Customer Relationships

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Customer Relationships Tagged Articles

How to Build Customer Relationships – Create Connections, Cultivate Trust

It used to be that building relationships with your customers meant utilizing email or periodic newsletters to keep your customers up to date on the latest products or services that you offered. Invitations to special events and cards commemorating their “anniversary” dates were used to make them feel valued and appreciated. Today, how to build customer relationships features direct, interactive communications such as live posts on a social networking site, or a quick tweet. Reaching out to customers and showing them a friendly face is key to your success in the virtual environment created by the World Wide Web.

10 Simple People Skills To Successful Management
Getting the best from your people is vital if you are to make the best progress in your business or organisation. Much comes from the way you interact personally and there are just ten key actions to take to build great, fulfilling and productive relationships...

10 Steps When You Need Help in Your Business
You start off alone. Be it as a solo business owner or a manager looking after a part of a larger business. It gets busier, you get distracted from what you want to do, because there's only one of you and you've only got one pair of hands.

The Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Customers in 2010
As we jump into a new year -- and decade -- getting in touch with our customers' needs and expectations, plus qualifying their commitment, is more important then ever. On the eve of a recovery -- to meet and even surpass our sales targets -- 2010 has the potential to be your best year yet.

What is Great Customer Service

In almost all cases customers come to your business because they have a problem and believe that you may have the solution. Whether you do, or whether you can build enough trust with the customer to let them solve their problem is up to you. In the day to day workings of a business some things can be out of your control, but building customer relationships should always be in your control. You can make alot of excuses like: Well there are larger competitors; We can not provide the same service; We have different clients; We don't cater to those types of customers. What types of customers? Have you made some assumptions about your customers? Perhaps there are more reasons as to why they are standing before you.

Valuing Customer Relationships By Listening To Them Really Well
Customers are the lifeblood of any organization, whether they provide products or services. To get the best from them, we need to show that we hear them well...

Ten Best Tactics For Leveraging Customer Relationships
Where you are able to manage your business sufficiently effectively, you will have a ready pool of customers, all ready and waiting to serve you...

Connecting Through Conflict: Five Ways Great Connectors Turn Angry Clients into Happy Ones…and How You Can Too!
It’s easy to connect with clients when things are going well. But when conflict arises, well, that’s when “connectors” truly earn their stripes. Here’s how to transform customer frustration into a stronger business relationship-one that lasts a long, long time.

Michael Dell Quotes
Michael Dell Quotes

Those idiots in sales just don’t get it
I’m presenting a workshop this week titled - How to get sales and marketing on the same page.

21 Ways to Get New Customers in a Slow Economy

In these financial times, I think we have to challenge the idea of a recession. Yes, real people are losing jobs. They’re struggling to pay their bills, even losing their homes. Yet, even during a recession, there are plenty of real people who still have jobs and continue to live very normal lives. Taking advantage of every opportunity you have to gain new customers and maintain your existing ones will help you to thrive in your business or industry, no matter the current state of our economy. Here are 21 ways to do just that.

Selling to 4 Personality Types - A Lesson in Sales Psychology

According to the Latin theory of "Humorism", each person is born of a basic temperament, as determined by which of the four humors (or blood types) is more evident within them. The four temperament types are: Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy and Phlegmatic. These personality or temperament theories have a very practical application in sales and business. Sales professionals, managers, business owners and any professional who works with people can use this basic knowledge of pesonality to enhance their dealings with people. By understanding the underlying reasons why people behave and relate the way they do helps us to work through challenging business dealings and help our customers make better decisions. Find out more about the 4 temperament types and how to sell to these 4 types of customers.

Collaboration – The New Competition
Over the coming years, we will see collaboration become the new competition. Markets around the world are crying out for collaboration as innovation and differentiation become scarce in a sea of commoditised products and services. Sales people who see themselves as collaborators, both internally (colleagues, departments) and externally (customers, competitors), will prosper more than ever.

The Value of a Value Propostion
Understand how a value proposition can assist in promoting your business and positioning your company.

Secrets of Selling to the "C" Suite
Learn the secrets of getting in front of decision makers and learning how to close business with those that can.

How to Get Better Results with Cold Calling
Learn the secrets to gain better results from cold calling success.

Negotiation Tactics
Understand the art of negotiation and win any conversation with minimal concession.

Winning Business with Referrals
Use referrals to decrease labor and increase your percentage of closed business and new revenue.

How to Increase the Sales Pipeline
Learn how to produce more leads with less labor

The Importance of Customer Service
Gain insights of how to use customer service as a branding and marketing differentiator.

Seven Irresitable Laws of Customer Service
Create customer service tools that set you apart from competitive forces and make you and your company a client magnet.

Solving the Customer Service Puzzle
Learn the simple rules of customer service to assist your organization create the differentiation required to create allure.

