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Why Your Business Needs a Professional Office Space

In an era where remote work and virtual collaboration have become increasingly common, many business owners are questioning whether having a physical office is still necessary. While technology has made it easier than ever to operate a business from virtually anywhere, having a dedicated office space can still provide significant advantages. From establishing a professional image to improving collaboration and protecting sensitive information, an office can play an important role in your company’s success.

Let’s explore some of the key reasons why having an office may be beneficial for your business.

Professional Image Matters

First impressions are important in business. Having a professional office environment can help establish credibility and build trust with clients, business partners, and potential investors. A clean, organized, and well-designed workspace communicates that your business is established, prepared, and committed to providing quality products or services.

Your office also provides an opportunity to create a physical representation of your brand. From the furniture and décor to your company logo and overall layout, every detail can contribute to how others perceive your business. Creating a professional environment helps you make a positive first impression and demonstrates that you take your business seriously.

Facilitating Collaboration and Innovation

Although virtual collaboration tools have made communication easier, face-to-face interaction still offers valuable benefits. An office provides a shared space where employees can communicate, exchange ideas, participate in brainstorming sessions, and make decisions more efficiently.

Working together in the same environment can encourage creativity and innovation. Employees have opportunities to build on one another’s ideas, discuss challenges, and develop solutions to problems the business may be facing. These interactions can strengthen teamwork, improve productivity, and create opportunities for new ideas that may not develop as easily through virtual communication.

Conducive to Client Meetings

For businesses that regularly work with clients, having a dedicated meeting space can be extremely valuable. An office provides a professional and controlled environment for consultations, presentations, negotiations, and important business discussions.

Meeting clients in person also gives them an opportunity to see where you conduct business and gain a better understanding of your company. While virtual meetings are convenient, face-to-face interactions can help strengthen professional relationships, build trust, and encourage long-term client loyalty.

For example, at our office, we conduct both in-person and virtual meetings. We also use our workspace to create YouTube videos and other business-related content. Having a dedicated office allows us to accommodate different business activities while maintaining a professional environment.

Centralized Work Environment

An office provides employees with a centralized location where they can work toward common business goals. Having a shared workspace can help establish structure, improve communication, and create a stronger sense of company culture.

When employees work together in the same environment, it becomes easier to coordinate responsibilities, stay informed about projects, and keep everyone focused on important deadlines. It also creates a sense of community and shared purpose.

Additionally, working toward common goals allows employees to celebrate accomplishments together. Recognizing these achievements can strengthen team relationships, encourage motivation, and help employees feel more connected to the overall success of the business.

Work-Life Separation

Although working remotely offers flexibility, it can sometimes make it difficult to separate professional responsibilities from personal life. Having a designated office space helps establish a physical boundary between work and home.

Going into an office can help employees transition into work mode and maintain a more consistent daily routine. It can also reduce distractions that may occur in a home environment, such as household responsibilities, pets, or family members.

Creating this separation can contribute to a healthier work-life balance and help reduce the risk of burnout. Additionally, an office provides opportunities for social interaction and a sense of community, which can positively contribute to employee satisfaction and overall workplace well-being.

Security and Privacy

Security is an important consideration for every business, especially those that handle confidential client information, financial records, or sensitive company data. Having a dedicated office allows business owners to establish additional safeguards to protect important information.

Physical security measures may include security cameras, alarm systems, locked doors, and controlled building access. These measures help limit unauthorized access to the workspace and protect business equipment and records.

Data security is equally important. Businesses can implement access controls to ensure that only authorized employees can view sensitive information. Other precautions may include privacy screens, secure document storage, established confidentiality procedures, and properly shredding documents containing private information.

Having a designated workspace makes it easier to establish consistent security practices and maintain greater control over how confidential business information is handled.

Final Thoughts

In today’s evolving business environment, having a physical office may not be necessary for every company, but it can provide advantages that are difficult to overlook. From creating a professional image and encouraging collaboration to strengthening client relationships and protecting sensitive information, an office can contribute to the overall growth and success of your business.

A dedicated workspace can also help establish structure, improve work-life separation, and create a stronger sense of community among employees.

Ultimately, the decision to maintain an office should depend on your business needs, goals, and available resources. Whether you choose a traditional office, a remote setup, or a combination of both, finding the right work environment can help position your business for long-term success.

By |2026-11-02T13:30:56-06:00November 2, 2026|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How to Create a Schedule That Works for Your Business

As a business owner, you have a lot of responsibilities and tasks to manage every day. Between serving clients, handling administrative duties, managing finances, and growing your business, it can be challenging to keep track of everything while making sure you dedicate enough time to your priorities. That’s where creating a schedule becomes essential to running your business successfully.

A well-planned schedule provides a foundation for managing your daily responsibilities. It helps you organize your time, prioritize important tasks, reduce stress, and work more efficiently toward achieving your business goals. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything on your to-do list, you can approach each day with greater focus and direction.

