These strategies will help make your business profitable

Could improve your performance by 10 per cent and double your profits

These strategies will help make your business profitableImagine slaving away for years in your own business only to find out that it isn’t worth anything. I regularly meet with business owners who ask me how much their business is worth and I have to tell them the disappointing news that it’s actually worth very little. The reason their business isn’t worth anything…

Five easy ways to increase your sales that don’t cost much money

Focus on existing customers, reach past customers, increase prices, work on conversion rates and change

Five easy ways to increase your sales that don’t cost much moneyJames sat down with us and put his head in his hands. As one of our partners noted later, he seemed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. His company was doing millions of dollars in business but was struggling to stay open. James said he needed to come up with some…

Four things you can change to improve your bottom line

The list of expenses for business owners sometimes feels never-ending

Four things you can change to improve your bottom lineProfit is one of the most misunderstood and misconstrued words in the English language. Customers often think that profit is anything between a company’s cost for a product or service and the customer’s purchase price. Employees think profit is the difference between the selling price and the cost, less their wages. In reality, profit is…

Terrifying (and satisfying) true tales of customer service

One day, you’re an unshakable fan of a company; the next day, you’re warning complete strangers to stay away

Terrifying (and satisfying) true tales of customer serviceThe relationship between customer and company is a delicate thing. One day, you’re an unshakable fan of a company; the next day, you’re warning complete strangers to stay away. Here are three examples of customer service and how it can go so right – or so wrong. Many years ago, my Telus internet went out.…

Get your raving fans to help drive business growth

Offer them amazing discounts and perks to make sure they know how important they are to your business, then let them spread the word

Get your raving fans to help drive business growthOur online customer buying journey is about to come full circle. We’ve gone from someone first hearing about you all the way to a regular customer becoming a raving fan and helping you grow your business. Let’s recap what we’ve talked about in the past few weeks: We started with interest and awareness. Someone already…

Customer-centric service takes collaboration

Six steps to achieving a positive customer sales experience from beginning to end

Customer-centric service takes collaborationA customer-centric culture is not just about offering good service. It’s a way of doing business that provides a positive customer experience before, during and after the sale in order to drive repeat business, customer loyalty and profits. Elements of customer centricity include: Employees understand what customers want. They capture customer insights and share this…

Customer service: making it right

When we listen to our clients, it allows us to improve on aspects of our organizations that perhaps we haven’t noticed

Customer service: making it rightWhat would you do if you woke up one morning and right there on your Facebook page, for the whole world to see, was a complaint about how terribly one of your staff members was treating customers? Customer complaints are nothing new. In the past when customers received poor service from you or your staff,…

Converting online leads into customers

Always keep in mind these goals: easy to deliver, easy to implement. That gets purchased over and over

Converting online leads into customersWe’ve been working on making sure we understand the entire customer buying experience online. Today, we’re moving onto conversion. We started with interest and awareness and how your customer might hear about you – and what to do once they do. Then we moved to findability and reputation – both online and really important in…

Findability, reputation crucial for hooking online consumers

You really need to control what’s said about you online and you need to show how you respond to all types of situations

Findability, reputation crucial for hooking online consumersYour marketing efforts should make an impact along each step of your customer’s online journey. From when they first see an advertisement or a post shared by one of their friends on Facebook, you’ve tweaked their interest. They’re interested in your product or service, and now they’re aware of your business. After becoming aware of…

Health-care roadblocks stymie patients

The N.S. Health Authority lets an inefficient telephone system act as an important barrier to timely care

Health-care roadblocks stymie patientsIf there’s any way to inconvenience patients and embrace antiquated methods, the Nova Scotia Health Authority will find it. Ask the sick patients who are trying to arrange appointments with specialists, or for imaging tests or for blood work. Most enterprises try to encourage and support increased consumer access to worthwhile services. Not the Nova…