Customer feedback is critical to any business. After all, a business only exists because it’s solving a problem for its customers. So keeping customers happy and satisfied is at the heart of every business. “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to…
So you’re running a small business. You did the planning, you’ve set up shop, customers have been coming in. It’s been challenging but fulfilling. And now you’ve gotten to a sort of stable pattern, and you’ve started thinking about what’s next. How do you grow the business? How do you reach more people, get more customers?…
Here are a collection of reads that we find helpful in thinking about the subject. Should I Use Groupon? Don’t Be Tempted By The Dark Side Quora: What do small business owners think of Groupon? Quora: Is Groupon a successful option for small businesses? Inc – 10 Pros and Cons of Using Groupon NY Times Business…
You’re busy, and you want to run a loyalty program. What do you need to make sure you do? Here’s a simple checklist to help you out. 1. Clearly define what you want to get out of your loyalty program Do you want to get more regular customers? Do you want each customer to spend more?…
This is a post about learning from the best. What do the top brands do that earn so much loyalty? How do they win people over, over and over again? 1. Starbucks – warm, predictable atmosphere Starbucks is well-known for many things. They don’t actually have the best coffee in the world – just good-enough…
Why should you bother with a loyalty program? Is it really worth the trouble, when you have so much on your plate? The answer is an emphatic yes, and here’s why: 1. It’s 6-7 times cheaper to persuade customers to return than to acquire new ones Loyalty programs can do several things at once, but the most…
We all know that loyal customers are better than non-returning customers. But how do you earn customer loyalty? What are the principles of customer loyalty? 1. Positioning – communicate your brand values clearly and strongly This sounds good in the abstract, and it makes sense for giant companies like Apple and Harley-Davidson. But what if…
By some estimates, there are over 15,000,000 cafes around the world. Which are the best ones? We went to look them up. Here are some of the most popular ones we’ve found. 1. La Caféothèque de Paris Not just about atmosphere (which you can get everywhere in Paris, because it’s… Paris), La Caféothèque has an incredible collection of beans…
If you’re running a small business in 2017 or later, you know that you need to get online. We covered some of the specifics in our post about small business marketing. But there’s more that you can do to take advantage of online tools and resources to support your business. Here are some of the…
Not every small business has the time and energy to put together an elaborate website. But it’s 2017 – practically everybody has a mobile device now, and free wifi is almost everywhere. So you should really take advantage of the free marketing resources available to you. Instagram is one of the best of these – it’s growing…