As we mentioned, a well-constructed schedule can help you by:

  • Improving your productivity: Creating a schedule allows you to allocate your time wisely, prioritize essential tasks, and minimize distractions so you can accomplish more throughout the day.
  • Reducing stress: Having a schedule gives you a clearer picture of your daily responsibilities. Knowing what needs to be done and when helps you feel more organized and in control of your time.
  • Achieving your goals: A schedule allows you to break larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks. By consistently working toward these milestones, you can make steady progress toward your business objectives.

Some tips for creating a schedule that works for you:

  1. Identify the Most Important Tasks: Start by identifying the responsibilities that are essential to keeping your business running smoothly. Create a list of your tasks and prioritize them based on their importance and urgency. This helps you focus on what matters most instead of spending too much time on less important activities.
  2. Set Aside Time for Each Task: Not every task requires the same amount of time or effort. Estimate how long each responsibility will take and build your schedule accordingly. Be realistic with your expectations and leave room for unexpected tasks or delays.
  3. Schedule Breaks for Yourself: As your own boss, you may not have anyone reminding you to step away from your work. However, taking regular breaks gives you an opportunity to recharge, refresh your mind, and maintain your energy throughout the day. Remember, taking care of yourself is an important part of running a successful business.
  4. Be Flexible: Unexpected situations are bound to arise when running a business. If something urgent comes up, don’t hesitate to adjust your schedule or postpone less important tasks. Allowing yourself some flexibility makes it easier to adapt to changes without losing sight of your priorities.
  5. Use Scheduling Tools: There are many scheduling tools available to help you organize your time and manage your responsibilities. Consider experimenting with different options to find what works best for your needs. Popular tools include Calendly, Doodle, Google Calendar, and Zoho. You can also use traditional planners, paper agendas, or scheduling and reminder apps on your phone to keep track of deadlines, appointments, and daily tasks.
  6. Review and Adjust Your Schedule: Review your schedule regularly to determine what’s working and what needs improvement. As your business grows and your responsibilities change, your schedule should evolve with it. Making adjustments along the way helps ensure that your time continues to align with your priorities and business goals.

You may be wondering what a daily schedule could look like for someone who owns their own business. Below is an example to give you an idea of how you might organize your day or create a schedule that fits your own needs.

– 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Check emails and respond to urgent messages

– 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Focus on the most important tasks

– 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Attend a team meeting

– 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Take a break

– 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Complete administrative tasks

– 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Take a lunch break

– 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Focus on marketing and sales activities

– 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Take a break and recharge

– 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Work on client projects

– 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Wrap up the day and plan for tomorrow

Of course, this is only an example. Your ideal schedule will depend on the type of business you operate, your workload, your clients’ needs, and your personal responsibilities. The most important takeaway is to create a schedule that works for you and make a consistent effort to follow it. Over time, this can help you develop productive habits, strengthen your time management skills, and maintain greater control over your workday.

With that being said, remember that a schedule should not restrict you or make you feel overwhelmed. Instead, think of it as a tool that provides structure, direction, and flexibility. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different routines, adjust your priorities, and discover what works best for you.

Final Thoughts

Running a business requires more than hard work; it also requires effective time management. Creating a practical daily schedule can help you stay organized, focus on your priorities, and make meaningful progress toward your goals without feeling like you have to do everything at once.

Start by making small changes, establishing realistic expectations, and building a routine that supports both your business and your personal well-being. With consistency and flexibility, you can make better use of your time and create a more productive, balanced approach to running your business.

By |2026-10-30T11:08:03-06:00October 28, 2026|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service and Build Lasting Relationships

Customer service plays an important role in business success. Whether you own a small business, manage a team, or work directly with customers, the quality of your interactions can influence your company’s reputation, customer loyalty, and long-term growth.

Excellent customer service goes beyond answering questions and resolving complaints. It involves understanding customer needs, communicating clearly, and creating positive experiences that encourage customers to return.

In this blog, we’ll explore the fundamentals of customer service, how to make a positive first impression, resources for improving service skills, and ways to measure customer satisfaction.

What Is Customer Service?

Customer service is the support and assistance a business provides before, during, and after a customer purchases a product or service. Its purpose is to answer questions, resolve problems, and ensure customers feel valued.

Effective customer service relies on several essential principles:

  • Communication: Provide clear, accurate information and set realistic expectations.
  • Empathy: Listen to concerns and respond with patience and understanding.
  • Problem-solving: Identify issues and work toward practical solutions.
  • Product knowledge: Understand your company’s offerings, policies, and procedures.
  • Continuous improvement: Use customer feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.

Understanding these principles helps businesses deliver consistent service and build stronger customer relationships.

Who Should Be Responsible for Greeting Customers?

A customer’s first interaction with your business can shape their overall impression. Whether the greeting happens in person, over the phone, or online, customers should feel welcome and know where to turn for assistance.

Depending on your business, the person responsible may be a receptionist, customer service representative, sales associate, or another designated employee.

When selecting someone for this role, look for strong communication skills, a friendly demeanor, patience, and the ability to remain professional under pressure. Employees should also understand company policies and know when to refer questions to a manager.

