the price difference? Think about how you can improve your service to meet or exceed your customer’s expectations.

• Are your employees happy? Don’t ask them directly, but observe them throughout the day. Watch, listen and learn. Employees who like their jobs don’t watch the clock for quitting time, aren’t habitually late, don’t have poor body language, don’t spend time on personal phone calls, and don’t look like they never smiled. Observe how they interact with customers. Not everyone is a match for direct contact with the public, so make sure you don’t have an employee who is driving business away.

I can remember when I was working at my very first job out of school. It was a service business with just the owner and me at work. There was direct contact with the clients, and there was never a problem with smiling when talking face to face with them. I was given the best business tip of my life by that employer, when he pointed out to me that when talking to clients on the telephone I should smile too. For some unexplainable reason, when you smile as you talk on the phone, the exchange with the client becomes more pleasant and more productive. It’s as if that smile went right through the phone wires to the person to whom you’re talking.

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LOW-COST PROMOTION & MARKETING IDEAS

Promotion and advertising can be a heavy expense, especially for
a new business that wants to make itself known in a community. A
home-based business, however, more often than not, has a very
limited budget when it comes to advertising. The home business
owner needs to make the public aware of his or her product or
service at the lowest possible cost.

There are many ways. A pet breeder in a large city was struggling
for several years-until he came up with a novel idea. He started
giving away customized “birth certificates” for the pets he sold.
Almost immediately, his sales rose more than 10 percent.

The owner of a new home cleaning service was trying to attract
clients. She couldn’t afford much advertising, so she began
offering “home cleaning seminars” to civic groups. After two
months of seminars, she was swamped with inquiries and clients.

Promotion often makes the crucial difference between business
success and failure. Customers or clients must know about a
business or product line before they’ll buy and they must have a
reason to buy.

If you are trying to promote your business now, you can move in
one of two directions: 1) You can take the conventional route to
promotion and mount an elaborate media campaign, spending a
considerable amount of money or 2) You can let your creative juices
flow and mount a low-cost promotion effort, using a potpourri of
attention-getting gimmicks to bring your message to the buying
public.

Now, to be sure, conventional advertising is valuable. If your
enterprise is large enough or if you’re selling numerous product
lines, you may find that a full-fledged media campaign is the
most efficient and cost effective way to promote your business.

If money is tight, however, or you’re not sure you can amortize
the heavy cost of a media campaign over a period of time, the
following is a assortment of low-cost techniques you can try. Not
all may be appropriate for your particular business, and
certainly it would be costly to try them all. But you’re sure to
find some ideas that will work for you.

GIVEAWAYS. People love to receive “free” items, especially items
they can use to gain knowledge or improve their lives. You can
base an entire promotional campaign on this desire. If you’re
running a furniture repair business, for instance, you could give
away a furniture repair brochure, free furniture planning guides,
or color swatches. Once you begin giving away authoritative
information customers will begin to perceive you as an expert in
your field.

NEWS CREATION. Want to get names and news from your business in
the local newspaper? It may be easier that you think. If you
don’t have any news to report to the local media, create some.
Maybe you’ve taken on a new associate. Or maybe you’re selling an
unusual product line. Or maybe you’ve opened a free advice center
for the community. Or maybe you’ve received an award from a civic
or professional group. Local Pennysavers and weekly are often
quite interested in business news of this sort and can help you
attract the attention of thousands of people.

EVENTS. You may be able to attract the attention of the media or
a crowd by staging a special promotional event. If you run a
fitness classes, for instance, you could stage a celebrity
instructor day. If you’re promoting a new real estate business,
you can offer tours of a model home in the area. If you’re
selling children’s products and it’s springtime, you can offer
lunch with the Easter bunny. Get the idea?

CHARITY TIE-INS. Are you launching a new product? Trying to
increase visibility among a particular segment of your community?
Offer your product to one or more local charities as a raffle
prize or for use at a fund raising event. You’ll receive lots of
exposure among people who buy tickets or attend the event.

CONTESTS. Offer a desirable or unique item-or even several
items-as contest prizes. First, find a contest theme that tiers
into your business. A caterer might offer a quiche-eating
contest. A photographer might offer a young model contest. A mail
order craft firm might offer an “Early American” handicrafts
contest. Invite contest submissions and offer prizes to the
winners. Do contests attract attention? You bet. All it takes is
a few signs, a small press announcement or two, and the word will
spread throughout the community grapevine.

