When a customer is dissatisfied, it’s important to get things back on track as quickly as possible. Use the following steps as appropriate to help you get there: Find out what the problem is Listen carefully. Ask questions, and paraphrase to be sure you understand the problem. Find out what the customer expects to be… Read More

Financial Statements.  Nasty thought, right?  Or at least, that’s the view many business owners seem to take. Aside from dealing with daily financial issues, many owners neglect the valuable information their financial statements provide — information that can be used to manage their businesses successfully now and optimize their future health.  To understand the current… Read More

There are a number of traps we all fall into when it comes to being an effective listener. Do any of these sound familiar? Our mind wanders if we find the topic or speaker uninteresting. We start to evaluate the speaker, rather than their message. We allow distractions to interrupt us. We ‘switch off’ if… Read More

Many businesses understand the need for training frontline workers to be polite, empathic, and knowledgeable. But great frontline service is simply not enough. Everyone in the company is responsible for delivering the results the customer wants. As a manager, you have the power and responsibility to strengthen the first link in the Service Profit Chain:… Read More

An important part of our business is to advise our clients on how they can legally minimize their tax liability. We have specific expertise in this area and we know we do a good job without exposing our clients to the risk of non-compliance. It concerns us, however, to see many business clients recklessly seek… Read More

Some refer to this as the “grand-daddy” of all great marketing ideas and it certainly is one that, when you understand it and implement what it means, will reap you significant rewards. So, let’s take a look at it. To help you understand and work with the idea, consider dealing with a contractor.  Well no,… Read More

If you want any relationship to work, you have to get this right. Honest, two-way communication is the foundation for trust, respect, integrity and loyalty. And it doesn’t always come easy. It often requires courage. Consider your own experience as a customer. Remember a time when you felt cheated or misled. The business may not… Read More

Follow this simple process to calculate the lifetime value of a happy customer. And share the results you get with your team—there’s no better way to impress upon them the importance of loyal customers and the value of customer satisfaction and retention! Identify an average customer of your business—if you serve different market segments, you… Read More

A healthy body demands routine checks and examinations.  So does a healthy, thriving business. No matter what stage your business is in, to keep it going you must check its systems, pay attention to any ailments and prevent early death. For the newborn business, the goals and system checks are relatively simple.  Merely staying alive… Read More