Tips for making a positive first impression:

  • Acknowledge customers promptly and greet them courteously.
  • Ask how you can help and listen to their needs.
  • Provide accurate information or connect them with the appropriate person.
  • Remain professional, even during busy periods or difficult interactions.

For example, a simple greeting such as, “Welcome! How can I help you today?” can establish a friendly and professional tone.

Where Can You Find Customer Service Training Resources?

Customer service skills can be strengthened through professional training, reading, and practical experience.

Online Learning Platforms

  • Coursera: Courses covering communication, customer experience, and business management.
  • Udemy: Training in customer service fundamentals, complaint resolution, and communication.
  • LinkedIn Learning: Professional development courses focused on customer relationships and service excellence.

Course availability and pricing vary by platform.

Books and Other Resources

Consider these books for additional insights:

  • Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh explores company culture and customer experience.
  • The Customer Rules by Lee Cockerell shares principles for creating positive customer experiences.

Webinars, podcasts, industry articles, and professional associations can also help business owners and employees stay informed about customer service practices.

Regular team training and discussions about real customer interactions can help turn these lessons into everyday habits.

How to Measure Customer Service Quality

Customer feedback helps businesses understand what they are doing well and where improvements are needed. Surveys and customer reviews provide useful information for evaluating satisfaction and identifying recurring concerns.

Why Customer Feedback Matters

Collecting feedback can help you:

  • Measure customer satisfaction.
  • Identify recurring complaints or service delays.
  • Recognize employee strengths and training needs.
  • Improve customer retention.
  • Make informed decisions about service improvements.

Questions to Include in a Customer Survey

Keep surveys brief and easy to complete. Consider asking:

  1. How satisfied were you with your overall experience?
  2. Was our team professional and helpful?
  3. Did we resolve your questions or concerns?
  4. What could we do to improve your experience?
  5. How likely are you to recommend our business to others?

Rating-scale questions make results easier to compare, while open-ended questions allow customers to explain their experiences.

Tools for Gathering Feedback

Businesses can use several resources to collect and evaluate customer feedback:

  • SurveyMonkey: Create surveys and analyze responses.
  • Google Forms: Build simple customer satisfaction surveys.
  • Trustpilot and Yelp: Review publicly shared customer experiences and identify potential service issues.

Collecting feedback is only the first step. Review the results, identify patterns, and make practical changes based on what customers tell you.

7 Practical Tips for Excellent Customer Service

Consistent customer service requires clear expectations and a commitment to meeting customer needs. These seven practices can help your business improve its approach.

  1. Listen to Customers

Give customers your attention and let them explain their concerns before offering a solution. Ask clarifying questions to make sure you understand the issue.

  1. Show Empathy and Stay Professional

Acknowledge customer frustrations without becoming defensive. A statement such as, “I understand why that would be frustrating. Let me see how I can help,” shows that you take their concerns seriously.

  1. Know Your Products, Services, and Policies

Employees should be prepared to answer questions accurately. If they do not know an answer, they should seek assistance rather than guess.

  1. Respond Promptly and Follow Through

Set reasonable response-time expectations, keep customers informed about delays, and honor commitments. If you promise an update, make sure you provide it.

  1. Resolve Complaints Effectively

Stay calm, identify the problem, explain available solutions, and involve a manager when necessary. Focus on resolving the issue rather than arguing over who is at fault.

  1. Personalize the Customer Experience

When appropriate, use customers’ stated preferences and service history to make interactions more relevant. Always respect their privacy and handle personal information responsibly.

  1. Use Feedback to Improve

Review surveys, customer reviews, and recurring complaints regularly. Provide employees with training and resources to address weaknesses and recognize strong performance.

Final Thought: Make Customer Service a Priority

Excellent customer service builds trust, strengthens customer relationships, and supports long-term business growth. From the first greeting to resolving a concern, every interaction is an opportunity to demonstrate professionalism and show customers that their business matters.

By investing in employee training, communicating effectively, and using customer feedback to improve your processes, you can create a more consistent and positive customer experience.

By |2026-10-19T13:21:52-06:00October 19, 2026|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How a Virtual Assistant Can Help You Survive Covid-19

In early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced many businesses to alter their operations. At best, this meant converting brick and mortar offerings into virtual options. At worst, it meant shutting down until stay-at-home orders were lifted. But now that restrictions are being lifted, some are still finding it hard to get back to “normal” so to speak. Well, an option that might help one achieve that normal could be a virtual assistant.

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant (VA), as the name implies, is an assistant that helps and supports your business virtually. This does not mean that the person is a robot or some type of computer. It simply means that the person is based at a remote location and not within your office. A VA is trained to assist you, and your business, when called upon.

Advancements in technology, the presence of the internet, along with document-sharing and other business-related software, makes it easier for people to work remotely. Because many businesses no longer “need” people to physically be present at the same location for them to work, VAs could be a good option for some.

What services does a VA offer?