COMMUNITY SERVICE. Nothing brings you to the attention of the
people faster-or more favorably-than community service. Ask
yourself how your enterprise can be a “good neighbor” to your
community. If you’re running a lawn care and gardening service,
perhaps you can offer one season’s services at no charge to a
needy charitable organization or nursing home in your area.
Hundreds of people will hear about your work in the process.
Volunteer for various community causes. If appropriate, you can
step in during community emergency, offering products and
services to help an organization or individuals in need.

COUPONING. Americans are very coupon-conscious. Test the market:
at what level will coupons increase the volume of various product
or service lines? When you get some tentative answers, start
distributing coupons that offer a discount on your services.
Distribute them to area newspapers, on store counters, in
door-to-door- mail packets (which can often be quite
inexpensive), at the public library, at laundromats, at any
location where people congregate.

BADGES AND NOVELTIES. You can easily and inexpensively produce
badges, bumper stickers, book covers, and other novelty items
for distribution in your area. You can imprint your business name
and the first names of the customers on many of these products at
little cost and distribute them for free. Or you can tie your
novelty program into a contest: once a month, you can offer a
prize to any individual whose car happens to carry one of your
bumper stickers or badges with peel-off coupons, redeemable at
your place of business.

CELEBRITY VISITS. With a bit of persistence, you may be able to
arrange to have a local media celebrity, public official, or
entertainment personally-even a fictitious cartoon character or
clown-visit your service. The celebrity can sign autographs, read
stories to children, perform cooking demonstrations, or perform
any one of a hundred other traffic-building activities.

CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS. You’ll probably want to celebrate major
public holidays with special sales. But celebrate some of the
offbeat holidays as well. Almost every business has a few
little-known holidays. Ever hear of National Pickle Day, for
instance? Or Cat Lovers Month? Once you find the “right” holiday,
you can sponsor a special sale or special product arrange special
media coverage of a holiday event.

GO WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE. Can you open sales information booths at
community fairs and festivals? This promotional technique can
work for gift retailers, craftspeople, and personal service
firms. If you have the people and the time, can you handle
regional fairs or even trade shows?

MAILING LISTS. Once you begin establishing a committed clientele,
gather their names on a mailing list. Save the names from your
mail orders and telephone inquiries. Eventually, you’ll be able
to send product circulars or even catalogs to the folks on your
list and you’ll be able to promise your products by mail.

SCAVENGER HUNTS. If you want people to buy NOW, offer them an
unbeatable deal. If they bring an old product-a small appliance,
a book, whatever-to you, you’ll give them a worthwhile discount
on a comparable new item. Or stage a general purpose scavenger
hunt. Customers who bring in three canned goods for your
community’s food bank will receive a discount on products
purchased that day.

PARTIES. Everyone loves a party. Why not celebrate the
anniversary of your business or some special holiday by offering
baked goods and beverages? If you’re running a service business,
perhaps you can offer an open house or obtain a small banquet
room in your community. Besides refreshments, be sure the place
is brightly decorated.

GREETING CARDS. Do you send out greeting cards to major customers
or clients? Holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries make nice
greeting card occasions. Greeting cards create enormous goodwill
and keep your name in front of people.

SEMINARS. In this information hungry age, people love to receive
advice, especially about their personal needs and hobbies. If you
sell health foods or run fitness classes, perhaps you can offer
“wellness” seminars during lunchtime to your area’s business
community. If you’re an interior decorator, perhaps you can offer
one-hour decorating workshops to any group of ten people who will
gather in someone’s home. If you’re running a printing business,
perhaps you can offer tours and layout seminars at your plant.

If you’re not pleased with your promotional efforts today or if
you simply must increase your exposure among customers and
prospects-it’s probably time to increase your publicity efforts.

By all means, advertise in the media if you can or must. But
don’t neglect your greatest promotional asset-your mind. Ponder
the products, services, and events you can offer the community
and devise a creative promotional strategy around them. You’ll
have to invest a bit of time and energy in the project, but the
payoff will be worth it. You’ll save hundreds-or even
thousands-of advertising dollars and, better yet, you’ll travel a
well-worn shortcut to profit.
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“INFO-LOADING” CAN INCREASE
YOUR AD’S PULLING POWER

There are many schools of thought on how to write a successful
direct-response ad, letter or brochure. Some say you need to be subtle,
some say be harsh, some say be round-about, some say be direct. There is
one technique, though, that is coming to the forefront as one of the most
successful to employ.