Selling and Attitude
Discover how much you attitude counts in trying to sell your products and services.

How to Survive in Volatile Times
Learn the art of companies that can survive in any economy and why they are built to last.

Is Fear Really a Great Motivator?
The idea behind Provocative Selling is basically to scare the heck out of your customer by creating Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt about their business and its future. Since when did fear become the primary motivator for customer relationships?

How to increase sales by upselling

Upselling your products or services to existing customers is a relatively quick and easy (and lets not forget cheap) way to increase your sales revenue, strengthen customer relationships and increase your value to customers. Up-selling is when you recommend a better (typically more expensive) product or service to customers and takes place once the sale has been made. The most common example of upselling is McDonalds when they ask you ‘would you like fries with that’ or “would you like to upsize for an extra xx amount?”

Social Media #3 - Marketing Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude
Part 3 in a social media tutorial

What are you really good at?
It's a simple idea: find what you are good at, and spend your hard-earned marketing money on finding customers who want just what you do best.

Account Planning, Management & Development
As markets tighten and market competition increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to achieve product differentiation in their market place. As such, businesses will find it harder and harder to optimise their profits unless they develop effective strategies to achieve differentiation. One way to accomplish this is through the enhancement of customer intimacy.

The Most Valuable Commodity You Can Market

From time to time, I enjoy engaging practiced salespeople and sales managers in conversation about selling on a deeper level. One such conversation that happened this week centered around the question, “what is the most valuable quality salespeople can bring to the table?” Answers ranged from “product knowledge” to “likeability” to “good communication,” and on into “expert questioning” before one of the salespeople hit the correct answer – the answer that trumps all of the above. That answer is trustworthiness.

How much are your salespeople really worth?
Commission only salespeople can be effective - however one of the major problems with a comm-only sales strategy is that salespeople in these roles, more often than not, become all about 'the sell' for obvious reasons: no sale -no pay -no eat!

Three Strategies to Keep Your Clients Even in a Bad Economy

One of the CEO Rule for small business owners is: “The Transaction is the Result of the Relationship.” Every business owner wants to build great customer relationships but what happens when the customer calls with a money problem? If the relationship is first in your mind, your options are endless. Find a way to keep the customer today and you are well on your way to keeping that customer for life.

The 'dark' side of selling - buyer beware

In the world of sales there has always been the following advice for customers and for good reason: Buyer beware Read the fine print If it's too good to be true then it is And so on. As much as I advocate for and encourage healthy, trust based, open transparent customer relationships I am fully aware of the ‘dark side' in the profession of sales. In my travels, sadly I hear of many stories about people being ripped off and taken advantage of often with no idea about what is happening to them until it's too late. All under the guise of selling.

Good news sales stories

You don't have to discount price to win good business and good customer relationships even in tough markets. I mentioned earlier this year my team and I are working on a large sales fitness training assignment in the finance sector around Australia. These guys are hard up against it when it come to ‘price' being a key target at the moment. A number of their competitors are trying to buy market share with discounted prices. The market is being hammered with ‘discounting' of all sorts - some clear, some not so clear and some very dubious.

Sales Management Training Tips: How to Coach the Self Doubter

Meet Joe. Joe is a successful district sales manager who could work in any industry and for any company. In fact, there are many Joe’s in all companies. Each month Joe is put to the test with different sales reps he must coach to success. Joe has decided to start the year by building development plans with each of his reps. He is a strong believer that his role is to help them develop their skills and to ensure that the district achieve it’s sales numbers. With the economic downturn the marketplace is becoming increasingly more competitive. The company has had good growth over the last 5 years but there is an overall sense that the sales force is composed of many gatherers and there is a need for more hunters.

Stop Blaming Marketing
Sales and Marketing need to learn to work together and stop pointing fingers.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELLING 2
Telemarketing 2

PSYCHOLOGY OF SELLING:
Ten keys to sales success in a down economy

Faith in Marketing?
Having faith to continue your marketing through a down economy.

Blogging for Business
True or false: blogs are never going to be an effective form of marketing for small businesses

Why Small Businesses Won’t Double Their Revenue This Year
Here is what we have learned are the biggest reasons why small businesses will not double their business this year (yes, this year—even in the current economic climate):

GFC – Time to cut costs and jobs or time to invest in your business?

The studies show that the companies that recover quickest from a recession are those that didn’t lay everybody off when the going got tough but that invested in their customer relationships and in growing their market share. (Source: Study by Bain & Company – Article by Robert B. Miller, Founder Miller Heiman. Read the whole article at the Miller Heiman website). Robert says “A slow market is the time to consider doubling down on sales resources

5 Simple Steps to Take Advantage in a Downturn Economy
If you are considering your business goals for the first time or seeking to gain a new outlook on your current business structure, think about these Five Simple Steps to Take Advantage in a Downturn Economy.