Depending what needs your business has, a VA can assist with almost any and every work-related task. Some of the most common tasks that a business will allocate to a VA include:

  • Operational and administrative tasks
  • Phone management
  • Event management
  • Managing calendars, appointments and emails
  • Preparing reports
  • Personal tasks like booking hotels and restaurants
  • Social media management
  • Content management
  • Simple digital marketing tasks
  • Community management
  • Website design

Take one of our clients for example. Edmond Virtual Assistant Services offers VA services here in the greater Chicagoland area. Their offerings are centered around four areas/groupings:

  • Executive Support
  • Productivity
  • Marketing & Social Media
  • Special Services

In addition to the above, companies can hire role-specific VAs to handle specialized duties as well. In these scenarios, VAs have a specific skill set that only allows them to tackle just one operational area. For example, the person could only work on tasks associated with sales and marketing, public relations, or customer service.

How can a VA help you survive Covid-19?

Many businesses have had to try and retool their operations in the wake of Covid-19. If you’ve had to close your brick-and-mortar location, but still have the ability to sell your goods virtually, a VA could be a key addition. Even if you are still operating a physical location offering something like curbside pickup, a VA could function remotely to help take customer calls, schedule pickups and coordinate orders. With that said, here are some additional ways that a VA might be able to help you weather this storm.

Reduce operational costs. Since VAs work on their own from a remote location, businesses can save money related to their own location and equipment costs. Furthermore, since the concept of a VA states that the person would be providing their services on a contract basis, VAs have an unsaid understanding with companies to not expect payment unless they are actually working or producing deliverables. 

Access to needed skills. One of the foremost reasons why small businesses and solopreneurs hire VAs is to get easy access to skills and expertise, which otherwise would either be too costly to hire for or too time-consuming to do by ones self. Remember, most entrepreneurs are good at what they trained or went to school for. Administrative tasks don’t always fall within their wheelhouse.

Imagine you’re an entrepreneur running a small restaurant that only offered in-person dining pre-Covid-19. Now you are going to offer carry-out as well as curbside pickup, but you don’t have the technology structure in place to make that happen quickly nor seamlessly.

While you can choose to do so by going the long route of hiring a person or technology firm, the option of hiring a hit-the-ground-running “tech” VA could be the more beneficial route. This enables you to quickly get things in place in no time in a much more cost-effective manner.

Maintain Quality service. The simplest reason for most companies to hire VA is to have efficient business operations in place. Hiring a VA enables businesses to employ reasonable resources to fulfill tasks that internal employees either don’t have the time for or aren’t qualified enough to tackle.

Let’s say that your business has had to reduce staff levels to try and survive financially. You’re operating with a limited skeleton crew or worse, you simply had to let people go. Some of those people, might have been really talented workers or those with years of expertise. Now your stuck trying to “limp along” until things get better. This might even mean the business owner doing things they don’t really know how to, nor want to do. Furthermore, they could find themselves simply doing too much, which leads to increased production times, order fulfillment or decreased customer satisfaction.

Having a VA in place to assist with some of the mission critical operations at this time could be just what is needed.

Decreasing the owners workload. Have you found yourself in a situation lately where you missed your kid’s activity (e.g. school e-learning Zoom) because you were either too busy handling “things” or because “something came up” at work?

Saving time and decreasing your workload go hand-in-hand when it comes to outlining the benefits of hiring a VA. Having a VA who can handle those “things” or tackle that “something at work” can help you find more time and therefore reduce your increased workload.

Time management. Hiring VAs empowers businesses to utilize their time more efficiently. For example, would you rather waste four hours a day doing tasks like cleaning out your inbox or spend those four hours conceptualizing innovative strategies to help your business survive?

That’s a no-brainer, right? Having a VA working for you to handle such tasks that could potentially eat up your time, helps you regain lost time that you can invest in working  on your business rather than in it.

Promote your ability to service customers during Covid-19. There are many businesses that are NOT open for “business as usual” as a result of this pandemic. Getting a VA on board can help a business focus on multiple advertising tasks at the same time to let customers know that you ARE open and ready to accept customers business.

This may include promoting availability on social media, running online campaigns, or submitting stories to newspapers. Having someone dedicated to keeping consumers up to date on a businesses’ sometimes “ever changing” Covid-19 operations, could just be the difference between staying open in the long run or turning out the lights for good!

By |2020-08-09T20:29:14-06:00August 9, 2020|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Chicago Minimum Wage Increase

MW

In December 2014, the City of Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to raise the minimum wage for all Chicago workers to $13 per hour by 2019.  The ordinance raises the minimum wage in steps, beginning with an increase to $10 per hour July 1, 2015.  The minimum wage then increases to $10.50 in 2016, $11 in 2017, $12 in 2018, and $13 in 2019. Over the five year phase in, the increase is projected to raise the earnings for approximately 410,000 Chicago workers and lift 70,000 workers out of poverty.

