Month: September 2016

The common goal has always been to close the sale, but what about the interaction with your customer? When it comes to the daily interactions you have with your customers –  Are you closing the conversation? The engine that drives your business is your customers and that is why it is an important skill that customer service team members should have.  This does not just mean that you stop and move along once the customer is “ok with everything,” but that you have gone above and beyond to do what you can for them. Continue reading “Are You Closing The Conversation?”

As a business owner one of the most important things you can remember is the value of customer retention. Establishing credibility and building the relationship to a profitable customer requires constant effort. It actually costs 500% more to acquire new customers than keeping your current customers. One reason is the fact that loyal customers are worth more because they actually spend more later on their latter purchases.

Loyalty programs are a great way to retain customers and build relationships with 87% of shoppers saying they want loyalty programs. Consumers are clearly accustomed to being rewarded for their shopping purchases and it has almost become an expectation. The purchasing power of the millennial is especially very strong with  68% of millennials saying that they wouldn’t be loyal to a brand if it doesn’t have a good loyalty program. The fact is that these loyalty programs are the start to a solid relationship with your customers and continuous growth.

Some of the common programs we think of here in Canada are Air-miles, Shoppers Drug Mart and Petro Points. The questions many ask is, should you start loyalty program if you are a small business and will your reward pay off like the large scale programs? The answer is…yes!  Your loyalty program will actually increase your marketing efforts by allowing you to communicate regularly with your current customers who already know you and have built trust with your business. You are then able to reach them at the appropriate times and build the relationship even further. Continue reading “The Value of Customer Loyalty Programs”

Resiliency in business is extremely important. There is a story I always love to share about a young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She didn’t know how she was going to make it and how she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.Every time she solved one problem, a new one arose. Continue reading “Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean – Which One Are You?”