Kovacevich, 167,500 others guide Wells Fargo through the crisis
Why is it the only major bank that's thriving through the chaos? Employees and their relationships with customers.

Best Small Business Franchise Opportunities For The Natural Handyman
It seems that the handyman is quickly becoming a dying breed. With so many businesses and jobs moving towards internet technology and computer based services and products, is seems that the average working adult today has a hard time completing even the most basic of home maintenance or repairs.

Automating Your Sales Processes For Success
There's a lot of talk about using technology to automate your sales force, telemarketing, and/or marketing activities, as well as to help your business improve its customer relationships. Find out how to automate your sales processes for success.

The Evolution of Customer Analytics Marketing in the Gaming Industry

Leading casinos create competitive advantage by integrating predictive analytics into their marketing processes and business systems. Predictive Analytics allows casinos to accurately predict the future behavior and value of their customers to drive intelligent marketing and sales activities. Today, leading casinos are going even farther by utilizing new data and optimization techniques to increase marketing ROI and customer loyalty.

Why CRM is Critical for Small Businesses...
Small business owners face challenges with why it is important to implement a CRM strategy. The basic reason is simple - the business retains more cusotmers. But the long-term reason is to position the business in a position to purchase CRM technology, which helps save money and increase revenue at the same time. This article looks at the reasons for a small business to get started today.

Know yourself before you decide to buy someone else

According to a survey conducted by the Hay group and published in 2007, 91% of all M&A efforts fail to meet their pre-transaction goals. How many activities can a business undertake that fail 91% of the time, yet keep doing them over and over again? That is what happens with mergers and acquisitions. The sad truth is making these growth strategies work is not hard - it is complicated, but not hard. If you do your due diligence, and pay close attention to all the myriad of details, you will succeed. This article talks about what you need to know about your business before you try to buy someone else’s!

What is CRM?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a strategy used to learn more about customer’s needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. Good customer relationships are at the heart of business success.

Leveraging Retail Technology
Retailers need to continue to invest in enabling technologies, even in an economic downturn, to enhance efficiencies, productivity, and customer experience.

Search Marketing Find Out How Search Marketing Can Help You Expand Your Enterprise

Just like any other entrepreneur with dreams, you want to expand your enterprise. However, we are going through some harsh times, and this is not easy to accomplish. This is exactly why you must take into consideration search marketing services. Search marketing is one of the easiest ways to establish a solid online presence within your market while providing your enterprise with the potential for a boost in sales. Read this article and find out exactly how search marketing can help you.

Using the Right SMB Sales Approach
The sales approach to employ in the SMB accounts depends upon a number of factors, such as the culture of your organization, the offerings you sell, and what the customer needs from you in the sales process. Knowing when to use a solution sales approach versus a consultative sales approach is a dilemma that confronts many sellers and directly impacts your odds of success.

Is the Human Resources function really just a necessary evil?
What is the single largest expense in most businesses? People; payroll costs represent anywhere between 60 to 85% of controllable expenses.

Planning for a Negotiation

The fundamental difference between selling and negotiation is that selling is a process to identify the fit between what the seller is offering and what the buyer is seeking. Negotiation is the process of agreeing the terms of the deal and is part of the selling continuum. Yet, the negotiation should only begin when there is a genuine commitment from the buyer and seller towards a conditional sale.

What I Learned From Leon Ho About Long-Term Goal Setting

When I interviewed Leon Ho, Creator and Owner lifehack.org, we chatted as if we had known each other for years but in fact, it was the first time we had spoken! The interview was great and time flew by. Leon shared his knowledge on such subjects as building customer relationships, making that jump from Technician to Manager, shaving hours off his working day, long-term goal setting, delegation skills, sharing his passion for productivity and, of course, blogging.

Ezine Marketing For Sales - Lets Squash All Doubt!
The number of ezines out there is mind boggling, over 300,000 ezines some of them with 100,000 or more subscribers. Yet, even with number of ezines out on the web and the number of people making purchase due to a product or service ad viewed in an ezine, some people are still questioning if ezine marketing really works. Others are declaring it dead.

MAXIMIZING RESULTS OF A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CAMPAIGN

With rising commodity prices, transportation/shipping costs, and dwindling capital access, chances are that you are asking your business–to-business customers to feel your pain in the form of price increases. And chances are good that your customers are starting to push back by reducing orders and lengthening the time they pay your invoices. While this is a basic business problem, you can help mitigate the potential rift in your customer relationships by increasing your communications to customers. Here are some recommendations.

How honesty helped Gail Goodman to grow Constant Contact
Honesty is just one of the many attributes that has helped Gail Goodman to grow e-mail marketing solutions company Constant Contact. Today it has over 185,000 customers and last year added 100 new employees alone. Read more about how Gail Goodman started up and grew this successful business.