Key Highlights

  • The ordinance requires all employers to pay the new minimum wage of $10 per hour for all employees beginning July 1st 2015, subject to certain limitations.  You can read more about the covered and non-covered employers/employees via this post.
  • All businesses operating within Chicago and/or employing persons working within Chicago are required to comply.
  • All employers are required to post this Notice to Employers and Employees in each place of business beginning July 1st and include the Notice in each employee’s first paycheck following the July 1st implementation date.
  • The full text of the Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance can be found here.
  • The Chicago wage increase follows several other recently passed increases. For a list of the wage in effect in other states, check out this link.
  • This increase is for the City of Chicago ONLY.  The proposed wage increase for the State of Illinois appears to be on hold as of the time of this posting.
By |2020-09-18T12:23:22-06:00July 1, 2015|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Chicago Minimum Wage Increase
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Marketing Your Service Business

Whether you are a seasonal tax preparer, a neighborhood car wash, a painter or a realtor, consumers can’t go a week without the services of a local entrepreneur.  One the hardest parts of being in a service business lies in how you go about creating your market. As such, a sizable roadblock often encountered is how hard it is to promote a product that technically does not exist until the customer has made their purchase.

Listed below are 5 ways that you can promote your service business.

Make sure customers can find  you.  The vast majority of both male and female shoppers do research on the web before making a purchase.  Furthermore, women shoppers in particular look for “deeper” information when deciding on which company or service to choose.  For these reasons, having a company website is a smart and affordable way to ensure that your business and the services you offer can be found.

Let customers know you.  Good relationships are built on trust. So it’s natural that customers want to learn as much as they can about your company and the people that stand behind it.  Once you’ve created your website, why not consider integrating your blog into it?  Studies (like this one) indicate that business blogging can lead to as much as 55% more site visits when compare to sites that don’t.  But the real point of the blog should be to let customers know more about just who you are!

If you look at the category Who’s The Boss on our site, you can get some insight into our CEO Jared Rogers.  Under this category, he showcases things about the company and his story, photos, family and hobbies.  Why?  So that you get to know more about him and see if his personality matches with yours.  The reality is that most service businesses are differentiated not by their services, but by the people who provide and stand behind them.

Tout your USP or value proposition.  What will make customers or clients select your company vs. your competitor’s? Many people choose the service provider that offers the greatest value for their money, as there’s often price parity among the principal players.  Thus, one should craft their  Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and communicate it to each and every prospect you interact with.  So the best way to win business is not to cut your prices or rates, but instead add products or services that elevate your USP – making it too good to resist!

Offer your customers incentives.  Customers who’ve had positive experiences with your company in the past will happily return.  But tempting new customers requires making a special offer.  Businesses that provide home services (e.g. rug cleaning, painting, home heating or air conditioning) can benefit by sending consumers coupons through a service such as Valpak. Your coupon offer will be mailed in an envelope with others, thus your cost of mailing is less than if you did it stand alone (thus allowing you to send to a greater number of people).  Although you won’t have the undivided attention of your consumer, mail from a known marriage-mail provider is often well-received.  For long-term results, create a offer that will motivate new customers to make more than a single purchase.

Communicate with your prospects frequently.  It costs considerably less to keep a customer than to win a new one.  Thus, it’s smart to maintain campaigns that upsell or resell to existing ones.  To do this, you should communicate with your customer database at least every four to six weeks.  If you don’t, you’re missing opportunities to grow your business.  Now, every communication doesn’t have to be a sales pitch.  What you are trying to do is create Top Of Mind Awareness.

In this post we talk about how you can get new clients via a referral program that emphasizes TOMA.  Essentially, you want to use a combination of alternating sales calls with e-mail and postal mail.  By interspersing e-newsletters containing case histories, postcards with promotional offers and calls offering relevant and valuable information, you will ensure that YOU are the one they think of when it’s time for them to make a purchase.

By |2015-06-30T21:39:24-06:00June 30, 2015|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Marketing Your Service Business
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10 Ways To Get Word Of Mouth Marketing

It’s not uncommon for us to get new bookkeeping clients who are relatively “new” in their business endeavors.  When we discuss their business and needs, we will often ask “What are you doing from a marketing perspective?”  When “word of mouth marketing” is their response, we often feel compelled to have a teaching moment with them.

Word of mouth marketing is not a marketing vehicle in and of itself.  It is the direct result of doing other tasks well within your business, one of which is other marketing.  This post highlights 50 ways that you can market your small business.  Shown here are the things that will help you generate that word of mouth buzz that so many businesses crave:

Provide an excellent product or service. If what you have to offer is just average, or even worse undesirable, don’t expect customers to extol your virtues.  What you sell and how you sell it, should live up to or exceed what your customers expect.  This is based on your ads, sales pitch and industry standards. If they’re happy with what they’ve bought, they will sing your praises to the heavens. Yet remember, word of mouth works two ways.  If customers are unhappy with your company, they will complain loudly and publicly about their bad experience. Don’t believe us?  Just look at this post about a poor customer service experience we had.  Which leads us to our next point…

Excel in your customer service. This post will give you several ways to be better than your competition, so we urge you to read it.  Yet a few basics to know: Be polite. Answer your customers questions as accurately and quickly as possible. Don’t keep them waiting unnecessarily. If you can do something for a customer, then do it.  If you can’t, tell them so and send them to someone who can (even a competitor).  By helping your customer solve their needs, they will remember you and send your their friends and family when they have a similar problem.

