October 8, 2010 Mining For Data Gold Information is power. You and I both know that, but you may not realize just how powerful information can be or how it can be used. Think of the marketing power behind what you know. The children’s shoe shop that collects the names and birthdays of its small customers can use that data to send out personalized postcards with a birthday coupon. Flower shops can keep track of anniversaries. Vets can send out updates about shots. Your database represents a goldmine of information for all your marketing plans…but many small businesses are awful at maintaining a great database. Are you?…
March 17, 2010 Hey Norm! OK, I’m dating myself here (someone has to!), but who remembers the 1980’s and 90’s TV show Cheers? Norm was a regular patron of a Boston bar, and everyone knew his name. The owner/workers of the bar would all proclaim loudly, “Norm!” when he walked through the door every day, as if he were an unexpected long-lost best friend rather than a boozy regular who sits at the same barstool day in and day out. Now, all of us in retail or customer service should pay attention to making our clients and prospects feel welcome and valued. Having records of…
May 15, 2009 SSSHHHH…ARE YOU LISTENING? Here is a lost art…the art of truly listening. Tumultuous times like these may provide an impetus for people to speak in order to make themselves feel better. Perhaps they are commiserating about the economy, perhaps they are looking for advice or ideas on how to improve sales or save money, maybe they just want to vent. Here’s an idea…JUST LISTEN! Listening is a true skill, and not always an easy one. There are so many “triggers” in a conversation that make you want to jump right in and make a comment. You have some knowledge of what is being…