Info-Loading is the style of overloading an advertisement with information
about your product or service. The theory is, you give the customer more
information than they’d ever want on your product/service, and they’ll feel
more confident about you and what you offer. Also, the customer that
actually reads through it all is the one who’s interested enough to buy
what you offer. The good news is, it works!

Here’s how to do it. Say you’re planning a quarter-page display ad in a
magazine. Instead of leaving a lot of white space, so it looks open, and
instead of putting pictures in to catch the eye, fill the whole space with
text! Load it with as much information as you can fit in, without making
it unreadable. To prevent it from looking like a grey blur when the reader’s
eyes scan through the page, put a bold, black box around the ad, a bold
headline, and emphasize important words and phrases with bold print.

You can do the same thing with a mailing. Put together a four-page sales
letter loaded with copy, then add a brochure/flyer that re-emphasizes the
important points in even greater detail.

A few cautions with this technique. First, make sure you actually have
something to say! We are so conditioned to being economical with our
words in advertising that it’ll be hard to info-load without feeling
repetitious. Instead of rambling on about features, tell customers every
single benefit they’ll get from your product/service. BENEFIT is the
important word.

Give Info-Loading a try. Depending on your audience and what you’re
trying to sell, you may find that info-loading can load more sales into
your bank account!

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When Did Customer Service Breakup?

Weve all had friends in our circle who were known as Mary & John, and when John split Mary was alone. Mary was the odd number at the dinner party and we were all concerned about her. Well, today it seems that the union of Customer & Service have had a breakup. Service has split and Customer is on his/her own.

Today, let me tell you a story that many of you will find humorous but is all too common. I can tell you this without fear of our local editor getting sued because its about me, but business owners take note that you dont fit the profile of company X.

Four weeks ago I decided that I needed another green recycling can from my trash pickup company. Well call them Brown Keg Trash Pickup, an anonymous company in the interest of avoiding litigation. I called their Customer Service number, and as an environmentally conscious citizen requested my extra recycle can. The cheerful voice on the other end of the line chirped, Of course, well have one delivered in 48 hours. After giving her all the pertinent location information, I hung up the phone with the satisfied feeling of a good citizen.

I arrived home about 5 p.m. the next day and I was happy to see another green can at the mouth of my driveway. When I looked again, I noticed that I had another green can but it was without a lid. I quickly dialed my cheerful telephone voice at Brown Keg Company thanking her graciously for the rapid service and then told her about the missing lid. Just as cheerfully as the first time, she told me to leave it at the end of my driveway after my usual trash pickup and they would replace the entire unit since they didnt have extra lids. I agreed, and after hanging up the phone I pondered their plight of having lidless cans but no extra lids. I conjured up all sorts of scenarios that explained where all the lids to the lidless cans went, and sympathized with their predicament.

Well, 3 days went by and there sat my poor, green, lidless can at my driveways mouth and a replacement never arrived. Feeling empathy for this green plastic waif, I returned it to the side of its brother that had a lid. I called my cheerful Customer Service voice again, and reiterated the plight of my poor lidless can and after a chuckle she assured me a complete unit would be forthcoming. I found it necessary to make use of my lidless friend, and put it out the next pickup day filled to the brim. Fortunately, it wasnt windy and all the contents remained inside it. That was 2 weeks ago, and life being what it is other more important tasks have occupied me until this morning when facing another pickup day I thought of my lidless friend.

Once more I picked up the phone and called my trash pickup company, and this time I listened to a litany of choices of buttons I could punch and chose my cheerful Customer Service button again. I was transferred, listened to a brief melody when there was a click and I expected my cheerful voice to chirp hello. The next thing I heard was another click, silence, and then the dreaded dial tone that means youve been disconnected. Not being one of the fainthearted, I simply redialed my number. Again there was the litany of button choices, my choice and the music, and just when I began to feel that all was right with the world I heard click, dial tone and nothing.

This was not the morning for the phone to be playing games with me, so I made one more determined effort and REDIALED! NASA, we have lift-off ! I once more heard the litany of button choices, but this time I outfoxed that monotonous voice and punched 0. I asked for the Manager of Customer Service, I was given her name and was transferred. What greeted my eager ear was, Youve reached the voicemail of ., please leave your name and number and shell return your call.