Give your customers something for FREE. People have needs that require solutions.  When they look for those solutions, they will go to the internet, call their friends or even visit your establishment.  However, there’s so much noise in the world  that it’s hard for prospects to know exactly what’s worth buying. Most people buy stuff that they have a personal connection with or that is recommended by a trusted friend.  By giving away your work (or a sample of it) you allow future customers (or readers or fans or whatever) the opportunity to hear about it, see the value in it, and then reward you for it.

Thank your customers for their business. Everyone likes to be appreciated and customers are no exception. When a customers pays you for services or a new customer signs their paperwork, why not send them a handwritten thank you card?  Doing something your competitors don’t will set you apart as a business who cares about their customers and is worth recommending.

Make you and your employees “likable” in their interactions. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, customers do business with those who they know, like and trust.  As such, make sure that when you interact with your customers, that they like dealing with you.  Be friendly; no matter how rude or angry a customer may be. Never raise your voice, be sarcastic, or speak in a demeaning way to customers.  Smile when you speak to them.  Take a genuine interest in their needs, concerns and wants.  When a customer likes dealing with you, they will like sending others to you.

Be personally visible to your market. The goal here is to not be viewed as a salesperson, but as a friend or problem-solver.  If you take the information regarding providing “free” stuff and combine it with this point, you will be seen as just that.  As such, join networking groups and industry groups that your customers join and be a regular attendee at meetings and events. Talk to people at meetings to find out what they do and what’s important to them and what challenges they face. When you can, give them tips or point them to resources they need, even if it isn’t a service that you offer.

Be Active in Social Media. A social media “share” spreads the word about your company to all the people who follow and like your information.  While you don’t need to set up an account on each, Facebook, Twitter, Linked, Pinterest, Instagram and SlideShare are all good places to start. Choose the social media channels that are most likely to reach your target customers.  Also, the easier you make it for customers and prospects to share your information and promotions, the more likely it is they will do so.  As such, consider adding the corresponding social media buttons to your website.

When people praise you, ask to use their testimonial. You can post it on your website and/or in promotional material. Their comments can help prospects “hear” good things about your company.  This is exactly why we have a testimonials page!

Make your business easy to find. Start by having a website, even if it is just a simple landing page.  Make sure that it is listed on Google, Bing and Yahoo’s business promotion sites.  If you have a location, make sure that you have singe indicating what you do, hours of operation and phone number.   If you have vehicles, make sure your name is painted/wrapped in big letters on them so anyone who sees it knows how to reach you. Leave “extra” business cards with customers so they can hand them out when a neighbor asks if they were happy with the job you did… and how to get in touch with you.

Refer business to noncompeting businesses. When you refer customers, patients or clients to others, those businesses are more likely to refer business to you.  Remember, those who give freely of themselves will receive the same in return.

Reward those who refer business to you. How you thank them will depend on the nature and what is considered ethical in your line of your business. It may be in the form of a hand-written thank you card, a coupon, a cash reward, or whatever else is practical or expected for your line of work. But the point is this; rewarding those who help you will make them feel their efforts are appreciated, which will make them be glad to recommend you to more people.

By |2015-06-07T14:33:55-06:00June 7, 2015|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on 10 Ways To Get Word Of Mouth Marketing
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Top Small Business Marketing Mistakes

Recently we were having lunch at Columbus’ Curry, a new quick dining establishment specializing in Indian cuisine.  During this visit, we had the fortunate opportunity to meet the owner.  Turns out that they had only been open for four weeks, but they indicated that things were going well thus far.  At some point, our conversation turned to what the “most important” thing to focus on should be.  Our response?  Generating sales!

As we’ve said in previous posts, nothing happens in an organization until a sale is made and sales don’t happen without marketing.  Unfortunately, many new/fledgling small businesses often underestimate their marketing needs.  With that said, we figured we’d discuss the top marketing mistakes new business often make and how you can avoid them.

No marketing plan.  Failure to plan is like planning to fail – we’ve all heard that statement correct?  Well, if you don’t have a marketing plan, then you can rest assured that your marketing will not be is effective as it needs to be.  People often think that a marketing plan needs to be this overly complicated document that takes months to develop.  That is not the case.  A simple marketing plan can be made in short order.  Take a look at this article to see just how to put one together and what it should contain.

No marketing budget.  Equally egregious as not having a marketing plan, is not having a marketing budget.  When you start a business you may be consumed in pouring all of your dollars into research and development, product engineering, hiring staff or outfitting your headquarters.  However, if you don’t have the budget to tell your target market about your product or services, how will they find you?  “Oh, if we build it they will come” is your response?  Read the next bullet dear friend.

Having a “build it and they will come” mentality.  We’ve written about this before in our Small Business Marketing 101 post.  The key takeaway from it is that even with a highly visible location it’s EXTREMELY hard for potential customers to “see” you.  The only way to ensure that the do, is to market to them.  Furthermore, even if they know you are there, what is going to make them choose you over your competitors?  For that, we recommend that you emphasize your Unique Selling Proposition or USP in all of your marketing collateral.

