If providing excellent communication isn’t always at the forefront of your mind, as a small business owner, it should be. Strong customer communication builds strong relationships. It’s a crucial key to success for every business. Take a look at these five strategies you can implement to improve your communication with customers today. 1. Make communication a...
Once your business makes a sale, your job is far from over. If you want to establish long-term success, you have to continue selling to those customers over and over again. Small Business Trends spoke with Jamie Domenici, global Vice President of Customer Adoption and marketing for Salesforce at the recent Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Part of...
Experienced marketers know that customer engagement is crucial to achieving marketing success. In fact, in a recent marketing survey, 58% of marketers said that increasing customer engagement was their number one goal. However, the problem is that 44% of those same marketers also described increasing customer engagement as their number one challenge. So, what can you do...
Customers seek small businesses for the individualized and attentive service they don’t always receive from large corporations. While this personal touch is a competitive advantage, it’s under threat. 32 percent of organizations are shifting customer service from live assistance to automated service, likely as a long-term cost cutting measure. Robotizing customer interactions has hidden and...
The strategy for acquiring genuine customer reviews is one of the biggest head scratchers in retail. Businesses have struggled for years to crack the code on how to gather customer input without alienating buyers with pushy emails and offers bordering on bribery. This issue begs the question: What factors motivate people to leave reviews?...
The customer is king. That old saying has been around for as long as someone sold something to another person and as long as there have been kings. Today, it holds to be even more true. Competition has not only increased, but it’s turned global. As a result, the choices that customers are offered...
As a customer, I've had quite a few customer service interactions that quickly went south. Most often, the agent simply could not make that connection with me, and the exchange pretty much ended with displeasure. Did they not understand what my question was? Were they not the best person to answer my question? How...
Every year, millions of small business owners and entrepreneurs turn to Staples for their business needs, whether it is office supplies, furniture, technology, or even print and marketing materials. As a small business owner and regular Staples customer myself, I understand! But to get the scoop on this phenomenon from someone “on the inside,”...
Customer mapping is simple, really. It’s the process of determining the entire life of your customer’s engagement with your company, brand, and products. It involves every step; from initial interest piqued to a google search and a browse on your website, from a registration or signing up for your newsletters to buying your product and...
Reviews can have an enormous impact on your business’ marketing success. Today’s consumers read customer reviews before making purchase decisions, especially when it comes to trying out a new local business for the first time. Whether they are looking for a contractor, family doctor, or lawyer, word-of-mouth endorsements factor heavily into a consumer’s decision...
