Here’s a 2 minute snapshot of my presentation to 1,300 financial advisers.
Positioning Your Business in a Digital World
February 18th, 2011Are your Customers Loyal?
January 30th, 2011I was working with a new client this week who was completely focused on bringing new customers in the door. His rationale: most of them will stay a year or two.
The key to any successful business is the ability to access a steady customer base. It’s generally estimated that around 80 per cent of your business comes from approximately 20 per cent of your customers. Yet despite these statistics, plenty of business owners focus on trying to find new customers. What they’re missing is that they have a ready source of business in their existing customer base. This is why building customer loyalty is so important. It costs far more to attract new customers than it does to look after existing customers.
So how do you go about building customer loyalty?
Go the extra mile when delivering service. Ensure that you and your staff keep promises and deadlines. Review your existing operations through your customers’ eyes. Work on developing better communication. Some of my insurance broker clients send weekly claims updates by SMS. What will impress your customers?
When people know they’re valued, they refer others are loyal. As they say – ‘it ain’t rocket science’.
Yellow Pages Advertising
January 10th, 2011Last month my poll question was “Does Yellow Pages advertising work for your business?”
Not one respondent said that Yellow Pages pays for itself.
33% still advertise but do not get a return, 17% had never had a Yellow Pages advertisement and 50% said they no longer have a Yellow Pages advertisement.
These stats are telling when you consider the growth of on-line marketing.
If you are not there already, it time to think about how you can use your own YouTube Channel, Facebook fan page, LinkedIn group or Twitter.
If you need help, call me.
This month’s poll question is: “Do you have a current business plan?”
Cashflow – Why it Can Make or Break Your Business
January 9th, 2011Over the holiday break I have been rethinking the essential elements of business success.
Although there are many important aspects to running a business I’ve concluded that cash flow is the lifeline of every successful business. Without adequate positive cash flow, even the busiest business can find itself in bankruptcy.
Cash flow is nothing more than the money coming into your business and then going out of it again. If you have more money coming in than is going out, you’re in positive cash flow. However, if you have more money going out (to pay for stock, administration or salaries) than you have coming in, you have negative cash flow.
Far too many business owners are lenient on their debtors, even though they struggle to find enough cash to pay their everyday expenses. Others offer payment terms that often extend to 30 days from the invoice date. This could potentially mean your business is going without that vital cash flow for up to two months from the date of the original sale.
While there might be plenty of sales recorded for that month, how many of those debtors actually pay their invoices on time?
Consider what happens if your creditors demand payment on a seven-day basis. If your own accounts receivable aren’t due to be paid for another 30 days, your business is going to be short when it comes time to pay your own expenses.
So my message to clients is: tighten up on accounts receivable policies and invoice payable deadlines. It will improve your cash flow enormously.
Happy New Year
All I want for Christmas…
December 20th, 2010Ever thought of something you really wanted, but couldn’t find it in shops? Chances are, if the product is quirky enough, an Australian has already invented it.
Jo Lapidge and her family decided to buy a cat. However, she was soon regretting the decision after discovering how often she needed to clean the kitty litter. Watching the movie “Meet the parents” Lapidge found her solution when the cat went to the toilet on an actual toilet! With a few disks and a cheap toilet seat, Lapidge trained her own cat to use a normal toilet rather than the kitty litter.
“I only ever intended it for us, but then my husband, Terry, and I started wondering about commercial possibilities,” Lapidge said. Now the “Litter Kwitter” is sold in countries all over the globe, including the US and Britain.
Lapidge isn’t our only quirky inventor. Gilbert Huynh created a brand of underwear called 4SKINS. What makes this underwear special is that they have odour-neutralising fabric. In other words, you can pass gas and not have to worry about someone smelling it. Surprisingly, more women are buying this product than men, however, not for themselves.
“I’m amazed at the number of women who are buying them for their boyfriends or husbands,” Huynh said.
Quirky inventions like these are worth around $12 billion a year to the Australian economy, which is an excellent return for the simplest of ideas.
So, if you find yourself placing an unusual item on your Christmas wish list, it might profit you to think about creating it yourself.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Is the iPad important for your business?
December 16th, 2010In my most recent website poll 52.6 of respondents indicated that the iPad or similar technology is essential to the future of their business.
In my view this percentage will rise significantly in coming years.
The now, not so new iPad by Apple has taken the world by storm. So much so, that even Microsoft Word recognises it as a valid word in its spell check!
So how good does the iPad shape up, compared to other tablets on the market?
Android has launched a cheaper version of the iPad, called the Maylong M-150. However, technology website, Ars Technica dubbed it the “worst gadget ever”.
Telstra has recently released a T-Touch Pad, another cheap alternative. It also got poor reviews. CNET Australia states it has an “appalling touch screen”, “dismal battery life” and “dreary hardware design”.
The only main competitor for the iPad seems to be the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It is much smaller but still looks glamorous. The Samsung Galaxy Tab and the iPad are similar in many ways however the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a camera. Despite this quality, lacking in the iPad, the Galaxy Tab simply does not live up to the standards of the iPad’s responsive screen. It is said to be ‘laggy’ and not smooth. So far, not so good for Android and it’s attempts at the tablet technology.