Failing to “test” your marketing.  Marketing should never be viewed as a “one and done” type of activity.  The one thing that is constant in the world is change.  Thus, you must frequently look at your marketing activities, vehicles, collateral, etc. and make sure that it is working.  If it isn’t, then you need to make adjustments to it.  If you do a mailing and you get a 2% response rate, test doing a similar mailing but tweek the headline, body, mailing list, etc to see if the results change.  Keep “testing” various elements of the campaign until you get the desired result.  All of this leads us to the next point.

Not holding your marketing accountable.  If you are involved in various marketing activities, you should always hold your marketing ruthlessly accountable for revenue.  One of the first things we ask customers is how they heard of us.  Why?  We want to know which vehicle brought them to us.  We then track various metrics associated with this such as number of leads, leads converted to customers, revenue spent per customer, cost of client acquisition, etc.  If we don’t see the return on investment for a particular vehicle we either 1) test it, 2) change it or 3) abandon it.  If we get to the third, that allows us to shift those dollars to something that IS producing desired results.  The worst thing you can do is continue to pour money into something that is not generating sales.

Trying to reinvent the “Marketing” wheel.  Marketing is not hard stuff (in simplistic terms of course).  Yes, there is the need to reinvent and refresh your marketing so that it remains relevant and in sync with the times, but you don’t have to go back to the drawing board to make it yours.  In this post, we talk about 50 ways that you can market your small business.  The point?  You don’t have to start from scratch; look at the items, choose what works for you and then make it fit your business.

Continuous planning without execution.  The fear of failure is a very powerful thing.  In this post, our CEO Jared Rogers talks about getting over his fears when he struck out to head the Beverly office.  In the end he got over them and started doing things. The point is that you can be so busy preparing, organizing, and researching your marketing to prevent failure that you never get around to the actual marketing.  To combat this remember:

  1. Activity is not productivity.
  2. In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.

At some point you have to start your marketing and just see what happens.  Remember, mistakes are the price of entry into the world of success. A failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what does NOT work; and that is a invaluable tool in getting you closer to discovering what DOES work.

By |2020-09-18T11:21:20-06:00May 24, 2015|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Top Small Business Marketing Mistakes
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Spending to Save Taxes vs. Generate Revenue

A few weeks ago we were speaking to one of our business clients about their tax planning needs for the upcoming year.  During this session, we got to talking about how spending money yields a “tax rate” reduction of one’s taxes for every dollar they spend.  This then prompted the analysis of spending to save on taxes versus to generate revenue.  Let us elaborate.

How Income Taxes Work.  A while back, we wrote about how the income tax system works with regards to refunds and balances due in this post.  The short version is that for each $1 you earn, you have to pay an associated amount of taxes based on your marginal tax bracket.  Conversely, for each $1 you spend on a deductible expense, it reduces your associated taxes by the tax rate applicable to your highest marginal tax bracket.

Spending To Save On Taxes.  One of the things we always try to convey to clients is to spend money on what makes financial, life or business sense.  Don’t spend money to save on taxes; if you receive an associated tax benefit, that’s just icing on the cake.  Why?  Let us illustrate.

Let’s say that Ricky lives in his mothers basement.  She doesn’t charge him any rent, but he gets this “idea” of buying a house so he can get a tax deduction.  So he goes and gets a mortgage and spends $10,000 on mortgage interest, which is tax deductible.  To keep things simple, we’ll assume that all of the mortgage interest is reflected on his return and that his last marginal tax bracket is 25%.  Based on this, he can expect to see his tax liability drop by $2,500.  But let’s look at it another way…

Ricky wasn’t paying anything to live in the basement.  Zero, zip, zilch!  But to get a $2,500 tax deduction, he went out and spent $10,000 on mortgage interest?  In the world of Finance we go by two rules:

  1. Cash now is better than cash later – due to inflation $1 today is worth more than $1 in the future so give me the money NOW!
  2. You only “save” money when you spend $0 – spending money is just that, an expenditure (no matter how big of a discount; sorry discount shoppers).

Using these two rules, it’s pretty clear that Ricky is in violation of the second.

Spending to Generate Revenue.  Thus, if you are faced with a decision to spend money, we usually recommend that you do so to generate more revenue (especially if you are in business).  Why?  There are numerous reasons but some include:

  1. You won’t see as big of a tax reduction as you would hope for by spending it on deductible expenses (see the example above).
  2. Increased revenue will allow you to spend on more beneficial expenses (e.g. increased payroll for yourself).
  3. Who doesn’t like more money?  Oh yeah, the Capital One Baby!

So let’s change things up and assume that Ricky owns his own delivery business.  He files his business income and expenses on a Schedule C so any profit from his business shows up on his personal return and is taxed at his marginal tax rate (25%).  For this tax year thus far, he has $50,000 in profit (income less expenses) from his business.

Instead of buying a house, he decides to spend $10,000 on some billboard advertising.  Now his profit is only $40,000 because the advertising expense is tax deductible.  But those ads generate $25,000 of new business.  Way to go Ricky!  So his profit then becomes $65,000.  Sure, he will have to pay $3,750 more in taxes ($65K – $50K = $15K x 25%) then he would have had to if he didn’t run the advertisements.  But the flip side is that he will be left with $11,250 in more cash.

