by Amy on December 2, 2011
I’m crazy for great customer service. It’s what I promise anyone who does business with me and it’s an important factor for me in choosing where I spend my money.
I know one of my pet peeves is shared by a lot of people – crappy customer service. Spending your hard earned dollars and being treated with indifference. People who act surprised when you expect them to do what they said they would, when they promised. I mean, how hard is it really? You’re committed or you’re not.
How can you give your customers a great experience? How do you make them feel valued and important? How can you tie that into your business and your unique selling proposition (USP)? Is it something you care about? Could you use that to set yourself apart? If it is something you care about – it’s a killer USP because so many people just flat-out don’t get it or don’t care, or both! [click to continue…]
It seems everyone is rushing around trying to get caught up and capitalize on their social media presence – that’s a sound idea. You can’t turn around these days without seeing Facebook, Twitter or YouTube somewhere. No doubt, they’re hot.
Guess what’s even hotter for connecting with your customers, clients and prospects? Email. Yes, email. Email that is engaging, well written and sent consistently, is your biggest opportunity to make an impact on the people interested in what you offer. According to eMarketer.com, 7 out of 10 people would rather communicate by email than any other medium.
It’s profitable too. The DMA reports: Email’s ROI in 2009 was $43.52 for every dollar spent. [click to continue…]
by Amy on January 7, 2011
December passed quickly with lots of writing for clients and none for me. Finally today I had time to climb back up the slippery slope. Seeing how muddy it is here, that was almost literal walking in the woods this morning, but I’m talking about the slippery slope in my mind.
I was thinking about that old maxim: works expands to fill the time allotted. Last year I spent quite a bit of time on business development, thanks to my brilliant business coach, Mary Jane Pioli. As a result, Q4 last year I really spent time thinking about how to be more efficient and spend more time on the projects I enjoy and are most profitable and steer away from the things I enjoy less or make less money. [click to continue…]
by Amy on November 30, 2010
Things seem to move at an ever quicker clip these days. Christmas and Hanukah promotions start before Thanksgiving dinner is even digested. I like to savor the day or the moment just a little more. Oh well! I wanted to share a little more of what I learned from the brilliant Dr. Bendapudi:
I shared in the previous post Dr. Bendapudi’s idea that your brand is your promise. Whether you provide products or services for the B2B or B2C market, it’s important to understand that for your consumer, your brand is functional (or rational) and emotional. When you capture the customer’s emotion, they are truly engaged with your brand. When people are attached to or moved by your brand, it’s when they’re likely to share information and stories about what you offer with others – word of mouth is still the holy grail of marketing, if I may say so…. [click to continue…]
by Amy on November 8, 2010
Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending the Seattle Women Presidents Organization evening with Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, co-sponsored by American Express OPEN Forum Program. Dr. Bendapudi is engaging and funny and just plain smart and practical. I love when people are passionate about their topic – they’d be happy to stay and talk about it all night and they have ready answers and top-of-the-mind cases studies they can use for examples. She was a kick and I learned a ton.
Here are some quick high points. Dr. Bendapudi spoke about branding and emphasized that your brand is a living entity. [click to continue…]