So here we sit – my lidless, green can and I facing another pick-up day. This eager-to-serve plastic green waif must bravely face another dutiful day half-clothed.

You must admit that is an amusing story, and one that far too many of us have lived through, but what a sad commentary it is about our business community. Doesnt it make you wonder if our language has changed so drastically that what we interpret Customer Service to mean – is not what todays business owners mean. It makes me wonder when the marriage of Customer and Service broke-up, leaving us all the lonely ones.

Entrepreneurs and business owners take note! If youre going to have a number for your customers to access your Customer Service, please follow these rules.
Have the phone manned by an employee that can hear thunder and see lightening.
Give that employee training in helping the caller and not shuffling the problem to another desk.
Have an overseer, who can also hear thunder and see lightening, check that all incoming complaints were handled appropriately.

After learning how to find your customers and what they want; after getting them committed to doing business with YOU; and after wooing them to keep them as your customers WHY WOULD YOU LET SERVICE DIVORCE CUSTOMER?
If your customers arent getting the service they require from you your competitor will be only too happy to help them!

 
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When Did Customer Service Breakup? Weve all had friends in our circle who were known as Mary & John, and when John split Mary was alone. Mary was the odd number at the dinner party and we were all concerned about her. Well, today it seems that the union of Customer & Service have had a breakup. Service has split and Customer is on his/her own. Today, let me tell you a story that many of you will find humorous but is all too common. I can tell you this without fear of our local editor getting sued because its about me, but business owners take note that you dont fit the profile of company X. Four weeks ago I decided that I needed another green recycling can from my trash pickup company. Well call them Brown Keg Trash Pickup, an anonymous company in the interest of avoiding litigation. I called their Customer Service number, and as an environmentally conscious citizen requested my extra recycle can. The cheerful voice on the other end of the line chirped, Of course, well have one delivered in 48 hours. After giving her all the pertinent location information, I hung up the phone with the satisfied feeling of a good citizen. I arrived home about 5 p.m. the next day and I was happy to see another green can at the mouth of my driveway. When I looked again, I noticed that I had another green can but it was without a lid. I quickly dialed my cheerful telephone voice at Brown Keg Company thanking her graciously for the rapid service and then told her about the missing lid. Just as cheerfully as the first time, she told me to leave it at the end of my driveway after my usual trash pickup and they would replace the entire unit since they didnt have extra lids. I agreed, and after hanging up the phone I pondered their plight of having lidless cans but no extra lids. I conjured up all sorts of scenarios that explained where all the lids to the lidless cans went, and sympathized with their predicament. Well, 3 days went by and there sat my poor, green, lidless can at my driveways mouth and a replacement never arrived. Feeling empathy for this green plastic waif, I returned it to the side of its brother that had a lid. I called my cheerful Customer Service voice again, and reiterated the plight of my poor lidless can and after a chuckle she assured me a complete unit would be forthcoming. I found it necessary to make use of my lidless friend, and put it out the next pickup day filled to the brim. Fortunately, it wasnt windy and all the contents remained inside it. That was 2 weeks ago, and life being what it is other more important tasks have occupied me until this morning when facing another pickup day I thought of my lidless friend. Once more I picked up the phone and called my trash pickup company, and this time I listened to a litany of choices of buttons I could punch and chose my cheerful Customer Service button again. I was transferred, listened to a brief melody when there was a click and I expected my cheerful voice to chirp hello. The next thing I heard was another click, silence, and then the dreaded dial tone that means youve been disconnected. Not being one of the fainthearted, I simply redialed my number. Again there was the litany of button choices, my choice and the music, and just when I began to feel that all was right with the world I heard click, dial tone and nothing. This was not the morning for the phone to be playing games with me, so I made one more determined effort and REDIALED! NASA, we have lift-off ! I once more heard the litany of button choices, but this time I outfoxed that monotonous voice and punched 0. I asked for the Manager of Customer Service, I was given her name and was transferred. What greeted my eager ear was, Youve reached the voicemail of ., please leave your name and number and shell return your call. So here we sit - my lidless, green can and I facing another pick-up day. This eager-to-serve plastic green waif must bravely face another dutiful day half-clothed. You must admit that is an amusing story, and one that far too many of us have lived through, but what a sad commentary it is about our business community. Doesnt it make you wonder if our language has changed so drastically that what we interpret Customer Service to mean - is not what todays business owners mean. It makes me wonder when the marriage of Customer and Service broke-up, leaving us all the lonely ones. Entrepreneurs and business owners take note! If youre going to have a number for your customers to access your Customer Service, please follow these rules. Have the phone manned by an employee that can hear thunder and see lightening. Give that employee training in helping the caller and not shuffling the problem to another desk. Have an overseer, who can also hear thunder and see lightening, check that all incoming complaints were handled appropriately. After learning how to find your customers and what they want; after getting them committed to doing business with YOU; and after wooing them to keep them as your customers WHY WOULD YOU LET SERVICE DIVORCE CUSTOMER? If your customers arent getting the service they require from you your competitor will be only too happy to help them! $?OhthHh>N56h>Nh>N5>*
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Technology Bites Man Again