Now, if Ricky has a smart tax accountant on his team (like us), they might tell him to open a SEP IRA where he could put almost all of that additional $15K above his original $50,000 profit towards his retirement savings.  Best thing about that is 1) it’s deductible on his tax return and 2) he’s funding the day he can park that delivery van for good!

Need some help with your tax planning?  Want to brainstorm on how you can best spend your money?  Give us a call or shoot us an email and we’d be happy to chat with you!

Until next time…

By |2015-05-10T22:52:15-06:00May 10, 2015|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Spending to Save Taxes vs. Generate Revenue
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Want New Clients? Ask Your Existing Ones!

re·fer·ral
rəˈfərəl/
noun
  1. an act of referring someone or something for consultation, review, or further action.

There are certain professions (e.g. realtors, attorneys, tax professionals, etc.) who source a majority of their “new” business from referrals.  However, ALL businesses can benefit by asking for them.  The key is to make sure you have a program in place to do so and that you actively utilize it.  This post will tell you how to create such a program and set it up so that the probability of you reaping the rewards are maximized.

Create your customer database.  The first place to start when creating a referral program is your database or “house list.”  Don’t have one?  Well, this is where you start!  Create a list of anyone and everyone that you have ever done business with.  “But I’ve been in business for 10 years.  Do you seriously expect me to go back and find everyone who’s ever paid me during that time?”  Well, you certainly don’t have to, but it’s to your advantage to so.  It’s often said that it cost 5-7 times more to obtain a new customer than it does to keep (or sell to again) an existing one.  Thus, the more existing clients you can identify, the better your referral program will work.

Mine your customer database. The next step is to review your database and identify those who match your IDEAL profile.  Who are those clients?

  • The ones who you like to work with.
  • The ones who you have a good relationship with.
  • Those who pay their bills in a reasonable amount of time.
  • Those whom you have helped with a particular challenge.
  • Those whom you saved money.

The list goes on and on.  But essentially what you are looking for are those clients whom you would like more of in your portfolio AND those whom are most likely to recommend you.  Those who you have helped in the past are already predisposed to mentioning you to others.  But why not just ask all the clients whom you’ve worked with?  Well, clients tend to refer those who are similar to themselves.  So if you want more problem clients, then ask the ones you hate working with to send you business and you’ll wind up with more of the same!

Create a touch program. Now that you have your list, you need to stay in regular contact with them.  You’ll understand why in the next step.  You can do this in a number of ways, but essentially you want to create what is referred to as a touch program.  A touch is considered an interaction and can materialize in many forms.  These include monthly newsletters, email blast, blog posts, holiday cards, birthday/anniversary cards, client promo gifts, client appreciation events, phone calls, emails, etc.  The exact mechanism that you use to “touch” your customer is pretty irrelevant.  The key is that you simply do it.  How often should you contact your customers?  The numbers vary depending on who you talk to but most agree that monthly is a minimum.

Maintain top of mind awareness. The real point of the touch program is so that you create Top Of Mind Awareness (TOMA).  What exactly is this?  Well, it’s when you are the first person (i.e. top of mind) your client thinks of when either they OR a friend have a problem that needs to be solved.  You want them to call you first, not the competitor.  You want them to tell their friends about you, not that store down the street.  Chances are, if they hear from you every month, you will be the one that they think of.  But what if they throw your monthly communication straight into the trash?  Doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is that they knew that it came from YOU before they threw it into the trash!

Ask for the referral.   Okay, so now that you’ve done all of the above, it’s time to do the following:

  • Ask your client for referrals. Yes, ASK them.  The number one reason sales folks fail to get business is because they never explicitly ask for the sale.  The same can be said for referrals.  When you complete a sale or a job, ask your client if there is anyone else they know whom you could help.  If the client seems squeamish, hand them a stack of business cards and tell them to just pass them on if they think of someone.  If they are willing to give you a name and phone number, that’s even better!
  • Have a letter made describing how to refer to you. If you can tell your client who your ideal client is, how to spot them and how to send them to you, it makes the process run that much smoother.  We no longer use this exact document, but it is one that we would give our clients who visited our office and picked up hard copies of their returns.
  • Incentivize your clients to refer you. Some clients will be motivated by monetary compensation.  Some will be happy if you mention their referral action in your newsletter.  Some don’t want anything and just want to make sure their friends are sent to someone they trust and know will do good work.  But no matter how you incentivize the act of making a referral, make sure that you have a way to say “thank you” to your clients.

If you need help with a business matter (like how to get more clients), why not give us a call for your FREE 30 minute business brainstorming bout.  This session (valued at $250) is yours for FREE if you mention this post (or BBB).  In it, we’ll evaluate one challenge facing your business and give you an actionable way to address it.  To schedule your BBB, simply give us a call at 773-239-8850 or shoot us an email via the link in the footer of this page.

By |2015-04-19T17:34:29-06:00April 19, 2015|Categories: Business Talk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Want New Clients? Ask Your Existing Ones!
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