By budswenson March 07, 2016
I've been there several times - including getting an iPhone screen fixed and buying a refurbished MacBook. Love this place! ...read more
If you've ever called the 800-number for a telecommunications company, you know the rigmarole. You sit through minute after excruciating minute of easy-listening music, interrupted periodically by a recorded message affirming the importance of your call. You enter your phone number when prompted, but know it's a pointless exercise because the customer-service agent will always ask you to repeat it. And then—if you're lucky—the second or third person with whom you speak can actually respond to your request. A major business enterprise spends a fortune on advertising and outbound marketing. How much of that budget would they have to allocate/invest in order to turn their customer service into a discussion-worthy best in the world? As well as addressing the aforementioned issues, think about improvements like: Staying open 24 hours a day.Routing calls to a different time zone shouldn't be a problem, especially for a global company. Implementing dead-end safeguards.If a customer has been on hold for a certain period of time, escalate the call's priority to a more senior person who can take action. The Point:You don't have to be a multinational corporation—or even facing these specific issues—to learn a lesson from these thoughts. Simply put, a huge marketing budget might all be for naught if it doesn't come with a great customer service experience. Steven J. Beaman is the founder & principal owner of BCSG, LLC, a general business consultancy and coaching organization whose primary focus is independent professionals and small businesses. Steven helps businesses to determine the constraints that are causing them to become stagnant or unproductive. He also assists start-up businesses to determine the roadblocks or obstacles that they may not have perceived. He also guides organizations through the start-up process, rapid business growth, or a turnaround situation. He does this using his wealth of management experience gathered during his over 35 year career of managing a variety of business functions in both small and medium businesses. He has expertise in numerous types of businesses (for profit and non-profit). ...read more
By BCSG, LLC February 23, 2012
Do you wish you had a magic wand when it comes to marketing your business? You think a magic wand would have amazing power, but you need to know how to use it to get results. You need to point it in a certain way, you must have a clear intention and you often need to use certain words in order to get the desired result. I know this might sound silly to you, but let̢۪s think of planning as a magic wand. You create an intention, wave the wand, take action and produce a result. And if you have the right wand, you can consistently and repeatedly produce the results you want. You could have a magic planning wand and use all the time. It's called the "marketing action plan wand." And it indeed does produce consistent results: a never-ending stream of clients and customers. Many business people have a tremendous fear and resistance to using this strategy. Why? It is because they don't know how to use it. They don't have an instruction manual. So it doesn't produce the desired results. What happens when people don't have instructions on creating marketing action plans. They try to put them into action and they also create all kinds of haphazard results. Either they attract no clients or they actually push clients away. So we give up the magic of creating marketing action plans and retreat to the default plan: "Do a great job with existing clients and hope for referrals." (Notice how well this has worked!) If you're tired of that, here's a basic guide for creating effective marketing action plans. Define the service you want to offer. Marketing action plans aren't for "general services" but for specific services such as "A six-month coaching program," or "A complete business makeover program." Target Market. Who are your ideal clients for this particular service? What are their specific challenges and needs? What is the price for this service? Also how will it be packaged and delivered? What does your client actually get? What marketing activity will you choose to implement? Will you use networking, speaking, email, joint ventures? Pick just one. Each marketing activity needs a plan; you may have several plans that are similar, just don't mix them up. What is the main objective or outcome you want to produce with this marketing activity? It should always be a specific result related to generating more business. I.e., "Through giving speaking engagements I want to attract 10 new clients this year that each pay me an average of $10,000." What additional results do you want to produce with this activity? Other than immediate financial results, with speaking you might also accomplish the following: Increased personal confidence, better exposure in the community, build your brand and reputation as an expert, increase your email list, expand your business network. Materials required. For speaking you may need the following: A web page describing the various talks you give, a list of organizations where you could speak, a "speaker's kit" with a talk outline, biography, testimonial list, and perhaps a CD with a sample talk. You'd also need handouts for the talk, and a form for participants to fill out if they were interested in your services. Resources required. Resources include, time, money and manpower. So you'd have to budget a certain time to contacting organizations and giving the talks. You'd have to spend a little money for your speaker's kit and perhaps hire a writer and/or a graphic designer for your materials. These eight steps comprise the initial planning stage. You now know what you're offering, who you're offering it to and what it will cost. You've chosen a marketing activity and have outlined the main objectives and results you intend to produce using this marketing activity. Finally, you have determined the materials and resources required to put this marketing activity into action. You now have the foundation for your plan. Next are the action steps to actually get the word out, connect with prospects and set up appointments with those who are qualified to purchase your services. The Bottom Line: To get consistent marketing results, you need knowledge and a plan. First you need to understand the basic steps of creating an effective plan that will produce the results you intend. If you don't follow these steps, nothing will happen. Steven J. Beamanis the founder&principal owner ofBCSG, LLC, a general business consultancy and coaching organization whose primary focus is independent professionals and small businesses. Steven helps businesses to determine the constraints that are causing them to become stagnant or unproductive. He also assists start-up businesses to determine the roadblocks or obstacles that they may not have perceived. He also guides organizations through the start-up process, rapid business growth, or a turnaround situation. He does this using his wealth of management experience gathered during his over 35 year career of managing a variety of business functions in both small and medium businesses. He has expertise in numerous types of businesses (for profit and non-profit). ...read more