If entrepreneurs didnt know by now that Technology was taking over the business world, now its encroaching on the gambling casinos. We cant even escape it on our trips to Las Vegas.

RADIO-FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION is headed for Vegas. Casino chips embedded with RFID tags and are being tested at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and will be displayed this month at the new $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas hotel and casino.

The chips will each be given a unique player code to track behavior and possibly get more revenue out of high rollers. Its estimated that this could be a $100 million business by the year 2010.

There are two Vegas based companies that own the casino-RFID game: Progressive Gaming International and Shuffle Master.

Progressives TableLink, which reads RFID chips using table-embedded antennas and records the wagers on a dealers PC, is the system of choice at the two casinos. Progressive and Shuffle Master have also developed optical card shoes, which holds decks and scan cards as theyre dealt. Shuffle Masters Intelligent Shoe is already getting rave reviews in Australia and Asia.

The cost of outfitting a table with the chips and antennas costs a casino about $8,000, but analysts predict that Progressive will score bigger bucks from the $6 per day per table it charges for its system.

One RFID chip costs a casino 40 cents more than a standard chip, but that margin will drop to about 10 cents in the coming months.

This is certainly a technology leap from the eye in the sky that we all knew about in the casinos, but I dont think that even George Orwell would have thought of these chips.

Those of us who used the games in Vegas casinos to escape our computers and software programs, seem destined to be followed by technology no matter where we go.

Somehow Radio-Frequency Identification in poker/gaming chips just doesnt seem to be what a good poker player expects. Oh well, technology marches on…and on.and on.

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At Bat In the Second Inning!

A growing number of us can now expect to live close to or past 100 years, so 50 has become midlife. Today instead of approaching midlife with the obligations of work and family, baby boomers are looking to a second half they pretty much design as they wish. For many of them, the results don’t look much like what their parents and grandparents called retirement.

Whether because of layoffs or because they’re weary of their jobs, many are considering new possibilities for their post-50 years and that includes starting a business of their own. Many of these business endeavors combine their passions and talents into a revenue-producing career. This marriage fits their goals in ways a salaried job rarely could. Some work full-time, but some work part of a day, week, month, or year. Many are pursuing work similar to what they did when employed, while others are staking out entirely new careers.

The obstacles that post-50s face in starting a business are not substantially different from those anyone else faces when becoming self-employed. Without exception, most consider their age as an advantage in communicating credibility to clients and customers.

What a difference from the ageism experienced by so many on the job! No wonder the U.S. Small Business Administration is finding the ages of start-up entrepreneurs is trending older.

I know of a friend who after a 30-year career as a journalist found his work shifting from working on articles to working with administrators. The bureaucratic and political hassles that came with the job of editor of a consumer magazine were no longer what he wanted.

Figuring there was a good chance he’d live to 90 or beyond, he started thinking about what he wanted to do with the next third of his life. Luckily he’d developed a passion for pottery in his 40’s and the more he did it, the more he liked it. So when offered a chance to retire early at 63, he jumped at the chance to turn his hobby into a second career.

His biggest challenge was to find ways to market his work, and he found doing studio sales several times a year worked for him. He and his wife purchased a 20-acre home in Virginia, and remodeled a four-stall barn into a studio workshop and living quarters. Three years later, between the studio sales, galleries that carry his work, annual crafts shows, his Web site and some great publicity his business is growing well.

Best of all he loves what he does and envisions doing it until they carry him out. He sees no reason for not having another 30-year career after his first. More and more “old gray mares” are following the same path. So if you’re nearing or are 50, you are coming up to bat in the second inning of your life. Why not hit it out of the park!