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Archive for May 2011

Lead and Appreciate

By Linnea Blair
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Your employees depend on your leadership to guide them, inspire them and make them feel that their contributions are of value.  It’s even more critical when you are asking your people to take a risk and join you in your newest business initiative before you have time to prove that it will be a success or in some cases, pay them what they are worth.

Take the time to share your vision for your company and your goals for current projects or strategic initiatives.  Thank them for their contributions and help them see their part in what you are working to accomplish together.

This month, make a point to share one small thing that you want to do better as a company, and then notice and acknowledge at least one team member every day for something that they are doing that demonstrates their contribution.  Some days you may have to look hard to find something, but I’m guessing that if you are looking for and acknowledging the positive things you find more of them to appreciate!

Categories : Tips for Entrepreneurs
Tags : Leadership

How to retain good clients

By Linnea Blair
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Follow Your CustomersWhen times get tough, it can cost more to do business. Potential clients are less likely to want to talk to a salesperson because they are in a conservative mindset regarding spending. In recent months you may have heard the phrase “retention is the new acquisition”. This simply means you’re doing well if you can hold onto your clients. And, of course, you want to do all you can to retain your best ones.

The best clients are the ones that appreciate your skills and service and are happy to pay willingly and promptly. It also helps if they have a recurring need for your services; most successful companies have worked to build a base of regular customers to generate consistent cash flow and bring more stability to business planning.

The best way to retain good clients is not to offer them a better price each time (although discounts for repeat business are always welcome). If your strongest connection is only price, you leave yourself open to a competitor undercutting you – perhaps with a loss-leading marketing campaign – and there isn’t much else to hold back clients from trying someone else.

The boom in loyalty programs that began in the airline business and has spread to nearly every gift store, supermarket and gym shows the importance of creating a database of regular clients that you can target with promotions. However, these require some investment in marketing resources to run and maintain. Loyalty programs themselves are not the best way to hold onto your valued clients.

Instead offer your best clients better service, something that is clearly beyond their expectations for the price they are paying. If you can meet their needs 110% then your clients will feel greater loyalty towards your firm and be much less likely to consider alternative suppliers.

Better service starts with doing what you have said you are going to do. Business shouldn’t be taken casually. Every deadline you meet and target you hit reinforces the trust with your client and strengthens the relationship.

Another relationship-building tactic is to communicate regularly with your top clients. Regular contact through email newsletters, for example, tells your clients you are actively working in their interests and keeping up with the pace of change.

And don’t forget to give your clients a chance to give feedback. Showing them you can listen and respond to their opinions makes them feel valuable to you.

Even if they feel you charge a slightly higher price, the value of better service ultimately means greater efficiency and better results for the client, and that has a clear financial value.

+Some information in this article is sourced from RAN ONE © 2011 Bullseye

Categories : Customer Service Systems
Tags : Customer Loyalty

Social Media Marketing – From Mystery to Mastery : 4-Session Teleclass Series

By Linnea Blair
Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Are you missing the boat on Social Media?

Social Media Networking• Do you feel that you don’t fully understand how Social Media can benefit your company?
• Do you know that Social Media is an effective way to market your business but you aren’t using it well enough to get results?
• Are you constantly bombarded by companies trying to get you to pay money for Social Media services you don’t fully understand?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, read on…

If you are like most business owners, you want the confidence and knowledge to create a professional Social Media presence that reflects your company brand the way you want to be known, and the tools you need to effectively connect with your audience to get more business!

Are you the owner of a small to medium sized business who wants to get more leads and referrals through social networking?

Online relationships mirror offline relationships. If you can connect with your current contacts through social media as well as in person, you expand your ability to be top of mind with them and become connected to their networks. In other words you get your business in front of more eyes – more often.

Do you want to learn from someone you know and trust?

I’ll give you straight answers so you don’t waste your money on “experts” because you don’t know enough about social media to discern what is a good investment of social media marketing dollars and what’s a rip-off.

As a business coach, I’ve been working with small businesses for over 10 years to grow their businesses, and my clients will attest to the fact that I keep their best interests in mind. That is how I build long term relationships as a trusted advisor.