Are You Saying This Magical Phrase To Your Customers

Are You Offering Change To Your Customers? I just loved how Maria captured selling with one phrase. "I offer change." And yet, you and I both know that the majority of people try to sell by INFO DUMPING all over their customer vs ASKING what kinds of CHANGE their customer is looking for. Remember - selling is when you're offering a means, an opportunity for someone to make a positive change. How cool is that?

How to Deliver the Ultimate in Customer Service Delight
With the right approach you can add ‘wow’ factor to your customer experiences and develop mutually beneficial long term relationships with them. Find out how...

Seven Popular Sales Excuses
Now like many of you after 30 years I have pretty much heard almost everything. So when talking about this the other day during a recent sales coaching session I was reminded of the numerous excuses that we all hear from sales representatives. So I sat down with pen to paper and rationalized what I believe of the top seven uses from selling professionals

Why discounting is bad for business

Discounting is a short term fix with long term consequences! While there is some disparity among experts, most say that even in the current marketplace, discounting can cause long term damage to your overall business success. According to www.sm.com.au, discounting is a costly strategy for retailers. While the book called, You Can Compete, suggests that discounting will double retail sales, most data points towards a business disaster. There are several successful alternatives to discounting that are available for your business.

Seven Ways that the “Main Street” Business Can Compete Against Much Larger Chains
This article explains the challenges that smaller businesses face in competing against the "big boys" and offers seven ways to succeed.

Is CRM Really As Good As The Buzz?
Over the last few years the buzz has been extensive growth when it comes about CRM or Customer Relationship Management. Marketing executives and Sales executives around the country have jumped on the CRM bandwagon. In fact US businesses have spent over $6 billion in CRM technology software since 2000. So CRM really is as good as the buzz.

What’s On the Minds of Leaders Today?
In today’s economic climate, executives are focused on regaining their post-recession footing, keeping employees engaged, and enhancing customer relationships. Although all of these issues are critical, in order to address them, there is really only one question that warrants attention: Did the company effectively execute its plans and initiatives?

Branding & Marketing Defined, and how to fuse them together for maximum results
Simply put, your “brand” or corporate image is the impression formed at every point of contact with your prospects and clients.

The Importance of Master Data Management (MDM)
This article takes CRM a step further and focuses totally on managing your data. MDM is a new acronym out there -- and much of it correlates closely to the same problems . . . or opportunities . . . around CRM. It's an interesting topic, and definitely one to keep in mind as you're thinking about effectively managing your customer relationships.

Email Newsletters That Impress
To truly maximize its marketing potential, the e-newsletter content must follow five important rules.

The Most Common Customer Management Mistakes

How we manage our customers is critical to the on-going success of our business. After all, without customers we have no revenue, and without revenue we have no business. Yet many companies and sales people don’t pay enough attention to their existing customers to build loyalty so they’ll remain as clients who continue purchasing from us. The focus of many companies seems to be biased toward acquiring new customers at the expense of their existing ones. Since it costs so much more to sell to new customers (up to seven to 10 times more) due to added marketing and sales activities, it just makes plain sense to focus more efforts on retaining our bread and butter customers.

The Most Common Customer Management Mistakes

Understanding Customer Relations Management (2)

Not long ago, companies with efficient facilities and greater resources were able to satisfy customer needs with standardized products, reaping advantages through productivity gains and lower costs. Mass marketing and mass production were successful as long as customers were satisfied with standardized products. As more firms entered the market, mass marketing techniques, where the goal was to sell what manufacturing produced, started to lose effectiveness. Target marketing, or segmentation, shifted a company's focus to adjusting products and marketing efforts to fit customer requirements. Changing customer needs and preferences require firms to define smaller and smaller segments.

Why Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?
To recognize the value of customer loyalty, retailers are now re-building personal relationships with their customers. Customer has become more straight forward, intelligent and knows what he wants. CRM will help you understand your customers better and provide them with what they want.

Powerful Ideas to Solidify Repeat Customers
All relationships change over time. They require work and nurturing on both ends to strengthen and grow. The following strategies will help solidify ongoing relationships and build customer loyalty. From asking for negative feedback to reassuring your customer’s decision to do business with you, these seven strategies will insure that you make your customers the priority!

Companies are Investing in a New Kind of Customer Service.
Moving from customer service to customer relationships is the way to grow.

CRM - an intelligent investment
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a process that makes you understand more about customer’s needs and behavior in order to develop strong relationships with them. Customer Relationship Management helps bringing together huge amounts of information about customers, sales and marketing, responsiveness, and market trends for better understanding of customer’s requirements.

Customer Relationships Tagged Articles

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