By BCSG, LLC February 20, 2012
Imagine you are walking along in a park one bright sunny day. You happen to look down and see an envelope, which you decide to pick up. It is very fine quality envelope with a logo and postage on the front of it. You think it is very impressive. To your amazement, the envelope has nothing written on the front, no recipient's name or address. And you can tell, on closer inspection, that the envelope is empty. This envelope is like most small business marketing activities. All the investment is spent on the vehicle or marketing strategy, represented here by a quality, stamped envelope. This is like buying advertising, creating web sites and brochures, Chamber memberships and having trade show booths. What is missing is a target market (address) and a message (letter inside the envelope). Who should get this envelope? What do you want them to know? In marketing terms, this missing piece is a unique and different brand message stating who your products or services are for, and why they need to purchase them from you. Without a unique brand message, you may as well throw your money out the window, because your marketing strategy is doing nothing for you. Not having a brand is like sending out sealed, stamped envelopes without addresses or anything inside. This is why so many small business owners find marketing expensive, difficult and a waste of time. If they just did Strategy #1, things wouldn't be this way. Strategy #1: Identify Your Brand Value A brand is the unique identity of a business. It's not just what we communicate; it includes all the impressions and beliefs your target audience has about who you are and what value you bring them. Well-branded businesses attract attention with clear, compelling, authentic messages. This can actually shorten the sales cycle, because prospects more quickly understand why they should do business with you. They also appreciate your value, so you can charge premium prices and expect both repeat business and referrals. No Brand? You're Not Alone. If your client attraction marketing strategies aren't working, you are not alone. Many business owners don̢۪t feel confident they know who their ideal clients are and how they were different from their competitors. A majority of business owners are wasting money on marketing strategy, sending out sealed, stamped envelopes without addresses or anything inside! Strategy #2: Your Edge in Any Economy: Brand Your Business Before you waste more money implementing strategies that deliver NO message, invest in identifying your brand. Here is what you need to do: 1. Develop a Vision of where your business is going, and the role your brand will play in getting it there. If you can describe what significance will look like, it will be a lot easier to build a bridge to it. After all what is success without significance! 2. Determine the alternatives to your brand. When people don't choose you, what do they choose? How, why, and for whom are you actually the better choice? 3. Define your target market. Exactly who needs what you offer and will find the most value in how it helps them? 4. Identify your specific point of difference or Unique Selling Proposition. In other words, what is your special or secret ingredient? Whatever you choose, it must be clear, compelling, authentic and consistently communicated. 5. Package your unique differences, verbally and visually. Here is where you create your audio logo, saying who you are for and what you do that no one else can do as well. Develop a look and feel for your brand, also: a logo, color scheme and visual style, imagery and a "voice" to use in your marketing materials and communications. 6. Select the marketing strategies you will use to deliver the message of your brand to your target market. Great ways to shout out your brand message include writing articles or speaking on related topics, networking, and blogging. 7. Promote your brand through all your "touch points." Every place your brand is seen or experienced by your target audience should be consistent with your core brand identity. Well-branded businesses attract more prospects with less effort, get superior, charge higher prices and enjoy more profitable and significant businesses. If creating your brand right now seems like a luxury you can't afford, consider the money you are currently throwing away on ineffective marketing strategies. Why wait any longer? So, How is Your Brand Doing? Stuff your envelope with a unique brand message that will differentiate your products and services, attract perfect clients and build the significant business of your dreams! Steven J. Beamanis the founder&principal; owner ofBCSG, LLC, a general business consultancy and coaching organization whose primary focus is independent professionals and small businesses. Steven helps businesses to determine the constraints that are causing them to become stagnant or unproductive. He also assists start-up businesses to determine the roadblocks or obstacles that they may not have perceived. He also guides organizations through the start-up process, rapid business growth, or a turnaround situation. He does this using his wealth of management experience gathered during his over 35 year career of managing a variety of business functions in both small and medium businesses. He has expertise in numerous types of businesses (for profit and non-profit). ...read more
By BCSG, LLC February 16, 2012
Laptops are often the storage of personal and business information for the modern PC user. When data is compromised or lost, recovery of information can be a painful and costly process. Learning more about data recovery and understanding a few tips can help to avoid coming to the point of needing it. ...read more
Notebook computers are often harder to fix because of the size of the components and the compact design. In many cases, the problems can be resolved without requiring a technician. It is helpful to know how to diagnose and fix common problems. ...read more