Social Media Marketing – From Mystery to Mastery

Whether you ultimately want to manage your own social media marketing in-house or decide to have someone else manage it, it is worth your time to spend 4 hours to educate yourself about how social media marketing can be implemented in your company to reflect your company brand and effectively connect with your audience to get more business.

Social Media Marketing – From Mystery to Mastery is a 4 part Webinar Series to help you to get moving with Social Media Marketing and start generating leads! This is a class series focusing on implementing Social Media Marketing for Your Company – not just learning about it.

Four Thursdays: May 26, June 2, June 9, June 16, 2011
Presenter: Linnea Blair
• Thursdays, May 26, June 2, June 9, June 16, 2011
• 5:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Central, 3:00 PM Mountain, 2:00 PM Pacific

May 26 – Social Media Marketing Overview – This first class is FREE!
Online social media is a critical piece of your marketing strategy to create brand awareness, generate new leads and gain referral business from existing clients and referral partners.
• Learn why the social media landscape makes it imperative that your company has a strong marketing presence online
• Determine your purpose for using social media so that you show up appropriately for your marketing goals
• Learn how to maximize your company presence on social media sites
• Start using effective networking and marketing techniques with social media

LinkedIn NetworkingJune 2 – Power Up Your LinkedIn Networking

Discover how to develop new referral relationships and enhance existing ones by creating an active presence on LinkedIn. Here’s what we cover:
• A Good Profile is your calling card – You will create or tune up your profile
• Who are your best Connections and how to find them – You will grow your connection list with good contacts you already know, and learn how to find more.
• Increase your visibility – You will begin taking actions to bring more attention to your profile.

June 9 – Your Business On Facebook
Facebook LikeJust being “on Facebook” is not enough. Your success requires creating a visible presence and generating interest for your audience. Here’s what we cover:
• Professional Business Page- You will create or tune up your Facebook Business Page
• Content Creation – You will begin to add interesting content to your Page and set up your Blog (if you have one) to update your page.
• Increase your visibility – You will begin taking actions to bring attention to your page, grow your audience, and keep them looking for more.

June 16 – Tweet & Connect
TwitterTwitter is so easy to use that it’s a no-brainer to have an account. Here’s what we cover:
• Set-Up with a Twitter Profile and start growing your list
Tweet your Message – learn to create interest with interesting mini messages that people notice
• Social Media Connections – Connect your social media accounts to leverage your time & expand your visibility.

There is “homework” for this class! Be prepared to spend time between classes working on your social media action steps. Classes will be recorded, so if you miss a session, you will be able to download the audio recording of the live class and listen to it later.

Register Now!

Your Investment in this 4 Class Webinar Series is just $147

But if you register by May 25th you pay only $97!

Bonus: Receive our social media mind map when you enroll

Can’t decide right now? Take the first class for free and then sign up for the other three! Of course you miss out on the bonus pricing that way, but it’s still a great value!

Testimonials for Linnea’s Classes and Workshops

“Linnea is a great speaker for a workshop. She has a thorough understanding of her subject and presents it in an easy, relaxed manner that all can understand and take back home and implement into their business.”

“I had never realized what a powerful tool Social Media could be. The class that I took last year helped me get started using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Your suggestions helped me refine my approach to this form of marketing and also how to avoid potential land mines. I am now able to quickly and cheaply reach my existing customer base and it has helped get the word out to new customers as well.”

“Linnea has been a regular speaker for PDCA. Her knowledge of marketing and finance has benefited members of our association. In addition she has been helpful in improving our educational programming by working with us on determining better topics and solutions for members.”

“Thank you for sharing your time and expertise with our business alliance group. Your presentation was excellent and I hope it inspired everyone to put together a formal business plan.”

“I had the privilege of watching Linnea lead a group exercise in a training workshop that she developed and was very impressed with her easy manner in delivering new and potentially difficult information. It was clear to me that everyone in the room felt comfortable with her. Later, when she was away from the group, the comments made between participants confirmed my observations. A born teacher/coach.”

Register Now!

Categories : Events
Tags : Social Media
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