At this stage the iPad is the most efficient mobile device I have found. Despite its shortcomings I use it every day to:
- read the news
- browse the web
- respond to emails
- add content to my website
- watch videos
- manage my banking
and about 30 other things.
I’m paying for an office because…?
December 13th, 2010There’s an old gag line. My favourite thing to make for dinner is … reservations.
If you run a small business, do yourself a favour and jump on the worldwide phenomena of outsourcing.
Let’s take my example. I had permanent employees, a permanent office location, desks, photocopiers, parking spaces and so on. Every single one of these essential business features cost my business money, and a lot of it!
One day I decided I wanted a change. I realised that most of my business needs could be serviced by outsourcing. No more rent, holiday pay for employees, new chairs, desks or even photocopying paper. A little research and I discovered Elance.com, Guru.com, Freelance.com and several other outsourcing sites.
You post your ‘job’ with minimum and maximum payment parameters. The providers then ‘bid’ for you job, and based on their information and payment request you make your decision.
At present, I have a virtual secretary, team of computer experts, graphic designers and writers who are paid for the exact work that they do. Each provider takes care of their own business costs – connection to the Internet, time, electricity and all I am required to pay is the amount agreed on job completion.
Hint:
- If possible hire locally. It’s difficult to connect to different time zones and cultural understandings, particularly when hiring writers.
- And check references, especially for big jobs. I like to phone referees. If a potential provider can’t provide a referee then I’m not going to waste my time hiring them
Why Telstra’s share price can’t last
December 1st, 2010Telstra shares jumped on the strength on another public bail out. This time it’s called the NBN. We are buying back the assets we originally owned before the famous float.
This short-term reprieve looks great … on paper. The problem is that Telstra will continue to bleed market share because of terrible customer service. A recent personal experience is typical of on-line comments about Telstra.
After an issue with one of my numbers, I braved the obstacles and called Telstra’s business help line. Just over two hours and nine operators later (seven of them overseas), my issue was still not resolved! The people on the phone could not help me, their supervisors could not help me, it was one of the most irritating and annoying experiences I have ever had. (And Telstra still wonders why they are losing market share.)
Like most business owners, I do not have two spare hours to spend on the phone being passed around from operator to operator.
The time is long overdue for elephantine organisations like Telstra to wake up.
The current bill to split Telstra being hailed as vital to better service and more competitive prices. Hmm, what do you think?
Managing Social Media
November 26th, 2010The enormous rise in popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has seen a change in the way many people do business. Customers are becoming savvier in researching their options online before buying. Of course, they are also using social media sites to voice their grudges and complaints, if they feel justified in their concerns.
What this means for many business owners is learning to find ways to actively manage their current level of social media exposure without reducing staff productivity.
Trying to find enough time every day to log into each separate account individually and update your social media posts can be time consuming. By the time you answer questions and respond to messages, it’s easy to see why many businesses feel as though this platform for communication is a waste of time.
However, there are more effective ways to manage your social media, including using social media dashboards, such as hootsuite.com. These kinds of dashboards allow you to access all of your social media accounts all in the one convenient interface.
You’re able to update your status, spread messages about specials or products available and respond to messages sent to you all in the one place. You can even schedule your updates to be sent out at a time that is most convenient for your contacts.
So rather than simply give up on social media, try to work on ways to streamline the way you use it. You’ll be reaching more clients and keeping on top of your online exposure at the same time.
Charge and be charged!
November 15th, 2010The Amex surcharge, sometimes up to 3%, is something that really aggravates me as a customer, and I’m not alone, I’ve seen countless numbers of staff abused by customers because of this.
Once the exclusive realm of the rich or well-travelled businessperson, American Express is a credit card with a challenge in Australia – use it and in many establishments, you get charged a fee. So why is this?
Short sighted shopkeepers, hotel chains and restauranteurs seem to think it gives them a bit extra margin (because they certainly charge more than the difference between the Amex fee and the bank backed cards).
Bargaineering.com hosted a forum started by a member titled: ‘Why do merchants dislike American Express?’
An reply from Blaire Moore stated that: ‘There are a few reasons.
First and foremost, most people have a Visa card, and if they don’t then they have a Mastercard. Both cards are processed on the same network.’
Therefore if you are a business you only need one merchant account, which means Visa and Mastercards are cheaper to accept. This is the short sighted approach.
Scott Sanders disputes the above argument. As he argues, ‘A savvy merchant will understand….and appreciate the economics.’
According to Sanders, An American Express customer might enter a store, browse for 45 minutes, talk to some of the staff and leave after spending $400. The profit for the retailer after a 2.75% Amex fee ($11.00) is $389, probably $294.50 as a net transaction.
A typical Visa customer may enter the store, spend the same amount of time and finally spend $150. The retailer pays Visa 2% ($3) and makes a $147 profit, probably $73.50 as a net transaction.
So, obviously Amex customers are harassed through ignorance without retailers understanding how important these clients really are.
Perhaps establishments should consider adding the surcharge into prices. This would make Amex customers happy and leave many innocent staff relieved at not copping it for something they they can’t change.
What do you think? What annoys you most as a business customer?
