US Chamber Advice for Small Businesses This Holiday Season
A new report from Intuit Quickbooks shows a unique opportunity for small businesses during Small Business Season. Based on survey results from 5,500 consumers and 1,500 businesses, consumers are planning to spend “over 40% of their holiday shopping budget at small businesses” — an estimated total of $88 billion! Because of this, the US Chamber suggests, “it’s the perfect time for small businesses to lean heavily into their holiday marketing campaigns and possibly even launch a new product in time for the
Christina Metcalf
5 Great Lessons from Customer Service Mistakes
Every business is convinced they offer stellar service but if you can’t think of a company in your area that offers bad service, it might be you. It’s statistically impossible, not to mention an abuse of a superlative, for every business to offer “the best” service. One is better than the other. We aren’t all 5-stars all the time. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from the experience. If you’ve recently received some bad reviews or customer service complaints, here’s how you can learn from them.
Christina R. Metcalf
How to Revive Connections with Former Customers
It happens. People buy from you and they love you. Then life gets in the way, and they don’t return. Sometimes it’s because they no longer have use for your products or services like when you sell gourmet dog biscuits, and they no longer have a pet. Sometimes they moved out of your area, and you don’t offer e-commerce options. Most often though, your business has simply slipped their minds. It’s no longer on their radar or part of their buying habit. It wasn’t something you did. They just have other things
Christina R. Metcalf
Dealing with Angry Customers When You’re Short Staffed
The scene is a common one these days. Lines of people waiting to pay in a restaurant, retail establishment, or grocery store. Tempers flare. Customers yell at staff and wonder why there’s only one person checking people out. Your staff thinks, “Who needs this?” and they’re not wrong. They feel overworked and underappreciated. Customers are demanding and loud. Customers vow not to return. It makes for a bad situation for everyone. So what can you do to ensure it doesn’t happen in your business?
Christina R. Metcalf
4 Deceptively Easy Tips to Improve Customer Relations
Good customer service isn’t something everyone is born knowing. While most of us have been customers the better part of our lives in one aspect or another, many of us don’t take the time to stop and think what makes extraordinary customer service and what tactics build strong customer relations. But we sure know bad customer service when we experience it. That’s why it’s important if you want to offer your customers or clients extraordinary service and build on the relationship that you train your
Christina Metcalf
6 “Better Than Surveys” Ways to Find Out What Your Customers Think
Customer-designed offerings kept a lot of businesses alive during COVID. The idea is a great one, give them what they want, make them feel important, and they’ll return. However, now every moment you spend with a business (online or in-person) is followed by a survey on your experience. These requests are exhausting and make people regret giving out their emails. But it’s important to ensure your business offerings are in-line with what your customers want, right? So how do you ensure this without
Christina Metcalf
5 Ways to Communicate Difficult Business Messages
If there's one thing 2020 has shown us, it's how to bolster our communication skills. We've had cause for a lot of really difficult conversations with our customers. Nobody ever wants to give bad news but 2020 seems like the year we have to keep reiterating and sharpening our communication skills with difficult messages. But if you feel like you've had challenge after challenge and you're still wondering the best way to deliver those difficult messages, let's take a look at a few tactics you might use.
Christina R. Metcalf
Lessons from Amazon You Should Apply to Your Business
Whether you like it or not, the mega-retailer is influencing your customers. Its search and suggestions are impacting buyer expectations. Their insanely speedy delivery (especially in urban areas and locations where they have warehouses) has now made it easier to order online and have it delivered than it is to go and pick it up. With Amazon, it’s a love-hate relationship. And if you’re in competition with them, we already know which side of that argument you are probably on. But still…There are things you
Christina R. Metcalf
Tips and Tricks to Ace Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing is a big way to get your audience's attention. In the past, it was something only big brands did. But now mom and pop businesses are getting involved and realize it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to give your customers a memorable experience. The return-on-investment is quite high with experiential marketing because people remember experiences. They share them and they write reviews based on them. If you want to improve your sales and get more people talking about your business,
Christina R. Green
4 Ways to Pull Great Stories Out of Your Customers
Storytelling makes for amazing marketing because people don't realize they're being marketed to. They're pulled into the story. They develop an emotional attachment to your business and they stick around for the resolution. But finding the stories isn't always easy. Sometimes you're fortunate enough to have a loyal customer who bathes you in compliments. More often than not, these stories are silent successes that aren't shared with you. You need to find a way to dig these up so that you can breathe life
Christina R. Green
